The Oxford Mindfulness Podcast

Mindfulness and Cancer: Gently Turning Towards with Trish Bartley

Way back in 2000, Mark Williams opened doors for her to start bringing mindfulness to the patients of a Welsh oncology department where Trish herself had just finished treatment. Over the 20 years that followed, she continued to teach enabling the programme to slowly adapt from the original MBCT, with John Teasdale guiding Trish as they teased out what was needed for this particular group. From this, a workbook for teachers was published (Bartley, 2012) followed by a book for people with cancer themselves (Bartley, 2017). Trish has continued to work with people with cancer, including training many teachers in the programme in the UK and further afield, and offering online one to one connections to a few people at the end of their lives.

What is the role of mindful leadership in addressing the climate crisis?

In the latest episode of our workplace podcast series, Liane Stephan, co-founder of Awaris and the Inner Green Deal, speaks to the OMC about sustainability and the climate crisis. She shares her experiences of working with leaders who clearly have the capacity to affect organisational change. Liane offers some thoughts on how as mindfulness trainers we are uniquely placed to support individuals and organisations to engage with this topic in a very real and meaningful way.

Agency and connection with Jamie Bristow

In this session we will review a three-fold model for understanding how mindfulness supports human agency, our ability to act intentionally, that was proposed in Jamie’s 2020 discussion paper Mindfulness: Developing Agency in Urgent Times, and explore his latest research and publication due for launch in March 2022 titled Reconnection: Meeting the Climate Crisis Inside Out. There are important slides that form part of this presentation, and as such, it is best viewed on our YouTube channel. Watch the full presentation here.

Understanding the challenging dynamics of mindfulness practice with Norman Farb

Drawing from emerging behavioural and neuroimaging research, this presentation with Norman Farb outlines the difficulty of understanding what it means to bring acceptance to our most challenging moments, explore what aspects of breath awareness are actually important for wellbeing, and illustrate how the brain can become quiet without becoming disengaged - a more subtle quality of attention. There are important slides that form part of this presentation, and as such, it is best viewed on our YouTube channel. Watch the full presentation here.

Looking ahead to a new year with Mindfulness with Jake Dartington

Listen again to our first keynote session of 2022. Jake Dartington joined us to look ahead to a new year with Mindfulness. 

Mindfulness for people with learning disabilities with Gemma Griffith

Hosted by Andy Phee and led by Gemma Griffith, this keynote will inform mindfulness teachers how they could adapt their courses making them more suitable for people with learning disabilities.  It may also be of interest to others working in the field of learning disabilities who have an interest in mindfulness.

The impact of art on the neurobiology of stress with Dr Sará King

In this keynote presentation, listeners will receive an overview of the neurobiology of mindfulness, and how this relates to a brief history of the use of art-therapy for healing in clinical and non-clinical settings. Listeners will also be introduced to the neurobiology of viewing abstract art, as it relates to stress reduction in clinical and non-clinical settings.  Sará shares information on her work - the development of the first awareness-based educational program and study "Art and Awareness As A Catalyst For Collective Healing" being launched at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in February of 2022.  A short art-based mindfulness practice is also offered.

Responding to climate change - the role of mindfulness

We were delighted to be joined by Jeroen Janss for our October keynote. The session explores how mindfulness is helping us to respond to the unfolding Climate Crisis with compassion & a sense of purpose. 

Mindful movement with Sarah Silverton - part 2

Sarah has been teaching, and training others to teach, mindfulness for more than 20 years. She has taught a range of established mindfulness curricula and created programmes for both schools and adults. She has had a passion for movement throughout her life and has long-established yoga and Pilates practices.

This practice session sets out to offer a space to explore moving mindfully in different ways, exploring creating movement and allowing movement, arising from the body’s messages and wishes. Can we bring clear intention to be awake to what our body tells us, awareness of the sensation moment by moment and with attitudes of playfulness, kindness, gratitude and encouragement as we move? Practising being mindful with our body as it moves, rather than doing mindful movement.

The session will support you to find ways to bring friendly awareness to your body and move wisely and well in both your formal practise and in daily life.

The movements explored are intended to be very gentle movements, suitable for most people and you will be encouraged to work safely within your own range of movement. This is about moving with awareness, rather than getting into any specific positions or postures.

Mindful movement with Sarah Silverton - part 1

Sarah has been teaching, and training others to teach, mindfulness for more than 20 years. She has taught a range of established mindfulness curricula and created programmes for both schools and adults. She has had a passion for movement throughout her life and has long-established yoga and Pilates practices.

This practice session sets out to offer a space to explore moving mindfully in different ways, exploring creating movement and allowing movement, arising from the body’s messages and wishes. Can we bring clear intention to be awake to what our body tells us, awareness of the sensation moment by moment and with attitudes of playfulness, kindness, gratitude and encouragement as we move? Practising being mindful with our body as it moves, rather than doing mindful movement.

The session will support you to find ways to bring friendly awareness to your body and move wisely and well in both your formal practise and in daily life.

The movements explored are intended to be very gentle movements, suitable for most people and you will be encouraged to work safely within your own range of movement. This is about moving with awareness, rather than getting into any specific positions or postures.