2 min read – We are so pleased to announce that we are adding another new elective to the ACMM stable. It is called Bringing Mindfulness Home, and is an online mindfulness mini-course for beginners. It can also be taken as an elective within our teaching certificates. This is a self-study program with coaching feedback that supports the quieting of incessant mind chatter and helps to reduce stress.
Mindfulness: An ancient art in a Western culture
The ancient skill of observation is powerful. It brings us into the now-moment instantaneously. Which is the only moment we actually ever have to truly experience anything. However, our minds are rarely in the present moment. Our thoughts are typically jumping from the immutable past to the predictive future and anywhere in between. This is a constant way of being, particularly in Western culture, which is getting busier and more distracted by the day. This state of being is immensely stressful not only mentally and emotionally, but also physically. Humans are suffering from more stress-related disease than ever before. The heightened stress we experience in our daily lives is one of the main drivers in the growth of the meditation and mindfulness industry.
Meditation and mindfulness is an ancient art, that has pre-historic origin. And while there are many different meditation practices that assist us in coming into presence, they are separated by two main categories; attentive and concentrative.
Concentrative versus attentive meditation
Concentrative meditation is where you focus your attention on one single object. This could be a mantra, a candle, mala beads, a part of the body and counting the breath (to name a few).
On the other hand, attentive meditation is about cultivating a state of open awareness. It is about noticing everything that crosses your awareness and allowing it to pass through the moment. The goal of attentive meditation is to simply allow for anything to arise and be met with non-judgement. It is about stepping back and becoming a witness to the experience.
Mindfulness meditation is one style that has become very popular in Western culture. It blends a little of both concentrative and attentive styles. Mindfulness meditation is about cultivating a state where you are able to focus on an object, like your breath, or your body, without the exclusion of everything else around you. You are able to settle your attention on the object of choice and also remain unattached, non-judgemental to anything you may discover.
Mindfulness in action
Try this simple grounding exercise:
Take a moment to pause and notice the surface you are sitting on. You can leave your eyes open or close them, whatever feels right and safe.
Feel into the sensations of where your body is touching that surface. The back of your body and the feelings of pressure, tingling, contact.
Your feet on the floor, the bottom of your feet and the pressure or sensations you feel touching the floor.
Notice also the other areas of your body where you might feel the sensation of touch, where your clothes are touching your skin, the air…
This simple moment of noticing your sense of touch has an incredibly powerful and simple way to open you up to the miraculous world of Mindfulness.
Our new mindfulness for beginners course
Want to learn more about mindfulness meditation? Want to learn simple tools that can support you in your work and home life? You can! It’s a journey that only requires you. You can embark now. And the first step can already see you feeling those more neutral, calm and balanced feelings…did you notice?
This new program is offered as an elective in the Certificate and Advanced Certificates in Meditation and Mindfulness and also as a standalone program to conduct if you are wanting to learn about this ancient art and how to apply it.
Mindfulness teaches you how to rest in your own skin, to feel more at home with yourself with the ability to reset more quickly after highly stressful situations…it’s really quite wonderful.
Simple and easy to practice techniques that can be applied in your work and daily life with ease. And let’s face it, we all need it to be less complicated and more straightforward.
Coming home…
The title of our elective, Bringing Mindfulness Home, is not only about training your mind and how to manage the chatter. As the title suggests, it is also about coming back to You. It is about waking up your beginner’s mind so that everything can be experienced with more presence, curiosity and joy – like the carefree innocence of a child.
This state of being is entirely possible and within your reach. And, the amazing part is that you can start right now. Nothing needed. No props, no “I just need this to be in place and then I can…”
Bringing Mindfulness Home offers you a chance to breathe and feel the peace that you are worthy of feeling. A chance to connect to your inherent ability to rest in calmness in any moment.
For me, the journey with mindfulness has provided the resources to navigate, with a sense of certainty, the work-home life balance; parenting two children, one with Autism, and living in a world that can feel overwhelming more often than not. I can apply these practices anytime, in any moment and feel immediate benefits. In a sense, it has uncovered a path, laid out before me that is so much easier to traverse.
Happy trails, I hope to see you down the track.
With Love,
Julie x
More about this elective:
Bringing mindfulness home offers a beginners program to learn more about mindfulness and how it can support you in your daily life. And, the good news is, you can start right away! This program offers step by step techniques and activities that support you in incorporating this ancient art into your life. In this elective you will learn how it can be done easily and simply; dispelling myths and misconceptions around mindfulness. It delves into a variety of mindfulness techniques so that you can find the one/s that fit best for you. This elective offers ways to support a number of issues and challenges faced in modern life.
At ACMM, we provide a range of post graduate training options and support. Certificate, Diploma and Masters courses in Meditation and Mindfulness Teaching.
An optional addition to any course is our Community Work Placement Program. It supports new meditation teachers to begin or expand their teaching practice.
Download a prospectus for all the details or book a discovery call with us here to find out more!
