Mindfulness: ancient wisdom for modern times
Why mindfulness meditation
In the early 70s, an American scientist named Jon Kabat-Zinn had a moment of epiphany.
Whilst on retreat, he suddenly recognised the potential of the ancient practice of mindfulness meditation to help a large number of people in the west, especially those living with chronic pain and mental health issues.
Kabat-Zinn was no stranger to meditation, having spent long periods in the East living and studying with masters, and benefiting from the way in which mindfulness – a gentle, present-centred way of being with experience – fosters a wiser relationship to thoughts and feelings.
The work he subsequently became famous for centered around a new eight-week programme called MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction).
Based on straightforward Buddhist insights into human psychology, and the ways in which we are prone to capitulate our own struggles, Kabat-Zinn integrated many of these truths into a secular, structured programme suitable for anyone, regardless of age, background or beliefs.
Before long, and as the clinical evidence base grew irrefutable, hundreds of MBSR teachers were trained, and the course was widely adopted in other parts of the US.
MBSR is now delivered in over 30 countries around the world. The course has been the forerunner in the formulation of sister programmes such as MBCT for depression and MBAR (Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery), and in a rapidly-growing movement to introduce mindfulness to most sections of society.
This month, October 2015, saw the publication of the report by the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group (http://themindfulnessinitiative.org.uk/images/reports/Mindfulness-APPG-Report_Mindful-Nation-UK_Oct2015.pdf), recommending a widespread adoption of mindfulness-based initiatives in the areas of mental health (especially the adoption of MBCT for those with depression), schools, and prisons.
It is now difficult to open a newspaper without seeing some reference to mindfulness and its benefits, which include lower stress levels and anxiety, improved sleep, and enhanced empathy and focus.
The reach is truly remarkable, given meditation was viewed as a slightly weird and wacky pastime only a few years ago.
Beyond the hype
Yet the current hype around mindfulness presents it own set of challenges: the tendency of the press to present this awareness practice as a quick fix; the question of how to train teachers and monitor the mushrooming of less-than-thorough teacher training courses; the (inaccurate) presentation of mindfulness as a set of techniques, when actually it is a 'way of being' that is nurtured over months and years, based on a commitment to daily practice.
And, of course, the conundrum of how to explain mindfulness to someone when it can only be experienced, and known, directly.
These, and other questions, will no doubt be addressed over the subsequent years, led by a team of pioneering UK mindfulness teachers such as Professor Mark Williams, Rebecca Crane (of Bangor University) and Ed Halliwell.
In the meantime, Jon Kabat-Zinn's moment of realisation all those years ago has led to an extraordinarily widespread awareness of how ancient wisdom – the question of how to dwell fully in this moment, without being constantly lost in future or past thinking, and without adding unhelpful layers to our experience - can be adopted in almost limitless ways, to help us navigate life with less struggle.
Mindfulness meditation retreats with us
We run a number of mindfulness meditation weekends throughout the year in UK and Morocco. See our schedule for details of all of our mindfulness retreats.
Blog author: Lucia Cockcroft, co-founder of Yoga at the Mill and lead teacher on our retreats.