Mindfulness for Health online course

I was inspired to do the online course because I have the chronic health condition Endometritis and wanted to learn to respond well to my discomfort when it flared up.

During this course, I discovered that I hold my breath a lot! The teaching on the breath was really interesting for me. Particularly I noticed that my discomfort levels are not as bad as I thought and that I go through large patches of time with no symptoms. I also found it so useful to remember to carry the mindful practice into my whole day rather than just making time for meditations. 

I became more aware of when I could be kinder to myself. Now I can accept my health condition with kindness rather than frustration. I’d definitely recommend this course for all health conditions. You can learn to respond to your condition better and become aware of your secondary suffering. I’m really glad I did this course – I’ve learnt life-long tools

If you're thinking about it then do it! Tammy is an inspiring and supportive guide who really helps you get to the core of the issues. I have an under-active thyroid and gets bouts of anxiety and depression. Plus headaches, feeling exhausted, and other unexplained niggles and twinges. The techniques helped me focus on what was actually going on and let go of the fear that was making things much worse. I now truly understand the difference between pain and suffering. I even used the insight on a long cycle ride recently in order to get me up a steep hill! It was one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments. I focused on the here and now, and realised the pain in my thighs wasn’t anything compared to the anxiety-induced pain I felt looking up to the top of the hill and telling myself I couldn’t do it! As soon as I realised what was happening, I relaxed my tense shoulders, ungritted my teeth and slowly pedalled. It was amazing!

I decided to take this course to become more self-aware in order to better manage stress. I discovered that a lot of the pain I experience is due to my own tension and that I can ease that just by being more aware of my own body and breathing. Now I’ve learnt that I can be more in control of my body. When I feel stressed, even taking a few moments to focus on my breath and tension in my body can help me deal with pain.

I learnt to let myself off sometimes. If I haven't achieved what I was hoping to achieve, that's OK because I did my best. I realised that previously, I expected much more of myself than of other people.  I've become much better at dealing with pain and working with it rather than hardening against it.

This is a well-run programme which is accessible to everyone. No matter what your situation, you’re bound to learn more about yourself and take something positive away from it.