Wednesday Evening MBSR/MBCT Online with Rachel Ardagh
Course Dates:
8 Wednesdays 6:30 - 9pm from September 30th
Retreat Day: TBC
About the Programme
This programme will explore what we mean by the term ‘stress’ and how it manifests in our personal lives and at work. Can mindfulness support us in responding to the events in our lives in an authentic way? The programme promotes self-awareness, personal development and general wellbeing. We know we cannot avoid stressful experiences, as long as we are alive this is part of life. However, how we respond, how we view, how we interact with stressful events can make things potentially worse or can help us, to not only tolerate discomfort but to embrace a full life and even flourish.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in 1979. The course is suitable for those with prior meditation experience as well as those who have none. It introduces participants to different forms of mindfulness practice including sitting meditation, body awareness and gentle mindful movement. As the emphasis is on bringing mindful awareness into everyday life a commitment to daily home practice of about 45 minutes is required. At the end of the course participants should have acquired a set of practical tools that allow them to cope better with stress in the workplace and in their personal lives, through increased self-awareness, emotional and attention regulation.
The programme is suitable for anyone who encounters stress and wishes to respond to stress in life with more understanding and ease. It is not suitable if you are in the middle of an acute crisis.
There will be an individual orientation call with each participant before the start, to enable each person to ask questions and to make sure it’s the right time to partake in this highly experiential programme.
Programme Aims
The practices in the programme aim to help the participant to:
Use mindfulness techniques to relate differently to worry and feelings of anxiety and
Better manage stressful situations in both work and home life
Become familiar with the workings of the mind, including the ways we avoid or get caught up in difficulties
Sustain the practice of mindfulness as a self-care tool that can be integrated into their work and home life
Explore ways of releasing ourselves from old habits of mind that increase anxiety levels
Get in touch with a different way of knowing themselves and the world
Reduce the impact of self-judgement and increase self-acceptance
Be able to exercise greater choice in life
Manage interpersonal conflict more effectively
Experience improved feelings of self-worth and compassion for others
Programme Content
Participants will receive a programme handbook. The main intention of this programme is to offer experiential learning. There will be the opportunity during the training for participants to practice and experience mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques. As mindfulness training is primarily experiential in nature, the main ‘work’ of the course is done at home between classes. Participants will receive a weekly email summarising the content and practice instructions for that week plus meditation recordings. Participants are required to practice at home during the week for about 45 minutes per day.
Following the course there are ongoing weekly guided practice sessions open to everyone to join on a drop-in basis. We have found that this support can make a big difference in keeping up the practice. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says, “we weave the parachute a little bit every day so that when we need it, it will actually hold us!”
Programme Certification
All participants who attend the programme fully will receive a Certificate of Completion in the “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme” from The Mindfulness Centre.
Testimonials
Recent feedback from MBSR/MBCT participants with Rachel
"Such an excellent course! Led by Rachel with openness, humility and strength. She is a true guide; there was a felt sense that she was on the journey with us and available for support should we need her. Thank you"
"Rachel is great, very welcoming, warm and understanding and I like the way Rachel was so open to us making contact outside of the course hours and that helped me no end..even just knowing I can reach out if needed."
"A thoughtful, kind and powerful teacher. A truly inspirational person with an empathetic, inclusive, flexible and very knowledgable approach to teaching mindfulness."
"I learnt what mindfulness really is, learning how to lean in to negative emotions, equipping myself with lots of resources to continue my mindfulness practice, finding opportunities in daily life to incorporate mindfulness."