mindfulness for
busy modern lives
week by week course outline
Theory:
Introducing the course
Defining guided meditation (guided vs. unguided meditation)
Defining mindfulness
The difference between meditation & mindfulness
Focusing the attention
Automatic pilot mode
How to guide mindful eating
How to guide a body scan
How to lead end of practice enquiry & reflection
The importance of praising effort over outcome
Mindfulness & mental health
How to carry out client enrolment, assessment and orientation
Session starter check-in points
Why position & posture matters
Putting the meditator in control
Meditations:
Mindful Eating
Body scan
Micro Zen:
Brow, Jaw, Shoulders
Grounding into the earth
Theory:
Understanding our breath
The breath and the vagus nerve
Breathwork tools and techniques to anchor us into the present moment
Purposeful breathing vs. observing the breath
How to ‘follow the breath’
How to deal with a mind that constantly wanders during meditation
Tools to acknowledge and release thoughts
Navigating our thoughts
The relationship between moods, thoughts & feelings
The concept of external events being filtered through your personal lens
Using thought to manage thoughts
Meditations:
Breathe & come back
Opening awareness
Micro Zen:
Friendly awareness of breath
Leaves on a stream
Theory:
Modes of mind: Being vs Doing
Bridging the gap between being and doing
Why mindfulness feels like a mini break for the mind
Mindful living
The importance of formal seated practice vs. mindful doing
Mindful walking
Havening
How to guide without forcing relaxation
How to weave self-compassion and loving kindness into your meditations
How do you know if you are doing it right?
Meditations:
OPEN MIC
Mindful movement
The soothing power of touch
Micro Zen:
Five step challenge
Mindful walking
Havening
Theory:
The amygdala hijack
Mindfulness and tempering stress
Mindfulness and its effect on the brain
The 5 different brain waves & mindfulness
Meditation & brain research
Mindfulness and it’s impact on the immune system
The science of self-compassion & kindfulness
The principles of self-compassion
Self-compassion misconceptions
How to open a mindful meditation
How to support someone who falls asleep during meditations
How to support someone who finds self-compassion and self-kindness tough
Meditations:
OPEN MIC
I heart you and me
Classic kindness
Self-compassion
Micro Zen:
Rainbow breath
Cup of calm
Theory:
Understanding our emotional range
Tricky emotions & making friends with the mind
Negativity bias & how mindfulness can help
How to mindfully navigate emotions
Body mapping emotions
Urge surfing
Glimmers
How to close a mindful meditation
How to support someone who can’t connect to sensations in their body
Meditations:
OPEN MIC
It is real to feel
Outside Inside
Micro Zen:
Calming chair
Press re-set on your day
Theory:
Understanding stress
How do you relate to stress?
The exhaustion funnel
The anxiety equation
Reframing stress - mindset matters
How mindfulness can dial down stress
Giving yourself permission to slow down
How to reduce the desire of your meditators to ‘strive’ as you guide them
The importance of letting go of a desired outcome
How to support those that feel overwhelmed when they meditate
How to support those that struggle with kind words and affirmations
How to structure a mindfulness & mediation session
Meditations:
OPEN MIC
Permission to slow down
Micro Zen:
Scavenger hunt
5 healing breaths
Theory:
Mindfulness is not a passive process
The principle of acceptance
Placing acceptance with action
How to guide your meditators towards mindful action; the 3 different action steps
Responding via automatic pilot vs. responding mindfully choosing how to respond
Re-cap of the science of the benefits of mindfulness & meditation
Using scripts to guide & how to progress to find your freestyle flow
Meditations:
OPEN MIC
Coping with Tiredness
Micro Zen:
Mindfulness is as easy as A, B, C!
Sky gazing
Theory:
Exploring barriers to practicing mindfulness
Exploring your personal ‘why’
Making mindfulness a habit
Habit stacking
Exploring the ‘4 tendencies’
The power of gratitude
Mindfulness & children
6 mindful practices for children
Taking your learnings forwards and shaping your own offering
Meditations:
OPEN MIC
Present not perfect
5 times thankful
Micro Zen:
I take meditate because…
Colour your world
We can take this ‘one breath at a time’