Whether you are new to mindfulness and meditation or have previous experience, you are invited to come and join us in this 8-week mindfulness meditation programme.
Mindfulness is an integrative, mind-body approach to life that helps people relate effectively to their experiences. It involves paying attention to thoughts, feelings and body sensations in a non-judgmental and compassionate way that can increase our awareness, help us manage difficult experiences, and create space for wise choices.
This 8-week programme offers training in formal and informal mindfulness-based practices that mobilise your own inner resources which enable you to take greater care of your personal health and wellness.
The overall intention of this programme is to learn practices that help deepen your awareness of the present moment of your life with an attitude of kindness, compassion and non-judgment. These practices support the integration of body, mind and heart helping you to manage difficult experiences, create space for wise choices and develop a more compassionate relationship with yourself and others regardless of your life’s circumstances.
The programme will be facilitated by Ingrid Regenass and the full day retreat will be facilitated by Sue Cooper and Ingrid Regenass. (see information about facilitators below)
Each of the eight sessions focuses on a different theme, with time allocated to practice, theory, and discussion. Home practices are included each week to support mindfulness becoming an integral part of your life.
THE 8-WEEK PROGRAMME INCLUDES:
- A pre-programme interview (either in-person or online)
- Eight weekly group classes of about 2.5 hours each (first class is 3 hours)
- A full-day retreat (24 August 2019)
- Information on the science of stress
- Teaching of mindfulness practices for stress reduction
- Gentle stretching and mindful movement
- Home practice manual including guided mindfulness practices
- Refreshments on class days
Numbers are limited – booking is essential.
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS AND WHY IS BEING MINDFUL SO IMPORTANT NOW?
People seem to be losing the ability to “simply be” and “savour the moment”.
We tend to spend a lot of time and energy living in the past (which has already gone) or living in the future (which hasn’t yet arrived), constantly rehashing and rehearsing our life. Often we aren’t present to what is happening right now – which is actually the only moment we can really live.
Most of us live our lives on autopilot, trying to multi-task to fit more and more into each moment often resulting in a sense of disconnection to ourselves, to others and to life in general.
With the constant demands and pressures of life, more and more people are struggling with “burn-out”, depression, chronic diseases of lifestyle, relationship issues and loss of purpose and meaning in life.
Mindfulness is more than just awareness and meditation. It is a way of being. A basic human quality of awareness that is cultivated by learning to pay wise attention to whatever is arising in the present moment of our lives. It is about practicing being in life with an attitude of openness, curiosity, patience, kindness and compassion regardless of our current circumstances.
Mindfulness practice helps us to open up to new possibilities for living a life filled with equanimity, peace and joy.
Mindfulness is an integrative, mind-body approach to life that helps people relate effectively to their experiences. It involves paying attention to thoughts, feelings and body sensations in a non-judgmental and compassionate way that can increase our awareness, help us manage difficult experiences, and create space for wise choices.
Scientific research indicates that practicing mindfulness and meditation regularly has many benefits, including stress relief, improved health and well-being, anxiety management, and better concentration and focus.
INGRID’S MINDFULNESS JOURNEY
“My mindfulness journey began in 2008 when I participated in an 8-week MBSR programme. Since then, mindfulness has become an integral part of my life. I completed the postgraduate certification training in Mindfulness-Based Interventions offered by the University of Stellenbosch’s medical faculty in 2017. I regularly attend silent retreats, participate in mindfulness programmes and attend a weekly mindfulness group to support my practice and ongoing learning.”
Ingrid Regenass, Mindfulness Programme Facilitator
Read more about the facilitators here.
DATES & TIMES
EVENING PROGRAMME:
The programme starts on Wednesday 24th July 2019 at 18h00-21h00 and then on subsequent Wednesday evenings at 18h00-20h30 ending on Wednesday 11 September 2019.
Dates: 24, 31 July | 7, 14, 21, 28 August | 4, 11 September
FULL DAY RETREAT:
The programme includes a full day “Open the Heart and Still the Mind” retreat which will be facilitated by Sue Cooper and Ingrid Regenass. 24 August 2019 from 09h00 for 09h30 to 16h00.
COST OF PROGRAMME
R 4,950.00
Reductions and payment plans are available, please contact us using the form at the bottom of this page.
VENUE:
The programme will be held in the nurturing space of the Integral Health studio set in the peaceful rural environment of Sweet Valley at the foot of Constantiaberg mountain.
If you are interested in attending please complete the form below.
Once I receive the online application form I will contact you regarding setting up a date for the pre-programme meeting. An invoice will be sent to you after this meeting. Proof of payment secures your place.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
INGRID REGENASS (Mindfulness Programme Facilitator)
Ingrid is a mindfulness-based, Integral Health coach, in private practice in Cape Town. She has worked in the field of health promotion and wellness for over 30 years with qualifications in nursing, exercise and fitness, clinical nutrition, counselling, Coaching, TRE® (Tension and Trauma Release) and Mindfulness-Based Interventions. Over the years her work has evolved to include a variety of modalities, which she draws from to empower people to journey towards living a healthy, whole and fulfilling life.
Mindfulness meditation is an integral part of her life. She offers a range of Mindfulness Programmes and regularly attends silent retreats; participates in mindfulness courses and attends a weekly mindfulness group to support her own practice and ongoing learning.
SUE COOPER (Full day retreat co-facilitator)
Open the Heart and Still the Mind: An Integration of Buddhist Meditation and Psychotherapy
Sue is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, working in private practice in Cape Town since the early 1990s. She has a long-standing interest in the interface between psychological and spiritual approaches to self-discovery and inner healing, and has attended Buddhist meditation retreats, mainly in the Theravada tradition, for over 30 years, both in South Africa and at Gaia House in the UK.
Sue offers weekend and longer ‘Open the Heart and Still the Mind’ silent retreats throughout South Africa, as well as courses, on-going weekly groups and monthly half-day/day retreats in and around Cape Town.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
Please fill in the form below and I’ll be in touch soon!