Tasters & Talks | An Experiential & Engaging Introduction for Students

Exam Terms · Mental Health Week · Freshers Week · Student Well-being & Welfare Events.

A Student Taster is recommended as a bite-size way to offer students and university staff a short and meaningful introduction to mindfulness.

Experience

The best way to understand mindfulness is simply to experience it! We will practice a range of simple exercises to give participants a sense of what mindfulness can offer them, how it feels to be mindful and a taste of the different ways we can be mindful in everyday life. Not to mention some everyday techniques they can take away with them and begin to use immediately.

Engage

Recognising that the value of mindfulness is something that ‘clicks’ with different people in different ways. For some, the experiential practice is what first connects them to it and, for others, it is the solid evidence base that helps them to recognise its value as a technique. My tasters are designed to illuminate the benefits in the various ways that resonate with people. In order to engage with mindfulness, as with anything else, we all have the need to understand ‘what’s in it for me?’ I believe there is potential value for everybody – a taster session shows why and how mindfulness is a relevant skill to develop to benefit student’s lives.

Educate

Explain what mindfulness actually is, how it works and the range of benefits it offers to our health and well-being, emotional intelligence, performance and our relationships with others.

Discover examples of other well-known individuals and organisations that practice mindfulness (e.g. Google, US Marines, sports stars, business leaders) and how it works in their context.

The science – understand the neuroscience behind mindfulness and the positive effects it has on our brains.

Myth-busters – mindfulness and the other ‘M’ word (meditation!) are sometimes met with unhelpful pre-conceptions. We address these and clarify that mindfulness is a secular practice and a proven technique that everyone can learn and benefit from.

Inform

Outline what a mindfulness course involves in practice and what to expect. It’s important to know how much time is involved and the degree of commitment required for meaningful progress.

Arranging a Taster session

Who is it for?

You may have a specific group of individuals in mind (such as groups, teams, clubs or societies) or you may wish to offer the session as an open introduction available to all students and staff, for example.

How many?

Tasters can be tailored to different sized audiences – from small to larger groups.

How long?

Tasters can vary in length depending on what you are looking for; from a whole morning introduction of 2.5/3 hours to shorter bite-size sessions of 60 mins.

Where?

Holding a session on-site is often the best way to make it accessible.

Anything else?

Mindfulness Taster sessions fit perfectly within student welfare programmes such as Health & Well-being days, Mental Health Awareness week – even Fresher’s Week and Orientation days.

How much?

Please get in touch to discuss your requirements in terms of session length and numbers of attendees. Where a course is booked following a taster, a 40% discount from the initial Taster cost will be deducted from the full course fee.