I am at Samye Ling in the middle of delivering the retreat for people training to teach the brand new Mindfulness Based Living Course for Young Adults (MBLC-YA). I am delivering it with the creator of the course, Heather Grace Bond (nee MacKenzie), a graduate of our MSc in Mindfulness (click here) who we are funding to do a PhD to evaluate the effectiveness of the MBLC-YA.

While the retreat is intense it is going very well and the result will be a wonderful group of well trained teachers (according to the UK Good Practice Guidelines – click here) passionate about sharing Mindfulness, Kindness and Self-Compassion with young people aged 11 to 18.A strong sentiment among the participants here – fueling their passion – is how much they wish they had been trained in this when they were young.

2017-08-08-PHOTO-00000642

The curriculum Heather has developed is excellent, based on the adult MBLC, but delivered over ten weekly 40 minute sessions and with shorter practices. There is an extra emphasis on the structure and development of the teenage brain and how this can cause additional challenges, but isn’t our fault. An analogy of a weeble toy (click here) is used for our state when we are grounded in the body and more able to come back to an equilibrium, rather than being completely knocked over by life’s challenges.

There is a focus on the myriad of distractions technology brings for the younger generation and a focus on kindness for others moving around in a circle from us to another and then another, before coming back to us.

This is illustrated in the YouTube video showed on the course called ‘Life Vest Inside’

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU?ecver=2].

I would recommend that you watch this and then hopefully you will be inspired to do as many random acts of kindness that you can after that!

I need to go to teach the next bit- oh and there is mindful eating of chocolate! Musn’t forget that!

Kind Wishes
Heather

 

To visit our website: please click here

To join our membership: please click here

Author: Heather Regan-Addis

Heather began training in Mindfulness Meditation with Rob Nairn in 2004. She is British Wheel of Yoga trained yoga teacher, has a Post Graduate Diploma in Mindfulness Based Approaches from the University of Bangor, Wales and has a Masters degree in Studies in Mindfulness from the University of Aberdeen. She is a co-founder and director of the Mindfulness Association, a Mindfulness, Compassion and Insight teacher and leads the team that developed and delivers the Mindfulness teacher training program to teach the Mindfulness Based Living Course. She is an honorary Fellow of the University of Aberdeen and was involved in the development of the Masters program in Studies in Mindfulness at the University of Aberdeen, which is a collaboration with the Mindfulness Association and also teaches on the program.