Living Mindfully: Discovering Authenticity through Mindfulness Coaching

Living Mindfully is a complete guide to increasing self–confidence, enhancing motivation and achieving an authentic life through the use of mindfulness and coaching. The author′s approach combines mindfulness techniques designed to explore an individual′s relationship to thoughts, values and emotions with coaching strategies that build the self–confidence and motivation required to pursue goals. The material is structured in two stages: first, the book provides a complete five–week mindfulness program, allowing readers to undertake a deeper study of mindfulness or overcome barriers to progress. and second, a complete mindfulness coaching program that allows individuals and trainers to address issues, generate motivation and create a personal plan for moving forward on an authentic path in life; By learning how to let go of preconditioned thought patterns and habitual responses, Living Mindfully enables readers to believe in their own abilities, and then use that belief to move forward with clarity and purpose.

Preface vii

Acknowledgements x

Introduction 1

Sarah 9

1 Mindfulness 10

2 Living Mindfully: A Five Week Programme 21

3 The Art of Orientation 30

4 The Inquiry Process 42

Owena 56

5 Moving Out of Automatic Pilot and Being More Aware of Our Bodies 57

Annaliese 73

6 Being Present in Mindfulness of the Breath and the Body in Movement 74

Sue 89

7 Staying Present and Dealing with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions 90

Catriona 101

8 Accepting and Letting Be 102

Amanda 109

9 Bringing it Together, Looking after Yourself, and Moving Forward 110

Angeline 127

10 Integrating Mindfulness and Coaching 128

Andrew 140

11 The TIME Programme: Development and Rationale 141

Maria 154

12 Authenticity and its Impact upon Confidence and Self Esteem 155

Stephen 166

13 Acceptance: Working with Negative Beliefs and Emotions 167

Melanie 179

14 Communication: Releasing Our Words to the Universe 180

Lynda 191

15 Planning the Way Forward: An Unfolding Journey 192

16 In Conclusion 202

Appendix 1 205

Appendix 2 207

Appendix 3: Further Reading 210

Appendix 4: Frequently Asked Questions 212

Index 217

Gary Heads is the founding Director of Living Mindfully CIC, one of the leading organizations in the delivery of mindfulness and mindfulness–based coaching in the UK.  He has an MSc with distinction in mindfulness–based approaches and a personal meditation practice spanning 25 years. He has developed the Living Mindfully and TIME programs with clients, including the National Health Service, Public Health, and Jobcentreplus.