ABOUT ME
I took part in my first mindfulness retreat in 2006 and found it difficult! Everyone sitting nearby seemed calm and still, completely focussed on their own breathing or inner peace. Each day I tried not to squirm too loudly or let on that my mind was pin-balling all over the place: anywhere but 'here'. At that time, I didn't think I was fit for meditation but I did like how it made me feel afterwards - clearer and without so much mind chatter - and so kept on going.
Later on, I found this quote. It describes how I can still feel when I sit down to pay attention to what's going on inside: ‘Your mind is a shrieking, gibbering madhouse on wheels barrelling pell-mell down the hill, utterly out of control and hopeless. No problem’. (H. Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English)
The 'no problem' part is why I like practising mindfulness. I might feel sadness, excitement, nerves, joy, rage, a calm mind or (often) a non-stop chattering mind. It seems that tuning in to what's happening in my body and mind in these states means there's more space for whatever's happening. When I do this, there's a feeling of freedom and friendliness towards my experience. This somehow make life easier to navigate.
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In my working life, I first started teaching mindfulness in a high school in 2012. My first class of mindfulness students were a tricky bunch of 14/15 year olds who found lying on the floor doing a 'body scan' both hilarious and a great opportunity for a cushion fight. All my hopes of changing our normal noisy lessons into a peaceful oasis were shattered but it was fun, and a good chance to think about how to teach mindfulness to cynical and busy people.
Teaching it got easier and I set up a 'Mindfulness Strategy' for our school, which meant that, from 2013, all 13/14 year olds took a '.b' mindfulness course as part of their PSHEE classes. I also delivered yearly courses to staff, A-level and other groups of students, and helped other staff train in '.b'. I wrote an article about the work we did at that school here: https://www.ssatuk.co.uk/why-should-schools-have-a-mindfulness-strategy/ .
I now work free-lance delivering mindfulness courses for the public, in workplaces and in schools. Courses can be online or in South Dorset / Hampshire, where I'm based.
I've worked as a mindfulness trainer and freelance consultant for the Mindfulness and Resilience in Adolescence (MyRIAD) project led by the Oxford Mindfulness Centre at Oxford University. I also work on some modules for the Masters programme in Mindfulness at Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP) and have written or helped to write several papers on mindfulness which can be found here. In the past, I have also run MBSR courses for Wiltshire County Council, and delivered courses to staff in different schools.
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I also have two small children which means there can often be real shrieking (or giggling) in the background when I do mindfulness. Sometimes, one or both will come and sit on me when I'm doing a few minutes meditation / pause from parenting. They've made doing mindfulness more important to me. I'm hoping that if I can get to know my own body, mind, and emotions better, and react in ways that are more in line with who I want to be, it might be a good model for them too. My hope is that then we all might be more resilient and better equipped for being in this world.