Online Course: 8-week Mindfulness for Health & Well-being

Wonderful course, really transformative experience. Can thoroughly recommend
   
  - a participant on a previous Sharpham Trust course

What you'll experience on this course:

• An understanding and recognition of our tendency to live much of life on autopilot and the skills and techniques to help us become more fully present
• Mindfulness practices and skills to help manage stress and enhance wellbeing in your daily life
• An increased ability to relax and cope with difficult and stressful situations
• An ability to be steadier with whatever is happening without resisting it or judging it as good or bad
• Self-compassion and being kinder to all aspects of yourself
• Lessons on how to apply mindfulness to your daily life by after the course has finished 
• A link to an online coursebook with audio files specially tailored to the course (which can also be used after the course has been completed)

What you need to know:

The course is suitable for most adults aged 18 and above who want to learn mindfulness as an aid to everyday health and well-being. You will be taught by experienced and qualified teachers in an online group of no more than 20 people, with opportunities to share your experience in smaller 'break out groups'. The focus of the course is experiential rather than theoretical with practices to do in between sessions.

To get the most out of this course you will need a room in your home where you will not be distracted by other people and which can serve as a confidential space.

The course will take place online using the platform Zoom (see further information below to ensure you have the minimum tech requirements). We'll send out guidance for using Zoom when you book and a guide to getting the best out of this course. 

The course is a synthesis of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and is led in real time by highly experienced mindfulness teachers. Click the Leaders tab above to find out more about them.

The weekly two-hour sessions provide an in-depth exploration of mindfulness skills and techniques within an internationally tried-and-tested framework, also recognised by the UK's National Institute of Clinical Excellence. 

Examples of the meditations you'll be experiencing on this course

Your mental health

Although mindfulness can be helpful in managing depression and anxiety, our courses and retreats are not recommended for people who are currently experiencing an episode of clinically diagnosed anxiety, depression or other psychiatric illness. We do not offer mindfulness as a ‘clinical intervention', but rather as an aid to everyday health, wellbeing and helping prevent relapse.

As part of your application please complete and return the questionnaire provided, to give the teachers some idea of your level of support and whether the course is right for you at this time. If necessary one of the teachers may ring you to clarify issues, and you also may wish to contact us for clarification if you have any questions.

The 8 week course is also a requirement in order to undertake a mindfulness based teacher training, however the course does not qualify you to teach mindfulness. You will receive a certificate at the end of the course as proof of your attendance (minimum of 6 sessions)

Level of commitment

Mindfulness is a practical skill and a habit, rather than a theory or body of knowledge.

Before signing up for the course it is important to recognise that getting real lasting benefit requires the commitment of regular time and effort. It is similar to getting physically fit – you need to practice regularly to train your ‘mental muscle’. 

To get the most from the course we recommend you attend all 8 sessions and carry out the suggested home practice, which is a gentle but regular daily discipline of various meditation and awareness practices, with the help of guidance from carefully tailored audio resources offered by Sharpham Teachers. 

We recommend trying to set aside 40 minutes a day, which can be spread around your schedule. You will receive plenty of support for this, including how to fit it into your life.  It may seem a stretch at first, but once the habit starts to be established, most people find it invaluable and highly motivating.

After the 8-week course

After undertaking this course, many go on to our Retreats at Sharpham, with accommodation in our Grade 1-Listed Sharpham House or at the Barn Retreat Centre or on our Woodland Retreats to help continue and support their practice