8-week m.b.s.r. programme...mindful movement, sitting meditation, and walking meditation. there will...

LETYOURLIGHTSHINEBambooLoftYogaStudio,Omagh

8-WeekM.B.S.R.Programme(MindfulnessBasedStressReduction)

Thursday12thApriltoThursday31stMay,20187pmto9.30pm

RetreatDayonSaturday2ndJune10amto4pm

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we arepowerfulbeyondmeasure.Itisourlight,notourdarknessthatmostfrightensus.Weaskourselves, 'WhoamI tobebrilliant,gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'Actually,whoare younot to be?…Yourplaying small does not serve theworld. There is nothingenlightenedaboutshrinkingsothatotherpeoplewon'tfeelinsecurearoundyou.Weareallmeanttoshine,aschildrendo.Wewereborntomakemanifestthe[LOVE]thatiswithinus. It'snot just in someofus; it's in everyone.Andaswe letourown lightshine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we areliberatedfromourownfear,ourpresenceautomatically liberatesothers.”-MarianneWilliamson

Lifehasawayofthrowinguscurveballs.Justwhenweleastexpectitsomethinghappenstochangethecourseofourlivesandweareoftenleftdismayed,distraughtandbewildered.Mindfulnessisanotherwayofbeing.Itisawayofpayingattentiontolifeexactlyasitisineverymoment.Livinginthepresentmomentconnectsustoourdeepestselves.Wedevelopasenseofclarityandcalmwithinthatkeepsyoufirmlyanchorednomatterwhat.Thisqualityofbeingissometimesreferredtoasresilience.TheMBSRprogrammehasbeenscientificallyproventopositivelyandoftenprofoundlyaffectpeople’sabilitytoreducemedicalsymptomsandpsychologicaldistresswhilelearningtolivelifewithmoreacceptance,compassion,peaceandjoy.Itwillallowyoutoexperienceyourself,justasyouarewithoutjudgementandasyoulearntoembedthepracticesandintegratethemintoyoureverydaylifeyoulearntodrawonyourowninnerresourcestofacewhatevercomesyourwaywithacalmbody,lightheart,quietmindandfreespirit.

TheBenefitsofParticipatinginanMBSRProgramme:• Noticeableimprovementinphysicalandpsychologicalsymptoms• Increasedenergyandenthusiasmforlifeandtheabilitytorelax• Moreself-awareness/compassion/confidence.• Thecapacitytocopewithuncomfortableordistressingsituationsincludingchronicpain.• Agreaterabilitytotrustinyourself,tocommunicatemoreeffectivelyandtoenjoythe

companyofotherswithout,inanyway,needingto‘change’‘improve’or‘mend’theirlives.

Typicallytodaywiththenoiseanddistractionsallaroundusaroundusit’seasytoliveinastateof“mindlessness”-alossofawarenessthatleadstoforgetfulness,asenseoflivingonautomaticpilot,beingconstantly‘busy’or‘onedge’andofnotknowingwhowereallyare.Mindfulness,ontheotherhand,isawayoflearninghowtobewithwhateverthereistobewithwithoutneedingtoavoid,changeorcontrolit.It’sawayofputtingyourselfinthedriverseatofyourownlifesothatyoucanconsciouslyandsystematicallyrecogniseandworkwithyouranxiety,stress,uneaseandthemanychallengesanddemandsofeverydaylife.Mindfulnessissometimesreferredtoas‘heartfulness’or‘soulfulness’.That’sbecauselivinginbalanceasksthatwepayattentiontoallaspectsoftheself-bodyandmind,heartandsoul.Ignitingthelightthatisalreadywithin…Mindfulnessisnotsomethingthatyouwilllearnabout,itisnotasetoftoolstobeacquired.Itisawayofbeing.Itisaboutadoptingpracticesthatenhanceyourlifeandchanginghabitsthatdonotserveyouwell.Allthatyouneedisalreadywithinyou,evenifyouhavetemporarilyforgotten.Eachoneofushas,deepwithinus,thecapacitytobefullypresent,andtheinternalresourcesthatweneedtodealwithwhateverwehavetodealwithasitarises.Practicingmindfulnesswillawakenyoutowhowereallyareandtotheresourcesyoualreadyhavetolivelifetothefull.Whoisthisprogrammefor?Theanswerisanyone…anyonewhowantstolivemorefully,freelyandjoyfully.However,MBSRisparticularlysuitedtopeoplewhowanttoreducestressandanxietyintheirlivesandtohavereliableaccesstopeaceofmind.WhilethepracticeshavebeenadaptedfromclassicalBuddhistmeditationandyogatraditions,MBSRisadeeplyhumanapproachthatoperatesinharmonywithanybeliefsystemorspiritualbackground.Costoftheprogramme:FullRate:£290–thisincludes26hoursoftuition,ahandbookandaccesstoalibraryofresourcesincludingarangeofguidedaudiomeditations.EarlyBirdRate:£265(forthosewhoregisterandpayinfullbyFebruary28th)

CORESESSIONSOFAN8-WEEKMBSRPROGRAMMEORIENTATION:Isthisforme?Thisisanopportunitytogetconnectedandtoaskquestionsorshareanyconcernsthatyoumayhave.Thisisnormallya15to30minutetelephoneconversationwhereyouwilllearnaboutthebenefitsofMBSRandhowitisdistinctfromothermindfulnesscourses.Youwillalsodiscoverhowitcanpositivelyaffectthequalityofyourhealthandwellbeing,reduceyourstressandfreeyoufromdistractingthoughtssothatyoucanbecalm,healthyandhappyinyoureverydaylife.

WEEK1:BeingAwakeInthisfirstsessionyouwillmeetthegroupgetanoverviewofthecourseanddeterminewhatyoumostwanttogetfromitandthepracticesthatwillgiveyouthat.Youwilllearnaboutthebasicpracticesofmindfulnessandhowtoapplytheminyourlife.Youwillbeintroducedtoafewsimplepracticesthatwillhelpyoutocomeoutofautomaticpilotmodeandbecomemorefullypresenttowhateverarisesinthemoment.WEEK2:WaysofSeeingAwarenessandperceptionarethekeystomindfulness.Howweseethingsdetermines,inalargepart,howwerespond.Inthisweek'ssessionyouwillbegintodiscoverthewayyouseetheworldandyournormalreactions.PracticingtheBodyScanandSittingMeditationsyouwillexplorehowtosimplybecuriousaboutyourexperiencesastheyarisewithoutanyneedtofixorchangethemandyouwillseethatbysimplychangingthewayyourelatetothingschangestheeffectsofstressonyourmindandbody.

WEEK3:AtHomeInOne’sBodyInthissession,you'llpracticethefundamentalmindfulnesspracticesMindfulMovement,SittingMeditation,andWalkingMeditation.Therewillalsobetimetoshareyourinsightsandyourexperienceswithintegratingmindfulnesspracticesintoyourdailylife.You’lldiscoverwhatachallengeitisforeveryonetobefullypresentandthepleasureandpowerthereiswhenyoucanenterfullyintothepresentmoment.Youwillalsoexploretheexperienceofpleasanteventsandtheirimpactonyourbody,mindandemotions.WEEK4:StressandMindfulnessThepracticeofMindfulnesscultivatescuriosity,compassionandopennesstothefullrangeofourexperiences.Thisweek,yourpracticewillfocusonthedevelopmentofyourabilitytoconcentrateandexpandyourfieldofawareness.You'lllearnaboutthephysiologicalandpsychologicalbasesofstressreactivity,andexperiencemindfulstrategiesforrespondinginpositive,proactivewaystostressfulsituations.WEEK5:ThoughtsandStressThisweekfocusesontheplaceswhereyoumightbestuckandyou’llbegintorecognisetheunhealthythoughtpatternsthatmaybeholdingyouback.Youwillalsolearnhowtoapplymindfulnessatthecriticalmomentwhenyouexperienceaphysicalsensation,intenseemotionorintrusivethoughtpayingparticularattentiontohowyoureactincertainsituationsandhowthateffectsyourstresslevels.WEEK6:BeingwithDifficultEmotionsThisweek,focusesonthewidevarietyandrangeofhumanemotionsandtheirpurpose.Throughmindfulnesspracticesyouwillexplorehowtocultivateemotionalintelligenceandresilienceanddevelophelpfulcopingstrategies.

WEEK7:MindfulCommunicationThissessionwillexplorethefundamentalsofrelationshipandlooksatwaysofapplyingmindfulcommunicationinchallenginginterpersonalsituationswhencommunicationhasbecomedifficultorfraughtwithstrongemotions.Thiswillbeafunsessionwhereyouwilldirectlyexperienceofavarietyofstylesformoreeffectiveandcreativeinterpersonalcommunication.WEEK8:TakingCareofOneselfToworkwellmindfulnessneedstobeanon-goingpractice.Inthissessionwewillrevieweverythingthathasbeenlearnedsofaranddiscussthemanywaysyoucanintegratemindfulnesssustainablyintoyourlife.You'lllearnhowtomaintainthedisciplineandflexibilityofdailypracticeascircumstanceschangeoverthecourseofyourlife.You'llalsolearnaboutresourcesandsupportsavailabletoyoutohelpyoucontinuetointegrate,learn,andgrow.ALL-DAYRETREAT–FoodfortheJourneyThisday-longguidedretreatwillbeawayofcompletingtheprogrammeandgettingtoknowothergraduatesofpreviousBambooLoft,MBSRprogrammes.Thisretreatisnormallyledinaspiritofcommunityandquiet,makingthebestofthebeautifulnaturalsurroundingsofGlenhordialFarm.Itisintendedtoassistyouinfirmlyembeddingallofthepracticesofthecoursesothatyoucandrawonthemfarbeyondtheconclusionoftheprogramme.ThehighlightofallofourMindfulnessRetreatsisthe‘BringandShare’lunchthatinvariablyturnsintoabanquetinbrightsunshine!

TeachingMethodsTheMBSRprogrammeisparticipatory.Theaimisthatovertimethegroupbecomesacommunityofsupportandbelonging.Fromtheverybeginningattentionispaidtocreateahighleveloftrustandconfidentiality.Whilethereissometeaching,mostoftheworkisdonethroughexperientiallearning,mindfulconversationsanddelicious‘mindfulnesscake’attheendofeveryevening!

ABOUTTHEMBSRTEACHERMARIAGARVEYhasbeenengagedintheworkoftransformationandhumanresilienceinmanydifferentcontexts.Shehasdesignedanddeliveredtraining,retreatsandworkshopstoindividuals,organizationsandcommunitygroupsbothnationallyandinternationally.Mariaisanexperiencedmindfulnesspractitionerandteacherandovertheyearsshehasaccompaniedmanyindividuals,groups,organizations,communitiesandchurchesthroughdifficulttransitionsusingmindfulnessbasedandothertransformationalapproaches.