We are excited to have you join us for 8 weeks of Mindfulness practice!
This information package is here to assist you in maximizing the experience throughout your training program.

Together, we will be working to cultivate a new type of awareness.  This awareness is called mindfulness which helps to build our capacity to live mindfully. Mindfulness makes it possible to build a new relationship with our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, reactions, rigid patterns, stress and every day experiences.  We will learn of ways to be mindful through meditation and intentional attention so that we can cope with the myriad of challenges that arise, often unexpectedly, in our life.  We will be working together to change unhelpful patterns of our minds such as worrying about the future, getting ‘stuck’ thinking about the past, being too hard on ourselves, avoiding difficult thoughts and feelings, using unhealthy coping strategies, being overly reactive, going through the motions in life and so on.  These patterns may have been around for a long time or for a shorter period of time.  Our patterns of thinking and reacting have become habits and we can only expect to succeed in making long-lasting changes if we put time and effort into learning and practicing our new mindfulness skills.  You will learn a variety of mindfulness meditation skills to achieve this.

This approach depends entirely on your willingness to do home practice between class meetings.  Each week, we make suggestions about what to practice between classes.  We recommend that you try to practice approximately 40 – 45 minutes per day, 5 - 6 days a week, for 8 weeks; but it is ultimately up to you. As with learning to play a new instrument or sport, the more you practice, the more you make something your own and the more you get from it!  The home practice involves tasks such as listening to a variety of guided mindfulness meditations (a link to an internet site and downloads will be given to you which has the guided meditations), performing brief exercises, and so on.  You might already have been practicing with meditation ‘apps’ however during the 8-week course, we ask that you follow the meditations that are designed for this course as you will be learning very specific skills that build upon each other each and every week.  Everything that we cover will be purposeful and intentional.

We appreciate that it is often very difficult to carve out time for something new in lives that are already very busy and crowded, and we will discuss ways of dealing with this.  If you’re living with others, it’s very helpful to explain to them in advance that you’re making this commitment so they can potentially help support your intentions. You might need to shift around a few things in terms of how you can prioritize time for the meditations (where you’ll be building your mindfulness skills) and reading through the handouts.

The classes and the homework assignments can teach you how to be more fully aware and present in each moment of life.  We are often ‘stuck in our heads’ - overthinking, overanalyzing and overwhelmed!  Mindfulness involves intentionally bringing a curious and compassionate attention to our experiences as they arise – not pushing things away, not running away from difficulties.  The good news is that this makes life more interesting, vivid, and fulfilling.  On the other hand, this means facing what is present, even when it is unpleasant and difficult.  In practice, you will find that turning to face and acknowledge difficulties is the most effective way, in the long run, to reduce stress, discontent and unhappiness.  Seeing unpleasant feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations or other experiences clearly, as they arise, means that you will be in much better position to loosen up old, habitual, unhelpful reactions and skillfully deal with them, before they progress to more distress. So often we get ‘caught’ in the same old ways of thinking, feeling and behaving and our reactions are conditioned and habitual. One of the core skills you’ll be learning in MBCT, other than learning how to disengage from ruminating about the past and the future, is to loosen up old habits of reactivity, to slow down, and to choose healthier, more adaptive responses to challenges.

In the classes, you will learn gentle ways to face difficulties with clarity, stability and wisdom, and will be supported by the instructors and the other class members.  We will work together to cultivate our capacity to live skillfully with careful attention so that living well is the outcome in each moment.

Because we will be working to change well-established habits of mind, you will be putting in a lot of time and effort.  It’s very important to keep in mind that the effects of this effort may only become apparent later.  There will likely be times where you will feel challenged, confused and/or unsure about how mindfulness is going to help you. This is a normal part of the learning process.  In many ways, it is much like gardening—we have to prepare the ground, plant the seeds, ensure that they are adequately watered and nourished, and then wait patiently for results.

In the same way, we ask you to approach the classes and homework with a spirit of patience, kindness and persistence, committing yourself to put time and effort into what will be asked of you, while accepting, with patience, that the fruits of your efforts may not show right away.

Many people who are referred to or are drawn to a Mindfulness training program state that the reason(s) that bring them include: general interest in learning mindfulness, physical illness(es), the stress of managing work, family, and personal life, chronic pain, loss and/or psychological struggle.  The groups are not a “support group” whereby you will be telling your life story or going into the details of your life. It is best to think about it as an educational or classroom setting that is therapeutic in nature.  In terms of preparation, all we ask is for you to come with an open mind and check your expectations "at the door".

We want you to be as comfortable as possible so if you want to sit in a chair with a small cushion or two to put behind your back or under your feet, please feel free to do so.  Practicing mindfulness meditation is more important than the physical position in which you do it.  

Everything that happens during the sessions is completely confidential. What is said by other people in the session must not be repeated elsewhere. It is important not to discuss those who are in the program to people who are not.

Sessions will start on time so do your absolute best to log on 5 minutes before the start of each session. If you cannot make it to a session, please let Angie know as soon as possible by phone or email.  Generally, if you miss more than two sessions, you may be asked to discontinue as you’ll fall too far behind.

Please note that once the program starts, there are no refunds.