Mindfulness and Meditation

Page written and resources collated by Naomi Saxton, Lead Wellbeing Practitioner

Mindfulness is a technique you can learn which involves making a special effort to notice what's happening in the present moment (in your mind, body and surroundings) – without judging anything. It has roots in Buddhism and meditation, but you don't have to be spiritual, or have any particular beliefs, to try it.

It aims to help you:

become more self-aware
feel calmer and less stressed
feel more able to choose how to respond to your thoughts and feelings
cope with difficult or unhelpful thoughts
be kinder towards yourself.

NHS Talking Therapies

see all IAPT courses

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Depression

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a 9 week course for people who experience depression. It is recommended by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) as an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. It is also recommended by NICE for those who have recovered from depression, as a way of reducing the chances experiencing depression again in the future. MBCT courses combines two helpful approaches: Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Our MBCT courses are a great way to understand thought patterns and how to work with these in more helpful ways.

Mindfulness for Health

The Mindfulness for Health course teaches mindfulness practices that you can build into your daily routine to help you better manage your long-term condition. Mindfulness can help us learn to notice and observe our experiences in the present moment without judging our experiences. It can also help us to become more accepting and compassionate to ourselves and can help you reduce stress, anxiety or low mood associated with a long-term condition. The course is free and runs for nine weeks, with a session each week that lasts for two and a half hours.

Go to course

Apps

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Calm

relaxation, meditation and help with sleeping

Download the app

Headspace

Meditation, mindfulness, relaxation.

Download the app

Insight timer

Free app for sleep anxiety and stress, hosts a range of meditations and resources

Download the app

Smiling Mind

Practice your daily meditation and mindfulness exercises from any device.

Download the app

Downloads

Self-help materials you can print, or download and save.

Resource	Description
Pocket Mindfulness exercises	Blog, with simple guidance and information. The link explains 6 simple exercises / ideas to try using different techniques/ senses
Street Wisdom - mindfulness on the go	Ideas for using our walks to and from wherever we are going to be present and tune in to ourselves, our thoughts, ideas and emotions, using the environment around us.
Mindfully deal with difficult emotions	a six step guide to leaning to be with and accept our emotions in the moment , be compassionate towards them and watch them pass.
9 attitudes to Mindfulness	You tube clips Mindfulness Guru Jon Kabat Zinn talks about The 9 attitudes to Mindfulness
Body Scan (mindfulness meditation)	Jon Kabat Zinn leads a mindfulness meditation

Places to get help

Local and national organisations, websites

Resource	Description
mindfulnessexercises.com	free mindfulness courses on line
Mind.com Mindfulness Courses	Explanation and Tips about mindfulness, and information about mindfulness course ‘how to learn mindfulness’
Kadampa Meditation Centre Sheffield	Offers free meditation sessions and workshops/ courses. Situated in easy reach near Endcliffe Park.

Other things you might want to think about

YouTube offers a wide range of guided meditations - try searching 'guided meditation for…. anxiety/ sleep/ self compassion etc and try a few to see which voices and styles you prefer.

Student wellbeing