Mindfulness Resources

"How do I use mindfulness in my life?"

You don't need to spend hours meditating to feel the benefit of mindful awareness.

We offer practical ways and micro-moments for you to apply Sharpham teachings in your everyday life - whether you're new to mindfulness or a meditation 'pro'.

Plus our style of mindful awareness includes the natural world we inhabit, bringing in nature's soothing influence.

Mindfulness tips from The Sharpham Trust

1. Micro-Moments of nature mindfulness

Giving yourself 60 seconds of calm can shift your nervous system. Next time you’re outside, pause and tune into something natural: the sky’s colour, the texture of a leaf, the breeze over your skin.

These mini-rituals remind us that nature is available to us everywhere, and can act as a refuge of grounding and coming back to ourselves.

2. Integrate mindfulness into what you are already doing

Turn your commute into a practice rather than a chore.

Zone in (instead of out) with your cuppa, noticing the steam coming off the cup, the warmth as you drink it. Each time you have a moment between two things, instead of doom-scrolling or mentally jumping ahead to your to-do list, bring attention to your breath, the sensations in your body or the ambient soundscape around you.

3. Family-friendly ‘two-minute arrivals’

For parents racing between nursery drop-offs and meetings, a full meditation session may feel impossible. Instead, try a two-minute arrival wherever you land: the car seat, the kitchen, the office chair.

Feel your body, take three slow breaths, and name what’s present: tiredness, tension, warmth, relief. This builds emotional regulation in short, effective bursts.

4. Community-based moments

If carving out an hour in your week is possible, meditation with others is a great way to support your mindfulness practice.

If you can’t attend a session in person and you’re looking for more flexibility there are great online options - including these on the Sharpham Trust website: www.sharphamtrust.org/weekly-sit 

5. Consider joining a retreat

Joining a nature-based mindfulness retreat can be a golden opportunity to focus on meditation and mindfulness, a deep dive that can not only help you retreat from the busyness of daily life, but also strengthen the ‘mindfulness muscle’ that you can easily weave into your life post-retreat.

With any change we are wanting to make in our lives or our minds, we need to be careful not to push ourselves too hard or fast, making mindfulness another thing on our to-do list or yet another thing we can fail at. Start with what feels manageable, and remember to be kind to yourself.

Just as in meditation, our minds wander and we gently and lovingly bring our attention back, so too with a mindfulness practice. If you have a break in your practice, don’t throw in the towel. If you haven’t practised for a while, know that you can return to it at any moment.

Meditation and nature are so forgiving – they’ll welcome you back any time. See Sharpham’s nature-based retreats here: www.sharphamtrust.org/retreats 

These tips were curated by Tasha Bassingthwaighte, manager of The Barn retreat centre, one of The Sharpham Trust’s popular meditation retreat venues on the banks of the River Dart, near Totnes, in South Devon, UK.

Listen to or download Sharpham Trust meditations and audio to help you in your daily life. We've sorted them into playlists to help you navigate your way through them - scroll down this page for more.

To download to your own device, click on the meditation you want, then click the down-arrow icon in the top right corner of the player.

Meditations to listen to or download

Recordings of meditations from our weekly online sits

Barn meditations to listen to or download

Body scan meditations to listen to or download

Talks on Buddhism, mindfulness & meditation practice