Just One Thing Mindfulness

19/11/2024

Offer Yourself the Gift of Calm this Christmas!

As Christmas approaches, why not take a breathing space from all the busyness to reconnect with the season, yourself, and those you care about in a calm, caring and meaningful way.

Just One Thing is offering two evening mindfulness sessions (Monday 9th & Monday 16th December) to introduce foundational practices including learning to pause, noticing, appreciating, befriending, keeping things simple, and letting go.

You do not need to come to both sessions, but are welcome if you would like to!

For more information, click on this link https://www.just-one-thing.co.uk/festivemindfulness or email jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk

09/08/2024

Hello dear friends! I haven't posted for a while but just wanted to let you know about the next Mindfulness Course that I will be facilitating in Wirksworth this September. This course is an introduction to foundational practices in mindfulness and meditation. It is an opportunity to learn and develop skills and attitudes that can help you meet the stresses and challenges of everyday life with a growing steadiness, calmness, and inner contentment. If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch!

26/01/2024

Hello! I just wanted to let you know, that there are still a few places left on the Everyday Mindfulness Course that begins in Wirksworth, at the beautiful Coach House Studios, next Friday the 2nd of February.

This course will introduce you to some simple mindfulness exercises and meditations. It is suitable for anyone who is interested in learning more about mindfulness, and wishes to enhance their general wellbeing. The course is also suitable for those who have suffered from stress, anxiety and mild depression, and would like some additional tools to help them navigate the ups and downs of everyday life.

If you would like to find out a little more about the 8-week programme, please visit this webpage link (https://www.just-one-thing.co.uk/mindfulnessforlife) or drop me a message/email jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk

Alternatively you can register your interest by completing this google form:

https://forms.gle/18hdNTPcobNWtYkQ7

Cost per Session:
I appreciate that for many people finding spare cash for ‘extras’ is difficult at this time. That is why I am offering this course on a tiered donation approach and ask participants to consider paying what they can to help Just One Thing cover the costs of delivering the programme. Suggested donations:

Abundant Donation Rate: £10 per session
Standard Donation Rate: £5 per session
Supportive Donation Rate: £0 - £4 per session

02/01/2024

If you are contemplating making a fresh start by looking after your wellbeing in 2024, then a mindfulness course could support you with your intentions.

The next 'Just One Thing' Mindfulness for Life course will begin on Friday 2nd February 2024, 2.00 - 4.00 pm, at the Coach House Studios, Wirksworth DE4 4ET

There will be an information and taster session on Friday 19th January. Booking is essential, so if you would like more information, please do get in touch. jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk

11/12/2023

If you are contemplating making a fresh start by looking after your wellbeing in 2024, then a mindfulness course could support you with your intentions. If you would like more information, do get in touch. jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk

07/12/2023

A Mindful Advent Day 7:
Indulging in festive treats can make Christmas a particularly pleasurable time of year. The practice of mindful eating can enable us to savour and appreciate the food that we prepare and share with others.

In Zen traditions, practitioners use five contemplations as a way of reminding themselves where their food came from and its purpose. Here is a summary:

Contemplation 1: May we remember that the food is a gift of the earth and sky, and the efforts of the people who produced and prepared it.

Contemplation 2: May we reflect upon our own worthiness to receive the food. We can cultivate worthiness by eating mindfully, being fully aware of the foods presence and eating with respect. The food is there for us, can we be fully there for the food?

Contemplation 3: May we become aware of negative habits and tendencies, including greed and unhealthy food choices, and not be carried away by them.

Contemplation 4: May we eat with compassion so that we reduce the suffering of others and limit our impact on the environment and climate change.

Contemplation 5: We accept this food in order to nourish our bodies and minds, so that we may realize our deepest intention to live a peaceful, happy, compassionate life for the benefit of ourselves and all beings.

Have a go today: Choose a meal or snack that you can savour by eating mindfully and without distraction. Turn off the TV and your mobile phone, and instead focus on the bowl of food in front of you. You might choose to read through the 5 Contemplations. In particular, consider Contemplation 2. Can you be mindful and attentive to each mouthful of food? What does it look like, what aromas can you smell, can you chew slowly and really notice the flavours and texture before you swallow? How does it feel to slow down and eat a few mouthfuls of food in this way? Has the mind wandered? This is quite normal, the mind is always running through its to-do lists, plans, or worries. As best you can, gently unhook and return to your food.

05/12/2023

A Mindful Advent Day 5:

Have you ever noticed how you can feel more spacious, refreshed and uplifted after encountering extraordinary moments of tranquility, beauty and simplicity away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Perhaps you have had the opportunity to enjoy the view from a beautiful mountain top; or have been absorbed in watching waves break on a breath-taking shoreline; or maybe a visit to a temple or garden has filled you with awe and wonder.

You don’t have to wait for a day off, or to organise a visit a special location to nurture this sense of calm, focus, uplift and spaciousness. The mind and body can be eased by pausing and looking closely at what is here right now. We can find a moment of calm in gently observing an everyday object in our home, and of course, a walk outside can offer an abundance of natural treasures to soothe the mind.

Have a go today: Intentionally choose to pause for a ‘seeing practice’. Take a few conscious breaths, then allow the eyes to softly focus on an object in your environment. It could be your favourite coffee cup, a lamp or candle, a Christmas bauble or a potted plant. If you are outside you might notice moss on a rock, the brickwork of a wall, a shrub or frosty tree, hills on the horizon, or clouds scudding across the sky.

It doesn’t matter what you choose to look at, but once you have settled, simply bring awareness to the shape, edges, colour tones, shadows and light, patterns and textures of that object. Gently take in what you notice whilst maintaining an awareness of the bigger space around you, holding you in this moment.

If the mind wanders, no worries, that’s just what minds do. When you realise that your attention is no longer where you had intended it to be, gently return to simply looking.

29/11/2023

What does advent mean to you? The word ‘advent’ itself derives from the Latin adventus "coming; arrival”. For those belonging to the Christian faith, advent is traditionally a time of waiting, reflecting, and preparation.

For many different reasons, the days before Christmas can be challenging. Mindfulness can support our wellbeing at this time, helping us to remain grounded and steady amidst the preparations, busyness, and difficult feelings that may arise. It also enables us to ‘arrive’ more fully in each moment, to ‘come home to ourselves’, and to notice, reflect upon, and nurture what is most pleasant and enjoyable during the festive season.

So, please join me on December 1st, for Day One of ‘A Mindful Advent!’

23/11/2023

Studies have shown that mindfulness can help with stress, anxiety, and depression. In fact, mindfulness-based therapies are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a way to treat moderate depression. And, NICE also recommends that employers make mindfulness available to all employees, to support mental wellbeing at work.

Mindfulness encourages us to step out of automatic pilot and to notice our everyday habits of mind. By paying closer attention to our thoughts and feelings, we can learn to step back a little, disentangle ourselves, and become less reactive and more responsive to life's challenges.

Learning mindfulness helps us to become more aware of the present moment, to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer, and to understand ourselves and others more clearly.

If you would like to find out more, or to join the next Mindfulness for Life Course by 'Just One Thing Mindfulness' please get in touch. The course will commence in Wirksworth in the New Year when there is a suitable core of participants signed up. jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk

FYI. Your teacher, Jo Peck, trained to teach Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with The Nottingham Centre for Mindfulness, part of Nottinghamshire NHS Foundation Trust.

23/11/2023

Whether you are new to mindfulness meditation, or have an established practice, you are very welcome to join this small online group that meets weekly online. We reflect on a particular aspect of mindfulness, practice a mindfulness meditation, and finish with a poem or inspiring quote.

The sessions are held at 8pm UK time on a Wednesday evening.

The sessions are free, but you are able to make a donation to your teacher if you feel moved to do so.

Please message for further information, or email jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk

25/09/2023

Good morning everyone, I hope that you are keeping well.

I just wanted to let you know that there will not be an online mindfulness session this week as I am away on a silent retreat.

Apologies, but this means that the next online session won’t be until Wednesday 4th October. If you are not familiar with these free sessions, find out more here: https://www.just-one-thing.co.uk/online-practice-sessions

However, if you would like to practice with another group during the ‘pause’, the Oxford Mindfulness Centre also offers sessions Monday to Friday, at 1pm and 7pm. Please follow this link for further information. https://www.oxfordmindfulness.org/free-online-mindfulness-course-sessions/ You can also access some recordings of key mediations from this site.

To access some of our previous sessions, poetry, and meditations, click on this link: https://www.just-one-thing.co.uk/onlinesessionresources

Just One Thing offers short online mindfulness meditation practice sessions. These sessions are intended for those new to mindfulness and for those who would like to support their personal practice by connecting with others.

19/09/2023

Hello! I'd just like to update you on an opportunity to practice mindfulness in Wirksworth this autumn/winter. The 'Meeting Winter Mindfully' sessions will share mindfulness exercises and meditations that help us to feel more at home with ourselves and the season by cultivating a sense of comfort, calm, and stability.

If you would like to find out more, or reserve a place please contact Jo - jo@jotmindfulness.co.uk