This course is for you if you're often stressed, overwhelmed, uncontent, and exhausted with the busyness of modern-day life. Perhaps you find yourself frequently feeling anxious and worrying about the future. Or maybe you keep getting caught up in self-sabotage and ruminating about the past.
If you feel like you're a swan - appearing calm and controlled on the surface but paddling furiously under the waterline just to stay afloat - and you'd love for things to be different, then you've come to the right place. This course will help you flourish and thrive.
Boost your wellbeing and build resilience by cultivating mindful awareness in everyday life
Mindfulness for Modern Life
Course (MBCT-L)
Create a mindful self-care routine that you actually stick to
Feel calmer and more resilient in the face of emotional struggles
Break bad habits and stop falling into the same old vicious cycles
Feel more gratitude, contentment and appreciation in your daily life
Stop self-criticism and start being kind and compassionate towards yourself
Bring balance and meaning back into your life and find more inner peace
"To truly put into words how this course has benefited me is impossible. Natalie’s delivery of this course has a unique balance of both professional and personable in expertly guiding you throughout. After finishing the course I now practice daily meditation and act more mindfully in my day to day life. I truly cannot thank Natalie and the benefits I have received from this course both throughout and after."
Understand what nourishes you and what depletes you so you can create a more balanced and fulfilled life.
Respond rather than react to stressors, so you're better able to pause in challenging situations and regulate your emotions.
Build resilience and know how to best take care of yourself when feeling anxious, low or stressed.
Cultivate the full range of positive emotions such as happiness, and boost positive psychological states such as contentment and optimism.
Develop practical self-care strategies to help you thrive, perform at your best, and flourish.
Recognise patterns of negative thinking, worry and self-criticism that create stress, as well as how to interrupt these processes and make wiser choices in the face of emotional struggles.
Over the 8 weeks you'll learn to:
Introducing the Mindfulness for Modern Life Course
"I did the course with Natalie because I struggle with anxiety. Before the course I didn't really understand what mindfulness was, never mind be able to practice it. Natalie explained it perfectly and provided frequent opportunities for us to practice it, led by her expertise. Natalie is calm, articulate, caring and passionate about this topic which shines through. I am now able to use the breath as an anchor to stay in the present moment. I feel like I can respond skilfully to situations rather than react. I have been given the tools and practices to handle difficulty in my life and I feel more in control, which in turn makes me feel less anxious. It is an absolutely amazing course which I would strongly recommend to anyone experiencing stress, anxiety or depression."
The Mindfulness for Modern Life Course (MBCT-L) is a skills-based course rather than group therapy.
Mindfulness skills and cognitive behavioural tools are taught over the 8 weeks to overcome the difficulties outlined in each of the sessions below.
The Mindfulness Course Curriculum
On automatic pilot, it's easy to drift unaware into 'doing' mode & reactive thought patterns that lead us into patterns of unhelpful thinking, feeling and behaving. Habitual doing mode also robs us of our potential for living life more fully.
Waking up from automatic pilot
In doing mode we tend to 'know about' our experience only indirectly, conceptually, often through thought and language. This means we can easily get lost in automatic & impulsive reactivity.
Another way of being - the body
The mind is often scattered and lost in thought, working away in the background, trying to complete unfinished tasks and striving for future goals. A scattered mind can lead us into distress and away from joy.
Gathering the scattered mind
The habitual doing mode robs us of our potential for living life more fully because our attention tends to be caught in thoughts about the past and the future. It can lock us into habitual ways of reacting that tend to be self-perpetuating.
Recognising reactivity
Aversion and reactivity add additional suffering to the unavoidable difficulties and discomforts of life. And the attachment we often have to positive experiences can create compulsive behaviour.
Allowing and letting be
We remain stuck in the reactive doing mode because we're unable to clearly see negative moods and negative thinking, including distorted beliefs, for what they truly are.
Responding skilfully to thoughts
We struggle to take skilful action and take care of ourselves in the face of challenges, particularly when we don't recognise our personal patterns of mind and what nourishes us.
How to best take care of myself
Maintaining and extending a more mindful and caring way of being can be challenging, particularly without clear intention and commitment and when we don't have a solid plan in place.
Mindfulness for life
"Natalie is so talented at what she does. I joined the course with little knowledge of the benefits of mindfulness and I'm pleased to say that I now know! As a business owner, I'm often consumed with work and anxiety, but thanks to this wonderful course I'm now more aware and better able to deal with these feelings. I'd recommend Natalie in a heartbeat, she's so knowledgeable, calming and supportive."
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
Each week sessions will follow a consistent pattern: we'll say hello and get settled, begin with a guided meditation practice followed by a sharing of our reflections, discuss your experiences of the home practices during the week, explore our theme for the week which is also woven into all discussions, followed by another short practice or a cognitive exercise and our reflections on this, and finally look at the home practices for the coming week.
At the start of the course you'll receive your course handbook, which contains detailed summaries of each session along with the home practices and a space to log and reflect on these.
Your home practices will include up to 30 minutes of daily meditation, and you'll receive recordings for each and every one of these guided meditations that you can easily listen to on your phone or laptop.
We'll meet together as a group every Monday 7-9pm for 8 consecutive weeks live on zoom.
The Mindfulness Course Format
"Natalie was professional, lovely, warm and encouraging, and I really felt she cared for us. She also modelled compassion well by being with our experience and making us feel valued. I loved each session, and I achieved all my goals and more. I think it's a course worth investing in for anyone who wants to get to know themselves better and increase self-awareness and compassion."
Access to guided meditation recordings designed specifically for the course that you can continue to listen to after the course has finished.
A real sense of connection and community as you undertake the course with a lovely group of people who are most likely feeling similar to you.
A comprehensive 100 page workbook designed specifically for the course that you can keep forever and refer back to whenever your wellbeing needs a little boost.
The opportunity to take part in an evidence based course backed by research, with outcomes so good that MBCT courses are actually endorsed by the NHS.
My full support during the sessions for 2 hours each week, along with email support in between sessions if needed.
A safe space to explore the patterns of your mind and behaviour with a Mindfulness Teacher that also has a decade of experience as a Senior Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.
What you'll get from the mindfulness course
"Natalie is a great teacher of meditation and made the MBCT course very engaging, informative and enjoyable. She encouraged us to reflect on our experiences which helped me to learn a lot about being more mindful, and it was clear that she is very knowledgeable on the subject from her own practice and experience. I definitely got a lot out of attending the course and would recommend it to others."
Boost your focus & attention span
Improve your relationships
Help you manage pain & illness better
Improve your sleep
Boost your creativity
Help you cope better with difficult & unhelpful thoughts
Relieve anxiety
Lift & prevent low mood
Stop bad habits in their tracks
Reduce your stress levels
Increase your self-awareness
Help you feel calmer
Teach you how to respond to thoughts & feelings
Help you be kinder to yourself
Improve your memory
How can mindfulness help me
"Natalie is very experienced and eloquent, yet human and natural in her delivery. The sessions were challenging but supportive and always thought provoking and useful. I achieved my goals of wanting to understand and implement mindfulness more readily into my daily life and work. I highly recommend taking advantage of Natalie's wealth of knowledge and skills."
You're in the midst of a big stressful life event or you've experienced recent loss or trauma
You've got no interest in learning about mindfulness and meditation
You don't want to make a commitment to doing 30 mins of daily meditation
You're currently experiencing severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, including suicidality
You want to experience a greater sense of wellbeing and self-compassion
You're keen to try out daily meditation for up to 30 mins and learn skills that will last a lifetime
You want to find balance and live more in the present moment
You're either totally new to mindfulness or you're already meditating but want more guidance
You're in the midst of a big stressful life event or you've experienced recent loss or trauma
You've got no interest in learning about mindfulness and meditation
You don't want to make a commitment to doing 30 mins of daily meditation
You're currently experiencing severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, including suicidality
You want to experience a greater sense of wellbeing and self-compassion
You're keen to try out daily meditation for up to 30 mins and learn skills that will last a lifetime
You want to find balance and live more in the present moment
You're either totally new to mindfulness or you're already meditating but want more guidance
"I really enjoyed the course and found Natalie to be very warm, friendly and created a welcoming atmosphere. She brought a lovely soft non judgmental approach which really helped create a comfortable space to learn. I have previously always thought I was 'rubbish' at meditation and it's been so helpful to learn and practise again, and gain confidence in my practise. "
Have questions about the course?
Yes the sessions are live on Zoom. You must be able to attend the live sessions to join the course, however sessions are recorded if you unexpectedly miss a session. Time is precious so if you do miss a session it's not essential to watch the recording, you can just refer to your workbook (or if you really want to you're welcome to book a private 1 hour catch-up session).
No, you can join from anywhere in the world as long as you're able to make the live sessions 7-9pm BST/GMT time. I've had participants joining from across the globe including the British Virgin Islands and Canada.
Just Zoom on your laptop (with mic and camera). Most people like to sit on a chair, but you're also welcome to sit or lie down on the floor with a cushion when we meditate, whatever works for you. And I usually recommend wearing some comfy clothes and having a blanket to hand to keep you warm during the longer meditation practices.
Absolutely! No prior mindfulness experience is required. The course is ideal for those new to mindfulness and looking to learn to meditate. Some people on the course might have meditated before, and some may have had CBT before, and lots will have done neither.
Yes this is the official evidence-based Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Life course (MBCT-L). I've called my version Mindfulness for Modern Life because to me it's all about helping you to successfully navigate the highs and lows of busy modern life with balance and kindness.
The number of people on the course varies but I like it to be a small group with an average of 10 participants. To make the most of the group format I usually require a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 16 participants.
Nope, you just need to be over the age of 18. I also ask that you're able to commit to 30 minutes of daily meditation, along with some additional short CBT based exercises. Home practice is an important part of getting the most out of the course!
Once you click the sign-up button and make payment you'll be directed to a confidential pre-course questionnaire to complete, to help me get a better understanding of your current circumstances ahead of the course (a follow-up call may be arranged to discuss if the course is suitable for you at this time and if we mutually decide that it isn't you'll be refunded in full). Then you'll receive your welcome email from me.
You have a cooling-off period of 14 days following your purchase where you can get a full refund if you request a cancellation by email (unless the course is due to take place within this 14 day period in which case the booking cannot be cancelled and no refund will be given). You can read the full course Terms of Service here.
I invite all participants to share their experiences of the meditations and home practices, but don't worry as there's no pressure to share in the group if you don't want to. There are opportunities for mini group discussions in breakout rooms, and participants often find they feel more comfortable over time.
This course is not therapy, and it is not intended to treat any specific mental health problems. If you are experiencing severe symptoms of anxiety and depression and/or wanting treatment for these problems then please speak to your GP or book a therapy appointment instead.
"I found the sessions really welcoming, engaging, safe and non-judgemental. By the end of the course we'd all been on a real educational / mindful journey together and it felt like a big achievement reaching the end of the course. The course has helped me to reframe certain ways of thinking and I now have a whole host of different tools which I know I can use if I find myself feeling low or in stressful situations."
Hi, I'm Natalie. I'm a Senior CBT Therapist and Mindfulness Teacher. I specialise in helping modern women overcome perfectionism, low self-esteem and anxiety.
I'm also a recovering perfectionist, so you can rest assured that I know what it takes to manage stress and burnout.
I did the Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) course myself as a participant many years ago, and it was this that helped me to be more present and find balance in my life.
I've since trained to deliver the MBCT for Life course with Oxford University and have ran MBCT courses countless times within the NHS and in my private practice.
Meet Your Mindfulness Teacher
