Nadine Andrews : life-friendly practices

Mindfulness for stress reduction

Mindfulness is a state of consciousness where you have heightened yet relaxed awareness in the present moment of what’s going on within you (physical sensations, emotions and thoughts) and around you (as perceived through the senses). We can cultivate our capacity to be mindful through practicing – like exercising a muscle.

Mindfulness can help us to self-regulate in a healthy way – noticing what is going on, interpreting these signals to get clarity and insight into the situation, and responding in a way that’s appropriate and from a regulated (rather than dysregulated) nervous system state. Self-regulation is how we achieve harmony, within ourselves and with the world.

I have practiced mindfulness for almost 20 years and trained in teaching the 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course at the Mindfulness Centre for Research & Practice Bangor University in 2013.

Since then, I have taught many MBSR courses, introductory day courses and short (30-90 min) sessions. These have been both for the general public and in organisations,. I also offer one-to-one teaching.

I currently teach regular online mindfulness for stress reduction sessions to colleagues in the Scottish Government.

Courses and introductory sessions are interactive and designed to suit need and circumstance. Typically they cover:

  • what mindfulness is, and why it can be beneficial
  • what stress is, and how it shows up in the mind and body
  • practices to do in the moment of feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed (immediate)
  • practices for building psychological resilience, changing unhelpful patterns, becoming more at ease with uncomfortable feelings (over time)

Practices include breathing and movement exercises, sensory awareness, mindful eating, gratitude and self-care.

Sessions can focus on particular topics e.g. being with difficulty, self-kindness, and (my favourite) being like water.

I teach online and in person, and mindfulness practice can also be included as part of coaching.

Interested?

Information about upcoming courses open to the public will be posted here.

For bespoke courses or sessions please contact me to discuss your needs.

Feedback from MBSR course participants:

"I have found the course very useful and your teaching style relaxed and open, which helped engender a safe space to share.  I appreciated your honesty and the group discussions to make sense of what was going on"

"Thanks for your leadership of the MBSR course. My experience was that you practiced what you preached and that made you a good model - I felt I could trust your knowledge of mindfulness!"  

"Thank you again for running the course - mindfulness is life-changing. 
As a survivor of sexual abuse I feel I have found again the person I was before the abuse. This is the most precious thing."

 "Nadine is a natural communicator and her optimism, reasoning, sensitivity and intelligence had everyone in the group actively participating"