When we are embodied, we have an awareness of our body as a whole, including sensations strong and subtle.  This awareness is highly adaptiv

An online search for images of mindfulness conjures up pictures that suggest calm, peace and serenity. The reality, as many who have engaged in the practice will attest, is usually quite different. We sit and prepare ourselves for a mindfulness practice. Our intention is simply to notice what is here, in each moment, to allow it to be as it is and do our best to bring a gentle attitude to it. Yet our busy minds have ideas of their own which often overrule this intention wit

I'm driving into work. As the traffic slows approaching a junction, a car pulls suddenly into my lane in front of me, requiring me to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting it. I blast the car horn. The young driver and his friend make rude signs with their hands and screech away laughing. Halfway through the work day I am still running this scenario through my mind and thinking of all the ways in which I might have liked to respond. Might still like to respond if given the o

In my work as a psychologist I so often see people struggling to make life changes that they would reallly like to make. I encounter the same thing in my personal life. Despite best intentions, and some pleasing results from changing to a healthier lifestyle, it can still be too easy to reach for that cake, that biscuit, that family sized packet of crisps, or to stay for too long on that comfy sofa. While it is never simple to make changes, an understanding of some of the p

I was recently leading a mindfulness session on the beach in my local town of Whitley Bay. As we walked and moved mindfully we were surrounded by the sounds of the crashing waves, wind, dogs barking and a sports coach shouting instructions and encouragement. One lady, who had never been to a mindfulness class before, made a very acute observation. 'I wondered', she said 'why I was happy to hear the noise of the wind and the waves, and notice the feeling of my feet on the s