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Follow-up to mindfulness: Living from the heart
How Mindfulness started in my life.
I discovered the term mindfulness while surfing around the year 2004. What I read about it at the time intrigued me, all the more so because at that time I was fully in my training in Transpersonal Psychotherapy and hoped to help people with this training from a combination of therapy and meditation, a bringing together of Western scientific knowledge and ancient Eastern wisdom. I read that mindfulness was applied to complaints such as depression and stress. Ideal to work with as a psychotherapist, I thought. For example, I started a first 8-week mindfulness training with David Dewulf in Ghent. After three sessions, I was hooked. During the break, I spoke to David Dewulf and asked him if there is such a thing as a training to become a mindfulness trainer. He said, “Give me a call and we’ll look at this together. I’m working on it…” And so this was the beginning of what I do later and still do with passion: giving mindfulness training…
There are two words in mindfulness: mind and fulness and can best be translated in the sense of attention and full: being present with full or full attention. I remember how I did mindfulness as a student without understanding it. I was 15 years old and still see myself cycling to and from secondary school in Ostend every day. I was able to enjoy the bike ride so much and rode at my super ease most of the time. During the ride listening to the sounds around me: a blackbird that started its song early in the morning and welcomed the sun. This song became clearer and clearer as I approached the blackbird closer and closer, and then finally slowly swayed again as I was more and more away from the blackbird, finally disappearing from my field of attention. Meanwhile, other sounds were making their music: an approaching car, the wind whining in my ears, the bicycle tires on the track,… I did this exercise consciously because it helped me… That’s right, so as not to be preoccupied with annoying, negative thoughts. I was trapped in very annoying emerging thoughts that I wanted to get rid of completely and discovered that listening attentively taught me to focus on 1 thing that made me stop thinking at that moment. Simple, right?
How did it come about?
Where does mindfulness come from? Its roots are in the East. But it is the West that has taken over some Eastern techniques and integrated them into its own program. The founder of mindfulness is the American molecular biologist, Jon Kabat-Zinn (June 5, 1944). He was founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic (later called Center for Mindfulness) at the University of Massachusetts Health Center. In the clinic where he worked, he noticed that the medical world did not have a solution to offer for many chronic patients. They just had to ‘learn to live’ with their complaints without being told how to do it. Based on his experience with yoga and meditation, Jon Kabat developed a training with the aim of providing patients with tools that would allow them to do something about their own health and the experience of it. Because most people experience their pain as rejection, don’t want it and fight against it. It is precisely this resistance that makes the pain worse. This is true not only for physical pain but also for psychological and emotional pain. Jon Kabat based himself on the Buddhist wisdom that pain is part of life, that you cannot eliminate it, but that you can relate to it differently. And you can learn this by observing that which is unpleasant with attention.
The practice is done through the basic principles of mindfulness training, which he applies in a medical setting. In 1979, he designed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. This eight-week training proved to be effective in relieving stress, anxiety, pain and (chronic) illness. It is currently offered as a supportive therapy in many hospitals in the U.S. and Europe. In his most important work, he says:
Mindfulness is: being aware of every moment. It is cultivated by paying very focused attention to all those things that we usually don't think about. This systematic approach helps us to develop new ways of control and wisdom in our lives,...
Where does it come from?
Mindfulness, the central concept in MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), is focusing your full attention on something, while staying in the here and now, without judgment or criticism. It comes from the Sanskrit word vipassana. In Dutch, it is translated as attention orientation. Vipassana is a millennia-old form of meditation originating from the Buddhist tradition and literally means: seeing things as they really are.
Living with open attention means living in the here-and-now. You will use all your senses to fully explore what you do or what you think about. These can be beautiful moments such as beholding a beautiful nature situation or eating something very tasty such as a piece of chocolate, your favorite dish,… You like to have those moments. But there are also less beautiful moments that you can give full attention to: that scary night walk in the woods, where you jump away in fright because an unexpected snapping sound follows you! Fear overwhelms you. You stand stock-still, feel your heart pounding in your throat, hear every minuscule, suspicious sound, your stomach is retracted and you almost forget to breathe,… That too can be attentively present… if you become aware of it in the moment with an open curiosity! And if you don’t reject anything from your experience, if you can completely allow it and explore curiously. You are, as it were, a curious listener of the sensations in your body. But here you immediately run into the problem: less pleasant experiences are usually rejected from the start, eliminated. “I don’t like to feel this”. “I don’t want this!”.
Being open and consciously present in the present moment without (pre)judgment
What is mindfulness now?
THE DEFINITION OF MINDFULNESS ACCORDING TO JON KABAT-ZINN
The meaning of Mindfulness according to Jon Kabat Zinn is to be openly and consciously present in the present now moment without (pre)judgment. So you perceive with your senses and your sensations what is present here and now. While you’re reading this, you may be sitting on a chair or couch… As you read this, you might focus your attention on your legs and feet. Do you feel the contact of the soles of your feet with the ground? Maybe you can feel the shoes and how your feet are ‘pinched’ in them. Or you feel tingling in your toes. You can feel the pressure points at the level of your buttocks, the bottom of your legs, the contact surfaces with your chair. How does the chair feel? Soft? Pressable? Cold, mobile?
And what emotions are present now? Are you a bit tense behind the PC screen? Do you feel stress and are you therefore looking for information about mindfulness?
Are you thinking about other things in the meantime? Where are your thoughts? Or… Have you noticed that when your attention starts to focus on feeling your body, and if you do that very intentionally, you are no longer thinking!
That’s it!
Jon Kabat-Zinn defines three elements in mindfulness:
- There is an intentional attention
- In the now moment. Not yesterday or what there is to do later.
- Without judging or rejecting (open, friendly).
In a mindfulness training you learn how to be in the here and now with practical exercises. Exercises such as an eating exercise, movement exercises, body scans and meditations help you practice these three characteristics. In this way, mindfulness training is an excellent way to help you learn to focus your attention differently during daily life.
ONLINE MINDFULNESS TRAINING
For eight weeks you will come home together in your own comfort space, together with the other participants. Via online connection with Zoom, you can follow the exercises and the theoretical foundation from your own place of residence. The advantage of this form of gathering is that distance does not play a role. And at the end of the training ban back home
MINDFULNESS TRAINING ON LOCATION
Most training sessions take place in West Flanders: at Levensstroom itself in Moorsele (part of Wevelgem, near Kortrijk), Trax in Roeselare, Bruges or Oudenburg next to Ostend.
Frequently Asked Questions
people looking for quality of life
anyone who wants to invest in their mental and physical health.
But it is also beneficial for:
- people who go through life stressed
- worriers and those who think a lot
- people who feel depressed or have ever experienced a depressive episode
- people who have some kind of physical complaint
- those who have trouble falling asleep and are spinning around in bed for hours
- perfectionists and people who have to do a lot
- people who feel restless and don’t feel good about themselves
- who thinks very negatively about themselves and constantly minimizes themselves
But this training is suitable for both patients and care providers. No prior knowledge is required and it is not a support group. It is mainly experiences gained during the exercises that are central and discussed.
As therapy or part of this
Scientific research has confirmed that the mindfulness 8-week training program is efficient for problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders and eating disorders and physical complaints. Participants of a mindfulness training say that they have learned to deal with psychological pain, anger, sadness, negative and/or worrying thoughts in a different way.
It is also confirmed from the medical world that all kinds of medical conditions such as physical pains such as in the back, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, heart disease, AIDS, respiratory problems, high blood pressure… Even with cancer and on immunity, there are positive results.
For personal growth
You can practice mindfulness to get to know yourself better, to perform better at work or to be generally calmer, more balanced, more attentive and more relaxed.
As a part of a spiritual path
In a spiritual or religious path, mindfulness or meditation is a part of a number of disciplines. It is more of a path to, where other disciplines (such as ethics and philosophical study) are practiced that reinforce each other.
Accessible to everyone
Mindfulness has now penetrated all layers of professional groups and organizations: doctors, doctors, schools, students, housewives, managers, psychologists,… Mindfulness is also applied in the legal world, companies, large retail chains, prisons and in stress management.
If you want to improve the quality of your life, mindfulness is right for you.
Mindfulness groups are not suitable for:
1. People with serious psychiatric problems, e.g. a very severe depression, schizophrenia,…
2. People who disrupt a group event, e.g. antisocial personality.
3. People who have no motivation to change their behavior in order to optimize their health.
Mindfulness is not intended to replace:
1. Individual psychotherapeutic or psychological counseling
2. Medication
3. Medical guidance
Each candidate participant fills in a exploratory questionnaire.
This will be evaluated by the trainer.
There are training courses specifically aimed at target groups such as children and teenagers. However, if your teenager chooses to do so, he/she can join a standard 8–week training.
For which complaints can mindfulness training be suitable? A good tip is to look at your warning signs. There are different types of warning signals that your body can send out. These warning signs can be both physical and emotional. There are mentalsignals when you notice that you are too much in your ‘head’. Or energeticallyyou can feel a number of things. And certain changes in behaviorcan also be considered warning signs. They can occur separately or together and are a sign that the tension has risen too high.
Mindfulness has contributed positively to the following complaints:Physical complaints
-
- headache
- difficulty falling asleep
- waking up often
- myalgia
- Palpitations
- Feeling of pressure in your chest
- shallow breathing
- always feeling tired and lethargic
- sweat in the palms of your hands
- gastrointestinal disorders
- nerve twitches
- weight loss or gain
- Back pain
- hyperventilation
Emotional complaints
- being easily irritated
- crying a lot
- feeling tense and restless
- React emotionally
- rarely laugh or smile
- emerging fear, which is usually unrealistic
- getting a feeling of sadness over you
- unexplained mood swings
Mental complaints
- being absent-minded
- Easily forget something
- difficulty concentrating
- brood
- being overly vigilant
- difficult to decide
- have gloomy and pessimistic thoughts
- Have less interest
Energetic complaints
- dream away a lot
- Feeling Dawn
- not being grounded, not feeling grounding
- having no energy
Behavioral changes
- eat more or less
- drinking alcohol abundantly
- taking medication
- smoke
- Isolating yourself socially
- not feeling like sex
- not being able to relax
- having no energy
- always wanting to rest
- quarrel
- Frequently changing jobs
Taking a mindfulness course will require a little effort. After all, it will only be through daily practice that you will make progress. So your progress will largely depend on the extent to which you have practiced. If you participate, you will be willing to practice for 20 to 40 minutes a day for eight weeks. And after the training it will actually start. Even then it will be important to continue your practice.
The price of the course, if you register and pay 3 weeks or earlier before the start of the training, is 300 € for the series of eight lessons (24 hours), including folder and 4 CDs. If you register later than 21 days before the start date, you pay 330 €. The date that applies is the day on which the amount is in the account of Levensstroom.
Payments can be transferred to account number: IBANBE43 7350 4416 5401 – BIC ARSPBE22 of Levensstroom stating your name + place and start date of the mindfulness course.
You can’t pay with training vouchers.
Those who take the mindfulness course again can do so at a reduced price: 180 €.
Those who come as a couple (i.e. live in 1 family) each pay 250.00 euros.
People who live on minimum wage or are completely dependent on sickness benefits and students can benefit from a discount and pay 220 €. Please contact Levensstroom for this.
In the event of cancellation, which is done by e-mail or letter, not by telephone, the amount transferred will be partially refunded (or an administration fee must be paid) depending on the time of cancellation:
- More than 3 weeks in advance: no costs.
- Less than 3 weeks before the start of the training: 40 euros administration fee to be paid (260 € refunded)
- Less than 1 week in advance: 80 euros fee to be paid (220 € refunded)
- In case of cancellation on the day of the activity or in case of non-cancellation, there is no possibility of a refund and you will have to pay 100% of the course fee. No refund is possible for stopping during training.
You can move the training to another date and place without refund.
If we have insufficient registrations, we are entitled to cancel the course up to 4 days before the start.
Not everyone feels good in a group. Or can make himself free on the same evening of the week for 8 weeks.
Or you prefer personally involved guidance where there is also room for your own story…
Then there is also the possibility to follow the 8-week program on an individual basis. Then you can report this in the registration form at the penultimate question: “Is there anything else you want the trainer to know?” Or give us a call by phone.
An individual session lasts an average of 2h00 to 2h30. The price is 40 € per hour and after the first hour 10 € is added per quarter of an hour.
An online training can also be a valuable alternative for people who prefer to follow a course individually, but it can never match the power of a group training or the guidance of a professional trainer.
What is the advantage of following mindfulness in therapy form?
Following mindfulness on a therapeutic basis means that you follow 8 private sessions in which mindfulness is integrated into your daily life with your specific problem. So I can focus entirely on your story.
During individual sessions where you are going to follow mindfulness in therapy, you are not going to look for the cause of your problem. During the therapy sessions you will look at daily life as it is now where things go wrong. And I teach you how best to learn to deal with what is there now. During the sessions, you will gain more insight into your thought patterns through your daily practice, certain emotions may be released,… And so you will automatically notice that your actual problems were the result of a complex system of causes – the actual reason for your problem often turns out to be a different reason than you had thought at the first moment. The individual mindfulness sessions therefore help you to get a more complete picture of your thoughts and actions that stand in the way of better functioning.
How do the mindfulness exercises you get during therapy work?
The mindfulness techniques and exercises you receive help you distance yourself from your thoughts, emotions and behaviors. This gives you a clear view of what exactly you think and do during unpleasant situations or those difficult moments. The mindfulness exercises are therefore tools that you use when you want to change your behavior. The thoughts or emotions do not change, but by distancing yourself from them, more objectivity is created and you can make choices more easily and objectively. You no longer act on autopilot as you used to, reactively. During the individual mindfulness sessions you will gain insight into your subtle habits that are the cause of your restless behavior, emotional experience or stressful actions.
No. A training is a fixed group and participants go on the road together for 8 weeks. It is better if you are not sure whether mindfulness is something for you, to follow an introductory evening or lecture. Or better yet: you can first have an intake interview with me and then we will see together whether you can qualify for a training or I will give you any advice to follow something else.
If you can’t make it to one or more sessions, you can always catch up on this session at a different location and time. In the agenda you can see that many training sessions start around the same period to make a catch-up session possible.
Levensstroom reserves the right to cancel a training or course or move it to another date if, for example, there are not enough participants. You will of course be informed about this. If the trainer is unexpectedly unable to give a session due to illness or force majeure, we will look for a rescheduling of this session. Levensstroom is not responsible for any damages incurred as a result.
It is not possible to pay with training vouchers or apply for subsidies with the SME portfolio.
You can register using this registration form. If you wish, you can go through the previous manual as an intake.
If it is not possible for you to register online, e.g. because you are at a public computer, you can print a form and fill it in at home and send it to: Levensstroom, MBCT training, Overheulestraat 237, 8560 Moorsele. You can request the intake form by e-mail.
If you are also unable to get a registration form printed, you can still send a message or call 056 / 444 796 with the message that you would like to receive an intake form. You then fill in the form sent and return it to the address mentioned above.
Yes, this way I have a clear picture as a trainer about why you want to follow a mindfulness training and whether you can qualify for it. In case of serious problems such as acute depression, psychosis,… it is not always advisable to follow a training (now). If in doubt, I will contact you on the basis of your intake form to discuss the situation together.
Sessions and training
Prices
Therapy sessions
60 €per hour
The price for both the intake and further sessions is 60 € per hour. After every 15 minutes, 10 € is added. The intake interview takes about an hour, depending of course on the nature of the problem.
Mindfulness training
300 €for 8 sessions
The price of the course is 300 € for the series of eight lessons (24 hours), including map and audio files, if you book 3 weeks or earlier for pays for the start of the training. After 21 days before the start date, the amount is 330 €.
Massage
60 €for 1 hour
If you come as an individual for a relaxing relax massage, the price is 60 € per hour. A duo massage is 60 € for 1 hour per person. The most advantageous choice is the duo massage package: 2h massage at 70 € per person
Heartfulness
300 €for 9 sessions or more
There are different modules that each consist of approximately 8 to 12 sessions or more of minimum 3 hours each. Each module has its own number of sessions and prices therefore vary from module to module. Keep in mind to book early because then you get a discount!
