Mindfulness
I am an experienced mindfulness practitioner and integrate mindful practices into long and short term counselling where it seems useful
In a nutshell, mindfulness is a process of bringing yourself into the present moment by turning an accepting awareness to your thoughts, feelings and perceptions, often through meditation.
Coming into the present means unhooking our attention from worries about the future or thoughts of the past. In this way we are able to see clearly what is actually happening right now. There is simplicity and peace in the present moment.
How can mindfulness help?
Mindfulness is particularly effective for stress reduction and management of anxiety and panic disorders. It can also help to increase your ability to safely manage the powerful emotions triggered during trauma work or to access emotions where you habitually feel numb.
It supports you to build a kindly and patient attitude towards yourself. This can be particularly helpful if you tend to be very self-critical. Most importantly, over time developing this curious, non-judgemental awareness can lead to greater self-knowledge and insights into ‘how you tick’.
How will it work?
During a session, I can guide and support you to come out of the spin of thoughts – the frequent worrying, planning or obsessing – where so many of us get caught, and to anchor your attention in the body.
Each person is different and so not all practices suit everyone. Together we can explore to find the things that work best for you. I can introduce a variety of mindful practices, such as sitting meditation; mindful movement; the attentive tracking of bodily sensations; and practices that help encourage a kindly attitude to self and other.
Why not have a go with this simple mindfulness of breathing guided meditation?