Using Mindfulness for a Restful Sleep. In today's fast-paced world, the pursuit of a good night's sleep has become somewhat elusive for many. With endless to-do lists, constant connectivity and the ceaseless chatter of our minds, finding a peaceful slumber can be tricky. Over the years I have found mindfulness meditation to be very helpful when I can’t sleep. If I have a really busy mind, I listen to recordings of different meditations for sleep, and appreciate having a large toolbox of different strategies to try. Mindfulness involves being fully present and engaged in the moment, without ju ..read more

In today's fast-paced, distraction-filled workplace, employers are searching for ways to enhance employees' focus, performance and productivity. One practice that has become increasingly popular for its wide range of benefits is mindfulness – the awareness that arises from purposefully paying attention to the present moment without judgement. Companies around the world, from Google to Nike, have adopted mindfulness programmes, and for very good reason. Far from just another wellness trend, establishing a culture of mindfulness may be the key to sustaining competitive advantage in the modern w ..read more

When it comes to diets and their consequences, you name it, I’ve probably been there! If you’re not interested in my journey with weight loss and overeating, and just want to know about our course to help with healthy eating and cravings, please scroll down to Part Two of this post. PART ONE Binge eating, compulsive eating, emotional eating, cravings, intuitive eating and mindful eating are all things I know a lot about! I’ve studied best ways to lose weight and eating disorders for most of my adult life. I first went on a diet when I was 10 and since then I’ve tried many approaches to eating ..read more

Most people are aware of the importance of sharing how they’re feeling, but it can be far from easy to do this, and we might not always have someone to share our concerns with anyway. People have different emotions they find it hard to acknowledge, even to themselves. Some might be comfortable with anger, but don’t like to feel lonely; others might be at ease with feeling afraid but find sadness hard to bear. Investigating our experience The first step in looking after our mental health is to be aware of what we’re feeling. From a place of calm acceptance, particularly of things we do not like ..read more

I was recently asked by Carson Sperry from www.rent.com to contribute to an article about free time, and to answer the question: What would you do if you had a spare fifteen minutes? As Carson said, "We've never been more connected as a society than we are now. With that comes a lot of upsides, but there are some downsides to constant connection, as well. One of them is less free time, so it's important to make the most of the limited downtime you have to yourself." You can read the full article here which includes my suggestions and those from other mindfulness experts and life coaches to he ..read more

Until relatively recently, we mostly became aware of world news only when we actively invited it in. We chose to buy a newspaper, or turn on the TV or radio news at certain times of the day. Most of the time people did not hear about world as events as they unfolded. Whereas now we can hear news 24 hours a day, via the internet, mobile phones, radio and TV. It is increasingly hard to avoid a regular stream of headlines, and they are usually unpleasant. The more news and information we hear, the more we consider these stressful, horrific events and possible future catastrophes. National and glo ..read more

Mother’s Day is a special day for many, but it can also be a difficult day for lots of people, so this article is written particularly for anyone who might find it a challenge. I was interested to discover that Mothering Sunday was originally a day for Christians to visit their ‘mother church’, which is why it is always three weeks before Easter Day, and not about mothers at all. It is only in the last 50 years that the day has become commercialised, with a focus on mothers rather than churches. I think that my son, away at university, will be aware of the day, (although am prepared for him fo ..read more

‘The rainbow of compassion arises when the sun-rays of kindness touch upon the tears of suffering.’ Tibetan saying Starting with ourselves The airplane oxygen mask instruction is an analogy often used in mindfulness training – that in times of danger, adults are told to put their own oxygen mask on before helping their children; if adults pass out, the children are less likely to manage. Similarly in life, we cannot be fully kind and caring to others until we give the same care to ourselves. So I decided to focus this article on self-compassion, a skill that we can all learn and develop. The m ..read more

I have had periods in my life when I struggled to get to sleep, and over the years have developed a variety of strategies. As a child I used to imagine a gentle bulldozer would slide across my bed and gently push my thoughts onto the floor, for me to pick up the next morning; or that whenever I noticed a tingling in any part of my body, this was a sign that that part was going to sleep as long as I stayed still. Looking back, I was actually practising awareness of thoughts meditation and a body scan without knowing it! Most of us know that having a good sleep helps us feel more resilient and e ..read more

Mindfulness tips for getting to sleep. Sleep problems are extremely common. If you’re reading this because you struggle with insomnia, you’re not alone. I’d like to share some of my most helpful mindfulness tips for sleep, including how to get back to sleep in the middle of the night, with various meditation exercises as well as mindful breathing. Sometimes anxiety about getting to sleep just makes things worse. If you’re having intrusive thoughts about not being able to sleep, can you allow these thoughts to come and go, gently in the background of your awareness? For myself, I often need to ..read more