MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS
Meditation
‘The more regularly and the more deeply you meditate, the sooner you will find yourself acting always from a center of inner peace.’ J.Donald Walters
For thousands of years people have used meditation to move beyond the mind’s stress inducing thoughts and emotional upsets into the peace and clarity of present moment awareness. The variety of meditation techniques, traditions, and technologies is nearly infinite, but the essence of meditation is singular: the cultivation of mindful awareness and expanded consciousness.
It is accurate to say that the purpose of meditation depends on the meditator – but it is also true that anyone who meditates regularly receives profound benefits on all of these levels – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
New research is also showing that meditation restores the brain. A landmark study conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital found that as little as eight weeks of meditation not only helped people feel calmer but also produced changes in various areas of the brain, including growth in the areas associated with memory, empathy, sense of self, and stress regulation. (chopra.com)
Mindfulness
‘Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way. On purpose, in the present moment non-judgementally.’ John Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness is the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something, a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
Mindfulness is a practice that individuals and groups can do on a day-to-day basis. It can enable people to change the way they think and feel about their experiences, especially stressful experiences. As a mind-body approach, it can increase our ability to manage difficult situations and make wise choices.
A growing body of evidence has found that when people intentionally practice being mindful they feel less stressed, anxious and depressed, with the UK Government’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommending MBCT for the treatment of recurrent depression. Research also shows positive effects on several aspects of whole-person health, including the mind, the brain, the body, and behaviour, as well as a person’s relationships with others.
Mindfulness has proven to be effective for everyone including; children in schools, young people in college & university, pregnancy, in the workplace, criminal justice settings and more.
Improves Physical Health; Help Relieve Stress, Treat Heart Disease, Lower Blood Pressure, Reduce Chronic Pain, Improve Sleep & Alleviate Gastrointestinal Difficulties
Improves Mental Health; Depression, Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Couples’ Conflicts, Anxiety Disorders & Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
OUR PRACTITIONERS
Simone Ford
BA (Hons), DipM, PGDip, MBACP
Following a fifteen-year career in international commerce, Simone trained as a Life Coach and qualified as a certified practitioner of the MBTI psychometric assessment tool. She was accredited to train Covey’s “Seven habits of highly effective people”, which she delivered to multi nationals in Australasia. Her heightened interest in psychology led her to embark on post graduate study in a Humanistic Therapy, Psychosynthesis, an integrative and transpersonal psychotherapeutic model. She qualified and started seeing clients at a counselling service in London in 2008 and then in 2011 set up a private practice covering parts of Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
As well as psycotherapeutic counselling, Simone also runs mindful meditation workshops, one on one mindfulness coaching and includes mindfulness and meditation tools where appropriate in her counselling work. Simone is passionate about providing a safe, confidential and supportive space in which she can work with people who are struggling with a wide variety of issues. She is currently working with individuals suffering from depression, stress and anxiety, eating disorders, bereavement, marital and relationship crises, OCD, childhood trauma, addictions, low self-esteem and lack of purpose, career and life transitions. People seek help for many different reasons, please contact Simone to discuss your particular concerns and what you would personally like help with.
Simone knows about juggling different roles in a busy life. As a working mother, she appreciates that making time for yourself is not always easy. However, she says that by committing to daily meditation and twice weekly yoga, she is better equipped to not only face the challenged, but as importantly appreciate the joys of life. Increased self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-compassion are some of the benefits she has gained from practicing Meditation.
Simone is a fully insured member of the BACP and abides by its ethics and codes of practice.
Services:
Simone has based these meditation classes on her 5 years training at The Psychosynthesis & Education Trust in London. You can expect to experience different types of meditation including; Reflective Meditation, Receptive Meditation and Creative Meditation. These will be guided meditations, followed by some personal reflection time.
Contact Details:
Email: Simone@thebarnretreat.com Mob: 07738 008652