Applications Now Closed

Dates: 30 January to 20 March 2025 

Time: 7pm-9pm  

Venue: ONLINE (Microsoft Teams) - Please note: The online lectures on this course will not be recorded.

Fee: €250

Course Overview: 

In a world that is increasingly complex, the skill to manage effectively the challenges and stressors of daily life is key to our health and general wellbeing. Mindfulness can play a significant role in this process and offers us a way of being in the world that brings balance, kindness and perspective. Mostly mindfulness is associated with present moment awareness however it also offers us the opportunity to relate to experiences differently, in a way that is more spacious and compassionate, less ridged and self-judgemental. The attitudinal foundations of a mindfulness practice include – non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, and letting-go. Mindfulness is not a cure all solution to life’s challenges, but it can give us a gateway from which to engage more effectively to stressful situations. Mindfulness practice helps you to become more aware of thoughts, feelings and body sensations in the present moment. Rather than react out of a habitual pattern mindfulness opens the possibility of working with greater awareness with difficulties and challenges. This short course supports the participant to build wellbeing and personal resilience through mindfulness meditation practice and self-inquiry. The course explores the opportunity to relate differently to stressful situations and to support participants to live life more fully by savouring positive experience. 

The invitation throughout the course is to cultivate an attitude of curiosity and interest in your daily experiences. By allowing yourself to explore and experiment with various mindfulness practices, you will discover grounding practices and a way of engaging with life that can bring greater ease, awareness and skill to daily experiences.

Course Schedule: 

• Week 1: This class will explore the meaning of mindfulness and how it might be applied in your everyday life. You will learn how to integrate mindfulness into your life through both formal and informal mindfulness practices. 
• Week 2:  Very often is not the stressors, but how we relate to the stressor that is key to effective self-management. We will look at the role of perception and making meaning from life events 
• Week 3: Practicing mindfulness formally and in everyday life. Appreciating the positive. 
• Week 4: Exploring stress and how it impacts on our wellbeing 
• Week 5: How does mindfulness work with difficulty. How does it support us in times of stress and challenge? 
• Week 6: This class examines the interpersonal dynamics of stress through the lens of interpersonal communications. 
• Week 7: We reflect on lifestyle choices, some of which can be nourishing while others depleting 
• Week 8: The End is the Beginning. Reflection on ways in which we can grow and deepen our practice. 

Course Lecturer : 

Elizabeth O’Leary is an experienced mindfulness practitioner and teacher. She has a Post Graduate Certificate in Mindfulness Based Practice and Research and an MSc in Mindfulness Based Wellbeing, both achieved through UCC. Elizabeth who has taken part in many mindfulness retreats and programme such as Mindfulness Self Compassion, Acceptance and Commitment Training, Mindfulness and Trauma and Mindfulness in Relationships. Elizabeth is a member of the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI). For Elizabeth two points stand out as being of central importance when teaching a mindfulness programme; one is to support everyone to explore mindfulness at their own pace so that they can identify the practices and approaches that best suits them and that best align to their style and experience. The second is holding a respect for each person on the programme and to provide a safe, engaging learning environment that reaches out to all participants. 

Requirements: 

Applicants must be at least 18 years old at course commencement. 

Contact Details for Further Information: 

Email: shortcourses@ucc.ie  

Please note our refund policy as follows: 

100% refund if student cancels 1 week prior to course commencement, less €50 processing fee.

100% refund if student's course is cancelled due to insufficient numbers.