The OMF is offering free weekday practice sessions

The OMF is offering free weekday practice sessions

We are excited to offer free weekday practice sessions for those new to mindfulness, or for those keen to support their daily practice by joining a live online community for daily practice sessions 19.00-19.30 UK time Monday-Friday.

Many people have now heard of mindfulness, maybe read something about it, or even tried some of the pre-recorded practices available through websites and apps. These are a great way to understand a little more about what mindfulness involves and feels like. However, keeping mindfulness practice going can be hard.

We know that regular practice can help to build learning, skills and changes the way we relate to our everyday experiences, but we also lead busy lives, and can always find something we should be doing other than practising mindfulness each day. Practising mindfulness on your own can also be a lonely business.

The OMF week-day practice sessions therefore provide a chance to attend free live sessions as part of an international group of people, and led by an experienced teacher from a world-renowned mindfulness teaching, training and research organisation.

To register and join the sessions please visit here

Do I have to attend every session?

No, the week-day practice sessions are drop-ins, register once and then come to as many or as few as you’re able/would like to.

I’ve never done mindfulness before. Are these sessions right for me?

These sessions have been developed with ‘newbies’ in mind. The practices will be relatively brief and introductory, so if you’ve never tried mindfulness practice before, that’s absolutely fine. The teacher will carefully guide you through each practice and support you if you have any questions.

Having said that, there are a few things to consider in terms of your own personal circumstances and experience which might mean this is not the right time for you. These might include experience of recent bereavement or other major life changes, some types of previous or ongoing mental illness. We will ask you some question when you sign up for these sessions which will enable us to best support you. If you’d like to know more about the factors that can affect participation in mindfulness sessions, you can read more about this here.

I’ve done some mindfulness before. Can I attend?

Yes! These sessions are a chance to come together with a group and practise mindfulness on a regular basis. This can be a very helpful way to support your daily practice and keep you connected with others doing the same.

The same considerations apply for those with experience in mindfulness, do consider your personal life circumstances and if there have been any life events such as recent bereavement or other major life changes then do consider if this is the right time for you to join a group session to meditate.

The times of the sessions won’t work for me. Will there be alternative time slots?

The OMF has a growing community of people joining our programmes and sessions from a range of backgrounds, personal circumstances and from around the world. We are keen to make the daily practice sessions as accessible to as many people as possible and are exploring ways to do this, including the possibility of running similar sessions with different time zones, and possibly even different languages. We’re not quite there yet, so watch this space! You might like to sign up to our regular news letters which will help you be the first to know about such developments. Just sign up at the bottom of the home page.

How do I sign up to join the sessions?

You just have to register once, answer a few simple questions, after which, you’ll have the login information to drop into these sessions whenever you like.

What do I need to know before joining these sessions?

You will need:

  • Access to a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted, and where other distractions are kept to a minimum, e.g. text messages and emails.
  • A computer with access to Zoom, which you can download for free. Zoom works best on laptop and desktop computers. You can access Zoom through some mobile phones, but you may not have as many options in terms of functions available to you.

Please note: We encourage you to keep your cameras on during these sessions so that there is more of a feel of community, as well as the teacher being able to see and support you if needed.

To register and join the sessions please visit here