Taster session 1 – Discover Mindfulness – held on 14 October.

Is it so easy to put things off, especially if they are about taking care of yourself? It seems to have less significance than all the other ‘to-do’ things in your life. Perhaps you have been intending to learn more about the potential of mindfulness to improve your life but just haven’t been able to find the time. This session provides the opportunity to do just that.

So join Stanter Kandola for this friendly interactive introduction to the simple yet powerful world of mindfulness. This 75-minute mindfulness Breathworks taster session will give you an insight into how you can free your mind from stress, worry and pain and find some tranquillity in an often-chaotic world.

This first session will give you a broad understanding of mindfulness, explaining clearly what it actually is and demonstrating the benefits of practising it. This will lead on to an exploration of the breath. Stanter will guide you through a short enquiry into what the mechanisms of breathing are and why it’s so important, showing how breath acts as an anchor in mindfulness practice.

By the end of the session, you will have learned some basic mindfulness tools and techniques that can allow you to feel good on the inside and able to deal with the challenges on the outside. The simple practices you will have learned will enable you to bring mindfulness practice into your everyday living. You will also be given suggestions about how to take your mindfulness experience further if this taster session inspires you to do that.

Who is it suitable for?

This session will be relevant to anyone living with, or caring for someone with, persistent pain or any other long-term health condition and illness. More broadly, mindfulness can help in coping with general life stresses such as those arising from work, relationships, loss or anything else which impacts our equilibrium. It can also just help us deal with the constant rapid change and unpredictability of life today.

The Video of Session One:

Taster session 2 – Managing Pain and Ill-Health with Mindfulness – held on 22 October.

Do something today your future self will thank you for.

We know living in pain, managing a long-term health condition and stress can at times be intolerable. Does it have to be that way?

Clinical trials show that a daily practice of mindfulness meditation can be as effective as taking prescription painkillers and can enhance the body’s natural healing systems. Mindfulness can also reduce the anxiety, depression, irritability, exhaustion, and insomnia that arises from chronic pain and illness.

So join Stanter for this second taster session on mindfulness, this time focusing on applying the method to managing pain and ill-health. You will find this session a great introduction to the Breathworks approach to Mindfulness for Pain, Illness, Stress and Wellbeing.

This session builds on the first taster, enabling you to deepen your understanding of what mindfulness is and how it is practiced. You will be guided through some short interactive practices exploring Primary and Secondary suffering, leading into a body scan meditation.

By the end of the session you will have learnt some simple practices which will enable you to bring mindfulness into your pain management toolkit. You will also be signposted to accessible resources which will help you extend your understanding of mindfulness and how it can be used in pain management.

Who is it suitable for?

This session will be especially relevant for those who are affected by a long-term health condition, particularly chronic pain. This could include anyone who experiences, cares for, or treats someone who has chronic pain.

The Video of Session Two:

About Breathworks

Breathworks is an international mindfulness organisation and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. Founded 20 years ago, the organisation teaches mindfulness-based approaches to help people live better with pain, illness and stress and was the first in the world to develop a Mindfulness-based Pain Management (MBPM) programme. Today, the organisation has taught over 100,000 individuals and has qualified over 600 mindfulness teachers in over 35 different countries. The organisation is committed to making mindfulness accessible and inclusive to everyone and provides bursaries and scholarships for those with financial barriers.

Please find below a poster summary of some research carried out by the University of Leeds in collaboration with Breathworks titled “An Assessment of mindfulness for health for the chronic pain population with 12 month follow up“. If you need an accessible version please email Breathworks direct here.

Breathworks Health course research poster

About Stanter Kandola

Stanter was diagnosed with severe Rheumatoid arthritis in her teens and was told that she would end up in a wheelchair.  Instead, she embarked upon a journey of self-discovery and is now head of programmes at Breathworks Foundation, a charity committed to helping people living with pain and illness to reclaim their lives through a blend of mindfulness and compassion training, courses and events.

She is a freelance mindfulness teacher and coach delivering mindfulness workshops and courses across Yorkshire.

For the last 30+ years, Stanter has embraced a holistic approach to her health and wellbeing, exploring different ideas and techniques from established teachers such as Tara Brach and Ken Wilber, incorporating their teachings into her daily life. She also discovered the practice of mindfulness through Breathworks and the teachings of Vidyamala Burch.

An experienced and qualified manager, adept at coaching and training delivery, Stanter holds a BA in Social Anthropology (School of African and Oriental Studies University of London), and is a fully Accredited Breathworks Mindfulness teacher, Mentor and supervisor.  In 2017 she trained with the ‘Mindfulness in Schools Project’ qualifying to deliver their ten-week Dot B programme for children.

Stanter played a leading part in developing a pain clinic in West Yorkshire, which was nominated for an outstanding performance award at a national level.

She has delivered mindfulness sessions – either one-to-one bespoke sessions or group workshops – to: local government; NHS staff; fostering services; Neurological Centre; Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Survivors services.  She is experienced in working with complex clients suffering from long-term health and mental health conditions, as well as trauma, including Manchester Bombing victims.

Stanter has defied her original prognosis.  She has walked on hot coals, lived on the River Ganges, meditated in the desert and by the ocean. She lives life to the full.