Workshops

We live in a world in which our workplaces can be very busy bringing together diverse people with different needs and ways of expressing these needs. 

When the going gets tough or people start to look stressed or exhausted, you can often hear staff and managers telling people to look after themselves.

Indeed self-care has become a trendy topic, but what does it mean?

Does it mean two bottles of wine rather than one? More chocolate? More sleeping? 

Sadly in my experience, ‘self-care’ can be often said, rarely understood and never practiced. Self-care should not be something we resort to because we are so absolutely exhausted that we need some reprieve from our own relentless internal pressure. Perhaps true self-care is not salt baths and chocolate cake, it is making the choice to build a life you don’t need to regularly escape from.

In this workshop we will open the way to begin creating your unique and individual self-care plan. 

We provide workshops for private, public and third sector organisation staff to learn techniques and attitudes to enable skilful reflection, self-regulation, self-care planning and connection. Participants are encouraged to identify personal strengths and ways of being that promote soothing, nourishing and self-mastery as an alternative to depleting working and living choices.

Providing the space in our busy lives to discover how rest, restore and replenish

So that we can live lives with space, grace, purpose and meaning.

Read a recent evaluation by Home Start staff of the Self-Care for Living and Work course here

Contact us 

Many employers are looking for ways to support the health and well-being of staff. Understandably stress and anxiety are particularly high amongst staff in the public, private and third sector due to the demands of working and living. For example, often working from home means long days seated in front of a computer screen and little respite from family or the four walls of the living space.

I have been delivering a series of weekly drop-in session via Zoom for staff in schools and St. Andrews University, but also at Home-Start, Scotland and NHS and Social Care, Fife. Over the last three years I have also been providing training to Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The drop-in sessions have been between 45 – 60 minutes long. The aim of these sessions is to provide staff with an opportunity to experience a break from the pressures of work and the stress of living. Specifically, Be Mindful Fife integrates energy movement with body and breath meditation practices. This is to encourage participants to shift the focus of their attention away from cognitive processing, and towards an awareness of being present in the body with kindness.

Each of the practices are delivered with no expectation that the participants have prior knowledge or understanding of mindfulness training, but also to meet the needs of those that do. In doing so, the intended outcomes are for participants to leave sessions mentally and physically refreshed. Secondly, participants are equipped with techniques and strategies for self-managing their health and well-being.

Evaluations of participants experience have been exceptionally positive. See a sample of comment below. So much so that contracts have been renewed to support the health and well being of staff. Employers have also purchased the eight weeks Mindfulness Based Living Course to support staff (this is a recognised mindfulness course by British Association of Mindfulness Based Approaches. For queries regarding the quality of my teaching or the impact of these drop-in sessions, reference and contact details can be supplied on request. A single taster session can be supplied for a small fee to determine whether this is right for your staff.

Bloc of Eight Sessions

This cost includes eight 45-minute sessions over eight consecutive weeks integrating energy, movement and body and breath meditation practices. My professional Zoom licence allows me to hold sessions for up to 100 participants.  At the end of the eight weeks, a short report on the number of participants that attended each session and the comments collected will be submitted by Be Mindful Fife. All comments are collected via the chat box on Zoom, but an independent evaluation form can be used if preferred.

Over the years I have been invited to work with a number of groups of young people and adults that have had difficult, if not traumatic experiences.

This normally leads to emotional outbursts, depression, isolation, self-harming, chaotic life-styles, anti-social behaviour, unemployment, addiction and homelessness.

It is heart breaking to see this happen to so many young people. I’m inspired to offer my expertise.

Since 2021 I have been working regularly outdoors with groups of young people and adults aged 16+ at Trust in Fife. I’m also working with a group outdoors on the Falkland Estate.

I’ve taken time to develop a programme to help these young people and adults develop self-awareness, self-regulation and self-care.

The sessions are designed to create a trauma informed safe place for participants to develop connection and kindness to themselves and others.

The Body n Mind Perograme recognises that healing from trauma requires more than just talking. By combining physical techniques, emotional support, educational components, and community connection, the program addresses the whole person. The flexible structure ensures that whether someone attends once or many times, they can benefit from the experience and learn tools for managing life’s challenges.

If you are working with such a group and would like my input please contact me