Innovations in Mindfulness

It was a joy to be with these inspiring finalists in person at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! Congratulations to each and every one of you for your commitment to bringing mindfulness to new communities. We celebrate you all as we announce the three winners of the Innovation in Mindfulness Awards 2024: 🤝 Mindfulness for Refugees 📸 Look Again 🚸 Stix Mindfulness Grateful thanks to a fabulous team of presenters - long-time supporter Mari Thorman, moving and motivating speaker Dr. Tamara Russell PhD, D.ClinPsych and innovation award alumnus Luke Doherty - as well as to Christoph Spiessens for a beautifully curated day. with Brian Turnbull Eileen Clark Ruth Davey FRSA Alexz Farrall Vin Harris Dr Lana Jackson Julia Powell Richard Edwards Alison Sedgwick-Taylor and Menka Sanghvi

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ Peer 2 Peer Mindfulness The central ethos of this charity is ensuring that the benefits of mindfulness are available to all, especially those who would otherwise be unable to afford to participate. By providing free, high-quality, face-to-face mindfulness courses across the Scottish Borders, Peer 2 Peer is enabling and nurturing a growing community of secular mindfulness practitioners from all walks of life. Brian Turnbull describes his experience of mindfulness as 'lifesaving' and he wanted to remove the financial barrier that would prevent some from accessing it. Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations face higher adversity because of financial insecurity, limited access to resources, discrimination, and systemic inequality. In these high-pressure circumstances, mindfulness practices can be particularly beneficial, providing compassionate tools to cope with multiple stresses, regulate emotions and cultivate resilience. https://lnkd.in/eTMc_sqj This week we have been spotlighting all of the finalists in the Innovations in Mindfulness Awards 2024 - read more on our website. We are very much looking forward to announcing our winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival tomorrow! https://lnkd.in/eRWJMCEy

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ Stix Mindfulness Through the use of hand-held interactive devices, Stix teaches children about emotional regulation and shows them long-term strategies for finding a place of calm and focus. The Stix Remotes guide kids through therapeutic mindfulness activities involving deep breathing, guided meditations, balancing and more. Co-founder Liam Murphy was inspired by his brother's experience growing up with ADHD, combined with his own experience of the benefits of mindfulness, and teamed up with his dad to create the product. https://lnkd.in/eTCca5AU Read about all the finalists on our website, and join us when we announce the winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ Mindfulness for Refugees Asylum seekers are more likely to experience poor mental health than the local population, including higher rates of depression, PTSD and other anxiety disorders. Their vulnerability is linked to war or persecution in their home countries, and hostility in their new host communities.   Mindfulness Across Borders is a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive mindfulness course pioneered by Ariana Faris and Sheila Webb, and extended by Dr Lana Jackson and Julia Powell of Sussex Mindfulness Centre. It was developed to provide women with a safe and empowering space to connect with themselves and each other, learn tools for wellbeing and stress management, and cultivate greater acceptance, self-compassion, and resilience under extremely challenging circumstances. https://lnkd.in/eagQU4he Read about all the finalists on our website, and join us when we announce the winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ A Mindful Practice GPs are uniquely placed at the heart of our NHS and communities, to address our most intimate struggles in mind and body. However, they are a severely depleted workforce. What if we created the conditions for them to cultivate their capacity to be mindful? Could this transform their working lives and, in turn, help them to help the patients? Alison Sedgwick-Taylor developed the Mindful Practice programme to support GPs working under great stress, seeking to improve their wellbeing and self-compassion. Tailored to meet their needs and sustained by a community of practice, the programme gives healthcare staff a personal experience of the benefits of mindfulness, which in turn positions them to explain it to their patients. https://lnkd.in/exQyrATF Read about all the finalists on our website, and join us when we announce the winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ Ankor For novice meditators it can be challenging to tune into the physical sensations of the breath. Ankor is a biofeedback device which changes shape to externalise the breathing of users in real-time, providing them with an intuitive and tangible mindful experience. Developed through countless hours of research and iteration by Alexz Farrall, a Human-Computer Interaction Research Engineer at the University of Bath, Ankor aims to makes mindfulness practices more accessible and engaging. https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v Read about all the finalists on our website, and join us when we announce the winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! https://lnkd.in/dqHHAB88

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ Look Again Using mindful photography for inner and outer change, Look Again is intentionally very accessible - all you need is a camera, and an open heart and mind. Ruth Davey FRSA designed this evidence-based programme to weave together mindfulness, creativity and nature connection, and it has already spread across the world and into many contexts. It's being applied in grief coaching, as social prescribing, with children and elders, with neuro-diverse and traumatised groups, in corporate settings, and with peacekeeping staff in war zones. https://lnkd.in/einc6krF Read about all the finalists on our website, and join us when we announce the winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v

⭕ Spotlight on the finalists ⭕ Mindful Wellbeing as we Age Recognising the challenges posed by ageing, and also the ways in which mindfulness enhances our ability to meet these challenges, John Darwin Mike Pupius and Ruth Lees set out to design an approach to mindfulness which is directly relevant to ageing well. The Centre for Mindful Life Enhancement developed the Five Mindful Ways to Wellbeing (see image), through which mindfulness and meditation are introduced, in a series of six online sessions. Collaboration with University of the Third Age has made the programme available to all its members: some 430,000 people. https://lnkd.in/gmG_5dYf Read about all the finalists on our website, and join us when we announce the winners at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival! https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v

In case you missed it: the fabulous finalists have been announced! 🤝 Meet them at the Manchester Mindfulness Festival on Sat 19 Oct 👓 Read about them on our blog: https://lnkd.in/ecshcw2v 👀 Keep an eye out here as we spotlight each project in the coming days

🌟 Meet the finalists! 🌟 Allow us to introduce you to creative, cutting-edge projects sharing the benefits of mindfulness in exciting new ways! Read all about the finalists in the latest edition of the MI newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eefMVBEm