Live Well with Mindfulness (MBSR) participant page

Welcome to our private participant page.  Here you will find resources to support each weekly session, including guided meditations.

Session 1

Here is the guided Body Scan meditation:

Here is the guided Chocolate Meditation:

The 7 Mindful Attitudes:

Non-judgement
We constantly generate judgements about what we see and experience, labelling them as
‘good’ ‘bad’ or ‘neutral’. Judging locks us into mental patterns…. for example, during mindfulness practice we may experience “I’m not enjoying this”, “Not sure I’m doing this right” or ”I don’t think this is working” . Mindfulness helps us to become aware of, and recognise, these automatic judgements – and just notice. We learn to suspend judgement – of ourselves and others – and just watch what comes up.

Patience
Patience is a form of wisdom. A child may try to help a butterfly emerge by breaking open its chrysalis. As adults, we know this process can’t be hurried and the butterfly will emerge in its own time. Through mindfulness, we gain the wisdom to understand and accept that things can only unfold in their own time. We learn not to rush through the
present moment, just to get to ‘better’ ones.

Beginner’s mind
We often let our beliefs about what we ‘know’ prevent us from seeing things as they really are. Mindfulness helps us to cultivate an approach of viewing things as if we are seeing them for the first time ever. This offers us new richness and insights, and helps us to be receptive to fresh possibilities, as we are not stuck in the rut of our own perceived
expertise.

Trust
Through mindfulness, we learn to develop a basic trust in ourselves and in our feelings. It is better to trust in our intuition and our own authority, even if it means making a few ‘mistakes’ along the way, than to always look outside of ourselves for guidance. If something does not feel ‘right’ to you, then why not honour that feeling? Mindfulness
enables you to take responsibility for being yourself and learning to listen and trust in your own being. The more you trust in your own being, the easier you will find it to trust other people.

Non-striving
The best way to get to where you want to be is to focus carefully on seeing and accepting things as they are from moment to moment, rather than striving for results. Through mindfulness, we intentionally cultivate an attitude of non-striving and simply paying attention to what is happening. You will find that movement towards your goals unfolds and takes place by itself.

Acceptance
We often spend a lot of time and energy denying and resisting what is already fact. Acceptance means seeing things as they actually are, right here and now. In mindfulness we cultivate this willingness to see things as they really are – then make choices to act appropriately. You are much more likely to know what to do and act with conviction when
you have a clear picture of what is really going on in the present moment.

Letting go
Our minds often want to hold on to certain thoughts, feelings and situations. If these are pleasant, we cling onto them to try and prolong the positivity they bring us. Similarly, if they are unpleasant we try and get rid of them and push them away, to protect ourselves from their negativity. In mindfulness, we intentionally put aside the tendency to cling on to some things and reject others. We simply observe our experience just as it is in this present moment. We recognise these thoughts, feelings and situations – accepting what is here, not pursing them and just letting them go.

Attitudinal Foundation of Mindfulness Practice – from “Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Session 2

Here is the guided Short Body Scan meditation:

Here is the guided Affectionate Breathing meditation:

Session 3

Here is the guided Mindful Movement practice:

Here is the guided 3 Minute Breathing Space:

Here is the guided Sounds and Thoughts meditation:

Session 4

Here is the guided Body and Breath meditation:

Session 5

Here is the guided COPING Breathing Space:

Session 6

Here is the Mountain Meditation – guided and recorded beautifully by Steve.  Enjoy!

Many thanks to you Steve, from the whole group!

Session 7

Here is the guided Loving Kindness practice: