Learn to meditate on this nourishing 7-week online course, starting on Wednesday 26 October 2022.
A COURSE FOR INDIVIDUALS (NON-WORKPLACE)
This is for you if you want to…
- learn the basics of mindfulness and meditation
- reduce stress and anxiety
- increase well-being
- feel more centred and calm
- have more tools for navigating difficulty
- tune into yourself more
- take greater care of yourself
- enhance your quality of life
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Course overview
Mindfulness is about being present. Discover the magic of presence on this life-enhancing course.
The course is suitable for complete beginners or those with a little experience.
You will learn about mindfulness and will develop your own mindfulness meditation practice, in a way that is sustainable. This then enables you to live mindfully. This benefits your well-being and enhances your life. The course will cover key aspects of mindfulness that are relevant to everyday life.
This course takes place online, via Zoom, 1 evening a week for 2 hours over a 7-week period. You will be provided with a selection of meditation recordings for use at home.
Each time we meet:
- I will lead you through meditations
- We’ll discuss meditation practice
- I will teach, or lead activities and discussions, on aspects of mindfulness, and living life in a mindful way
It is a course requirement to meditate regularly in between sessions. This is how you will cultivate more mindfulness. I recommend between 10 and 30 minutes per day. You can also apply other course content in between sessions (everyday mindfulness). You will get a chance to share your experiences the following session.
Please note, that mindfulness is experiential, not conceptual. It is a process that is understood through practice and over time. You will embody mindfulness more and more as the course continues. Benefits will emerge naturally in your life as a result of engaging in the meditation and course content.
“Mindfulness means waking up out of autopilot and connecting more deeply with ourselves and our lives.”
Melli O’Brien
Session themes and content
*The course will largely be as described below, but please note that the course has an organic quality and is subject to tweaks.
Session 1 – Stabilising attention in the present moment
- Arriving, course introductions, and connecting as a group
- What is mindfulness and why is it useful?
- Breath meditation
- The basics of meditating, including dispelling meditation myths
Session 2 – Grounding in the here and now
- Body scan meditation
- Gentle movement meditation
- Being in the body versus being in the head
- Reducing stress and anxiety, and feeling centred and calm.
Session 3 – Connection to the moment – for enrichment and for self-care
- Noticing and appreciating what is here externally
- Beginners mind and curiosity
- Connecting to yourself for self-awareness and taking care of your needs
- Witnessing your inner experience with compassion.
Session 4 – Spacious awareness
- Listening meditation
- Open awareness meditation
- Maintaining stability as things come and go
- Our relationship to our thoughts, feelings, impulses, and events
- Seeing patterns and opening to new possibilities
Session 5 – Navigating difficulty with mindfulness
- Befriending our experience
- Cultivating compassion
- Understanding stress reactivity
- Mindfully responding to difficulty
- Holding and processing emotions
Session 6 – Mindfulness meditation extended practice
- An extended period of mindfulness meditation through various practices
- A chance to share on this experience
Session 7 – Being mode
- Mindful attitudes, such as non-striving, letting be, and patience
- Living from a more natural, effortless, and trusting place
- Course summaries and sharing
- Taking your meditation and mindfulness forward
“Mindfulness allows you to experience the world calmly and non-judgmentally. It gives you tremendous perspective. You can sense what is important and what is not.”
Mark Williams
Your course tutor
Hello, I’m Rachael Garside. Mindfulness is a way of being for me and has brought so many benefits into my life. I am delighted to share this with you, so you can experience the benefits, for your life now and for your future.
I first began meditating 17 years ago and am still deeply connected to this practice; I meditate daily. Increased mindfulness has given me so much. It helps me connect to the ‘wow of now’ – the richness, colour and beauty of life. It is the main way that I approach difficult times in my life. It has also provided enlightening personal insight, to help me understand myself more. It is still alive, fresh, and highly relevant to me every day.
I have undergone training with Bangor University to teach mindfulness. I have taught mindfulness courses many times, both in and out of the workplace. In my business, Tall Spaghetti, I also specialise in well-being, resilience, confidence, and personal development. As well as being a trained mindfulness teacher, I am a trained coach and NLP Master Practitioner.
In person coffee
An online course provides certain advantages. Also it’s nice to meet in person. During the course, I’ll arrange a meet up at a Sheffield cafe (I am based in Sheffield) for anyone who would like that, and who lives in Sheffield, or is happy to travel to Sheffield.
Testimonials from Tall Spaghetti mindfulness courses
“Entirely worthwhile. Has completed exceeded my expectations. Have recommended this to many people.”
“It’s given me some fantastic methods to manage stressful situations.”
“Big things have changed in my world as a result of ‘approaching’ rather than ‘avoiding’. I value myself more.”
“Rachael’s sensitivity and awareness of the needs of the group really help people feel comfortable and open.”
“The practice has helped me deal with daily stress and makes me feel more clear and focused afterwards.”
“My general well-being, esteem, relationships & sense of self have enormously improved. I can see palpably how this will continue to have tangible effects across all aspects of life.”
“Rachael is mesmeric to watch as she explains her subject, with such passion, and clear connection to the meaning it has for her – this is very infectious.”
“It has been a wonderful course – life-affirming and making things more enjoyable.”
“Rachael is lovely to listen to and explains things really well from every angle.”
“I feel calmer, have more space to think and am less judgmental. I would recommend this course to anyone without a doubt.”
“Massively helped me reframe and deal with stress. It’s been a life-saver! Thank you.”
“The course has been amazing – everything I’d hoped for and much more.”
“As a result of the course, I’m much more in the present, am not reacting to stress in such a volatile way and am more calm, positive and happy.”
“I’ve probably recommended it to everybody I’ve spoken to in the past weeks and will continue! Worth every penny!”
“I was feeling stressed, uptight and generally dissatisfied with life with no real reason. After the course, I feel much calmer and more content.”
“Can’t really put it into words, but a huge positive benefit. I feel I am much kinder to myself.”
“You have been a wonderful teacher. I really believe this course has changed my life for the better.”
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness arises when you bring your attention to the present moment without judgment, and with kindness and curiosity. It is about being present, aware, in this moment now, connected to what is here externally and internally. And this brings many benefits.
Mindfulness has been known to support people in the following areas (and more):
- Reduced stress/ enhanced well-being
- Improved mood
- Wider perspective
- Increased clarity
- Improved cognitive functioning
- Increased self-awareness
- Authenticity – in tune with yourself
- Improved relationships
- Reduced reactivity
- Improved sleep
- Greater resilience and equanimity
Neuroscience has indicated positive changes in brain structure and function brought about by mindfulness.
To read about the evidence-based benefits of mindfulness, please visit the mindfulness research page of my website.
“Meditation can remodel the brain to strengthen the qualities that psychologists say are crucial components of happiness: resilience, equanimity, calm, and a sense of compassionate connection to others.”
Richie Davidson
Mindfulness meditation can be seen as a form of mind training. On the course, you learn to regulate attention. You also cultivate mindful attitudes, such as compassion, non-judgment, and patience.
Mindfulness helps you be more centred, calm and stable. You discover how to consciously respond in difficult situations, rather than to react automatically.
Mindfulness helps you to see yourself, others and the world with greater clarity and kindness. This enables you to access insights, make wise choices and free yourself from unhelpful habits. You are able to relate to the world more skilfully.
Mindfulness promotes a greater engagement with the present moment and therefore with your life.
Dates and timings
Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm
Starting 26 October 2022 and finishing on 7 December 2022
Cost
Early bird price – £195 – available until 12 October
Price after 13 October – £225
Course registration closes on 20 October
Full course payment secures your place, but if this is not accessible to you and you need to pay in 2 instalments, please get in touch.
If you are interested in attending but are in financial hardship, there are a limited number of reduced-price places available. Please enquire.
Information session
You are welcome to come along to a 30-minute information session. You’ll get a chance to meet me, hear me talk about the course (please note, all the key information is also provided here), and you can ask any questions you’d like.
The information session will take place on Tuesday 4 October at 7pm. Please contact me via the form below to register attendance at this session.
If you are unable to make this information session, but would like to ask me something, please get in touch via the form at the bottom of this page or phone me on 07876 495 968.
Ready to book?
If you are now ready to book on this course and support your own flourishing through mindfulness, then get in touch with me, Rachael, either by filling in this form or calling 07876 495 968.
I’ll then send you out an email with some booking questions. The booking process is to cover some logistics and practicalities. and so we can both be comfortable about the suitability of the course for you at this time. After this, you’ll then be ready to firm up your booking by paying.