Skills for Mindful Living
About the course
The recent years have created and continue to create, for many of us, a considerable amount of stress and distress in our lives, affecting our well-being and sometimes leading to burnout. The good news is that recent scientific evidence has shown how simple mindful habits, that we can all build into our daily routine, help us to stay calmer under stress, reduce mind-wandering, improve short term memory and make us kinder. In short, mindful living is an excellent way to improve our overall wellbeing.
This retreat will offer you the opportunity to relax and recharge in a beautiful home in the village of Kilmelford in Argyll on the West Coast of Scotland, where you will be introduced to various mindful and self-compassion practices in the nurturing, peaceful space of the library, with its cosy furnishings, stunning view over Loch Melfort and easy access to the outdoors. We will take time to practice and share our experiences and discuss how to build easy self-care skills into our daily lives. There will be plenty of time for a restorative walk or two in the surrounding countryside.
Cost: £125 per person, includes the course, lunches and refreshments.
There is accommodation available on-site and nearby, as well as a wide range of accommodation in the area, see more details on the Where do we meet ? page.
Note - there are both dogs and cats living in the house. They will not be present during the course, but if you have strong allergy or dislike of either cats or dogs you should be aware of their general presence.
A weekend retreat
Being mindful can be described as paying attention to the present moment, with acceptance. This is easy to understand and straightforward to practise, but it's not always easy to remember to do in the midst of our busy and often challenging lives! This weekend retreat will offer you an in-depth experience of learning and practising mindful living with a small group of people in a beautiful, peaceful setting and will support you to bring a mindful practice into your daily life.
Mindful living can help us:
- to become fully present in all the ups and downs of our lives
- to learn how to find joy in the good things in our lives
- to cope more effectively with the difficult things in our lives
- to make clearer decisions about our lives
- to feel kinder towards ourselves
- to build closer relationships
About the weekend retreat
You will be invited to take part in a wide range of mindful practices, such as mindful movement, body scan, mindful sitting and mindful eating which you will be able to continue doing at home. We will also have group discussions and videos to encourage personal reflection on what mindful living is all about and how you can bring a more mindful approach to your daily life.
This retreat is not a therapeutic group and you will not be expected or encouraged to share personal life stories or problems. You will be invited to share what you notice during the mindful practices if you wish.
The retreat will cover most aspects of a typical 8 week mindfulness programme. It is suitable for people who are completely new to mindful living or who have already completed a mindfulness training programme and who wish to deepen or refresh their practice.
Daily schedule
Saturday am 9:30 - 13:00- What is mindful living?
- Feeling grounded
- Waking up to our lives
- The art of allowing
- Taking care of our feelings
- Allowing ourselves to be ourselves
- Cultivating joy
- Being mindful together
- Living a mindful life
Suggested reading
None is needed.
There's no need to read anything before the course, however here are some recommended titles if you do wish to read something ahead of time.
- Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark WIlliams
- Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life by Jon Kabat-Zinn