Workshop: The Poetry of Mindfulness

Join mindfulness teacher, journalist and writer Vishvapani Blomfield for an online workshop to discover the poetry of mindfulness. 

Mindfulness introduces us to a new way of being in which we experience ourselves and the world directly, rather than through thinking about it. Poetry can speak to us in the same way, offering words and images for our inner experience, including beauty, sadness and the whole spectrum of our emotions. 

In this workshop, you will ground yourself through mindfulness practice, with engaging and interactive discussion and reflection. 

You will explore, in simple ways, how poems can enrich your experience – listening to the words and taking them in deeply; engaging with their images, and entering imaginatively into the world the poem creates. 

Lastly, you will learn how a poem can be the basis of a whole period of meditation. 

What you will learn

• Learn a different approach to meditation that uses the imagination
• Learn to use poems and images to explore your experience
• Discover how poems and art can allow you to connect with your experience

who this is for

Participants should have some experience of meditation, but it is also suitable for people who are new to meditation but enjoy the arts

meet the teacher

Vishvapani Blomfield

Vishvapani is a Breathworks Associate and a writer. As a mindfulness teacher he’s taught over 150 mindfulness courses that have taken him everywhere from schools to boardrooms to prisons and community groups. He has trained in numerous approaches including Breathworks and MBSR/MBCT. He is the creator of the Mindfulness Champions Programme, which trains people working in caring professions and community settings to lead mindfulness practices. 

Vishvapani writes poetry, has published a biography of the Buddha and is well known for talking about mindfulness and Buddhism as a contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4.

He lives in Cardiff with his wife, son and a greyhound called Tessa.

DETAILS

Start time: Wednesday 17 July 18:30

End time: Wednesday 17 July 20:30

(UK time; see this Time Zone Converter for your time zone)

Please note, bookings for this event will close on Wednesday 17 July at 3pm.

Schedule 

Time	Activity
18:30	Arrive and settling meditation
18:45	Introducing an image and a poem and exploring their associations
19:25	Break
19:35	Meditating with an image and poem, enquiry
20:30	End

HOW TO JOIN

When you book you will be taken to a form to complete. Once completed, we will email you your confirmation and a link to join the event via the platform Zoom. When you receive the link - simply click on it at the start time to join the online video call. Click here for a short video on how to use Zoom.

COST

We offer four different pricing options to those wishing to join us, and asking participants to pay the highest sustainable amount that they can, so that we can offer places at a reduced cost to those less able to afford a place. 

If you are an accredited Breathworks Teacher, you are eligible for 10% off your place (bursary places not included), details of how to access your discounted rate are on the Community of Practice Teachers & Trainee's Group.

Supporter's Rate Pay for yourself and help support one person to join on a Bursary.	£62
Individual Rate Full-priced rate	£45
Concessionary Rate For those in financial hardship who cannot afford our full priced rate (see below for more).	£35
Bursary Rate A limited number of places are reserved for those unable to afford the Concessionary Rate.	£18

Here you can find our Cancellation & Refund Policy.

A GUIDE TO CONCESSIONARY & BURSARY PLACE

Breathworks is a charitable organisation with a mission to make the benefits of mindfulness accessible to everyone. To help remove barriers for people in financial hardship, we offer a limited number of concessionary and bursary places on events and courses. We operate our booking system on the basis of self-assessment and trust. Please have a careful read of our eligibility guide below, and contact us if you have any further questions.

Concessionary Rate: applies to individuals with an income of less than £22,000 a year (or less than £25,000 if you live in London).

Bursary Rate: a limited number of bursary places are reserved for individuals with significant financial barriers that limits them from affording the Concessionary Rate.

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Please note that we usually record our online events both for training purposes, and to create learning material for others. If you do not wish to be recorded, please feel free to switch off your video and/or audio.