LEARN MINDFULNESS
Join one of my 8-week courses! Choose between:
Mindfulness for Life (MBCT-L)
Starts Sunday 4 May 2025
This course combines mindfulness with cognitive-behavioural techniques to cultivate lasting, sustainable, and positive change.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Starts Tuesday 6 May 2025
The most-researched Mindfulness programme available, to help you cope better with stress and anxiety.
Delivered with a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Neuro-Inclusive practice.
Concessions and donation-based spaces are available, please contact me.
Mindfulness for Life
Mindfulness for Life is an 8-week course, consisting of 2hr 15 min weekly group-based classes and 1 “retreat day.” All sessions are offered live on ZOOM.
This comprehensive programme was created by Oxford Mindfulness. It is based on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), initially designed to prevent depressive relapse, but was adapted for the general public which is why it is also known as MBCT-L or Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Life.
The course offers a practical combination of contemplative mindfulness wisdom and cognitive-behavioural techniques. It is practical because it enables you to integrate mindfulness into your daily life to help you cultivate positive change that lasts.
By the end of the course, you will know different ways to support yourself with challenges such as recurring patterns of thinking and behaviour that often create and maintain your stress, as well as new ways to help you flourish in life.
Some of the many evidence-based benefits (*) include:
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A reduction in feelings of stress and anxiety
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More capacity to cope with pain and illness
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Less worrying and obsessing over things
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Greater appreciation of what is pleasant and enjoyable in life
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Living life with a stronger sense of purpose and meaning
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Improved overall well-being, even in life’s more challenging moments
Each weekly session has its own theme but follows a consistent structure: We get settled, take part in a guided, theme-based and neuro-inclusive meditation practice (which can include gentle stretches and movement), followed by post-practice reflection and discussion around the experiences of the practice (which is always an invitation, never an obligation!). This is followed by a 5-minute comfort break. After that, there’s space to discuss the weekly home practice, followed by another (shorter) practice or a didactic/cognitive exercise with time to reflect on your learning.
Included in the course fee: A course workbook, audio recordings, and Certificate of Attendance.
Week 1: Awareness and automatic pilot
Week 2: Living in our heads
Week 3: Gathering the scattered mind
Week 4: Recognising aversion
Week 5: Allowing and letting be
Week 6: Thoughts are not facts
Retreat Day between Week 6 and 7
Week 7: How can I best take care of myself?
Week 8: Maintaining and extending new learning
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week course, consisting of 2hr 15 min weekly group-based classes and 1 “retreat day.” All sessions are offered live on ZOOM.
The programme was developed by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970s at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre. It is scientifically underpinned and can help you cope better with stress and anxiety, and enhance your overall wellbeing.
You will experience a variety of formal and informal mindfulness meditation practices, group dialogue, and gentle teachings around the physiology of stress, how to self-regulate your mood, responding instead of reacting in challenging situations, being more compassionate to yourself, and more.
The programme is taught by specially trained teachers. It does not intend to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition, but rather to help participants change the way they relate to their circumstances through the powerful practice of non-judgemental mindful awareness. This approach can help people live more effectively with their problems. MBSR has proven to be so successful, it is used in hospitals around the world and is also taught in non-clinical settings, including workplaces, schools, and many other contexts (*).
Included in the course fee: A course workbook, audio recordings, and Certificate of Attendance.
Week 1: Introducing Mindfulness
Week 2: Perception and creative responding
Week 3: Mindfulness of the breath & the body in movement
Week 4: Learning about our patterns of reactivity to stress
Week 5: Coping with stress: sing Mindfulness to respond instead of react
Week 6: Stressful communication and interpersonal Mindfulness
Retreat Day between Week 6 and 7
Week 7: Lifestyle choices – How can I best take care of myself?
Week 8: Keeping your Mindfulness alive
Entry criteria for MBSR and MBCT-L
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You are genuinely interested in learning about Mindfulness or deepening your understanding of Mindfulness
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You want to cultivate a meaningful meditation practice to maintain or improve your overall wellbeing
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You are willing to engage in gentle self-reflection
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You have access to a stable Internet connection and ZOOM (private space and camera on)
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You are happy to learn in an inclusive and diverse group-format
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You can attend all 8 weekly sessions and the Day of Practice
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You can dedicate about 30 mins of personal practice each day
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You are over 18 years of age
(*) Please note: Despite the many potential therapeutic benefits, these benefits are not guaranteed. An MBCT-L or MBSR course is not personal or group psychotherapy. Christoph Spiessens is a certified Mindfulness Teacher and not a licensed psychologist or healthcare professional. If you are currently experiencing severe mental health issues, please seek more specialised support from your GP or healthcare professional instead.
Frequently-asked questions
Please note: These are brief answers to complex concepts! There is an abundance of research information available. Please just ask me for additional resources if you are interested in learning more.
• What is Mindfulness?
Generally speaking, Mindfulness is a trainable skill. That skill is attention. Therefore, Mindfulness is a form of attention training. But there’s something specific that makes Mindfulness practice so special: The element of being non-judgemental as we pay attention. Mindfulness is non-judgemental present-moment awareness. We can learn to focus our attention on something without colouring what we observe with our many beliefs, opinions, preferences, etc. We learn to be with something just as it is – without needing it to be different. We learn to pay what is often referred to as kindly attention. We cultivate an attitude of non-judgement and look at things as if we were in the observer seat. When we do this, we can step out of issues and step back for a while -even if only for one moment- and create a gentle breathing space between ourselves and our thoughts. We learn to relate to issues rather than from them. This practice can allow us to respond to whatever occurs instead of reacting to it.
Mindfulness helps us to wake up from the automatic pilot mode of mind. On automatic pilot, we are more likely to feel triggered. Events around us, and our own thoughts, feelings and sensations (of which we may be only dimly aware) can trigger old habits of feeling, thinking and behaviour that are often unhelpful. This can often lead to worsening mood, or to physical and emotional symptoms of stress.
The aim of Mindfulness is to increase our awareness so that we can learn to live more fully, responding to situations with choice rather than reacting automatically. We do this by learning to pay attention to all our experiences, including our bodily sensations, thoughts, moods and emotions, and to the small changes within them.
• Is Mindfulness a religious practice?
Although it is generally considered that Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhism (which is a philosophy and science of mind rather than a religion), Mindfulness can be experienced and practiced entirely secularly. The MBSR/MBCT-L courses have no intention to purposefully promote any religion and all sessions and practices are secular.
• How to practice Mindfulness? And is it the same as meditation?
During the programme, you will learn about formal and informal Mindfulness practice. Formal practice consists of exercises including sitting meditation, body scans, breath awareness, and mindful movement. Informal practices invite us to bring mindful awareness to daily activities such as doing the dishes, taking a shower, mindful listening to a friend, and so on. All great opportunities to practice paying non-judgemental attention. It is more challenging than it may seem! We soon realise how distracted we are during those everyday activities…
To build the Mindfulness “muscle,” it is important to train it. To use an analogy, if Mindfulness is your fitness level, you’d go to the meditation gym to boost that fitness level. However, Mindfulness is but one form of meditation. During the course, you have ample opportunity to experience both formal and informal Mindfulness practice.
• How does it work?
Psychologically, practicing Mindfulness allows for a shift in perspective to occur. A meta-cognitive awareness called reperceiving or decentering. Reperceiving can help change our relationship to our experience (including thoughts, feelings, and emotions). It becomes easier to disidentify from our mind’s content, observe the inner commentary, and recognise the impermanence of our predicament. This is not passive resignation but a very alive, active process that facilitates a healthy sense of control and befriending ourselves.
Neurologically, Mindfulness practice can positively affect the brain and other parts of our nervous system. With Mindfulness practice we develop our capacity to integrate different parts of the brain so they can work more harmoniously together, leading to better perspective-taking, less emotional reactivity, and more self-regulation.
• What are the benefits?
Although Mindfulness is not a panacea and mustn’t be presented as one, there are many well-documented benefits that thousands of people around the world report as a result of practicing Mindfulness. Countless scientific studies back up these results and can easily be accessed online for further information. In England, the National Health Service offers Mindfulness training as a treatment to help prevent depressive relapse.
Cultivating a daily Mindfulness practice can: Increase self-awareness and self-regulation, reduce stress, bolster the immune system, improve empathy, memory, perspective-taking, attention, patience, reduce anxiety, and more. Overall, practicing Mindfulness can lead to suffering less, greater wellbeing and flourishing in life.
Participant Feedback
"This is an absolutely wonderful course. Challenging, eye-opening and transformative. I’m learning so much from it."
P. Sutherland
"If you are unsure, just do it anyway, this may just be the thing you have been searching for."
October 2022 participant
"Life changing. Definitely worth investing the time in and I have recommended it to others."
October 2022 participant
"I really enjoyed attending the online course facilitated by Christoph, it really helped me stay on track establishing a mindfulness practice. Christoph helped us to explore what we experienced during practice which was a huge learning curve and one that you can’t get from books or apps."
October 2022 participant
"Christoph's facilitation of this 8-week MBSR course was excellent. He is very knowledgeable about mindfulness and a skilful teacher with a friendly and approachable personality. He was always well organised and prepared for our weekly online sessions with good quality course material sent to us in good time before we met. Christoph is emphatic and compassionate, someone who is very easy to connect with. He is an active listener and holds space for everyone on the course to contribute or to catch up with any activity. I was very touched by his inclusivity and sensitivity; the way he supported every individual was really wonderful. I feel very fortunate to be able to join him and my fellow students on this recent course."
January 2023 participant
"This 8-week MBSR course was great. It came at the right time for me and it was perfect that I could do it from my home; going out of my comfort zone in my most comfortable place. Christoph was a great facilitator of my learning on this 8-week journey; always kind, thoughtful and in the background allowing 'mindfulness' to be our teacher. The course materials are great, interestingly the small group made the experience more personal and sharing reflection and experience consolidated my learning. There are great resources to develop my practice after the 8 weeks. I've been practicing mindfulness for a while, everytime I take another step to deepen it, I 'see' its effects. I'd recommend this for beginners and those who regularly practice."
January 2023 participant
"I joined this course as a Mindfulness Teacher who needed to take a break from teaching and focus on my own wellbeing. I really needed to focus on my mental health due to experiencing a loss in my family alongside other challenges. It all felt so overwhelming and I know I needed to do something for me. Christoph reached out to me on Facebook offering this course (after I posted wanting to join a course.) I absolutely enjoyed this course, it reminded me that I need to practice kindness and patience. This course also helped me to become less reactive and more responsive in the midst of those challenging moments. Christoph's delivery was perfect and I loved his worksheets which I will print and treasure. I highly recommend this course."
October 2023 participant
"An excellent course with a caring and interested teacher"
October 2023 participant
"I have mentioned about Christoph's teaching approach re describing his own mind in action (really helpful). I also liked the way he frequently encouraged the group to take a moment, look away from the screen, feet of the floor etc. These demonstrations make it feel more doable to transfer these skills/techniques to daily life. I have found this hugely helpful. Christoph was always able to develop learning points as needed, and has been approachable throughout. Christoph has always made it clear that he was available for support between sessions which was reassuring to know."
October 2023 participant
"Loved it! 100% professional yet reassuring, friendly and very open to reflect on your own practice too! very much an inclusive group dynamic whilst giving individual opportunities as to how much they felt able to interact."
October 2023 participant
"I came to the course not having a great deal of mindfulness but I was aware that I wanted to try something to make me not feel the way that I was at that time. The course helped me to recognise signals & and how to deal with them head-on and how to incorporate mindfulness into my day-to-day existence."
October 2023 participant
"Kind, inclusive, respectful, professional. A well-held safe space."
October 2023 participant
"It is impossible not to feel encouraged and inspired by Christoph's embodied love of mindfulness and its potential for creating transformation, because it's so clear that he has experienced these himself, and that mindfulness is a genuine, dedicated path for him. This makes him a passionate and meticulous teacher who comes from the heart. His willingness to receive feedback is reassuring, as is the strength of his commitment to inclusion and diversity. He's a teacher who seeks to learn and develop his own understanding, and this shows itself in humility and openness. It's a pleasure to learn with him.'
Autumn 2024 participant
"As a gay woman I felt completely safe to be myself. As an individual currently experiencing a therapeutic journey, I felt safe in his and the group space."
Autumn 2024 participant
Upcoming Courses
Mindfulness for Life (MBCT-L)
Starts Sunday 4 May 2025
Sundays, 10 am - 12:15 pm UK, 8 weekly sessions + 1 retreat day, live online via ZOOM in group format
RRP £250 + VAT. Concessions and donation-based spaces are available, please contact me.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Starts Tuesday 6 May 2025
Tuesdays, 7 pm - 9:15 pm UK, 8 weekly sessions + 1 retreat day, live online via ZOOM in group format
RRP £250 + VAT. Concessions and donation-based spaces are available, please contact me.
To book: Please email Connect@ChristophSpiessens.com or use the Contact Form
After receiving your inquiry, I will email you a brief health questionnaire and consent form, confirm whether taking a mindfulness course is appropriate for you at this time, and send you an invoice.
