Back to Being
Unpacking Stress, Low Mood, Anxiety and Pain with Mindfulness
An 8-week course adapted from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) an evidence-based approach to reducing stress, low mood, anxiety and pain combining guided meditation, gentle yoga, neuroscience and stress physiology.
Learn practical mind-body, cognitive and contemplative techniques supported by neuroscientific evidence.
Increase sense of wellbeing by cultivating inner resources to relieve stress and manage pain more effectively.
Fee by donation, and only within your means.
8-week course.
8 x 1.5 hour classes + optional half-day retreat.
20-30 min of daily home practice is a core part of realising the benefits of the course.
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Session 1 - Exploring mindfulness
An introduction to mindfulness and 'being mode' of mind. Using all the senses, including the thinking mind. Exploring how mindfulness and wellbeing intersect.
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Session 2 - Perception
The role of perception in shaping our reality. Learning to be with all experiences, particularly in those moments we perceive as unsatisfactory or even dislike.
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Session 3 - Being 'at home' in the body
The value of 'being' vs 'doing' and the richness of non-doing. Exploring the freedom and connection in a present moment awareness. Developing a different relationship to suffering.
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Session 4 - Stress reactivity
Learning about and experiencing the role of mindfulness in short circuiting the stress reaction cycle. Raising awareness of being stuck in a certain pattern of reactivity.
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Session 5 - Responding to stress
Understanding the role of mindfulness in supporting us to consciously respond, rather than habitually react to stressful experience. Noticing internal and external stressors.
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Session 6 - Difficult communications
Being mindful of how we feel, what we say and our actions. Exploring interpersonal mindfulness and the role of mindfulness practice in stressful communications.
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Session 7 - Taking care of ourselves
Incorporating what we are learning. Raising awareness of the moments, experiences and activities that nourish us vs. those that deplete our energy and increase our stress.
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Session 8 - Keeping mindfulness alive
Maintaining balance in life supported by mindfulness practices. The importance of self-care and the practice of kindness. Finding ways to continue with mindfulness practices.
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All-day retreat
An opportunity to drop beneath the running narrative, the “business as usual” automaticity that often drives our lives. Within the container of silence, and without the usual distractions and demands, you can slow down, appreciate things as they are and not try to 'get anywhere' or 'become anything' over a stretch of time.
Guided by Karim Rushdy
I am a mindfulness practitioner, teacher and facilitator whose personal meditation practice transformed my relationship with chronic pain and led to a profound shift in perspective and personal understanding. Today I spend as much time as possible helping others cultivate their inner resources for growth, healing and transformation.
I am a director at Mindful Peak Performance, a social enterprise using mindfulness to enhance performance and mental wellbeing in elite sport, the workplace and in marginalised communities.
I have trained to teach Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University in the UK. I am a registered member of the British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA) and serve as a Trustee at Breathworks, a leading charity and training organisation that offers mindfulness and compassion based approaches to managing long term pain and illness.
Upcoming Courses
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2 Sep - 21 Oct 2024
6:30-9:00PM (UK Time)
Mondays on Zoom
Day Retreat - 12 Oct
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8 Jan - 26 Feb 2025
7PM-8:30PM (UK Time)
Wednesdays on Zoom
Optional Half-Day Retreat: 9am-1pm on 15 Feb
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14 May - 2 Jul 2025
7PM - 8:30PM (UK Time)
Wednesdays on Zoom
Optional Half-Day Retreat: 9am-1pm on 22 Jun
