BWY Mindfulness Module
Personal Development Module encompassing the integration of mindful compassion into daily living
It also allows participants to absorb these teachings into professional workspaces.
The Module does not qualify participants to teach an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI). It does, however, provide the foundation from which participants may proceed to train to teach MBIs. In this regard, Clear Mind Institute offers a Conversion Course to bring prospective teachers in line with CMI’s Level 1 training.
Training is open to all yoga teachers and yoga practitioners with an interest in mindful compassion and cultivating a mindfulness practice.
Purpose
The key purpose is to incorporate mindfulness more meaningfully into everyday life and into professional working life. For instance:
- Yoga teachers would be able to integrate mindfulness teachings into their yoga teaching
- Yoga practitioners who are professionals in the workplace could use the skills to improve pacing, productivity and focus
- Any yoga practitioner could bring these skills into daily life and combine their daily mindfulness practice with their yoga practice
Should Mindfulness Module participants wish to proceed to train to deliver 8-week MBIs, they could enter the training pathway of organisations such as CMI, through the BWY conversion course.
Module Training
As with all mindfulness training, this module is practical and based on direct, lived experience. Mindfulness training irrespective of level of training, is always premised upon the standard 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme or similar. The module takes students through the MBSR programme and provides additional inputs based on classical philosophy and texts. Students benefit from the MBSR programme while also delving more deeply into classical teachings. Because the course spans 4-6 months, the cultivation of practice encouraged through regular email contact and support adds significant value.
While there is no formal assessment on this course, participants are required to undertake a daily 45’ practice as part of the mindfulness community.
The module aims to:
- Orientate participants to mindfulness meaningfully and authentically
- Provide direct, embodied experience highlighting similarities and differences with yoga training
- Offer practical skills in cultivating mindful compassion
- Train participants in the four formal mindfulness practices
- Expose participants to many informal practices
- Promote ways of incorporating mindfulness into yoga teaching and other professions
- Provide opportunities for participants to practice mindfulness skills during and on course (this helps with refining self-instruction)
- Introduce the world of mindfulness, including research, the UK Network, the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s policy directives as well as traditions and current practices
- Build the mindfulness community, offering participants support for continuing and sustaining their practice
By the end of the training, participants should find themselves:
- Enriched with direct experience of mindful compassion (assessed through inquiry, dialogue, journaling, dyads and group discussion)
- Informed with an appreciation of the traditions and current practices of mindfulness (assessed through Q&A, reading and group discussion)
- Equipped to recognise ‘automatic pilot’, able to practice mindfulness with an awareness of the wandering mind (assessed through inquiry, dyads, journaling, group discussion taken directly after practice)
- Noticing and correcting stress reactivity, promoting responsiveness (assessed through entrance and exit questionnaires, dyads, inquiry, journaling, reflection and home study)
- Trained in attention and emotional regulation (assessed through Q&A, inquiry, questionnaires, journaling of direct experience)
- Skilled to teach aspects of the formal practices (assessed through paired work, group work, Q&A, discussion, revision, on-going practice) [the purpose here is to support participants in guiding themselves in the basic practices authentically to distinguish mindfulness from yoga instructions]
- Aware of the differences between mindfulness and yoga teaching (assessed through on-course practice, dyads, group discussion, journaling, peer feedback)
- Enriched in exploring some of the yogic classics alongside foundational mindfulness texts (assessed through group discussion)
- Positioned to integrate mindfulness teaching into their lives and work (assessed through inquiry, journaling, Q&A)
- Encouraged to participate in building the mindfulness community (assessed through exit questionnaires, reflection, inquiry)
Next Steps
Have a look at our next Mindfulness Module Dates above and click through to find out full course details, costs and application details.
Need more information?
Find out more about the BWY Mindfulness Conversion Course and read about the Training Pathway for the bigger picture on becoming a Mindfulness Teacher with CMI.