Introduction to Mindfulness classes
These classes introduce you to the mindfulness practices that are helping people all around the world to decrease anxiety, sleep better and experience improved mental clarity and attention.
Through these easy-to-follow exercises, guided by an experienced teacher you train the mind to be more present in the moment, resulting in increased attention, decreased stress and anxiety.
Total 4 classes. Each class is 45 – 60 minutes.
Practise and Learn in a Safe and Relaxed Setting with other beginners
Classes in Auckland 29 March to 19 April 2016
TIME & PLACE
Location: 20 Ponsonby Community Centre, Ponsonby Terrace, Ponsonby Auckland
Beginners Course of four Classes:
Thursday 31 March
Thursday 7 April
Thursday 14 April
Thursday 1 April
Time: 7.00-8.00pm
Total Cost: $79 (including weekly support and audio links)
Course Content
Week One
- What is Mindfulness?
- How does it work?
Evidence-based research results
and the neuroscience. - The breathing mechanism explained
- Breathing Exercise 1 and 2
- Guided Body Scan
- Questions and Answers, Feedback/personal Enquiry into your own experience.
WEEK THREE
- Respond versus React
- The STOP method.
- Giving up judgments, preferences, likes and dislikes and experiencing a new acceptance that leads to inner freedom and spaciousness.
- Turning boredom and restlessness into curiosity
- Guided meditation on cultivating acceptance, gratitude and kindness.
- Questions and Answers, Feedback/personal Enquiry into your own experience
Week Two
- Identifying patterns of thinking and reacting that keep us trapped.
- Practical ways to work with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions.
- Your Thinking Self versus Your Observing Self.
- Mindful Listening-expanded awareness.
- Breathing exercises and guided body scan.
- Questions and Answers, feedback/personal Enquiry into your own experience
WEEK FOUR
- What it means to be fully present in your own life
- Self Acceptance- Stop the search for the perfect you- you are already there -flaws and all.
- The ‘Mountain meditation’
- Developing insight.
- Learning to Let Go, Learning to forgive.
- Open awareness mindfulness practice- letting it all in.
What you can expect from this course
About the Trainer
Rita Riccola
“Rita is a fabulous facilitator – she made us feel extremely comfortable, was open minded
and encouraged us all to share from our diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. I came
away with many very practical, easy to use exercises that I have since been using with with my
classes of various ages.
Thank you Rita for gifting me such a wonderful and enjoyable afternoon of learning”.
-Louise Dore, Auckland
Rita Riccola
Has been a Vipassana and yoga practitioner for 25 years. She loves walking in nature, watching the sea, star gazing and urban life.
“I have attended many silent retreats over the years to deepen my practice. I always believed that life is the teacher and was sceptical of dogmatic, religious practices so for me Mindfulness is perfect. I have been trying to find a way to pass on all I have learned about the mind and emotions and finally Mindfulness has reached the mainstream and has allowed that to happen. In 2012 I set up Mindful NZ Schools in an effort to bring Mindfulness practices and the proven benefits to all schoolchildren in New Zealand.
As a registered teacher, I saw first-hand, in High School classrooms, the great need to equip children with Mindfulness self-managing techniques that would help them deal with the increasing stress and demands in their lives. I have completed courses with Mindful Schools USA in preparation to offer schools in New Zealand Mindfulness classes (Mindful NZ Schools) which I have been doing since 2012: James Cook High, Tangaroa College, Dilworth Junior College, Henderson High School are some of the schools I have worked at. More recently I have been training teachers at Diocesan and Dilworth Juniour College in Mindfulness.I have also been running an after-school programme for children and parents for the past 2 years at Grey Lynn Community Center. I get regular requests to run public Mindfulness classes which I am now offering”.
Make A Booking
Choose a Location
TIME & PLACE
Location: 20 Ponsonby Community Centre
Ponsonby Terrace, Ponsonby, Auckland
TIME: 7.00-8.00pm
Register Now
Limited spaces available
DOES MINDFULNESS REALLY WORK?
“Practicing Mindfulness has been shown to alter the structure and function of the brain, which is what allows us to learn, acquire new abilities, and improve memory.” DR. ROMIE MUSHTAQ
Mindfulness trains the mind to be observant and responsive to the many challenges we face every day.
Harvard, Oxford and Stanford Universities offer Mindfulness courses. Mindfulness is not just a trend but a proven method for success.
“Rita is a fabulous facilitator – she made us feel extremely comfortable, was open minded
and encouraged us all to share from our diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. I came
away with many very practical, easy to use exercises that I have since been using with with my
classes of various ages.
Thank you Rita for gifting me such a wonderful and enjoyable afternoon of learning”.
-Louise Dore, Auckland
“When I am trying to get to sleep I use the body scan. It really works!”
Student, James Cook High, Auckland
‘The body scan felt relaxing and calm which took all the anger away”.
Year 5 student, Dilworth Junior, Auckland
Why Mindfulness?
Evidence based results from around the world continue to show that the regular practise of Mindfulness has ongoing benefits for physical and mental health. Research over the past few decades has found that Mindfulness training helps to;
Relieve Anxiety & Stress
In our fast paced lives, where we rush from one demand to another, there is very little time or space to stop and pause. Mindfulness offer the tools needed to connect with our inner intelligence, where we can access natural calmness beneath the busy minds.
Let go of Anger & Frustration
Coming in contact with your direct experience in the mindful state allows us to become familiar with the patterns that direct our lives; our thoughts, emotions and reactions.
OVERCOME WORRYING
& NEGATIVE THINKING
Pain is an inevitable part of being human but suffering is optional. In Mindfulness we learn how to manage our thoughts and emotions instead of letting emotions and thoughts manage us.
STOP INNER CHATTER
Aimless thinking and inner chatter is draining our energy and clouding over the present moment. One of the most common benefits from regular Mindfulness training is greater mental clarity and a new sense of inner peace.
Have Better Sleep
To be able stop incessant thinking and worrying is one of the great benefits of Mindfulness and it makes it easier to sleep in and have unbroken sleep throughout the night.
STOP LIVING IN THE PAST
Mindfulness practices increasingly bring you more into the present with the growing awareness that going over the past keeps you stuck in the past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mindfulness is a way of noticing where your attention is in the present moment without judging it good or bad. It’s about not wandering off into an imagined future or going over the past but fully engaging right here right now.
Through guided, simple easy-to-do practisies you are training the mind to be more present in the moment. resulting in it to be less anxious, more alert and alive.
- Who over-thinks
- Thinks anxiously as a regular behavior.
- Stressed people
- People who engage in constant negative self-talk
- People who can’t sleep because of incessant inner chatter
- People who operate on ‘auto-pilot’ and are always ‘on’..
NON RELIGIOUS
There is no religion, dogma or beliefs attached to Mindfulness. Mindfulness has it’s roots in many contemplative practices but doesn’t require or impose on anyones belief systems. It’s a mental activity that has proven to be of great benefit for maintaining physical, mental and emotional balance.
Evidence Based
The many benefits of Mindfulness have been well documented especially in the past 30 years since Jon Kabat-Zinn established the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme that has led to the wide-spread, evidence based research and the acceptance of these non-religious, practical exercises anyone can do.
MINDFULNESS FOR EVERYONE
Mindfulness practice doesn’t require any preparation or beforehand knowledge about meditation. Anyone can experience the effect from these simple exercises.