Today I did the week 7 module of my online MBSR course — getting close to the end — of the 8 week program itself — then I’ll learn the teaching skills and a bit of theory This week we are taking what we’ve been learning and applying these practices…

In week 6 of my MBSR course we’re becoming aware of how we communicate with both ourselves and others, and when difficulties arise, how we can use mindfulness skillfully to help with that situation. This week’s practices are yoga: either standing or lying down; the breath and body practice, and…

I’m starting week 5 of my Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course. The focus this week is that we can choose how we respond to stress instead of automatically reacting and going into doing mode and deal with the stress in a different way — which is getting into ‘being’…

It’s week 4 of my online Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course — which means I’m halfway through the program. We’ve moved on to more ‘advanced’ practices of yoga and a body and breath practice. That’s the homework for this week. I’m not sure exactly what the advanced standing yoga practice…

Week 3 of my online Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course has started. I’m a very impatient person, so it’s taking a lot of self control not to just do a couple days of each week before moving on to the next week! But I know if I did that, I…

If you’re interested in Mindfulness and Mental Health, then hopefully you’re following this publication — because that’s what it’s all about! And I recently created a companion Facebook group which I wrote all about here if you’re interested in joining that: Welcome To The Mindful Mental Health Facebook Group! please join and help spread the word!medium.com But for those who aren’t a huge fan of…

Today I started week 2 of my online Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course and we were invited to do the standing yoga practice again that we did in week one that were a bunch of simple, basic yoga poses (firstly just mountain pose (and then with arms up in the…

I recently enrolled in an online course to learn about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and teach it, in order to add it to my mindfulness and mental health toolbox that I’m growing and expanding so I can help other people support themselves on their mindful mental health journeys. Mindfulness Based…

I recently listened to a podcast from Ten Percent Happier, the meditation app. A couple of weeks ago they did a 5 part podcast series speaking to the Dalai Lama about…well, lots of stuff — like wholeheartedness. …

If you’ve ever wanted to help others who might be struggling with mental health issues and promote mental health wellbeing, you might want to consider taking a course in mental health first aid. The thing about mental health first aid, aka being a mental health ambassador, is you don’t have…

I’ve signed up for The Best Year of Your Life Summit for the 3rd year (possibly the third year in a row? I can’t recall when I did the last two years because Covid has made time strange). It’s a 10 day summit that started on January 11th and goes…

You’ll be proud of me (or probably not, I’m sure you don’t care one wit about me, really!). But I’m proud of me! The other day I wrote about my weird habit of procrastinating on the most minor of things (but not procrastinating on the bigger things that most people…

Maybe it’s just me. But I’m sure it isn’t. I tend to put off things that other people would probably be like ‘that’s not a big deal!’, and putting it off, and off, and off. …

This year, I’d like to explore more about wellbeing and mental health and …happiness and just…overall, how to live your best life (as cliché and millennial that sounds). The last 5 or 6 years I’ve been interested in this focus, and I’ve read and watched various media about these themes…

If that title is confusing, read on! — 2022. Another year has gone by. It seems, in the blink of an eye. This isn’t supposed to be a poem, yet it’s started out rhyming. I’m finding that probably more amusing than I should because I’m tired. This first week back to work so far after have time off…

Are you planning on doing that too? — For the past 6 months or so, I’ve been doing my ‘What If’ pieces daily (with the odd other piece thrown in here and there). They’re writing prompts from Scenario Cards my husband got me for last Christmas and birthday. But I’ve decided to take a break from posting them…

Last week I created a new Facebook group (that anyone is welcome to join — just click on the link right next to this!) called Mindful Mental Health, as an adjunct to this publication on Medium. And even though it’s a private group, I thought it could be fun/interesting to…

Please join and help spread the word — It’s that time of year again…when people start thinking of aspects of themselves they want to work on or improve or maybe even just start to take care of. Well, what better way than starting with your mental health! Some of you may know I run the Medium publication Mindful…

I don’t have a voice. I don’t mean that figuratively or metaphorically, I mean it literally, at the moment. I’m sick and I’ve currently lost my voice. Which got me thinking: in today’s world, we don’t really need to use our voices much anymore, do we? We speak with our…

By Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry — Have you experienced trauma at some point in your life? I believe that most (if not all) of us experience some form, at some point in our lives. It kind of comes with the territory of being human, I think. Life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine and unicorns, as much…