Week 2: Mindfulness, Paying Attention and More on Self-Compassion

Thank you for joining Week 2 of The Daisy Garland Mindfulness sessions.

This week, we started to look at some of the practical benefits of developing a mindfulness practice, one of which is the ability to improve our focus and attention. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, many of us have experienced increasing levels of distraction and an inability to concentrate on any one thing for very long. Exposed to anxiety-creating headlines, an ever-changing pandemic, worrying about loved ones or simply trying to keep your head when all about you are at risk of losing theirs, it’s no wonder many of us feel unable to focus. So how could mindfulness help?

Mindfulness is often described as a particular way of paying attention: On purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally (with kindness to yourself). Although the definition is simple, putting this into practice in daily life is often a challenge. So how might...

The Stop Practice

Stress is an inevitable part of life. But stress itself is not the problem - it’s how we relate to it that counts. 

The stress response (‘fight, flight, freeze’) is critical to our survival. In days gone by, it might have saved us from the mouth of a sabre-toothed tiger. These days, while certain threats have disappeared, others are on the rise. Our stress response is triggered constantly. It may be triggered by an update on the news, the temporary loss of a mobile phone or the resounding ping of an incoming email. When we are worried, anxious or fretting about something, this is when the stress response activates. Over time, if we are not able to find a way of slowing down and normalising the bodily systems involved in stress, we can start to suffer from problems such as high blood pressure, muscle tension, anxiety, insomnia and digestive problems.

Creating space during the day to leave the worried mind behind and come into the present...

• AUDIO: Mindfulness meditations recorded by Gillian Higgins: https://www.gillianhiggins.co.uk/podcasts?cid=ddd4324f-d8af-4263-ae0f-ddf2cba6b10d

• ARTICLE AND VIDEO: Getting Started With Mindfulness (including a video from Jon Kabat-Zinn entitled “You are Not Your Thoughts”): https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/ 

• VIDEO: The Difference between Self-Compassion and Self-Esteem by Kristen Neff: https://youtu.be/IvtZBUSplr4 (19 mins) 

• ARTICLE: Why Self-Compassion is the New Mindfulness by Patricia Rockman: https://www.mindful.org/self-compassion-new-mindfulness/

• BOOK: When Things Fall Apart - Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron

New course coming in July 2021.

This 6-week mindfulness course tailored for lawyers consists of a 1-hour live weekly session (via Zoom) with tutor Gillian Higgins. The course is accompanied by reading materials, practical hints, tips and audio-guided meditations. 

To obtain more information about the course topics and/or reserve your class, please email Gillian at [email protected] 

Session times: 8-9am or 6-7pm live session via Zoom. 

Class size: Groups of 10-12 from a law firm or chambers. 

Cost:  Details provided on application. 

On this day, tens of thousands of people across the globe come together to start conversations around epilepsy, raise awareness of the condition and fundraise to make a difference to the lives of those affected.

For the past few months, I have had the pleasure of assisting Sara Garland, CEO of The Daisy Garland, a national charity which supports parents of children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Sara’s innovative work in this field led her to introduce a mindfulness programme for parents and carers.

Each week, parents have come together in our drop-in sessions to learn how mindfulness can encourage us to pause, take stock, take a moment for ourselves and bring self-compassion to the most difficult of situations.

Listening to stories, experiences and the ways in which mindfulness is helping parents and carers, even in small ways, has been both humbling and enlightening.

Given the impact of the pandemic and the incredible tireless work of The Daisy Garland, supporting...

In this blog post, published in September last year for Workcultuarti, I examine how the practice of mindfulness can help us to address conflict in the workplace.

The post also includes a daily mindfulness practice focusing on dealing with difficult colleagues.

To read more, simply click here.