Mindfulness for Stress and Wellbeing

Overview

In recent years there has been a Mindfulness revolution in the areas of health and wellbeing and dealing with stress in the workplace.
Mindfulness is one of the most commonly suggested tools for people experiencing stress, anxiety, depression and overwhelm. It is named within the NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) as an effective antidote to anxiety and depression.
It has also exploded in popularity as a stress busting tool in the workplace and is relevant to the trauma field
Throughout the course we will develop a practice of Mindfulness Meditation. This will be built on week by week through a gradual honing of technique students will be encouraged to continue with this beyond the
course.
We will study the science of stress and explore how a practice of Mindfulness can cultivate interrupting patterns of reactivity and overwhelm stress.

Programme

Each week will include:
● An hour of interactive live learning.
● Half an hour of guided Mindfulness practice
● Half an hour of questions and reflections of learning and practice.

Week 1

Group building practices.
Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation
History and tradition v modern application.
Clarification of terms
Its relationship to wellbeing and stress management.
Content on building new habits.
Setting intention and making commitment to practise
Week 2
The science of stress
Nervous System Physiology
The three stages of the stress response and the risk of burnout.
The Window of Tolerance model for regulation.
Week 3
Working with physical pain
How mindfulness helps with relaxation.
Learning how to separate the physical sensations from the mental story about them.
Exploring the credible research into physical pain and mindfulness
Week 4
Working with Emotional Pain
The combination of awareness and acceptance
Seeing things as they really are
How mindfulness can help with depression.
Week 5
Compassion as part of Mindfulness.
Looking at role stress
Our identification with fixed ways of behaving.
Time pressure.
Week 6
Mindfulness and self care.
Dealing with adversity through mindfulness.
Building resilience
The power of gratitude.
Week 7
Bumps in the road of a meditation journey
Identifying risks and antidotes to them.
Other areas that mindfulness can add a critical component for success in life.
Week 8
Mindfulness for live.
Different levels of engagement
Changing our state or changing our traits?

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:  

1. ​​Understand what Meditation and Mindfulness are and how to apply them as practices.
2. ​Experience committed Mindfulness practice and produce an evaluative report of personal findings.
3. Understanding of the relevance and benefits of Mindfulness with regard to stress and health.
4. ​Understand how Mindfulness can be applied to everyday situations through formal practice and through micro applications of the teachings in moment to moment scenarios.

Assessments

1. Written assignment 500 Words. Mindfulness journal. A reflective journal to record daily reflections on
   meditation practice and experience of different meditation approaches will be kept throughout the course. Students will be asked to summarise their findings into a short report of 500 words. 30%.
2. Online Test via Blackboard
   20 questions testing student' knowledge of key content from course. 20%
3. Written assignment 1000 Words. Essay. An essay of 1000 words exploring one of three aspects of the course:
   ● The relationship between Mindfulness and Stress.
   ● Mindfulness and physical or emotional pain.
   ● Employing Mindfulness in everyday life.
   50%

Reading Suggestions

Practical Zen for Health, Wealth and Mindfulness by Julian Daizan Skinner. Published 2018 by Singing Dragon of Jessica Kingsley, London.

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

What Do I Need?

As this is an online course, you would need the following:

• Internet access.
• Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also be of benefit.
• Use of the Chrome web-browser where possible.