Mindfulness For Beginners

If you're new to mindfulness or already practice, refreshing the fundamentals every so often is worthwhile. Mindfulness is about the here and now - focusing 100% of your attention on whatever you’re doing, being present with whatever you’re experiencing. Trying to be calm or happy doesn’t work - chasing after things which will make us happy doesn’t tend to either. Practicing mindfulness doesn’t sw...

We can lose people in different ways, sometimes someone close to us passes away or a relationship can come to an end. In both case we feel a sense of loss and grief - this is natural . Getting over the pain takes time and its normal to go through a process of remembrance before we we let them go. But we may find letting go difficult and our unwillingness to accept loss can cause us a great deal of...

There's lots of misconceptions about mindfulness - some people think it's about clearing your mind, thinking positively or that it takes a lot of practice to see the benefits. In this chat with my friend and yours, Katie Sheen,  we put to bed some of the myths that exist about mindfulness. Katie is a fully qualified teacher who has been practicing mindfulness in her own life for over sixteen...

A great way to reduce stress is to focus your awareness on what you can feel in your body - from tingling in your toes to tension in your brow. Scanning internally returns your consciousness to the present moment, letting go of anxieties about the future and regrets from the past. Feeling gratitude for the functions that different parts of our body provide also helps to improve our wellbeing - evi...

One thing I’ve noticed when practicing mindfulness with other people is that on average the group tends to be around two thirds women, one third men. I think part of the reason why men are less keen on mindfulness and meditation is that awareness / concentration on what you’re feeling. It’s something many of us are brought up to be uncomfortable with. Things are changing - which is great - but thi...

Looking after your wellbeing is the most important thing that you can do to make the world a more peaceful place - when you're stressed you have more difficult interactions with others, they impact others and so on. So how do you prioritise your mental health? Through the choices you make in every moment, and these can be big, life-changing decisions and the little decisions we face in every momen...

Why does mindfulness practice focus so much on the breath? We spend most of our lives breathing, so every moment is an opportunity to return to the present moment, let go of our worries and focus on our inbreath and outbreath.  We can do this anywhere / anytime and by regularly returning to our breath we can live calmer, happier lives. We have a Facebook group - join and share this episode! h...

We see injustice around us every day; discrimination, bullying and exploitation are commonplace. We have a responsibility to use our voice to highlight injustice and reduce the suffering of others. But in shining a light we can speak out of anger - we're often told we should be angry or to "get angry". We should acknowledge our anger, listen and accept it, but acting directly on anger (even when w...

If you're struggling to deal with someone whose behaviour seems unreasonable it can be tough. It may be very difficult to understand why they behave the way they do and we might write them off a just being bad people. In reality, there aren't really bad people - just folks who have had a different set of experiences. Like a dog I grew up with on the farm... We have a Facebook group - join and shar...

Most of the time when we're working, gaming or watching TV we're barely aware that our body exists. We're so engrossed in what we're doing we don't notice our lungs absorbing the oxygen we need or our heart pumping blood around the body. The body is the easiest way to connect yourself to the present moment - if you find meditation difficult or have given up in the past, it's a great way to ease yo...

We all try our best to speak kindly to the people around us but during stressful periods we can sometimes get a bit snippy (especially if someone is clicking their pen repeatedly). Its OK to have a bad day - but we can limit the impact of our grumpiness by regularly checking in with how we're feeling and taking time to tend to our difficult feelings. Nothing is more important than your peace - and...

Its normal for us to worry about our health - we're evolved to be vigilant to danger. But when that vigilance spills over into constant worrying we need to be aware and be kind to ourselves. The roots of our anxiety lie can lie in the past but the small things we do every day (like looking up symptoms) can water the seeds of fear and drive our suffering. Accepting impermanence is key to living a c...

In previous episodes, we've discussed how the roots of our anxiety, anger and sadness can lie in past experiences and how seeing what drives these emotions gives us the insight to let go of our suffering. Just as important though, is to look at the choices we make every day which have a huge influence over how we feel. When we hold onto resentments or consume unhealthy things we water the seeds of...

Sharing a home with the people we love, we can sometimes speak less kindly than we intend in moments of disagreement. When we feel anger, we can choose not to speak, allowing ourselves time to cool off. We can breathe, we can walk and we can spend time attempting to understand the circumstances that lead to the other person's point of view. Meditation is a great way for us to reaffirm our intentio...

The most common question I get asked about mindfulness and meditation is "how do I clear my mind?" or "what do I do if I'm having lots of thoughts?" Some people say they can't meditate because of these thoughts. This is normal - noone can keep their mind clear for an extended period and the goal of meditation and mindfulness isn't to clear the mind. If there is an "aim", it's simply to be present...

We can sometimes be our harshest critic, beating ourselves up for minor errors that other people don't even notice. If this is a common occurrence for you, mindfulness can help to reduce your suffering.  The Buddhist tradition talks about the idea of the 'second arrow' - the first are everyday events or thoughts that cause us pain, while the second is our reaction to it. Often the second arro...

We all like a lazy start to the day now and then but starting your day grounded in the present moment can set the tone for the rest of the day - stretching, having a ritual around your tea / coffee and mindful eating are great ways to start the day. Practicing mindfulness meditation first thing in the morning can also carry a sense of peace through the rest of your day. You can focus this on your...

Copy link to share on Facebook > shorturl.at/kqtuG We can all be hard on ourselves sometimes; we may think that we're not living up to our own or other people's expectations. But you don't need to be any more than you are - you have a good and compassionate nature. By getting comfortable with who we are, we need less affirmation from the people around us, reducing strain on relationships and ma...

Insomnia can have a hugely detrimental effect on your mental health, especially if you regularly miss sleep. When we lie awake at night, we can frequently have stressful thoughts that prevent us from relaxing enough to drop off - meditating before bedtime can help to accept and let go of these difficult thoughts and feelings. Reducing caffeine and screen time along with regular mindfulness practic...

You may have heard mindfulness / meditation being called selfish - its easy to see how sitting with your eyes closed breathing might seem detached from the needs of others. However, we affect other people with every word we say, every action we take and every choice we make. Without being peaceful ourselves, the ripples we send out to the world may not be as positive as we would hope. By coming ba...

Use this link to share on Facebook!  shorturl.at/fKW56 Everyone procrastinates - you might have tasks for work or school we're dreading and have been putting off. Its important to be aware in the moment when this happens, sit with the thoughts you're having and get to the root of what is driving your avoidance. A lot of the time we can be afraid to fail, in our own eyes and the eyes of others...

If you enjoy, use this link to share on Facebook! shorturl.at/cgrT0 All of us can struggle with our self-esteem, particularly how we look - there are always aspects of ourselves that we wish were different. We can support our wellbeing by becoming more aware of the negative thoughts we have about our own appearance rather than avoiding them; looking deeply into the roots of why we feel this way wi...

If you've tried giving up smoking or cutting back on calories you know how difficult dealing with cravings can be. Most of the time we try to distract ourselves - but this can end up making them worse. By being present with our thinking and accepting the associated feeling we can break the connection between the initial thoughts and acting to satisfy the desire, increasing our chances of long term...

You may have heard "you have to be tough to lead." Its true that making difficult decisions does require a certain amount of resilience - but compassion is critical for good leaders to understand the consequences of the decisions they make and look after the wellbeing of their people. If you've previously ruled yourself out for not being tough enough to lead you may ask yourself - is it really you...

During lockdown you and your loved ones may be occasionally butting heads. Its important to realise that the roots of this friction can be the stress of the situation rather than the argument itself - so looking after your daily mental health is critical, including sleep, exercise and regular meditation. It can also be helpful to take time for yourself, particularly if conversations have become he...