Prof. Mark Williams and Danny Penman, Oxford Mindfulness Centre, created this programme to be effective and accessible to those who may not have the time to complete the full MBSR or MBCT courses. Based on the core principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), weekly sessions and daily home practice requirements are shorter and may be considered less intensive. It’s a sound introduction to making mindfulness part of your everyday wellbeing! 

Those who complete this course often choose to deepen their mindfulness learning by continuing with the MBSR programme or taking retreats to continue to grow and sustain mindfulness as a core part of their wellbeing. 

Read on to learn more about the benefits and the themes of each of the lessons.  This course can also be made available to groups (e.g. community or work) who may wish to commission a course to support their health and wellbeing initiatives.

Each class is 1.5 hours and you will learn mindfulness in highly practical – and even fun – ways.  The course may be offered in 6* or 8 sessions and includes: 

• the full range of mindfulness meditation practices: from focused attention on the breath and the body to more open attention and working with thoughts and feelings in helpful ways and in everyday activities such as walking, eating, listening and speaking.
• how to break hold of unhelpful habits of behaviour, thoughts and emotions and impulses that arise from these.
• the nature of stress and how we can self-regulate our mood, with practice becoming skilled at pausing, noticing our reactions and choosing how we respond in the face of challenges that we meet in our everyday lives
• about patterns of worry and negative self-talk that often increase our stress reactions and how we can counter this with attitudes of kindness, curiosity and acceptance
• how to bring mindfulness into our communications and relationships in helpful ways
• practical self-care actions that help us to flourish and thrive rather than settle and strive without satisfaction

As with all new skills, it takes practice and some effort to make time for exploring our experience in this new way. Learning in this systematic way, with a guide and friendly companions along the way is shown in research to have the best outcomes for our health and wellbeing.

*6-session format includes key elements of sessions 6-7-8 across sessions 5-6.