An Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation 4-Week Course — Hamilton

An Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation 4-week course. Each class is one hour, once per week. This course is practical, non-religious and designed for beginners. The course includes

• 4 classes with an experienced mindfulness trainer
• 4-week subscription to the full version of the CALM app
• Downloadable guided mindfulness meditations for you to keep
• A 45-page guidebook

“Using mindfulness to help me better manage unrelenting anxiety, obsessive worrying & sadness. I have found that using the apps is helpful when having a stressful day, & I intend to keep practicing daily. Thank you.” — Cecily Wilson

Mindfulness means “paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” — Jon Kabat Zinn (Professor of Medicine Emeritus Stress Reduction Clinic and the Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine).

The benefits of regular mindfulness are…

✔ Reduced stress and anxiety

✔ Improved sleeping patterns

✔ Less self-judgement and more self-acceptance

✔ Greater feelings of joy and freedom

✔ Improved mental health

✔ Effective ways to work with difficult thoughts and emotions

“Mental Health Foundation mental health promoter Grant Rix says mindfulness has been shown to benefit our brains to such an extent that we can feel calmer, more aware, have an increased ability to focus and concentrate, remember things better and feel happier.” — NZ Mental Health Foundation Press Release July 2012

✔ Full length 4-week course so you can practise and report back.

✔ No risk money-back guarantee; if you attend all the classes and don’t feel you have received any benefit get your money back.

✔ Includes 4-week subscription to the premium version of the CALM mindfulness and meditation app.

✔ New Zealand’s number one mindfulness course.

✔ Exclusive 45-page guidebook including weekly assignments, indepth articles and a reading list.

✔ Over 15 guided downloadable guided meditations for you to keep.

✔ No religion. No dogma. No funny positions. Practical and non-religious course.

✔ Designed for absolute beginners

Week 1: What is Mindfulness?

• What mindfulness is
• The benefits of mindfulness and meditation
• Guided body scan mindfulness meditation.

Week 2: Working with the Mind

• Why thinking can be problematical
• Practical ways to work with difficult thoughts
• Self-judgement and how to intervene
• Guided mindfulness meditation — counting the breath.

Week 3: Working with Emotions

• What are emotions?
• Learning to feel emotions
• The RAIN method
• Non-judgement and acceptance
• Guided mindfulness meditation on feelings.

Week 4: Radical Acceptance

• What it means to be present
• How "wanting things to be different" causes stress
• Developing wisdom and insight
• Authentic self-compassion
• Open awareness guided mindfulness meditation
• Next steps.

YOUR FACILITATOR IS BLAIR BOWKER

For the last 25 years my passion for kayaking and exploring has taken me around the world. It was during these travels, back in 1996, that I first came into contact with meditation and mindfulness in Kathmandu, Nepal, where I attended my first 30 day meditation retreat – the first of many. Hooked, I spent the next several years in India learning the art of meditation under various teachers.

My deep interest in how meditation could be more fully integrated into my daily life took me around the world practising meditation and living in retreat centres. I spent two years living at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts, USA, set up by Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, where I studied with a variety of teachers as well as doing longer meditation retreats for up to two months.

I practised mindfulness for 15 years, yet something was still missing. Somehow deep patterns remained unmoved. This drew me to Psychosynthesis, a holistic therapy with mindfulness at its heart. Working with a Psychosynthesis therapist, I started to uncover these patterns and drives and integrate what I had learnt through meditation.

Some of my other working background includes setting up and running projects for isolated and homeless youth, training organisations in social networks and communication, life coaching, and working within the mental health sector. I also work with sports teams and athletes, teaching them mindfulness to help improve their performance.

I am a qualified counselor working in private practice and training as a Psychosynthesis psychotherapist with the Institute of Psychosynthesis New Zealand. I have also just recently completed an eight-week Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) course with Dr Russ Harris and regularly attend workshops and courses so I can continue to better myself and stay updated with the latest research and practices.

I aim to help people transform and accept themselves deeply. I am interested in how we can be fully alive and present to all of life, even its challenges, while staying connected to a sense of ease.

My website is at Mindfully Alive.

Mindfulness Works is the largest mindfulness training organisation in New Zealand. Over 15,000 people have completed the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation 4-week course

Mindfulness Works is committed to:

• Providing accessible and affordable mindfulness courses.
• Offering a diverse range of experienced and skilled mindfulness trainers.
• Providing courses in a practical format with exceptional supporting resources.
• Improving the mental health of all of us and fostering self-love in all.
• Supporting our facilitators with options for further professional development.