Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

8-week course

 

I'm really excited to announce my upcoming 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course starting 21st February 2024.

This course serves as a solid introduction to mindfulness. Evidence-based research and personal feedback indicate that MBSR holds the potential to profoundly impact lives through enhancing mood, alleviating physical symptoms, and transforming our relationship with stress.

Over the 8-weeks you will learn:

  • Body scan meditation

  • Breath meditation

  • Open awareness meditation

  • Compassion meditation

  • Walking meditation

  • Mindful movement 

  • The science behind the stress response

  • How we often live life on autopilot and why this can be unhelpful

  • The power of the present moment

  • How to create space to reduce stress 

  • How we respond to difficult situations and what can we do to help

  • Mindful communication

  • Mindful listening

  • Informal mindfulness to use in day to day life e.g. mindful eating

  • How to keep mindfulness alive once the course has finished

This course will help to reduce stress which can be a factor in many health conditions:

  • Chronic pain

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Inflammatory conditions e.g. arthritis, heart disease, IBS

  • Emotional and binge eating

  • Insomnia

  • High blood pressure

  • Peri and menopausal symptoms

  • Many chronic health conditions e.g. CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, Diabetes

Mindfulness can also be a great way to maintain health as we age. For example, several studies suggest that mindfulness meditation can help keep our telomeres (which protect the ends of our chromosomes) healthy, improving longevity.

Mindfulness not only enhances our health but also enables us to embrace a calm, more content life, regardless of our circumstances.

"MBSR can help people to cope with and improve physical symptoms caused by long-term illness." Guys and St.Thomas's NHS trust

The core objective of this MBSR course is to empower individuals to cultivate positive changes in how they respond to stress, ultimately fostering a sense of balance, interconnectedness and joy. While external pressures such as work, family dynamics, relationships or financial concerns may contribute to stress, there are numerous strategies you will learn on this course to offer support. Despite the inevitability of stress and discomfort in life, mindfulness techniques can be harnessed to reduce their impact on our overall wellbeing.

Location: Bighton Village Hall
Day:         Wednesday

Time:       7.00 - 9.00 pm

Dates:     21st February

28th February

6th March

13th March

27th March

3rd April

10th April

17th April 

I try to make the course accessible so I charge for it on a sliding scale:

If you/your household earn more than £45k before tax - £240 (£15/h)

If you/your household earn £20-45k before tax - £180 (£11.25/h)

If you/your household earn less than £20k - £80  (£5/h)

The course is also available by donation - happy to discuss.

Here is a testimonial from my last course:

"We mostly reach out to people like Rebecca when we are feeling at our worst, we take a leap of faith and we hope for some improvement. With Rebecca, the leap of faith is not only justified but is way beyond what you can imagine. Rebecca is such a kind and empathic being that you feel really seen and nourished. She teaches you how to accept what is, while giving you the tools for improvement so her teachings last way longer than the time you are with her and become part of your life. It's extraordinary. Thank you so much Rebecca for helping me find contentment in my being and a complete change of perspective." G.A.

A bit about me...

I am a qualified yoga and mindfulness teacher with over 30 years experience and a certified yoga therapist (NCIP registered). In my twenties I worked in live TV news and then at the BBC making documentaries. It was a very stressful work environment. I am married with three children and a large extended family who definitely offer me lots of opportunities to learn and grow, testing my patience, kindness and stress levels on many occasions. I have also healed from a serious, chronic health condition. I bring all of these life experiences to my teaching.

If you are interested in finding out more I am happy to offer a free no obligation exploratory phone call with you so you can ask questions and find out if the course will be right for you. Please get in touch

 

Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the MBSR programme, describes mindfulness as awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction includes psycho eduction, meditation techniques, gentle yoga and mindful living exercises to help you experience freedom and peace through cultivating self-awareness and compassion.

 

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is a meditation therapy, originally designed for stress management.


“Respond from the center of the hurricane, rather than reacting from the chaos of the storm.”
― George Mumford


Here’s what some of my students have to say about the MBSR experience:

The 8-week mindfulness course was so beneficial to me and has definitely put me on a path of wanting to look after myself better, rest more and appreciate the moments rather than rushing through from one task to another. Rebecca is a fantastic teacher, and the content is far-reaching & full of insights drawn from all areas of life. She has a lovely skill of being able to hold everyone together in the same space, creating a warm, accepting atmosphere, I would highly recommend her course and would do it all over again if I could. - Anna

The results of participating in this class were unforeseeably powerful. It’s hard not to make this sound like a bad infomercial, but the superlatives really do apply. The experience was a re-awakening and re-aquainting with myself for which I will be forever grateful. It’s like being given a chance to see the world anew and fresh. Doing so with Rebecca’s gentle and intuitive guidance was a privilege. Afterwards, I felt as if it would be the most extraordinary gift to give someone because it might be one of those things you didn’t know you needed until it landed in your lap.

Also, whilst I know there is talk of being 'zoom-weary’, this might be an area where zoom is better than being ‘in person’. I loved it for at least three reasons. Firstly, I loved being in the comfort of my own home. Secondly, it fostered a freedom to participate the amount that felt right in the moment and thirdly, being on zoom increased a sense of privacy that allowed me to fully engage in the practice and feel undistracted and safe. - Christina

I entered Rebecca’s course with curiosity and trepidation but how engaging and welcoming she was. I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and even the homework - a time to sit, think and reflect. Of course people don’t think in the same way but it was interesting to hear others thoughts in the kind and friendly group. I particularly enjoyed the body scan as a quick and easy way of relaxing. A great course which I recommend wholeheartedly - thank you Rebecca! - Carole

 

Mindfulness can help you build a better relationship with yourself, others and the world around you.

It will help you feel alive and find meaning and purpose in your life.

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. ”

―Thich Nhat Hanh