Parenting with resilience and joy : 9-week Zoom Course for emotional health at home
Parenting with resilience and joy : 9-week Zoom Course for emotional health at home
Connect with a community of like-minded parents once a week for Mind With Heart’s experiential wellbeing sessions.
Time: WEDNESDAYS 7.00-8.30pm, UK
Date: Course starts January 2025 (exact date tbc)
Fees: £185. Please contact us for concessionary rates.
WELL-BEING STARTS FROM WITHIN
Our 8 week course explores how to
* reduce stress, anxiety, reactivity and self-criticism
* bring back joy - reconnect with our own good heart, and the heart of parenting
* share fun tools for well-being with our children
During each session we will practice mindfulness and emotional health exercises, share scientific research on well-being, and explore ways to bring more joy, laughter and love into our lives.
Follow-up emails will help you stay connected during the week, with session summaries, guided audio exercises, short videos, and links to helpful resources.
WHO IS THE COURSE FOR?
This course is for parents and carers - all those who care for children. No previous experience of mindfulness is required. We will explain what mindfulness and compassion are and share the research, but primarily this is an experiential course designed to give you practical tools for personal flourishing. You will be invited to reflect on and share your experience, should you choose - these contributions enrich the course for everyone.
WHAT TOPICS WILL WE COVER?
* Investigating stress, well-being and their causes
* How to establish a regular Mindfulness practice, & an ‘on-the-spot’ practice
* Finding calm amidst the chaos
* Changing our relationship to challenging thoughts and emotions
* Cultivating self-care and emotional health
* Empathy, healthy relationships and communicating with emotional intelligence
* Sharing well-being tools with children
* Recent scientific research
WHAT DO OTHER PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS COURSE?
“magical – heart and mind fully engaged, a valuable experience both personally and professionally”
“enriching, joyful and informative … absolutely recommend it”
“… a rich, strong and safe pathway to the hearts of young people and adults”
“I was impressed by the lightness with which we confronted such deeply profound topics”
“I really appreciated the gentle way we were involved in the course contents”
"It gave me a sense of openness, freshness and acceptance”
“… a nourishing and stimulating experience”
“By training myself to be calm and thoughtful I can help others to be also”
“I can see how kindness and compassion improves our well-being”
“100% worth spending the time participating – it will benefit your health and relationships”
Instructor
Fiona has been holding retreats, workshops and courses internationally for the past 15 years, sharing tools for well-being and connection with adults and children. Fiona supports school communities to flourish and thrive, using tools for emotional health such as mindfulness, empathy and compassion. She holds trainings with presence, humour, lightness, a sense of common humanity, and a deep empathic connection with others.
Instructor
David Rycroft is a senior trainer at Mind With Heart. He has been teaching mindfulness and connection exercises nationally and internationally for over 15 years. He taught art in a London secondary school for ten years before dedicating his time to developing and running programmes for young people’s emotional health.
WEEK BY WEEK
WEEK 1: TAKING CARE OF MYSELF
Exploring wellbeing: what are the causes of stress and wellbeing?
Introducing mindfulness; analogies for the mind
Qualities of mind: Relaxation, Presence, Awareness, Kindness
WEEK 2: CONNECTING WITH MY BODY
Connecting with the body: deepening discovering of physical sensations
Mindful mandarin
Running on autopilot, distraction and unhappiness
WEEK 3: NOTICING REACTIONS
Connecting with feelings and impulses: can I experience challenging feelings and not react habitually?
The brain: three brains in one and neuroplasticity
Mindfulness of Sound and Mindful listening
WEEK 4: STRENGTHENING EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Identifying thoughts: who is the boss? me or my thoughts?
Recognising emotions [in ourselves and others]; Paul Ekman’s work
Mindfulness of sounds and thoughts
WEEK 5: BEING A FRIEND TO MYSELF
Recognising the self-critic, and finding a more compassionate voice
Exploring nourishing and depleting activities
Gratitude practice, generating kind wishes for myself
MINI RETREAT
Deepening the practice and connection with each other
WEEK 6: CONNECTING WITH MY FAMILY
Emotionally intelligent communication, deep listening
Guiding a mindfulness exercise for children
Mindful movement
WEEK 7: WORKING WITH CHALLENGES
Self-care, how to support myself when things fall apart, my on-the-spot practice
Looking after my family in tough times
Seeing others as Just Like Me
WEEK 8: TAKING CARE OF ME AND MY FAMILY
My plan for continuing
Sharing well-being tools with children - fun ways to introduce mindfulness
Generating kind wishes for others