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When times get hard – effective leaders practice compassion
Compassion is not a virtue – it is a commitment. It’s not something we have or don’t have – it’s something we choose to practice. There is no escaping the NHS crisis narrative at the moment. It includes a cocktail of the enduring legacy of Covid, high levels of stress and burnout for staff resulting in people leaving the NHS, alongside pay disputes and industrial action. The cost of living crisis is also taking its toll, increasing demand on social care and the third sector and putting more pressure on already overstretched services and capacity. These are complex issues with…
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New mindfulness course for Black, Asian and People of Colour
We are making mindfulness training available to diverse communities that are underrepresented within mainstream NHS services. At the end of last year, with local organisation MindOut, we ran the eight-week mindfulness course for LGBTQ participants. At the beginning of this year, we started a ten-week trauma-informed adapted course for asylum seekers and refugees, in collaboration with local organisations, particularly the Network of International Women in Brighton & Hove. And in the Spring, we plan to run a culturally relevant version of mindfulness-based inclusion training for Black, Asian and People of Colour communities starting with a taster on 29 March. Find…
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“How mindfulness helps me” by Robert Marx
Quite often we promote mindfulness as a way of feeling less stressed, less depressed, less anxious, less self-punishing. We gather ourselves around the breath, pause and let our parasympathetic nervous system activate, returning to being the self that we like being, the one that can be more grounded, calmer, kinder. I can breathe into that gnarly little knot I have become in that moment of aggravation and open to a bigger space – and feel better. But actually, I also appreciate the practice for opening up a space that lets me feel worse. In my haze of avoidance and reactivity,…
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Train to teach Mindful Self-Compassion
Are you interested in teaching mindful self-compassion? Why not join our six-day foundation course, and learn in the beautiful surroundings of the Ammerdown Retreat Centre, near Bath. Based on pioneering research by Kristin Neff and integrated with the clinical perspective of Christopher Germer, mindful self compassion teaches the core principles and practices that enable participants to respond to difficult emotions with care and understanding. The three key components of self-compassion are self-kindness, a sense of common humanity, and balanced, mindful awareness. Kindness opens our hearts to suffering, so we can give ourselves what we need. Common humanity opens us to…