The Oxford Mindfulness Podcast

Getting Real with Mindfulness Ep. 1 with Claire Kelly and Victoria Fontana

New Podcast 📢 Getting Real with Mindfulness

Ep. 1: "Down and Dirty" with Mindfulness: What We Wish We’d Known

In this first episode of Getting Real with Mindfulness, Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness Director of Teaching and Training) and Victoria Fontana (mindfulness and compassion teacher and executive coach) sit down for a candid conversation about what they wish they’d known when they started practicing.

From the pressure to “get it right” to the surprising emotional breakthroughs, they explore the messy, magical, and deeply human side of mindfulness.

They get, as they say, “down and dirty” with the practice - sharing personal stories, hard-earned insights, and gentle reminders that mindfulness isn’t about perfection, but presence.

Whether you're a personal learner, or a trained teacher, this episode offers something real, relatable, and refreshingly honest.

Claire Kelly is a mindfulness-based mentor and the Director of Teaching and Training at Oxford Mindfulness. With over 25 years in education, she's also passionate about developing and delivering evidence-based programmes to support mental health and wellbeing in education.

Victoria Fontana is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, executive coach, and trainer with over a decade of experience leading transformative programmes. She's a certified instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Compassion-Based Resilience Training (CBRT), and Introducing Mindfulness (IM).

Find out more about Victoria 👉 https://www.mindgazing.com/

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website 👉  https://oxfordmindfulness.org/

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter 12 'A Life Well Lived''

Join us for Chapter 12 "A Life Well Lived”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this final session, Willem explored being “the change you want to see in the world”; within ourselves, our relationships, and our shared world. Through a sample of recordings from characters featured in his book 'Mindfulness for Life', Willem discussed what it means to live well, and mindfulness as a tool to support a life well lived.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter 11 'Living Well: Taking Care of Ourselves, Our Relationships and the World'

Join us for Chapter 11 "Living Well: Taking Care of Ourselves, Our Relationships and the World”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explored how taking care of ourselves, our relationships and the world are deeply interconnected. Drawing on wisdom from contemplative traditions and neuroscience, Willem guides us through reflections and practices that invite us to inquire into well-being as a learnable skill.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter 10 “Cool Head and Warm Heart: the Art of Balance and Equanimity”.

Join us for Chapter 10 “Cool Head and Warm Heart: the Art of Balance and Equanimity”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explored the nature of balance and equanimity to cultivate a cool head and warm heart, weaving in wisdom stories such as ‘The Ancient Oak’ and ‘The Flight of Icarus’, alongside guided practices like the breathing space and grounding in the body.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter Eight "Perspective: Changing the View”"

Join us for Chapter Eight “Perspective: Changing the View”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explores the theme of perspective. He introduces five tools to support us in shifting our viewpoint: grounding in the body, zooming in and out, ‘time travelling’ to reflect on the present from the future, seeing through others’ eyes, and allowing experiences to run their course.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter Nine “Responding Wisely”

Join us for Chapter Nine “Responding Wisely”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explored the power of pausing between stimulus and response to support wise responses. He looked at tools we can use in that space such as grounding in the body, using values as a compass and responsive breathing spaces.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter Seven "Befriending Our Minds""

Join us for Chapter Seven “Befriending Our Minds”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explores the foundational attitudes of mindfulness, contemplative traditions, and practices like the befriending practice to consider the concept of befriending your mind as a lifelong friendship to nurture.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter Six "How We React to Stress and Difficulties"

Join us for Chapter Six, “How We React to Stress and Difficulties”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem Kuyken explores our habitual reactions to stress and challenge through concepts like the 'vicious flower' and 'two arrows of pain and suffering'. Willem discusses how our responses can be supported through practices like the breathing space, the 50/50 practice, and mindful walking.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter Five 'Our Most Important Natural Resource: Our “Body-Mind”'

Join us for Chapter Five, “Our Most Important Natural Resource: Our “Body-Mind””, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Professor Kuyken discusses the interconnected nature of the body and mind, reframing it as the 'body-mind.' He explores a four-part model to help us unpack our experiences moment by moment so that we can be intentional and resilient in our responses. Practices include a mindful phone use practice and a deep listening and speaking practice.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Professor Willem Kuyken and 'A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters' - Chapter Four "Appreciating the Life We Have”

Join us for Chapter Four, “Appreciating the Life We Have”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Professor Kuyken illustrated how appreciation is an active skill and a habit that can bring beauty even to life’s complexities. Practical tools included the three-step breathing space to foster presence as well as ideas for broadening and building appreciation in daily life.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website