The Oxford Mindfulness Podcast

"I run. That's my mindfulness." It's something we often hear. Whether it's running, gardening, painting, playing music, crocheting, or spending time in nature, many people describe these activities as their mindfulness practice. So is mindfulness really unique? Or is it just another well-being activity? In this episode of the podcast, Claire and Victoria explore: ▪️ Why activities like running, ga...

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, Mark Williams responds to community questions from our book club–style discussion of his keynote, "Passing the torch".   Our "Bet...

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, Zindel Segal responds to community questions from our book club–style discussion of his keynote, "Interoception, Body Awareness a...

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, John Teasdale responds to community questions from our book club–style discussion of his keynote, "Understanding Mindfulness – 30...

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking: “I came to mindfulness to feel better… so why am I noticing more?”, then this episode is for you. In Episode 6 of ‘Getting Real with Mindfulness’, Claire Kelly and Victoria Fontana explore a question that comes up again and again in mindfulness courses: What’s the point of noticing if we’re not being asked to fix anything? Together, they reflect on why notic...

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, Kristin Neff responds to community questions from our book club–style discussion of her title, "Mindful Self-Compassion for Burno...

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, Norman Farb and Zindel Segal respond to community questions from our book club–style discussion of their title, "Better in Every...

Join us for "Between the Lines", an online series that brings the mindfulness community together to explore the books, papers, and other resources that have shaped the mindfulness field — alongside the authors and thinkers who created them.   In this insightful session, Mark Williams responds to community questions from our book club–style discussion of his title, "Deeper Mindfulness".   Our "Betw...

In this episode of 'Getting Real with Mindfulness', Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness) and mindfulness teacher Victoria Fontana discuss the question: does mindfulness make you a pushover?   Together they unpack the difference between acceptance and passivity, challenging the idea that mindfulness leads to weakness or compliance. Through real-life examples and reflections from their own work, they h...

In this episode of 'Getting Real with Mindfulness', Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness) and mindfulness teacher Victoria Fontana unpack boredom in mindfulness practice – why it can show up, why it feels so uncomfortable, and how it might actually be a doorway into creativity and awareness.    The function and roots of boredom are explored, including its evolutionary role as a motivator and the neuro...

Have you ever felt like mindfulness just isn’t working for you? In this episode of 'Getting Real with Mindfulness', Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness) and mindfulness teacher Victoria Fontana dive into what is means for mindfulness to 'work'. They explore why expectations matter, what “working” really means, and how shifting from 'shoulds' to a sense of curiosity and patience can be really helpful...

Is mindfulness just fluffy nonsense?! In this episode of 'Getting Real with Mindfulness', hosts Claire and Victoria take on one of the most common misconceptions about mindfulness - that it’s soft, indulgent, or lacking substance. Through personal stories, practical examples, and a touch of neuroscience, they explore how mindfulness is far from fluffy. It’s gritty, challenging, and surprisingly pr...

New Podcast 📢 Getting Real with Mindfulness Ep. 1: "Down and Dirty" with Mindfulness: What We Wish We’d Known In this first episode of Getting Real with Mindfulness, Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness Director of Teaching and Training) and Victoria Fontana (mindfulness and compassion teacher and executive coach) sit down for a candid conversation about what they wish they’d known when they started...

Join us for Chapter 12 "A Life Well Lived”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this final session, Willem explored being “the change you want to see in the world”; within ourselves, our relationships, and our shared world. Through a sample of recordings from characters featured in...

Join us for Chapter 11 "Living Well: Taking Care of Ourselves, Our Relationships and the World”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Willem explored how taking care of ourselves, our relationships and the world are deeply interconnected. Drawing on wisdom fr...

Join us for Chapter 10 “Cool Head and Warm Heart: the Art of Balance and Equanimity”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Willem explored the nature of balance and equanimity to cultivate a cool head and warm heart, weaving in wisdom stories such as ‘The Anc...

Join us for Chapter Eight “Perspective: Changing the View”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Willem explores the theme of perspective. He introduces five tools to support us in shifting our viewpoint: grounding in the body, zooming in and out, ‘time trave...

Join us for Chapter Nine “Responding Wisely”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Willem explored the power of pausing between stimulus and response to support wise responses. He looked at tools we can use in that space such as grounding in the body, using v...

Join us for Chapter Seven “Befriending Our Minds”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Willem explores the foundational attitudes of mindfulness, contemplative traditions, and practices like the befriending practice to consider the concept of befriending you...

Join us for Chapter Six, “How We React to Stress and Difficulties”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Willem Kuyken explores our habitual reactions to stress and challenge through concepts like the 'vicious flower' and 'two arrows of pain and suffering'. W...

Join us for Chapter Five, “Our Most Important Natural Resource: Our “Body-Mind””, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Professor Kuyken discusses the interconnected nature of the body and mind, reframing it as the 'body-mind.' He explores a four-part model to...

Join us for Chapter Four, “Appreciating the Life We Have”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this insightful session, Professor Kuyken illustrated how appreciation is an active skill and a habit that can bring beauty even to life’s complexities. Practical tools included the three-...

Enjoy this conversation between Professors Willem Kuyken and Mark Williams, which took place in October, 2024 in Blackwell's book shop in Oxford, UK as part of the launch of Willem's new book Mindfulness for Life . Hear Willem and Mark discuss what mindfulness for life means, the inner critic and befriending your mind-body and the importance of spending our 'attention budgets' wisely. They also sh...

Join us for Chapter Three, “Coming Home to Our Bodies”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken. In this session, Professor Kuyken shared valuable insights from the third chapter of his new book, Mindfulness for Life, exploring the theme of reconnecting with our bodies. Willem emphasised th...

“How can mindfulness help me if I’m under pressure to stab someone to join a gang?” Mindful Peak Performance (MPP) was founded to answer this stark question and find ways to make mindfulness more accessible to disadvantaged young people. MPP has pioneered an award-winning approach to combining mindfulness with boxing that has been successfully delivered with a range of communities, including young...