Published 19th July 2022

These two words have become ‘buzzwords’ especially in the last couple of years during the pandemic. What do they involve and will they improve your life? 

What does ‘ giving attention to the present moment’ entail? To find out more, I have signed up for a six session course on Zoom, devised by members of Sheffield u3a and run by the national group. 

The sessions lasted 1hr 30 mins and the pace was well structured. Each began setting out the agenda plan for the session followed by a short meditational practice. Information was given out, followed by another short mindful meditation. More information was discussed interspersed with poem readings, mindful movements (similar to Yoga, Pilates and Qi Gong moves), break out room sessions where members chatted in small groups and a Q&A at the end. There were two short pieces from the u3a national advisor for mindfulness and meditation.

There is a website of resources, documents and videos which is available to members doing the course to explore. A lot of thought has been made to include scientific studies looking at the effects of mindfulness and meditation.

As with everything in u3a, the importance of keeping learning and improving your own growth mindset is paramount. Was the course a success? Yes, so much so that the course will run again starting October 4th. It will be advertised by the national group so keep an eye out for the release of future events information if you are curious to find out more, want to sign up for the course and discover if it is for you. Some people did just a couple of sessions as they had various commitments- hospital appointments, family etc. They could catch up by using the online resources if they wanted to. I’ll be re-joining the course again as all participants were invited to do, so I can continue the practice. Until then, I’ll be looking at the online resources.

Val Maidment

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