How I moved into mindfulness

Thanks to new learner, Ian for kindly sharing how attending our ‘Moving Into Mindfulness’ course has helped him reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

“I’m a carer for my wife who has fibromyalgia, and I’ve had issues with anxiety in the past. When I saw the advert for Moving Into Mindfulness on Facebook, the idea of doing a mindfulness course appealed to me.

My wife has previously done a mindful crafting course with the College, which she enjoyed, so I decided it was worth a go. I didn’t know what to expect but I liked the fact that this was a face-to-face course where I could meet other people as well as learn about mindfulness, so I signed up. When I turned up at the first session I got a warm welcome, and it turned out I already knew two of the other learners! The whole group got on well, even though we were all from different backgrounds. Everyone was lovely, and I think getting out and meeting such wonderful people was a major part of the benefit for me.

The facilitators, Laura and Ash, were both really good, and very supportive and good at communicating in a positive way. They are Peer Workers, so they have their own lived experience of life’s challenges. I found it helpful that the people running the course have similar experiences to the people attending the course, which makes it all feel a lot more supportive. They were able to explain issues that they still have and how they cope with them, as well as having the skills to pass on the information in the course in a helpful way.

I’m still doing the mindfulness techniques that we learned on the course, and I do them 2-3 times a day, which I find really relaxing and reassuring. It has helped my anxiety levels a lot and I feel less stressed overall. I enjoyed this course so much that I keep looking for other courses at the College I can sign up for! To anyone who’s wondering whether to sign up for a course, I would say “definitely do it!” I’ve even told my wife’s GP how good it was, so that he can hopefully recommend it to patients. Everything about the College is so supportive, from the initial contact and bookings right through to the course and it’s follow up, it’s all been brilliant.”