A local mindfulness teacher is preparing to launch a new course in Knaresborough ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Rachel Clark-Wilson, who runs “Rachel is Mindful”, will begin an eight-week Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC) on 22nd May at the United Reformed Church hall on Windsor Lane.
The course launch coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs from 11th to 17th May.
Rachel offers mindfulness and meditation training, courses, classes and wellbeing walks across the Harrogate area.
She said her route into mindfulness teaching followed a significant life change more than a decade ago.
In 2014, aged 41, she lost her 20-year NHS career after being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
The conditions left her bed-bound for a year and later reliant on a wheelchair for mobility, with daily tasks becoming largely unmanageable due to chronic pain.
Rachel said:
“Taking an eight-week mindfulness course during that time was transformative. To be honest, it saved my life.
“It also redirected my life onto a happier more fulfilling path. Mindfulness meditation managed the chronic pain and helped me cope with the losses and complete upheaval of my life. Those practices were foundational to my recovery.”
The experience led her to pursue further training, and in 2020 she completed a two-year teacher training programme with the Mindfulness Association.
Rachel now delivers the MBLC programme, an evidence-based course taught across the UK, which introduces practical meditation techniques aimed at improving wellbeing and helping participants manage stress and pain.
The upcoming course in Knaresborough will run weekly from 2pm to 4.15pm starting on 22nd May.
A free introductory session is scheduled for 8 May at the same venue, with a follow-up session planned for 7 August.
The course is suitable for beginners as well as those looking to deepen an existing mindfulness practice.
Participants are provided with a workbook, audio materials, weekly sessions, support and refreshments as part of the programme.
The cost of the course is £245. More information about Rachel is Mindful can be found here or via email: rachelismindful@gmail.com
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