Wendy Harvey
Mindfulness Courses
Eight Week Mindfulness Courses and Mindfulness Practice Days
I offer 8 week Mindfulness Courses and Mindfulness Practice Days in Hereford for small groups.
How the 8 Week Mindfulness Courses started:
John Kabat Zinn, an American doctor who practised Buddhist meditation, realised that his sick patients were likely to benefit from this themselves. He devised an 8 week course which presented the traditional Eastern meditation practices, in a style and language which would be more readily acceptable to Westerners, known as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. (MBSR) In the UK a group of psychologists adapted the courses to their own therapeutic approach and called this Mindfulness Based Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy. (MBCT). Much research has since been done on the mental and physical benefits of practising mindfulness and in the UK it is now one of the treatments recommended for Depression by NICE (the National Institute of Clinical Excellence). The success of the courses led to them being taken up worldwide and now mindfulness courses are widely available.
Mindfulness courses have been taught in many contexts, including business organisations, schools and colleges, hospices and health centres. A public discussion has arisen about the effect of teaching mindfulness as a secular approach, divorced from its original roots in spiritual traditions. and their ethical guidelines. Mindfulness has been an important part of Buddhist teachings for centuries, alongside the transmission of other aspects of a spiritual path, such as considering ethical guidelines and cultivating qualities such as compassion, kindness, generosity, non-harming and fundamental respect and care for all beings. As someone who has an established Buddhist meditation practice developed over about 40 years, I have found the Buddhist teachings to be invaluable and transformative and the way I share mindfulness has inevitably been influenced by this.
People from other spiritual traditions can benefit from practising mindfulness because it is a universal approach and not a religious one i.e. there are no absolute beliefs, or the requirement to worship in a particular way. Each person's practice is, in a sense, their own voyage of discovery in becoming aware of, at peace with and learning from their own lived experiences, moment by moment as they move through life.
Who can benefit from the courses
Anyone who would like to find a way of developing their spiritual awareness and living more fully, effectively and calmly. A commitment to coming regularly to the weekly sessions and to home practice is important. No previous experience of meditation is necessary and people who have benefitted from these courses have come from all kinds of backgrounds.
The course can be done as part of a group from anything to two to six participants or on a one-to-one basis.
It is best to do the course when your life is in a reasonably stable place, so that you can give it your full attention and commitment. If you have any uncertainties about this do please phone me and I can talk it through with you.
I will be happy to talk about any queries you may have, either about doing the course or during the course.
What happens on an eight week mindfulness course?
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The courses are experiential which means that the emphasis is on practising mindfulness rather than just learning about it from an intellectual perspective. In each session different ways of being mindful are introduced as guided practices and we also look at how mindfulness can be practised informally in everyday life. There is time to share experiences and to explore what comes up. What is talked about in the group is confidential but there is no need for anyone to refer to personal situations as we are cultivating different ways of relating to our experiences, rather than going into the content of the experiences themselves. The group is usually felt to be a safe place to be in, where respect and care for each other's differences and ways of being is valued.
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Home practice is an important part of the course and participants are asked to commit to doing daily mindfulness meditation practice for the duration of the course with the help of a set of recorded guided practices. In this way by the end of the 8 week course each person can have a good sense of how to practise and how this can benefit them and can then choose to go on developing a mindful way of living in their own time and way.
The cost per person of 8 week group mindfulness courses:
The cost per person of a group course is normally £200. (This may vary if the course is offered for specific groups or venues).
The cost includes 8 weekly 2 hour sessions, access to guided mindfulness meditations, and a course workbook.
For one-to-one, or small group 8 week courses the costs are on a sliding scale on a pro rata basis of £60 per hour for my time which works out as:
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1 to 1: £90 per session for 8 x one and a half hour sessions. (£720)
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For 2 people : £360 total per person for 8 x one and a half hour sessions).
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For small groups for 8 x 2 hour sessions : 3 people: £320 per person / 4 people: £240 per person / 5 people: £200 per person
A non-refundable deposit of £40 is requested at time of booking.
The balance of payment for the course is payable at the first session. Participants are asked to pay for the course as a whole at this point and cannot be re-imbursed for any missed sessions, or for sessions not attended because of dropping out of the course.
Payment in instalments is possible by negotiation if payment in advance is not possible because of financial difficulties.
Please contact Wendy to enquire about courses.