Yes you can. You can sign up to access a FREE week of sessions and make a note to cancel your payment within 7 days if you’d prefer not to continue. There is no obligation to continue and no hard feelings if you don’t. I invite you to try it first because not all things suit all people. It’s important you connect with a teacher you trust and whose teaching style you like and who inspires you.

You’ll get a free Discovery Call with me prior to attending any live zoom class (this is a requirement). Please book this via the website as soon as you’ve signed up for your free trial. This will help put you at ease, feel heard, understood, and recognised by me so you can feel more relaxed within the group. It also keeps our classes safe spaces for regular members. You’ll then be able to try out all our live classes during the week via zoom links sent to your inbox. You will be able to gain access to the members area on the website to view the 2 recorded classes during this time. *Please note, your contact details will be added to our Mindful Friends What’s App support group if you decide to stay beyond your free trial. Here you will find mini audio meditation recordings to support our weekly focus, gentle reminders and prompts for your practice.

No you don’t. It’d be good if you could schedule this week at a time you have availability to try what’s on offer. This will give you an idea of what might feel doable on a regular basis. I recommend you attend the Teaching, Tools and Meditation class (Tues 8:45pm or Wed 10am) as this forms the basis of our weekly focus. The others, whilst very valuable are optional additions to help support habit building and feelings of connection within the groups.

I would recommend 18 as a minimum age although I have had attendees as young as 17 attend, and they’ve expressed how valuable the themes and tools/techniques have been each week. Having a Zoom discovery call is a good way to determine how suitable it would be and signing up for a free trial is a good start. You could then give it a go for 3 months as this will give you a good idea.

Taking the first step in a new direction is the hardest part for anyone wanting to make changes. You aren’t alone in this. I’m here to help and there is no pressure to commit to anything. A 7-day trial involves the opportunity to get to know me via a discovery call so you can see how you feel about working with me. Meeting me via a discovery zoom call prior to any live session (a requirement) will help put you at ease. It will help you feel heard, understood and recognised by me so you can feel more relaxed within the group, and it keeps our classes safe spaces for regular members. Secondly, joining a class encourages you to practice embracing both courage and vulnerability at the same time. Qualities that will help you grow in being able to better manage your challenges. You can feel reassured that EVERYONE attending felt as you do at the start and therefore will only be holding a collectively supportive and friendly space as you attend for the first time. There’s no expectation to share openly as our sessions are largely non-interactive, but your presence is appreciated and makes a difference to everyone.

You have the freedom to choose. I encourage people to join with camera on initially as it encourages a sense of friendship, community and belonging but there are times, we don’t feel our best, are tired and would rather leave the camera off and this is completely fine.

You can feel completely reassured that the online group classes are non-interactive, and you can sit back listen and engage without the need to share, feel self-conscious or nervous about this. You can even attend with camera off if this makes you more comfortable. If groups are smaller and particularly on the Sunday evening class, you may be invited to offer 3 words to describe how you feel but this is always optional. One to one sessions are the place for sharing. One to one sessions are very much encouraged if you are wanting to address issues that need some personalised attention.

It’s not unusual for us to have trouble relaxing during meditation. If this is you, don’t consider yourself a lost cause or judge this as something that won’t work for you. Sometimes, the dog might be barking, you can hear others around the house or you’re just too tense. Meditation isn’t relaxation, (although we might often feel more relaxed for practicing). Meditation is seeing what’s happening in the moment and allowing things to be just as you find them rather than thinking it SHOULD be different. Tension lies between how something is and how we think it should be. Letting go of believing things should be a certain way can help us find more ease. So, if you don’t feel relaxed, you can practice saying to yourself “Right now, it’s like this and that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with me”. This attitude and approach can take time so don’t be too quick to judge and walk away. Most people find that being open and sharing it with me via messaging or conversation allows them to give it a chance.

There is no tie-in. This is an ongoing course here to support you for as long or little as you feel is helpful. Many people find the benefits really begin to kick in after a few months and recognise it’s the regularity of practice and cumulative effects which begin to take root and flourish. Both my observations and research reports that benefits are more readily felt and seen within 12 weeks of regular practice. I therefore recommend joining for a minimum of 3 months. Many people have been practicing with me for several years and treat this as the ‘life practice’ it is. Others dip in and out for ‘top-ups’ to suit their commitments. Ultimately, mindfulness is like using a muscle, if you don’t use it, you lose it to some degree. We all benefit from being regularly reminded how to develop the skill of becoming our own ‘best friend’ and being directed to the relevant tools in those times of need. Regular attendance of this program will help you embed this as a habit.

The monthly subscription is the same whatever you want to utilise. The most effective way to help you build a habit of mindfulness is to make sure you have access to all live sessions, recordings, and group support as part of this program, but the choice is always yours. If you are going to pick and choose, I recommend you attend the Teaching, Tools and meditation class weekly. This provides your shared weekly focus with other members, and you’ll be reflecting on this throughout the week.

If you can’t attend a session, remember that the Teaching Tools and Meditation Class on Tuesday’s and the Relax and Recover Class on Thursdays are recorded and available to watch on the website later at a time to suit you. All classes are designed to be accessed as ‘stand-alone’ sessions. This means it doesn’t matter if you miss a session. When you re-join us, the content will always be relevant to you in some way. Sometimes a theme will be carried on over two weeks, but you will still find relevant accessible content and benefit from it.

The Tuesday evening 8:45pm class (Teaching, Tools and meditation) is repeated on Wednesday morning at 10am.

No. I can’t tell you it won’t help if you decided to do this because it would, we’d all be better off but life is life, it gets in the way and we need to be honest with ourselves. Whilst science is science and we can’t argue with the proven benefits of daily practice, its more about attitude. You can get really good benefit by attending one or more sessions a week to introduce mindfulness to your daily life. Many people have found this to be enough for them and they say it keeps them grounded. Bill Gates learned mindfulness with Andy Puddicombe (Headspace) and said that 10 mins 3 times a week changed his life. The last thing we need, is to feel pressure or guilt to ‘do something else’ on top of all the other stuff there is to do. It's not the number of times you sit down and practice that is so important, it’s more about how you are with yourself when you forget or just don’t do it (not judgemental) – THAT’S mindfulness practice. Informal mindfulness practice (which is being present whilst preparing tea, making a cuppa or getting the kids to bed without being lost in your worries and rumination) is often just as valuable as sitting down to meditate. If we can learn to be more present and awake to the mind getting lost in rumination and returning it to where we are and what we’re doing, EVERYTHING becomes a meditation, and you get the benefits all the time. We just can’t fail at this. Sadly, lots of people don’t see this and miss a big opportunity.

No. I was tired and frustrated by seeing mindfulness courses all of which required onerous homework and sessions which could be anything up to 2-3 hours long. Wonderful as some of them can be, people can’t give that kind of time within normal life. People are therefore put off engaging with mindfulness until some future imaginary time in which they think they’ll have MORE time. Reality is, we never have more time. Shorter more intense courses can be powerful at the time but that practice you started has to be maintained if it’s to be of benefit. It’s the ongoing cumulative effects of mindfulness that make the differences we all want to feel so that’s why I developed this program which is easy to access, manageable, enjoyable and useful without the big-time commitment. This program also bridges an obvious gap for those having done a previous mindfulness course but are left without being supported by a regular practice, or for those new to mindfulness and want an easier, less overwhelming way in.

Commit to coming to the sessions you want to attend and let this guide your practice. Making time is a gift you give yourself, not something else you SHOULD do. No one else can give it to you. On a practical note, schedule the classes on your phone to help you remember. You’ll have my voice in your pocket with my mindful handhold what’s app group. This will gently prompt you to engage with your mindfulness throughout the week. There’s no objective to meditate longer than 10 mins. My pocket meditations are shorter than 10 mins. You can use the classes you attend as your longer practices. Bill Gates who learned mindfulness from Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe, has three 10 min sessions a week and he says it’s changed his life. You don’t have to work your way up to the dizzy heights of a 45min plus meditation if that doesn’t fit your way of life.

Group practice via the sessions online here within this program offers us a point of accountability to show up for ourselves and others and remember that we aren’t alone in our struggles. Whilst our circumstances are varied, we all share the same hopes and fears and can use our groups to remember and reconnect with each other and our shared humanity. It can be really comforting to see the presence of others, even online and this can help us feel encouraged and motivated to keep practising.

If you’re new to the practice or this program and you’re having trouble with something specific, it can make a real difference to have the space to ask questions, talk freely and have some guidance that embodies a mindful approach. This isn’t possible in group sessions so that’s your cue. Once you feel the benefit of moving through your issues one-to-one, it’s a good idea to keep a regular practice going and joining a group class would then help support the learning you’ve begun. If you’ve only been attending group sessions, questions can arise from our practice together and chatting with your teacher and mentor is the best way to iron out anything that needs clarification or help you go a little deeper, depending on your needs and interest. Groups alone are great, but there’s no doubt that accessing a one-to-one every now and again alongside your group sessions will enhance your experience and deepen your understanding.

Everyone is different and teachers will deliver mindfulness according to what will be true for them and their experiences. In the same way, people who seek mindfulness are all different and will look for an approach that suits their preferences. It’s important to say, mindfulness does not fall under the category of ‘Alternative Therapy’ or ‘New Age’. Whilst its original roots are founded in the ancient traditions of Buddhism, it is a practice now known to the West with a solid scientific foundation backed up by a recognised and robust global body of research making this practice widely acceptable and more accessible to everyone. My program and classes are not religious based. This practice is inclusive of all faith traditions and none. There’s a good mix of science and heart and as such, many attendees have said it’s been refreshing and different to what they expected and have felt positively surprised. It’s important you find a teacher you can trust, who makes you feel welcome and comfortable and whose teaching style will excite and motivate you to becoming more of who you truly are and want to be. Therefore, I offer a 7-day free trial so you can give it a go first.

September Autumn Term 2022, please get in touch via email or discovery call and join the waiting list.

· Somewhere quiet and comfortable · Space to lie down to practise the relaxation at the end of the session · A little journal in case they want to record our tool for the week (optional)

All children benefit from having an invitation to notice thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and have a tool to apply if they are feeling ‘fizzy’ to help bring some calm. The good thing about an online class is that they can engage for as long as they feel able and move when they need/want to without disturbing others in a face-to-face class. This isn’t something intended to make your child ‘be still’. Many children need more time to be outdoors, physically moving, playing sports or in nature. We don’t have to be still to find focus and a calmer state. So, my advice would be not to force this session, chat about it, offer it (you can try it out for a month) but be aware that if you feel your child needs more freedom to move, that’s okay. We would never sew the idea that our need to move is something that ‘shouldn’t happen’.

Some children (like adults) have little time to be still and ‘wonder’ and find real comfort in a quieter, gentler, more reflective environment. Many children are working hard during the day to hold together pressure around learning, difficulties amongst their friendship groups, witnessing volatile behaviours etc and having space to be quiet, relax and learn calming techniques might be the most comforting life lesson anyone can offer. Some children have deeper sensitivities. As parents we might feel fearful of this because we equate this with the potential for deeper suffering. None of us want our children to suffer, yet rather than pushing them into activities we believe might build ‘toughness’. Ultimately, having space to know it’s okay to feel deeply (that there’s nothing wrong with us) is essential. Inner confidence comes from knowing we are loved where we are. With mindfulness, kids and adults have the opportunity to regain a freedom in understanding that ‘sensitivity’ if nurtured, actually becomes a superpower the world really needs. The classes have been loved by many yet aren’t going to suit everyone, so take the chance to find out more in a discovery call or try it for a week and see. Here’s a little quote from two Y5 girls who attended classes: “When I’m lying in bed at night and can’t get to sleep, I remember your voice, hear it in my head like it’s my own, reminding me what to do, and know it’s okay”