Having practiced meditation for the past 25 years I began my journey as a mindfulness teacher in 2005. I trained at The Centre for Mindfulness, Research and Practice, University of Wales, Bangor; where I completed an MSc with distinction in Mindfulness Based Approaches.

In 2009 I became a founding director of Living Mindfully. My work has involved both designing and delivering mindfulness programmes. This includes a 5-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme for the NHS, and a Mindfulness Coaching programme (T.I.M.E.) for Jobcentreplus. My work continues to evolve in new areas including training mindfulness teachers, and introducing mindfulness into the workplace. I am currently writing a book based on mindfulness coaching to be published in 2015.

Away from work I love reading, walking in nature, and trying to tire out two very lively Springer Spaniels.

Research papers:

Staying Well: A Follow Up of a 5-Week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme for a Range of Psychological Issues M Mitchell, G Heads - Community mental health journal, 2015 – Springer

At Living Mindfully, I combine my role as company secretary with coordinating all our many and varied projects. This includes working with our teachers and suppliers to ensure all our services are delivered to the highest standards

My background is in nursing having qualified in 1993. In all my career choices, working with people has been foremost in my thinking. To this end, I completed a diploma in coaching in 2007.

I have completed mindfulness programmes with both Living Mindfully and The Centre for Mindfulness, University of Wales, and I am continuing to develop my own daily practice. My hobbies include quilting and needlework, reading, and walking my two dogs.

My background is as a community artist and creative consultant in education, community and professional sectors. I’ve worked with hundreds of people across the North East of England, and helped them to achieve self-confidence and a sense of well being by getting creative.

Since completing two mindfulness programmes with Living Mindfully I have developed a daily mindfulness practice and enjoy living mindfully with my two young children. I am also a certified NLP Practitioner and use mindfulness in my coaching and therapy work.

I run the administrative systems at Living Mindfully and am also undergoing training to teach mindfulness courses within the community and schools.

Mindfulness has helped me to do what I love best: writing, painting, yoga and working with people.

In the past 5 years I have had the privilege of teaching mindfulness and witnessed time and again the positive influences it can bring to people. Working with many wonderful people and being part of this experience is humbling and deeply rewarding. My interest in mindfulness and yoga started during my travels in India in 1996 when I went to a 7- day retreat. I was drawn to the yoga and was quietly challenged by the mindfulness. I spent the next year travelling, learning, living, and developing these skills before returning to India to spend five months studying yoga and attending meditation classes.

I have worked with Living Mindfully since 2010 having completed training with The Centre for Mindfulness, Bangor. I completed the MISP training (.b) in 2011 and have been teaching in schools since 2012. My love of Yoga has flourished and I became an Iyengar Yoga Teacher in 2012.

I am currently leading a project to develop mindfulness for the younger mind: offering the Mindfulness in Schools programme Living Mindfully in Schools in County Durham. As a mother, and mindfulness teacher I am very excited about this development.

I have worked with people referred by the NHS, professional groups, University and Secondary school students, young carers, and one-to-one sessions with adults, teenagers, and younger children.

I hold ten years experience of mindfulness informed care and practice, working as a complementary therapist in addiction treatment, homelessness and cancer support services. Helping people to manage and reduce their stress by working with the mind and body together has been the essence of this work, and the integration of this holistic approach into mainstream health and social care has been the focus of my professional and academic research as well.

Having started out as a Psychology graduate, I graduated from the University of Westminster with an MSc in Complementary Therapies in 2007. Between 2008 and 2014 I attended mindfulness programmes at the Centre for Mindfulness, University of Wales.

Visiting interesting places, photography and the natural world all hold great interest to me but these days I can mostly be found running around in circles (mindfully, of course!), after my two small children.

My mindfulness journey began when I had the good fortune to attend a five-week mindfulness course with Living Mindfully. I found the course extremely helpful, in fact, life changing. This led to a regular mindfulness meditation practice and I joined a yoga class. My curiosity increased and I began to research the subject in more detail.

I have trained with Living Mindfully and The Centre for Mindfulness, Bangor.

I put my heart and soul into my teaching. I am passionate and enthusiastic about mindfulness and want to share this with people. I enjoy walking, running (mindfully) and spending time in nature with my family. I am proud to be working for Living Mindfully and will continue to learn and develop as a Teacher to meet the needs of the community.

I have been a mental health practitioner since 1986 qualifying as a registered nurse and gaining an honors degree in mental health practice. In 2006 I trained as a psychological therapist becoming an accredited cognitive behavioral therapist and an accredited EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) therapist providing psychological support in both the NHS and private sector. I then went on to complete a postgraduate teaching diploma and have experience teaching in the NHS and private sector on a variety of Health related subjects.

In 2009 after suffering some personal difficulties I discovered mindfulness, and began to look into this way of being with curiosity and interest. I began studying this in more detail and completed a one year mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) course at Samye Ling, going on to train as a teacher in MBSR, and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). My passion is to teach mindfulness and to gently nurture in others the potential benefits of developing a personal mindfulness practice!

As a parent, social worker and Director of a fostering service, I experienced some of the ups and downs of life, and turned to yoga as a different way of working with stress.

In 2009, having spent some time travelling, studying and consolidating yoga and meditation practice as part of my daily life, I began teaching Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with Living Mindfully. I have completed three years of a Master's degree in teaching mindfulness, at Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice.

I am delighted to be working with Living Mindfully as an Associate, whilst also running private courses in the Tyneside area.

I am a coach and mentor specialising in mental health, mindfulness, vocational rehabilitation and pain management.

With the values of attention, openness, exploration, challenge and mastery, my co-creation approach builds trust, confidence and capability allowing time and space to think creatively, develop abilities, insight and techniques and enhances self esteem, engagement and wellbeing.

I have practiced meditation over many years and having completed a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme with Living Mindfully, I realise that this way of being with its focus on awareness, attention, acceptance and living wholeheartedly adds special meaning, curiosity, inner contentment and value to my life.

My passions include; time with my adult children, friends, my daft dog, walking in nature and cities, colour and pilates. I am also an experienced teacher and Landscape Architect with specialist skills in working with older people and end of life.

I have completed a Master’s degree at Bangor, with distinction and hold a Certificate in Teacher Competency as well as my MA. I offer professional development workshops exploring relational and somatic mindfulness as well as mindfulness- based stress reduction courses including a distance learning option.

I have completed foundational training in Focusing; an inner enquiry approach developed by philosopher/psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin, and integrate this within my mindfulness teaching.

Mindfulness teaching is my vocation and has unfolded out of a 20 year commitment to both meditation and yoga. I am committed to creating well-being in all areas of my life and keen to share the benefits of this journey with others. My guiding principle in my work is that we all have the capacity for well-being it’s just a case of learning how to tap into our rich inner resources. What we are looking for is already there!

I am an academic psychologist with an interest in evaluating the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions. I am based at the University of Northumbria and my teaching encompasses Mindfulness, Intimacy, Counselling Psychology and Mental Health. My doctorate was in the area of individual differences and I am most interested in the ways in which we can develop trait mindfulness and develop psychological flexibility. My role with Living Mindfully is to develop our evidence base and contribute to the growing body of research exploring how mindfulness practice may develop a compassionate mind and build individual resilience. I am keen to develop research into how mindfulness approaches can benefit people caught in patterns of relating to others and themselves that they perceive as harmful and to explore the contribution of mindfulness to the management of addictive behaviours.

I discovered Mindfulness by reading around Positive Psychology generally around 5 years ago and have completed both the distance learning course at Bangor and an 8 week programme offered by Living Mindfully in Newcastle. My daily mindfulness practice begins with remembering to stop striving for ‘good practice’. From a compassionate perspective I then enjoy meditation, movement, yoga and dance!