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Mindfulness is an innate human quality! It is a way of

learning to pay wise attention to whatever is happening

in your life; and to allow a greater sense of connection

to your outer and inner world.

Meditation is a formal contemplation practice, in which

we bring our attention to an object of focus – sounds,

a mantra, a visualisation, our bodies, held in a certain

posture. Meditation is found in many different forms

across traditions.

So, mindfulness meditation is a combination of the two.

It is a practice (in formal and informal settings) that

helps us to cultivate clarity, insight and understanding.

In terms of your wellbeing, mindfulness is a way for you

to experientially learn to take better care of yourself, by

exploring and understanding the interplay of mind and

body, and utilising your own inner resources for coping

and growing.

Mindfulness in the workplace

Organisation-wide access to a comprehensive mindfulness programme

Mindfulness practice in the workplace translates

directly into improved employee health, by

reducing stress, improving resilience, and

promoting effective relationship building amongst

teams.

A body of qualitative evidence supports findings

that mindfulness improves workplace functioning

and productivity, including:

• Resilience

• Stress reduction

• Communication and teamwork

• Creativity and innovation

• Decision-making

• Performance

With this 8-week online training programme, you can reap the benefits of mindfulness with easy-to-access

online resources. You can log into the course from wherever and whenever it works best for you.

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During the course, you will:

✓ Use exercises and training to create good habits to help deal with

stimulation and improve physical and emotional resilience

✓ Learn to recognise and handle long-term stress situations, and

enhance decision-making during stressful periods

✓ Apply tactics to nurture health at work and at home, and to support

the development of others within the organisation

✓ Be introduced to new development and motivation techniques

inspired by the mindfulness approach within a corporate setting

✓ Learn to effectively deal with difficult emotions, such as the sense of

being overwhelmed, by:

✓ Conscious decision-making and appropriate reactions

✓ Learning techniques to increase effectiveness in tasks

✓ Learning to work with long-term stress and tension

✓ Maintaining communication

✓ Building competent teams

✓ Increase the flexibility and effectiveness of various activities, learn to

deal with the unexpected, and improve team relationships and the

work atmosphere

How does it work?

• Real-life examples We use real case studies and methods used by our specialists.

• Practical application The course avoids theory-heavy lectures, and instead offers learning in practical, bite-sized modules that you can complete in your own time. Combine science and practicality for a strong understanding of the materials and increased confidence in applying your learnings.

• High quality materials Expert materials and step-by-step training prepare you for specific situations with in-depth guidelines and scenarios.

• Flexible and mobile learning mode Materials are available 24/7 online, meaning you can access the course in your own time. Our UNIQSKILLS programme remembers your progress, so you can come back to it when it suits you and revisit the course whenever you need.

• The self-assessment quiz allows you to test your knowledge, and upon completion you receive a certificate documenting your professional development.

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MINDFULNESS

Session 1 introduces the basics and the benefits of mindfulness, both in the workplace and in your

personal life. This session looks at the definitions and practices, and debunks some of the myths

existing around mindfulness. This session also includes the first check-in, to show your current stress

response and its journey through the course.

Exercises include:

• Guided meditation: noticing the senses

• Becoming present

• Understanding mindfulness and its use in the workplace, for example to help increase

motivation in your organisation.

Take away practice

• Mindful eating (explore senses)

• Journaling

Check-in tool: Stress response scale phase

STRESS REDUCTION

Session 2 looks at the definition of stress and how it shows up. You are encouraged to consider how

you notice when you’re stressed – what are your triggers? The session also looks at burnout and how

to recognise the warning signs.

Exercises include:

• Guided meditation

• Noticing thoughts, feelings & sensations

• Meditation

Take away practice

• Short check-in practice

• Journaling

RESILIENCE Session 3 introduces mindfulness as a tool to building resilience. This session looks at how to use the breath as an anchor, including

• Noticing a busy mind and returning to the breath • How to breathe properly to reduce stress • Counting the breath meditation

Take away practice

• Breath counting • Journaling

SYLLABUS

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METACOGNITION & DECISION MAKING Session 4 looks at metacognition, i.e. the ability to observe your thoughts. This introduces the distinction between participants thoughts and participants themselves: you are not your thoughts: you are what observes thoughts. The practice allows for more clear-eyed and focused decision-making, by helping you recognise the unseen drivers behind your thoughts and decisions. This session also includes the second phase of the stress response scale, as you work through the sessions in turn. Exercises include:

• Meditation on thoughts with breath as the anchor

Take away practice • Breath counting • Journaling

Check-in tool: Stress response scale phase 2

FOCUS Session 5 continues the learning from session 4 and applies it to movement and attention. Participants are introduced to the concept that ONLY attention is under our control (not thoughts, situations, etc). This understanding helps increase mindful focus and purposeful movement. Exercises includes:

• Guided meditation on mindful movement meditation • Moving the attention

Take away practice

• Mindful walking, or Hatha yoga • Journaling

PERFORMANCE & CREATIVITY Session 6 invites you to practice the pause: giving our brains time to catch up, and move from reactivity to responsibility. This session focuses on making the choice about how to respond to life’s events with acceptance, non-judgement and patience. Without past experiences colouring our reactions and expectations, responses are more clear-eyed and fair, allowing for more honest actions and communications. This pause between impulse and action is fruitful ground for creativity, as it breaks established patterns to allow new thinking to blossom, and performance to change. Exercises includes:

• Body scan • Guided meditation on noticing thoughts, feelings, and sensations

Take away practice

• Body scan practice • Journaling

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MINDFUL COMMUNICATION & TEAMWORK Session 7 brings together learning from previous sessions with a focus on listening deeply and speaking honestly, to help improve communication and teamwork, and applies it to working in a team. What does it mean to pause in conversation and just listen? Exercises includes:

• Being comfortable with pausing whilst talking • Setting boundaries with others • Learning to assert yourself effectively • Erasing ambiguity with truthful and direct speech

Take away practice

• Journaling

MINDFUL ACTUALISATION Session 8 incorporates the teachings from all previous sessions to focus on values and self-care: you are invited to reflect on what kind of person you want to be, both personally and in the workplace. Participants are encouraged to use the check-in tool for a final look at their stress response and how this has changed throughout the course. This session also includes:

• How to notice unhealthy coping mechanisms that may shift you away from values/who you want to be

• How to take care of yourself to avoid stress and burnout • Meditation visualisation, to reflect on values and self-identity • Writing exercise on key learnings and takeaways from the course • A letter to yourself

Take away practice

• Overview of the course • Considering own way to practice in daily life (formal / informal practices)

Check-in tool: Stress response scale phase 3

Start date: August 2019

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Evidence in…

Course content

• Hours of training and instruction videos

• Exercises and descriptions of mindfulness

techniques

• Practical articles and presentations

• Case study

• Self-assessment exercises

• Specific practices for each day of work

• Exercises divided into individual and team

sets

• Certificate of completion

• 10 audio recordings of various meditations

A definition of mindfulness (by Jon Kabat-Zinn)

Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives.

It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness or each moment.

We feel more alive.

We also gain more immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing.

Mindful awareness, is defined as:

paying attention

on purpose

in the present moment

non-judgementally

It is fundamental to this work, since the present moment is the only time anyone ever has to perceive, learn, grow or

change. We cannot change the past, or control the future, so all we have is now.

(Source: Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD.)

Evidence in…

Stress, depression, anxiety, focus, creativity, compassion, physical pain, cancer patients, PTSD.

The NHS now recognises that mindfulness practice is a reliable and effective means of dealing with physical and mental

conditions. In fact, it has been deemed as effective or better than medication in certain health conditions.

Getting the most out of the programme

There is often an idea that mindfulness meditation either works or not for some people. This is misleading as it misses the point.

Paradoxically, for us to immerse ourselves in, and benefit from, the practice of mindfulness meditation, we need to let go of

trying to achieve or do anything at all.

Simple awareness is the first step towards reaping any sort of ‘benefit’ from the practice. Every person has a unique experience

from mindfulness meditation; so, let go of any expectations of fixing yourself! Mindfulness practices will give you the space you

need to see new perspectives of challenges and stress, and to cultivate a more peaceful and balanced mindset, and thus, life.