Welcome to the Breathworks Foundation

Mindfulness and compassion for pain, stress and illness - helping people reclaim their lives

The Breathworks Foundation was established to ensure that mindfulness and compassion training is available to everyone, regardless of circumstances. It brings to life the vision of Vidyamala Burch, Breathworks Co-Founder, who passionately believes that no person or community should be excluded from Breathworks training programmes and courses simply through financial or personal hardship. This is based on her experience of living with severe pain and disability all her adult life. 

Partnerships

Living with and beyond cancer with mindfulness - A feasibility research study

Is delivering a mindfulness course to people with cancer feasible, acceptable and of any benefit? That was the question asked when preliminary meetings in a collaboration between Breathworks, Maggie’s Cancer Centres, and the Health Psychology Department, University of Manchester, began in December 2016.

Take Back Your Life

The Take Back Your Life project is a modified version of the Mindfulness for Health course for those with low literacy levels or those who aren't fluent in English. Outcomes have been amazing, and there is a promising future for the course ahead.

Breathworks Spreads to Poland

Breathworks Teacher Dawid Talks about how he's spread the Breathworks Approach to Poland by teaching courses in Kraków.

The Breathworks Foundation and St. Michael's Hospice - A Successful Partnership based on Community Values

Born out of a shared objective to serve the community, the partnership between The Breathworks Foundation and St. Michael’s Hospice has flourished since the initial vision in 2015 to create a regional mindfulness centre of excellence in Herefordshire.

Dharmakirti takes Breathworks to the Spanish speaking world

In 2004 Dharmakirti, a yoga and meditation practitioner of eight years, took his skills to a huge prison in Valencia, Spain, to help prisoners find ways to ease their suffering. However, he soon realised meditation on its own wasn’t enough — the prisoners were also seeking ways to deepen their understanding of life and connect more. What else could he offer with a wider perspective?

Three-Minute Breathing Space

Take three minutes to bring some calming awareness into the present moment with this breathing space meditation, led by Vidyamala Burch.
The Tension Release Meditation

Stress and tension, aside from being unpleasant in themselves, can cause aches and pains all over the body. Take 6 minutes to mindfully release tension with this short meditation from Vidyamala.
The Coffee Meditation

One of the great benefits of mindfulness is that it helps you reconnect with life's simple pleasures once again. Take five minutes to really enjoy your coffee (or beverage of your choice) in this guided meditation with Vidyamala.
Business Case for Mindfulness in the Workplace

Presence at the End - Mindfulness at St. Michael's Hospice

A Personal Account of mindfulness teaching in St. Michael's hospice in Hereford by Palliative Care Staff Nurse and Breathworks Teacher, Gail
Tinnitus and Mindfulness

Suryadaya shares her touching journey with tinnitus, the many unexpected difficulties it has introduced to her life, and how mindfulness has helped her to manage it, and to continue to live with appreciation and joy.
Recipients of Teacher Training Bursaries

Hear from people we have helped with a bursary to attend the Breathworks Teacher Training Programme.
Recipients of Course Bursaries

Hear from people we have helped with a bursary to attend a Breathworks mindfulness course.
Mindfulness After a Spinal Cord Injury

Breathworks' Online Mindfulness for Health course has recently been utilised in a study investigating people's experiences of recovering from recent spinal cord injuries. The findings are great news!
Mindfulness for Chronic Dizziness

Balance is a sense that we take for granted… until it goes wrong. A senior lecturer in audiology details the difficulties of chronic balance disorder, and how mindfulness may be able to assist patients in recovery.

Mindfulness and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be a deeply distressing and disruptive condition. In this heartening blog, Ben shares what learning mindfulness with Breathworks has meant to him and his struggle with CFS.
Confessions of the World's Worst Mindfulness Teacher

Read how Mark came to mindfulness as a sceptical attendee at a drop-in session. He now teaches regularly and has seen the benefits of a mindfulness practice on himself, his mother and his colleagues & patients.
The Three Pillars Of Excellent Mindfulness Teaching

Breathworks Teacher Suryacitta has been training people to teach for years, and has noticed some common mistakes. In this excellent blog, he gives some pointers to mindfulness teachers and those thinking of becoming teachers.
Three Things You Need to Start Doing to Stay Energised at Work

Turn the long post 3pm slog into a walk in the park with these three simple practices and feel more mindful to boot!
Three Essential Mindfulness Practices for Resilience

We all have good days and bad days, usually determined by what’s happened to us. But what if we flipped the script and started relating to things differently? What if what made a day good or bad wasn’t so much about what happened to us as it was down to how we responded?
Breathworks Appoints New Non-Executive Directors

Breathworks has recently decided to expand our Board to include three incredible Non-Executive Directors - who will be able to offer advice and guidance based on their own areas of expertise. It is a pleasure to introduce them here.
The Things I Do for Science...

Breathworks Founder Vidyamala Burch recently volunteered to take part in an experiment into the effect of high levels of pain on the brain, giving her ample opportunity to make use of her own pain management strategies!
World Health Organisation Recognises Chronic Pain

The World Health Organisation have updated their classification of chronic pain, in a way that should improve patient care and chronic pain research efforts worldwide.
From Depression to Mindfulness

Niccy shares her experiences of depression, and how, after many years, her mindfulness practice helped her to break the cycles that kept her tied to chronic unhappiness.
Mindfulness for Health course

Award winning mindfulness and compassion course to give you the tools and skills to live well with chronic pain and illness.