8-week online course: Mindfulness for Health & Well-being
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Practice and integrate mindfulness into your daily life from the comfort of your own home in a course that is accessible for mindfulness beginners and suitable for those wishing to refresh and practice their skills. The 8-week course is an internationally recognised programme incorporating approaches from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
It is especially appropriate for helping participants navigate these challenging times.
What will you learn on this course?
- An understanding and recognition of our tendency to live much of life on autopilot and the skills and techniques to help us become more fully present
- Mindfulness practices and skills to help manage stress and enhance wellbeing in your daily life
- An increased ability to relax and cope with difficult and stressful situations
- An ability to be steadier with whatever is happening without resisting it or judging it as good or bad
- Self-compassion and being kinder to all aspects of yourself
- Lessons on how to apply mindfulness to your daily life by after the course has finished
- A link to an online coursebook with audio files specially tailored to the course (which can also be used after the course has been completed)
Is this course for me & how can I do this at home?
The course is suitable for most adults aged 18 and above who want to learn mindfulness as an aid to everyday health and well-being. You will be taught by experienced and qualified teachers in an online group of no more than 20 people, with opportunities to share your experience in smaller 'break out groups'. The focus of the course is experiential rather than theoretical with practices to do in between sessions.
To get the most out of this course you will need a room in your home where you will not be distracted by other people and which can serve as a confidential space.
The course will take place online using the platform Zoom (see further information below to ensure you have the minimum tech requirements). We'll send out guidance for using Zoom when you book and a guide to getting the best out of this course.
The course is a synthesis of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and is led in real time by highly experienced mindfulness teachers. Click the Leaders tab above to find out more about them.
The weekly two-hour sessions provide an in-depth exploration of mindfulness skills and techniques within an internationally tried-and-tested framework, also recognised by the UK's National Institute of Clinical Excellence.
Examples of the meditations you'll be experiencing on this course
Technical requirements
The course will take place using the online platform Zoom. To use Zoom you will need a computer or a phone with a speaker and camera. Full instructions will be sent with your Welcome email when you book.
You can also download the Zoom app here to familiarise yourself with it and make sure it meets your system requirements.
Your mental health
Although mindfulness can be helpful in managing depression and anxiety, our courses and retreats are not recommended for people who are currently experiencing an episode of clinically diagnosed anxiety, depression or other psychiatric illness. We do not offer mindfulness as a ‘clinical intervention', but rather as an aid to everyday health, wellbeing and helping prevent relapse.
As part of your application please complete and return the questionnaire provided, to give the teachers some idea of your level of support and whether the course is right for you at this time. If necessary one of the teachers may ring you to clarify issues, and you also may wish to contact us for clarification if you have any questions.
The 8 week course is also a requirement in order to undertake a mindfulness based teacher training, however the course does not qualify you to teach mindfulness. You will receive a certificate at the end of the course as proof of your attendance (minimum of 6 sessions)
Level of commitment
Mindfulness is a practical skill and a habit, rather than a theory or body of knowledge.
Before signing up for the course it is important to recognise that getting real lasting benefit requires the commitment of regular time and effort. It is similar to getting physically fit – you need to practice regularly to train your ‘mental muscle’.
To get the most from the course we recommend you attend all 8 sessions and carry out the suggested home practice, which is a gentle but regular daily discipline of various meditation and awareness practices, with the help of guidance from carefully tailored audio resources offered by Sharpham Teachers.
We recommend trying to set aside 40 minutes a day, which can be spread around your schedule. You will receive plenty of support for this, including how to fit it into your life. It may seem a stretch at first, but once the habit starts to be established, most people find it invaluable and highly motivating.
After the 8-week course
After undertaking this course, many go on to our Retreats at Sharpham, with accommodation in our Grade 1-Listed Sharpham House or at the Barn Retreat Centre or on our Woodland Retreats to help continue and support their practice
FULLY BOOKED - This course will take place weekly, from 18 January - 15 March 2023, on a Wednesday evening from 7pm-9pm
Half term break on 15 February 2023.
It has been an unforgettable experience for me in so many ways.
To partially quote from 'Prelude' by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, (one of the great poems you shared with us, thank you!) you, Sharpham and the course have become some of "the people and places and practices that offer me the warmth of encouragement I need to unfold" and I have learnt to be able to "recognize and receive" this.
I learnt to be more accepting of how I am. To live more in the present. That worrying over a problem is not the way to solve it
I learnt to be kind to myself when suffering from panic or stress, and using breath to soften feelings.
The course will take place online using the platform Zoom.
Costs
£195.00 per person
Book easily and securely online below, or by phoning 01803 732542
Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy
Limited bursaries are available for those experiencing financial hardship. Please contact our Programme Administrator on [email protected] at least 4 weeks in advance if you wish to apply
Lynne Roberts
Lynne was an NHS physiotherapist for 30 years until she retired due to a long-term health condition. She has been practising mindfulness meditation formally and within everyday life for about 20 years. Her practice came out of her own personal suffering and her ongoing practice has allowed her to flourish since.
She has taught mindfulness within the NHS for staff, to patients with long-term conditions, in education, to carers in the community and to the general public at Sharpham and within other community settings.
Lynne’s training has taken place at Bangor and Exeter University, through Breathworks and the Mindfulness in Schools Project.
She has a deep desire to share the potential this work can offer having gained so much personal benefit and witnessing the support it can give people who commit to this work.
Amanda Tyler
Amanda has had a long-standing interest in meditation and Buddhist practices. Her interest in teaching mindfulness began in 2011 as she came aware of the growing evidence base of the benefits of this practice on our wellbeing and the link to her work as an educational psychologist. Amanda has trained to teach mindfulness with Exeter University and teaches MBSR to adults.
Amanda has trained with the Mindfulness in Schools Project and occasionally works as their trainer on courses for teachers who want to deliver mindfulness to children. Amanda enjoys bringing mindfulness into school settings for teachers and children and values helping teachers to recognise the link between their own mindfulness practice and how this can have a positive impact in the classroom. Amanda has taught mindfulness to over 1000 children in schools. On a personal level Amanda’s mindfulness practice has supported her to be with difficulties that may arise and to notice and appreciate joyful moments and she has a passion for supporting others who wish to learn mindfulness.
How to book easily and securely:
- online on this page
- by phoning 01803 732542
Ring us or email us on [email protected] if you've got any questions.
Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy.
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