Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in Taunton

What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is about being fully aware of whatever is happening in the present moment without judging it. It is a mind-body based approach that helps you change the way you think and feel about your experiences, especially stressful experiences. Mindfulness is a basic human quality, a way of learning to pay wise attention to whatever is happening in your life that allows you a greater sense of connection to your life inwardly and outwardly.

Although Buddhists and Yogis have been teaching these techniques for centuries, it is only relatively recently that their beneficial effects on people suffering with medical conditions are being recognised and becoming mainstream in our health service. Its impact is such that official guidance for NHS treatment has been recommending that Mindfulness be available for patients with recurrent depression since 2004. (NICE Guidelines for the treatment of depression 2004,2009). You do not need to be religious or spiritual to practice Mindfulness - it is simply a way of training the mind and changing our neurological responses. The BBC have just produced a series of articles on how Mindfulness changes the brain's response to stress and chronic pain. To see the report please click here.

What are the benefits of Mindfulness?
Over time, mindfulness brings mental fitness, just as exercise brings physical fitness. Just being able to concentrate and focus better brings rewards. People report more zest for life and feeling calmer and happier with regular practice.

Mindfulness increases awareness. Awareness brings choice. Choice allows you to take control of your actions rather than being driven by habits you don't even notice.
You can live life in a more fulfilling way when you are engaged with the reality of your present experience, setting aside habits such as being judgmental or critical of yourself or others and letting life be just as it is. Releasing yourself from the constant conflict inherent in wanting things to be other than how they actually are frees you up to make the most of what life offers.

Is it necessary to attend a course to learn Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a simple thing that anyone can learn, but it is not easy to put it into practice without personal instruction, and inevitably questions arise for people as to whether they are doing it right. There are more and more books being published on Mindfulness, many clear and useful, but they cannot give you feedback on your experience. People often find too that participating in a group brings a rich extra dimension to learning that they had not anticipated.

The course teachers
Karen Atkinson and Dr Maya Spencer teach the courses together.
Over the last 15 years, Karen has been practising Mindfulness techniques herself and, owing to the many life-enhancing experiences borne out of regular practice, introduced them into her work with patients around 12 years ago. Karen has worked with patients both privately and within the NHS suffering with chronic conditions of pain, stress and illness.
Maya is a fully registered medical practitioner, now retired from work in the NHS in order to work in a more eclectic way as an independent Consultant in Integrative Mental Health.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Courses

Our MBSR course is a structured programme, following the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is for 8 consecutive weeks and consists of 2 hours attendance each week at York House, and home practice of a minimum of 1/2 hour every day. The home practice is very specific and you will be asked to listen to:

Body Scan CD
Meditation CD
Yoga CD
Loving Kindness Meditation CD
In addition you will also be given a CD containing all the handouts you will need for the course.

The cost of the course is £295 all inclusive, with an early booking rate of £245. Payment can be made by cheque, cash, debit or credit card. Go to www.mindfulnessuk.com for details and course dates.

The next courses are as follows:

Thursday February 2nd 6-8pm

Friday February 3rd 10-12 noon

In 2011, Karen and Maya won a £2000 charitable award, enabling them to offer subsidized places to people suffering with cancer (or their carers) on the York House Mindfulness courses. Although this money has now been used up, Karen and Maya remain committed to trying to find new funding sources to help people learn mindfulness in the relaxed and friendly environment they create at York House.

SKYPE: We also run distance learning courses via Skype.
Workshops: We offer 1 day and 2 day workshops at York House and give talks and presentations at schools, colleges, work and healthcare establishments.

Further information:

Information on York House Mindfulness Courses can be accessed at www.mindfulnessuk.com

www.bemindful.co.uk is a good source of information about mindfulness and professional standards for mindfulness teachers. To find us there click here

Recommended reading:
Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat Zinn