21AUT55 Mindfulness-based Practices for Teacher Wellbeing

 "Mindfulness-based Practices for Teacher Wellbeing".

With growing evidence of the neural and physiological health benefits of mindfulness-based practices, it's no wonder it has become vital for many teachers’ self-care. With the most recent clinical trials showing that mindfulness-based practices have been effective in reducing: stress, anxiety, pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and high blood pressure. Meditation and mindfulness have also been shown to: improve attention, aid in experiencing difficult emotions and thoughts, decrease job burnout and improve sleep (Mayo Clinic 2020). 

Everywhere we look we find more and more evidence that practicing mindfulness can lead to positive outcomes, but how and when can we actually practice it with our busy schedules, timetables, classes and personal lives? 

Contrary to popular belief, mindfulness is not: having no thoughts or attempting to achieve a blank state of mind, an attempt to rid the mind of unwanted thoughts or experiences, only focussing on the positives in our lives, or achieved through sitting crossed-legged. Rather, mindfulness is “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally” (Jon Kabat-Zinn, Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction). In other words, we can achieve a mindful state by focussing and paying attention to the present moment, bringing awareness to the task or activity we are doing, and still reap all the wonderful benefits mentioned above. This course is primarily based on Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), using both approaches to inform key mindfulness-based practices to support your mental health and overall wellbeing. This course will provide you with simple mindful practices and approaches which you can easily integrate into your everyday life so that you too can reap the benefits of living mindfully.

 A link to join the zoom will be emailed to you (in advance) on the day of the zoom meeting.