Welcome to the Urban Mindfulness Foundation C.I.C
A not for profit Social Enterprise providing FREE Mindfulness Training Courses that help embrace the challenges of Urban living.
The Urban Mindfulness Foundation provides Mindfulness Training Courses in City locations for Individuals, Families, Youth Groups, Schools, and Business. Every course is designed to facilitate health, well being and pro-social connection by embracing our individual uniqueness and connecting through our common humanity.
Mindfulness Courses & Training
Our bespoke training sessions help to introduce the practice in a safe, professional and relating way.
Each of our practitioners have a depth of personal and academic experience including mindfulness studies to a least MSc Level or equivalent and we each follow the UK Network for Mindfulness Based-Teachers Good Practice Guidelines.
We deliver the Mindfulness Associations; Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC), the Compassion Based Living Course (CBLC) and the Mindfulness In Schools Project, dot b and Paws b courses.
We also offer our own Mindfulness Based Inclusion Training Programme (MBIT) or MyBIT. Which is a social mindfulness programme that introduces subjects of equality, diversity and inclusion into our mindfulness practice in a way that facilitates prosocial change.
Saturday 23rd May 10am -12pm – Free online event
Engaged Mindfulness
Embracing social and environmental issues with Kristine Mackenzie-Jansen, Mindfulness Association Teacher and creator of the Engaged Mindfulness programme inspired by the work of Joanna Macy
Mindfulness is probably most well known for its ‘inner practice’, where we sit still and meditate, mostly focused on our inner world of thoughts, feelings and sensations. However, there is a growing movement within the mindfulness world that feels its important to remember that our well-being is inextricably linked with the larger world around us, and so it may be a good thing to deliberately look at the social and environmental issues of our time within the mindfulness context.
The ‘state of the world’ is something that might be tempting to turn away from as being too overwhelming, too dire to really look at, or too divisive to talk about – but what is mindfulness if not turning towards the places that scare us? We do this internally in our practice whenever something comes up that is uncomfortable, and we can do the same with what’s uncomfortable and scary out there in the world. Not to then add fuel to the fire with arguing viewpoints and opinions, but to explore the possibility of an ‘outer practice’.
From a place of interconnectedness and care, how might we engage in mindful and compassionate action? Or in the words of Fredrick Buchner: where does your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet?
This experiential session of practice, reflecting and sharing is lead by Kristine Mackenzie-Janson who is a tutor for the Mindfulness Association, and is inspired by Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects.
We look forward to welcoming you and Kristine!
> JOIN ONLINE EVENT – Saturday 23rd May 10am-12pm
We have temporarily moved online! Join us
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic lock down we have moved our community mindfulness sessions online to ensure we maintain physical distancing whilst maintaining social connection. Why not log in and join us for a practice on Wednesdays and Saturday discussions.
Click below for Zoom links to enter sessions:
> Wednesdays 8 – 9am – Simply sitting sessions
> Saturdays 10am – 12pm – Urban Mindfulness Foundation Online Community Meetup
Other Covid-19 Mindful Resources:
> Mindfulness for Staying at Home & After
Regular mindfulness drop in classes in Newham, East London
Face to Face classes Postponed until further notice due to
Covid-19 lock down
Why not come along to one of our regular drop in classes every Saturday morning. Drop in classes are delivered on a suggested donation basis to ensure Mindfulness Training is available to anyone who wishes to practice as part of a group.
Online drop in sessions are held every Wednesday and Saturday
Saturdays Time: 10.00am to 12.00 noon
Wednesdays Time: 08.00am to 09.00 noon
Location: Online Via Zoom.
Mindfulness Based Inclusion Training
MBIT or MyBIT
Together we have developed the first Mindfulness Based Inclusion Training programme that we know of in the UK.
The MBIT programme is designed to deepen your practice through social and cultural exploration.
By inviting the subjects of equality, diversity and inclusion into our contemplation’s and reflections, we invite new insights to emerge into our social and cultural conditioning’s that can distort the way we see ourselves and each other. Ultimately, MBIT is about developing wise discernment, critical thinking and the maturation of compassionate and courageous beings interested in equality, diversity and inclusion at the absolute and relative levels.
Click HERE for more info on MBIT
The Mayor of London pledged £40,000 to our project
The Urban Mindfulness Foundation (UMF) and partners raised £60K to deliver an exciting innovative project that included offering FREE Mindfulness Courses to schools in Newham with the aim to make Mindfulness accessible and relatable at the grass roots of our community in a way that meets Newham’s diverse needs. Unfortunately, we did not manage to reach our final target. However, will be taking another bite at the cherry next year using all that we have learnt this time round.
We are delighted that the The Mayor of London demonstrated his belief in this project by pledging £40,000 towards the campaign and we send him and his team a massive thank you for all of the support.
Mindful News
The Urban Mindfulness Foundation are committed to mindfulness and social change or progress! As such we are pleased to have been mentioned by the Mindfulness & Social Change Network in a critical article on Independent Global Media Platform Open Democracy regarding Mindfulness and Social Change. The Article drafted by Luke Wreford and Paula Haddock is a collaborative response to issues regarding the Mindfulness Milieu and how it meets the intersection of Social Change.
Below is the article we were mentioned in and other important articles that have helped ensure our practice and training is delivered in a balanced way that invites the difficult social questions to our practice so that new insight arise into our social and cultural conditioning that distort our relationships with ourselves, each other and the systems we live in. Ultimately providing a new social form of mindfulness that nutures both individual and social wellbeing.
Click here to read the full article
For more info on the mindfulness and social change network visit: https://mindfulnessandsocialchange.org/
Other important and interesting articles and material on mindfulness and social change:
Can mindfulness help us midst covid 19 and beyond?
Time for new thinking about mindfulness and social change
The social mindfulness toolbox
Social mindfulness as a force for change
Mindfulness and It’s Limitations in a Neoliberal Society
The mindfulness conspiracy, capitalist-spirituality
Moving mindfulness from ‘me’ to ‘we’
Other important and fascinating links, articles, videos and reading materials are available under membership pages.
Our Moral Foundations
We also offer Free Mindfulness Training Courses for groups who would not normally be able to afford it!
In collaboration with the Mindfulness Association’s Everyone Project and the Hart Knowe Trust; we provide Free 8-week Mindfulness Based Living Courses to eligible Groups and Organisations with Service Users who would not normally be able to access mindfulness training due to financial constraints or other difficulties. The Free mindfulness courses are funded by your donations and the Mindfulness Association and Hart Knowe Trust’s Everyone Project.
If you have a Group of people or a Community Organisation who you think would benefit from Mindfulness Training, but would not normally be able to access it please get in touch.
Ideal for Charities, Youth Groups, Community Groups, Social Service Groups, Care Leaver Support Organisations, Mental Health Support Groups and Organisations, Criminal Justice, Reform and Rehabilitation Support Groups as well as many other Community Support Organisations and low income support organisations.
Please get in touch or complete our Free Mindfulness Training Opportunities application form here!
Please See A Project that has Inspired our Cause
Promoting Cultural Intelligence through Mindfulness Practice
Highlighted in the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group Report “Mindful Nation UK”. The importance, application and delivery of Mindfulness Based Interventions in the context of socio-economically deprived and ethnically diverse urbanised demographic communities requires significant improvement.
Consequently, The Urban Mindfulness Foundation are focused on developing ways to address the requirements as highlighted in the Parliamentary Report to ensure Mindfulness Training can be delivered authentically to a more diverse audience that represents Urban life.
We also aim to encourages people from an ever widening demographic to both practice and learn to teach Mindfulness across all cultural, religious, ethnic and socio-economical divides.
Ultimately there is a wish that this venture leads to greater cultural intelligence and harmonious inter-connectivity that alleviates some of the suffering of division we see in the world today. If you would like to work with us please contact us on unity@urbanmindfulnessfoundation.co.uk