Books Unlocked - From Stress to Success Mindfulness

Mindfulness sessions are being run at both Bedford Library and Luton Library.
Bedford Library level 3 at 13.15 until 14.00 on 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th May
Luton Library level 6 "Cloud Deck" at 14.00 until 14.45 on 12th & 19th may

Want to go along and find out more?

Mindfulness meditation can help you to try a different approach to dealing with thoughts & feelings through a series of practical exercises to increase your awareness and focus on the present moment.

It can help you begin to:

§  explore alternatives to being lost in your thoughts and have an increased awareness & of the present moment

§  see your thoughts as mental events that come and go in the mind

§  help you to sidestep the cascade of mental events that draw you into depression or worry

Most of the time our attention is not where we intended it to be. Our attention is hijacked by our thoughts and emotions, by our concerns, by our worries for the future, and our regrets and memories of the past.

Mindful awareness is about learning to pay attention, in the present moment, and without judgement. It's like training a muscle, training your attention to be where you want it to be. This reduces our tendency to work on autopilot, allowing us to us choose how we respond & react.

Interest in mindfulness has been growing steadily in recent years. There are now thousands of research studies into the use and benefits of mindfulness. Professionals are using mindfulness in boardrooms, universities, schools, prisons, court rooms and hospitals across the world.

So how can mindfulness help university students?

 At its heart mindfulness training teaches students to pay attention to the present moment through simple breathing and meditation practices. This increases awareness of thoughts and feelings and boosts levels of attention and concentration. It can help those students who are performing well to perform even better as well as assisting those who are struggling.

Try these ideas to help you be more mindful:

·        Noticing when you are responding mindlessly to do something you don’t want to…phone, computer, food, alcohol….

·        Notice where your mind goes when in a queue, at the bus stop…and choose to notice something around you instead

·        Take a moment to try the ‘5 Things’ exercise …take a couple of slow breaths & then just notice 5 things you can see,  5 things you can hear then 5 things you can see…what do you notice?

Give some thought to the way you might do or approach everyday things:

·        Your speed of walking

·        Multi-tasking or not

·        Listening to a stream of headline bad news stories

·        Your choices in pacing your life and what activities you engage in

Even think more about what music you listen to…

try these websites, offering some free resources:

http://mindfulnessforstudents.co.uk/

http://franticworld.com/free-meditations-from-mindfulness/

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/