New Free Course for Managing Long COVID

10 April 2022

Introducing Mindfulness for Managing Long COVID; an online, self-paced course freely accessible to the public to support people on their recovery journey. 


To support people on their recovery journey from long COVID, Breathworks has launched a new self-paced course which is freely available to the public through our online platform, the Community of Practice. 

The Mindfulness for Managing Long COVID course has been developed with University College London and NHS health professionals, and forms part of the 'Living With COVID Recovery Programme’ that is in the early stages of being made available within the NHS. Informed by Breathworks’ evidence-based Mindfulness for Health programme, which studies show leads to a wide range of physical and mental wellbeing benefits, the course covers techniques and strategies to help manage common symptoms identified with long COVID, including fatigue, sleep and anxiety.

Designed to help people find ways to live more comfortably and ease their symptoms while their body is healing, the course is self-paced and centres on four key principles: Awareness, Relaxation, Pacing and Self-compassion. 


Across 7 manageable stages, it teaches skills such as: 

  • Breathing techniques to help ease tension and pain in the body 
  • Methods to calm the mind and work with anxiety 
  • Pacing strategies to manage fatigue, gradually build up activity and rebuild confidence
  • Meditation practices to help the body to rest and encourage deeper sleep
  • Compassion-based practices to help restore self-worth and find a kind and helpful relationship with difficulty 

What participants get

  • Audio files and transcripts of a variety of meditation practices, guided by Breathworks Co-founder, Vidyamala Burch
  • A space to connect with and support other people living with long COVID, within a community of people who truly understand what it’s like to live with this condition
  • Suggestions for next steps, including additional resources or reading materials that might be helpful 
  • Access to Breathworks’ wider Community of Practice with free weekly resources and events

HOW TO ACCESS

You can access the course through our online Community of Practice – our free social community for mindfulness and meditation. You can sign up for and access platform through your desktop, or via the Mighty Networks app for your smartphone or tablet (iOS or Android). 

Once you are in the Community of Practice, you can find the course on the left-hand navigation menu under ‘Courses / Resources’.


MEET YOUR COURSE LEADER 

Vidyamala Burch

Vidyamala Burch is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, author, disability spokesperson and Co-founder of Breathworks. 

Originally from New Zealand, Vidyamala sustained life-changing spinal injuries in her teens. She started exploring mindfulness and meditation to help her manage her condition and found the results to be life changing. 

Vidyamala’s vision in establishing Breathworks was to translate ancient Buddhist practices into language that is accessible to anyone living with difficult circumstances - regardless of faith, culture or race. Her particular interest is how to work with physical suffering, but her approach can be applied to working with any sort of pain or difficulty. 

Vidyamala is an award-winning author and has written three books: Mindfulness for Health, Living Well with Pain and Illness and Mindfulness for Women. She was awarded an honorary membership from the British Pain Society for her contribution to the field of pain management in 2018, and the Shaw Trust’s Power List has named her one of the most influential disabled people in the UK for three years running.

Vidyamala teaches retreats and workshops and speaks at a number of international summits and events. Her teachings can also be found on meditation apps Insight Timer, Simple Habit and Mindfulness.com. See more about her work here.


“Mindfulness, for me now, is about being aware in that particular moment, and just being with the moment. I'm not giving up hope that I'm going to be better, but I have been working a lot more on accepting of the here and now, and that makes it more bearable. [Mindfulness] is not going to cure you, but it can help you cope with the day to day living that little bit better"

– Person living with severe long COVID, who participated in a Breathworks Mindfulness for Health course 



DISCLAIMER 

Please note that resources provided by Breathworks are designed to be a support, not an alternative, to existing medical treatment. Please consult and follow the guidance of your healthcare professional and be sure to take responsibility for your own safety. 

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