Mindfulness meditation
MBCT combines meditation practice with modern Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques, in an eight-week class format, together with daily home-practices. MBCT is recommended by the UK’s National Institute of Clinical Excellence and is as effective as antidepressants for preventing recurrent bouts of depression.
Mindfulness is traditionally cultivated by the practice of meditation in which people learn to pay attention in each moment with full intentionality and with friendly interest. Meditation is not about clearing the mind, but rather coming to see the mind’s patterns. Daily meditation practice allows people to see the way in which certain patterns of mind lead to escalation of emotions, despite our best efforts to control them. It also allows us to see more clearly what sorts of actions lead to more wholesome outcomes in everyday life.
When people practice mindfulness meditation for any length of time, a number of qualities of their experience change. People say they feel more aware or awake, feel calmer and are more able to see clearly and gain freedom from their own emotional patterns and habits. They feel freer to be more compassionate to themselves and to others.
Each MBCT course consists of eight weekly two-hour group sessions. There will be home practice for people to do in between sessions, which takes up to one hour a day. In the classes, you will experience core mindfulness practices (e.g. body scan, mindful movement, sitting meditation, three-minute breathing space), plus some theoretical teaching. There will be opportunities to talk about your experiences with these practices, the obstacles that inevitably arise, and how to deal with them skilfully. Each participant will receive guided meditation materials and session handouts.
