Mindfulness Sussex

We offer mindfulness courses, workshops and retreats for beginners and more experienced practitioners, in Cuckfield (nr Haywards Heath), West Sussex. Our wide-ranging programme is led by highly experienced mindfulness teacher and author Ed Halliwell. We also offer mindfulness training for schools and other organisations.

Our public offering includes:

• One-day introduction to mindfulness workshops

• Eight-week mindfulness courses (MBSR/MBCT)

• Graduate practice sessions, day and weekend retreats. follow-up courses and one-to-one sessions for people who’ve already completed an eight-week course.

• One-to-one/small private group taster sessions, session-by-session training and eight-week courses, either face-to-face or via Skype.

We are currently taking bookings for...

One-Day Introduction To Mindfulness Workshops

Our one-day workshops are for people curious about mindfulness or considering taking a mindfulness course. These workshops introduce key principles for living mindfully, and core practices to help cultivate mindfulness in daily life. Tea, coffee, refreshments and a light vegetarian lunch from The Sussex Produce Company are included. The cost is £75 and workshops are held at The Old School, Cuckfield, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex

• Sunday 2nd June 2019. Find out more.

Morning and Evening 8-Week Mindfulness Courses

The 8-week mindfulness course is the gold standard mindfulness training, including all the key elements of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). The course teaches us how to cultivate awareness and be less caught up in automatic thoughts, feelings and behaviour patterns. Participants learn meditation practices which can transform daily life, including sitting meditation, body scanning and mindful movement.

Courses with places available:

Thursday Morning Course

8 weekly sessions from 11th April 2019 until 30th May 2019, 10am-midday, taught by Ed Halliwell. Course includes a six-hour day retreat on Sunday 19th May. (NB The orientation session for this course has taken place, however you can join the course after an orientation phone call, which will be arranged after you have booked your place). Find out more.

Saturday Morning Course

Orientation session on Saturday 18th May 2019 10am-12pm and then for 8 weekly sessions from 25th May 2019 until 20th July 2019 (with a break week on 29th June), taught by Ed Halliwell. Course includes includes a six-hour day retreat on Sunday 7th July. Find out more

Wednesday Morning Course

Orientation session on Wednesday 22nd May 2019 10am-12pm and then for 8 weeks from 29th May 2019, taught by Ed Halliwell. Course includes a six-hour day retreat on Sunday 7th July. Find out more

Wednesday Evening Course

Orientation session on Wednesday 25th September 2019 7.30-9,30pm and then for a further 8 weeks, taught by Ed Halliwell. Course includes a six-hour day retreat on 10th November. Find out more

• If you cannot make the orientation session this can be done on a 1.1. basis on the telephone.
• We often hold waiting lists for our courses and early booking is advised
• We also run courses and workshops in London WC1.

Graduate Sessions

Our graduate programme supports people who’ve completed an eight-week course, through ongoing opportunities to practise with others and deepen their learning. The programme includes morning and evening sessions, four-week graduate courses, non-residential day retreats and residential weekend retreats. Ed Halliwell also has a few mindfulness mentoring spaces available for eight-week course graduates. Find out more

One-to-One/Small Private Groups

For those unable to attend a group course, we have a few spaces available for one-to-one mindfulness training. These can follow the curriculum of an eight-week course, adapted for individuals, or take place on a session-by-session basis. For those unable to make our location in Cuckfield, West Sussex, we can offer one-to-one mindfulness training via Skype. Please contact us for a further discussion if you are interested in one-to-one/small group sessions, or to arrange a taster session.

Course and Workshops in London

We also offer eight-week mindfulness courses and one-day workshops in London.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention, staying present and responding skilfully to what’s happening in our lives. It helps people manage their thoughts, feelings, behaviours and relationships with awareness and compassion, leading to greater well-being and appreciation, as well as more choice in how to meet difficulties. Mindfulness is cultivated by a exploring a range of simple meditation practices and approaches to living, as taught on our courses. Our approach is based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, which was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachussetts medical school, and which has been used for nearly 40 years to help with stress, anxiety, and chronic health problems, as well as to promote resilience and flourishing. We also include all the key elements from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) course, developed by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale at the Universities of Cambridge and Toronto. MBCT is itself based on MBSR and the content for both courses is very similar. The MBCT course was developed originally to help prevent relapse among people with a history of depression - however it has also been adapted for wider use, for people with other conditions and to general populations. An extensive body of clinical research has consistently shown that this approach to teaching mindfulness is helpful for working with a wide range of conditions, as well as for optimising well-being, and it is now taught widely in healthcare, education, workplaces and other settings.

Who teaches our mindfulness courses?

All of our courses are led by Ed Halliwell. Ed is a highly-experienced mindfulness teacher, having taught the gold-standard MBSR/MBCT course more than 100 times. He is the author of three books: Mindfulness: How To Live Well By Paying Attention, Into The Heart of Mindfulness and (as co-author) The Mindful Manifesto. As well as teaching mindfulness to public groups and organisations, Ed is an advisor to The Mindfulness Initiative, which supports the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group to develop mindfulness-based policies for the UK. He is also an associate of the Oxford University Mindfulness Centre. According to Psychologies magazine, Ed is "one of the UK's most popular mindfulness teachers", while the Guardian calls him "one of the UK's leading mindfulness instructors and writers." Find out more about Ed.

In 2016 Ed was invited to do a talk 'Mindfulness - Beyond The Hype' for Action for Happliness. Watch this talk below:

You may also be interested to watch:

• Ed talking about mindfulness and depression for the Mental Health Foundation's 'Be Mindful' campaign.
• A podcast interview with Ed and Action for Happiness.

You may also be interested to read:

• Ed's regular blog posts for mindful.org.
• Meet Ed Halliwell, lads' mag editor turned mindfulness expert (The Telegraph interview)
• Ed Halliwell on how his journey to enlightenment began with a cup of tea (Sussex Life magazine interview)
• Stepping away from the persona (Sussex Style magazine interview)
• Other Media coverage of Ed's work.
• Testimonials from people who've participated in our courses.

Read testimonials from people who've participated in our courses and workshops.

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You can also like our facebook page and follow Ed on Facebook and Twitter.