Can we train our minds for increased efficiency and resiliency?

Mindful awareness (or ‘mindfulness’) is something we are all capable of. Mindfulness has been proven by science to reduce feelings of stress, make our bodies healthier, and allow us to appreciate day to day life–ups and downs included. In the workplace, mindfulness has been credited with improving decision-making and enhancing clarity and creativity.

Mindfulness offers a pathway to resiliency – our ability to return to peak performance again and again.

Reports of the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace continue to create headlines in the news. For most of us, however, there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding the topic. What exactly do we mean by mindfulness?

Mindful awareness can be defined as paying attention to present moment experiences with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be with what is.

Or, put another way: Mindfulness helps us to better understand what is happening in our minds so we can respond to our circumstances with better choices and increased clarity.

This workshop is combined didactic delivery (70%), and experiential learning (30%).

PPT will be used as a support for the didactic portion. No special clothing or equipment required, offered in chairs.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This curriculum is based on the accredited and tested Mindful Awareness Program; designed and overseen by UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Centre (MARC) as part of the Semel Neuroscience Institute.

A one-day introductory workshop is a great way to explore the practice and benefits of mindfulness. This workshop supports the following learning outcomes:

• Participants will acquire an understanding of the latest neuroscience research (in basic terms) of the benefits of mindfulness and the affect mindfulness has on the brain – Brain Fitness
• The connection between reaction and response, and the role mindfulness plays will be explored
• Participants will learn 2 or 3 practical tools and approaches they can begin to apply immediately that will lower stress, and enhance clarity and decision making
• Participants will begin to connect the dots between ‘thinking and decision making’ to ‘action with wisdom’. Participants will gain insight into how working with thoughts and natural human emotion can fine-tune our responses, and change the lens through which we view challenges in the workplace.
• Participants will receive on-the-spot instruction demonstrating how to bring mindfulness into day to day life – both as a ‘practice’, and in relational form with others
• The role of mindfulness as a ‘resiliency booster’ will be explored and discussed