Wellbeing and Mindfulness
According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention in a particular way, on purpose in a present moment and non-judgementally.
Mindfulness also involves acceptance. This means paying attention to thoughts and feelings without judging or reacting to them. When you’re mindful, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a particular moment.
So, what is Mindfulness and how can it help?
Over 30 years ago, Jon Kabat-Zinn, developed a therapeutic meditation practice known as Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Defining mindfulness simply as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally”.
Mindfulness is a meditation practice that begins with paying attention to breathing in order to focus on the here and now—not what might have been or what you’re worried could be. The ultimate goal is to give you enough distance from disturbing thoughts and emotions to be able to observe them without immediately reacting to them.
In the last few years mindfulness has emerged as a way of treating conditions ranging from ADHD to anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, depression and stress. And the benefits are proving to be tremendous.
Stress reduction and self-acceptance are two of the major perks of mindfulness, benefits which are particularly important during the drama and turmoil-filled teen years. “Emotional regulation, learning how to quieten one’s mind—those are invaluable skills.” Diana Winston (author of Wide Awake).
Beliefs and interests in movement and body...“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
I have a keen interest in mindfulness and proactively practice it as part of my own self-care and wellbeing. Bringing myself into the present moment and keeping myself aware and grounded support the work I do and help me to stay connected. I love being outside in nature and I also purposefully engage in mindful activities to keep my mind and body strong including running, practising karate and also spending time quietly developing my yoga practice. I am trained by Youth Mindfulness (www.youthmindfulness.org) and am qualified to deliver their Youth Mindfulness for Kids Programme and have completed and am certified to deliver their SOMA training programme which is an innovative approach to teaching mindfulness to teens and young adults. I have also completed my Professional Training in the Applied use of Mindfulness for 12-18 year olds from the British Mindfulness Institute.