Brief Mindfulness is especially designed for busy professionals who want to reduce stress, and find ways to make life more enjoyable and satisfying.
On this three day retreat you can take some time out to relax, and explore a more mindful way of being. You'll emerge refreshed and equipped with new skills to handle the pressures and challenges of modern life.
Your retreat leader is Shakya Kumara, the Brief Mindfulness founder. He has 25 years experience of meditation, and 10 years experience of training in corporate and personal-development contexts.
After the retreat you'll have plenty of support to integrate what you've learnt back into your everyday life. Shakya continues to be available by email, and you will have free access to a full 6 week on-line course.
The venue is the four-star, family-run El Plantío hotel and golf resort, located in Alicante, on the Spanish Costa Brava.
The retreat runs from Friday 16th to Monday 19th October 2015. You can arrive at any time on Friday afternoon or evening - the first workshop session is after breakfast on Saturday. The retreat finishes after lunch at 2pm on Monday. (If you are flying, you only need allow a maximum of 30 minutes for transfers to and from Alicante airport). (Click here if you can't make these dates).
The regular price for is €550, but as Alicante is quiet at this time of year we have a special price of €400. This includes all accommodation, food and training.
You can read on for more information, or click here to book.
Immensely helpful – Mindfulness gives me much more “real time” awareness of my thoughts and emotions, and releases the creative part of my mind
Chief Medical Officer, Bupa
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is best known for stress reduction - and the evidence suggests it does reduce stress by up to 30%, and anxiety by up to 70%.
But Mindfulness isn't just relaxation: it gives a richer and more vibrant experience of life, at work and at play. Your life - just as it is - becomes more enjoyable. This increased awareness of oneself and others improves relationships, and gives various health benefits (e.g. increased immune function, better sleep).
Mindfulness also reduces distraction and mental clutter, making your mind clearer and more focused. That helps you get through work more quickly and easily - boosting your effectiveness as well as your well-being.
Brief Mindfulness adds in some unique elements to help fit Mindfulness into a busy life. For example, one of the key techniques can be done in just 30 seconds, without closing your eyes or changing your posture.
Simple and genius, and goes straight to the core! I've tried mindfulness before but it never clicked for me. But with your guidance and your amazing ability to connect us to our feelings and senses it just transformed the whole experience.
Forsnäs, Sweden
Retreat Leader
Shakya Kumara is the retreat leader and course trainer. He has been practising Mindfulness since 1989, when it helped him recover from long term illness. Since then he has meditated just about every day, and been on retreat several times per year. In 2004 he was Ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order on a 4 month retreat (in the mountains near Alicante) - but his Mindfulness teaching is very much secular, based on modern scientific understanding and evidence. In addition to his own Brief Mindfulness approach, he has studied the secular MBSR and MBCT approach with Ciaran Saunders (a lecturer at Bangor University) and the Mindfulness Academy in Spain.
Shakya is an experienced trainer and coach, especially in the corporate world where his clients have included Bupa, the National Australia Bank, Sheffield University, the NHS, and other organisations around the UK and Europe. His Mindfulness courses have attracted participants from the USA, New Zealand, Finland and other countries around the world.
I am so glad I chose to do this work with you. I feel energised and relaxed, focused and aware, and feel so different from before. Thank you.
Staffordshire, England
Venue and Host
The retreat venue is El Plantío - a family-run hotel and golf resort in Alicante, on the Costa Brava in Spain. El Plantío provides us with the spaciousness and seclusion we need for a mindfulness retreat, along with the comfort of a 4 star hotel experience. (The average weather in Alicante in October is 20°C, with 7 hours sunshine per day)
Our host for the weekend is José Ferry. As well as being part of the family that runs El Plantío, José is the director of the Mind Body Centre in Alicante, and an experienced multi-disciplinary teacher and Mindfulness practitioner in his own right.
Using Brief Mindfulness to “Reconnect" with the moment in 30 seconds is as effective as five minutes of conventional "breathing space" meditation, and a lot easier to slip into your day.
Clinical Psychologist and mother of two, Cambridge
Retreat Programme
Over the course of three days, we'll cover the full content of our standard 6 week courses.
The aim of the retreat is to give you a spacious and enjoyable time, as well as helping you learn the skills of mindfulness. So we'll have plenty of free time, as well as the workshop sessions.
We'll be learning and exploring mindfulness through a mixture of quiet meditation and interactive exercises. There's calm and quiet - and also plenty of laughter and fun! Meditation will usually be in chairs or lying on blankets - there are no special postures required, and you don't even have to close your eyes unless you feel more comfortable doing so.
Please arrive on Friday, to be in good time start the retreat programme after breakfast on Saturday morning. The retreat will conclude after lunch at 2pm on Monday.
Nothing less than life changing
European Sales Manager, Genomic Health
Pricing
This 3 day retreat is normally priced at €550, but as October is a quiet month in Alicante we are able to offer a special price of €400. This includes all training, 3 nights accommodation, all meals and a full set of materials. Also included in the price is a six week follow-up on-line course, including guided meditations and email support from Shakya, to help you bring the benefits of mindfulness back into your daily life.
Thank you very much for the inspiring course. I have tried several different meditation courses but only this one slips easily into my daily life.
Romania
Questions?
If you have any questions about the mindfulness or retreat content, or to discuss whether it's what you're looking for, you can contact Shakya at shakya@briefmindfulness.com or call +44-7981-097768.
If you have any practical questions, please contact José Ferry at info@mindbodycenter.es, or phone +34-689-707010. (or via What'sApp, also +34-689-707010).
Booking
To book your place on this Brief Mindfulness retreat, click here.
We're looking forward to seeing you in Alicante!