Practicing mindful self-compassion enhances emotional resilience, improves distress tolerance and cultivates stronger, healthier relationships within oneself and others. But what is Mindful Self-Compassion?

Jay Earley and Barry Weiss (American psychologists/psychotherapists) propose there are seven types of inner critics. Each has their own intention and presentation. You might be able to identify with a few, maybe even all of them on one occasion or another. Let’s explore them.

We tend to view the inner critic as a source of pain and something to diminish. The thing is, the inner critic is a product of our most innate human need: safety. We need the inner critic for survival. We don’t need to ‘get rid of’ the inner critic.

Sometimes our minds wander because we don’t know where we’re going or what we’re doing. This happens so often in meditation. Meditation Teachers not only take the effort or confusion out of the practice, but they align their guidance with your desires and circumstances. Here are some other benefits of working with a Meditation Teacher one-on-one.

How many times have you waited until you were sick to start taking vitamins or increasing your vegetable intake? Have you ever prioritised yoga or pilates after a back injury? Put off seeing a mental health professional until things got really hard? You don’t need to wait until you’re stressed, sick or falling apart to take care of yourself. Let’s talk about prevention, before intervention.

Sometimes, we are going to have to juggle a few things at once. But we don't need to do this all the time. We don't need to wear that “I'm so busy” mindset like it's a badge of honour. And, if we really must, then there's a better way to do it. Here's a strategy that I’ve been implementing the last few months to catch myself before I drift into striving mode and overcommit.

Do you ever get caught in thought? Really fused with your thoughts, so much so that you see the world through them? While we can't switch off thinking entirely, we certainly can choose what we subscribe to. A technique called defusion can help us to detangle our thoughts and take a step back from them, particularly when they aren't very helpful. Here’s how.

How many times have you put your head down striving towards accomplishing something, only to realise you are missing out on all the joy that exists within the journey? It’s great to have a goal (or two) but it’s also important to pause and appreciate what you have right now. Here’s how gratitude can benefit us.

Hello and welcome to my newsletter series.

Here I share thoughts, experiences, quotes and research to help you cultivate a mindful mind. In my first edition I reflect on my first silent retreat experience and my biggest take away was.

Enjoy x