MINDFULNESS

The Oxford Mindfulness Center defines mindfulness as, "The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, with compassion, and open-hearted curiosity. Through cultivating mindful awareness, we discover how to live in the present moment, rather than brooding about the past or worrying about the future."

Jon Kabat-Zinn - Reflections on Mindfulness

The Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society is a visionary force and global leader in mind-body medicine. For thirty years, they have pioneered the integration of mindfulness meditation and other approaches based on mindfulness in traditional medicine and health through patient care, academic medical research and vocational training, and in society in general through various outreach initiatives and public service. Jon Kabat-Zinn talks about how mindfulness can change your life.

Jon Kabat-Zinn - What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness expert Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines "What is mindfulness?" and discusses the hard work and rewards of practicing mindfulness.

10 Minutes of Mindfulness

Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment.

Mindfulness - Youth Voices

This video features youth and young adults discussing their experiences practicing mindfulness, and how mindfulness has benefited different aspects of their lives. The video also features youth practicing mindfulness, and includes insights from a health professional and mindfulness teacher.

Mindfulness in Schools Project - .b Curriculum

.b, pronounced [dot-be], is the UK’s leading mindfulness curriculum for 11-18 year olds in schools. .b stands for ‘stop and be’, a simple practice at the heart of this ten lesson course.

Each .b lesson (between 40 minutes and 1 hour) is expertly crafted for use in the classroom to teach a distinct mindfulness skill. The .b materials are designed to engage even the most sceptical of young minds.

An introduction

An introductory lesson persuades young people that mindfulness is worth learning about by making it relevant to their lives.

Lesson 1 – Playing Attention

Introduces students to this thing we call our “attention” which, like a puppy, needs to be trained.

Lesson 2 – Taming the Animal Mind

Explores different mind states and teaches that ‘anchoring’ attention in the body, alongside the cultivation of curiosity and kindness, can be calming and nourishing.

Lesson 3 – Recognising Worry

Explains the tricks our mind plays that lead to stress and anxiety, and gives us techniques to deal with them.

Lesson 4 – Being Here Now

Comes to the heart of mindfulness and teaches us how to respond, rather than react, to whatever happens in our lives.

Lesson 5 – Moving Mindfully

Shows us that mindfulness is not just something we do sitting or lying down. It also looks at high performance in sport.

Lesson 6 – Stepping Back

Offers us a new way of relating to our thoughts. We don’t have to let them carry us away to places we’d rather not be.

Lesson 7 – Befriending the Difficult

Deals with the greatest challenge of all: dealing with difficult emotions.

Lesson 8 – Taking in the Good

Focuses on gratitude and the ‘heartfulness’ of taking in & savouring what is ‘good’ in life.

Lesson 9 – Pulling it Altogether

Consolidates the key techniques from .b and inspires students to use what they have learned in the future. Students of .b are encouraged to try mindfulness practices at home. To support this, MiSP has made a webpage, optimised for mobile devices, which contains the full guided animations and sound files for practicing these 10 lessons.

Frantic World

This website has lots of free meditation resources, based on the book 'Mindfulness a Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World' by J. Mark G. Williams and Dr. Danny Penman.

All of the meditations on this page are taken from the book ‘Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World’. The book contains the complete 8 week mindfulness course developed at Oxford University. The sound files can take 10-20 seconds before they begin to play.

7 Cups of Tea Mindfulness Exercises

Click on the title above to access a number of different mindfulness exercises designed to promote mental well-being and a state of relaxation.