AN INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION – 4 WEEK COURSE – DUNEDIN

$125 FOR A FULL 4-WEEK INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS COURSE INCLUDING 4 CLASSES WITH AN EXPERIENCED MINDFULNESS TRAINER, THE MINDFULNESS APP AND DOWNLOADABLE GUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATIONS FOR YOU TO KEEP AND A 45-PAGE GUIDEBOOK.

Mindfulness Works exclusive 4 week introductory courses provide you with all you need to learn and start to experience the benefits of mindfulness. Mindfulness Works is New Zealand’s largest mindfulness training organisation. Every month over 500 people complete the Mindfulness Works introductory course.

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Mindfulness is a practical and simple way to increase relaxation and self-awareness. This course covers both formal and informal mindfulness practices.

• Formal mindfulness practice is sitting for a period of time focusing on the breath or the body.

• Informal mindfulness practice is when we go about our everyday life, working, playing, family time, socialising and so on

Over time and with regular practice, many people find that mindfulness can assist them to experience less stress, anxiety and depression and feel better about themselves.

Evidence suggests that with regular, long-term mindfulness practice our brain gets ‘rewired’ with new neural pathways that make us calmer and less reactive are strengthened as they are used more frequently.  Our brain adjusts when we learn to play a musical instrument or drive (which is why we dont have to start from scratch each time). Similarly our brain naturally adjusts we we learn to practice mindfulness and it becomes familiar with the practice.

Many people also find that mindfulness increases self-awareness, emotional intelligence and makes us less reactive.

Many people also find that with regular mindfulness practice and over time that they are more self-aware leading to healthier interpersonal relationships and wiser decision-making.  The ‘fight or flight’ part of our brain (the amygdala) becomes less reactive and in challenging situations and we don’t feel as threatened.  Many people also experience greater degrees of self-acceptance and self-love.

• Experience less stress,  anxiety and depression

• Improve sleeping patterns

• Feel more self-acceptance and self-love

• Reduce reactivity and increase emotional intelligence

• Experience more joy

BOOK HERE | COURSE LOCATIONS | ALL COURSES ARE $125

“Thank goodness I came across Mindfulness Works. I have learnt so much in a year and have the happiest, authentic and content that I have ever been. By learning acceptance without judgement as been an eye opener for me. I’m continuing my journey of self compassion and feel excited and hopeful for my future. But am grateful of the now and who I am today…” – Rebecca Young

FREE 4 WEEK GIFT SUBSCRIPTION TO THE CALM PREMIUM APP INCLUDED WITH THIS COURSE FROM 2019

Every participant on the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness 4 Week Course receives a free 4 week gift subscription to the award-winning Calm mindfulness and meditation app (premium version). This app was the Apple app of the year for 2017.

25% DISCOUNT ON PREMIUM VERSION 12 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

At the completion of the 4 week gift subscription to the Calm premium app you will have the option (opt in) to subscribe to the premium version for 12 months at a discount of 25%.

• Easy to follow instructions on mindfulness as well as simple, daily mindfulness practices.

• An opportunity to experience the benefits of mindfulness for yourself – in a very real way.

• A safe, confidential environment suitable for absolute beginners and like minded individuals wanting to investigate mindfulness, meditation and ways of supporting their own well-being.

• Time out for you and your own well-being and a place where you will not be judged and a way to foster non-judgement and acceptance in yourself.

• All the tools and support you need to continue practicing mindfulness after the course finished including your own guidebook, mindfulness meditation audios and notification of more advanced courses and retreats (should you wish)

• A no risk money back guarantee. If you attend all course sessions and feel you have not received benefit, you are entitled to a full refund.

“Since doing this course, I have been sleeping much better, I feel much more in control of my emotions, I have enjoyed ‘noticing’ my own state, but also it has transferred to everything around. This means I am re-enjoying many things that I had been taking for granted.” — Sandy Good

Course Contents

This particular course emphasises your own natural wisdom, your own innate OKness, right here and now. The instructions and guidance will be explicitly inviting you to embrace your whole human experience as it happens, moment by moment with a radical acceptance.

Mindfulness means “paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally.” – Jon Kabat Zinn (Professor of Medicine Emeritus Stress Reduction Clinic and the Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine).

Mindfulness and meditation are both gaining in popularity as more and more people discover how this simple skill can have a profoundly positive impact on your life. Organisations such as Google, Apple, Nike and Yahoo! now run mindfulness programmes and sessions for staff during work hours. Modern research about mindfulness and meditation shows measurable and significant benefits to people including less stress, less anxiety, greater focus, calm and happiness.

Week 1: What is Mindfulness?

• What mindfulness is
• The benefits of mindfulness and meditation
• How to get the most from the course
• Guided body scan mindfulness meditation
• Question and answers / discussion.

Week 2: Working with the Mind

• Why thinking can be problematical
• Practical ways to work with difficult thoughts
• Self-judgement and how to intervene
• Guided mindfulness meditation – counting the breath
• Questions and answers / discussion.

Week 3: Working with Emotions

• What are emotions?
• Learning to feel emotions
• The RAIN method
• Non-judgement and acceptance
• Guided mindfulness meditation on feelings
• Question and answers / discussion.

Week 4: Radical Acceptance

• What it means to be present
• How wanting causes stress
• Developing wisdom and insight
• Authentic self-compassion
• Open awareness guided mindfulness meditation
• Question and answers / discussion
• Next steps.

“I am more open to life and what is going on around me. I feel more comfortable in myself… “

“I gained tools to help myself become aware of my feelings and how to deal with them…”

“I am learning how to step outside myself and re-assess before I react…”

“It’s ok to be you – with all the human failings and flaws…”

“I have a sense of emerging calm and strength…”

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Refund and Transfer Policy

• Full refunds are available up to one week before a course starts.
• Free transfers to other courses are available up to one week before a course starts.
• Once a course has started, full refunds are only available if you attend every class of the course and feel you have not got value. In this case you are entitled to and will be given a full refund.
• Refunds are not given if you do not attend every class of the course and if you simply ‘do not like’ the course or decide it ‘is not for you’.
• For more details about our refund and transfer policy, please read our FAQ.

How long is each weekly class and what happens?

Each class is one hour long. There will be a guided meditation for a period. This will include meditation instruction. After the meditation and instruction, there will be a talk or discussion. This includes a question and answer time.

Who is it suitable for?

This course is suitable for any of the following:

• 18-year-olds and over
• Beginners
• People who have never meditated or practised mindfulness before
• People who have just started meditating or practising mindfulness.

About Mindfulness Works

Mindfulness Works is one of the largest mindfulness training organisations in Australasia. Every month over 600 people attend the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation course.

Mindfulness Works is committed to:

• Providing accessible and affordable mindfulness courses
• Offering a diverse range of experienced and skilled mindfulness trainers
• Providing courses in a practical format with exceptional supporting resources
• Improving the mental health of all of us and fostering self-love in all
• Supporting our facilitators with options for further professional development

About the Teachers

The approach by all Mindfulness Works teachers is straightforward, practical and heartfelt and directed towards you discovering your own innate wisdom and authentic experience.

Kovido Maddick, Dunedin

Kovido has over 35 years’ experience in mindfulness and meditation and spent 10 years training as a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest tradition under Ajahn Sumedho.

Kovido has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programmes since 1996. He is co-facilitator of the Dunedin Men’s group and is a Hakomi Graduate. Although his training is primarily Buddhist he is very eclectic, drawing on the wisdom of many different traditions and contemporary teachers including Rumi, Osho, Ajahn Chah, Ram Dass, Jeff Foster and Thich Naht Hanh. Probably his greatest teachers have been his two foster children, Mason and Savannah, who can take him to love, joy, delight and rage and frustration and despair on a daily basis.

For many many years, Kovido tried to get enlightened, improve himself, get better at meditation but constantly failed. Gradually his focus has changed to more self-acceptance, trusting his own intuition and being with life as it is on this wonder-full and mysterious journey as a human being.

Heidi Ombler, Dunedin

Heidi has been a teacher, masseuse and meditation practitioner for more than 25 years in several countries. Spending a few years living in a Thai forest monastery learning meditation inspired a solid foundation in, and love of mindfulness.

She has spent time with the senior disciples of Ajahn Chah doing three-month-long retreats in the outbacks of Thailand, Switzerland and California under their guidance. Exploration of the Heart of Living is her passion. Giving massage, doing Tai Chi, teaching communication and awareness skills to people of all ages and nationalities, has enabled a deep exploration of our common human states.

Heidi seeks to share the richness of mindful living that her teachers have so generously given her. She enjoys living in her hometown Dunedin, in a quiet cottage complete with woodland garden and husband.

Testimonials for the Introductory Course:

“The course was very relaxed and friendly, and full of useful practical advice that recognised the limits to time that everyone faces. Also I liked the mix of people attending, with a range of different reasons for being there.” — Rosie Cree

“Since doing this course, I have been sleeping much better, I feel much more in control of my emotions, I have enjoyed ‘noticing’ my own state, but also it has transferred to everything around. This means I am re-enjoying many things that I had been taking for granted.” — Sandy Good

“The course guidebook was a useful guide and very informative. I also enjoyed the formal practice and the way different strategies were explained.” — Linda Daniell