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Our CompanyMeet James...

The Mindful Method is dedicated to offering accessible mindfulness based meditation classes in professional and personal settings. Inspired by the founder’s own experiences and enthusiasm for mindfulness, The Mindful Method offers a variety of courses for groups and individuals that reflect the diversity of applications of mindfulness in the modern world.

The core values of The Mindful Method draw on both the deep traditions and the modern scientific approach to mindfulness to create a company philosophy that is modern, flexible and relevant to the 21st century. It seeks to cast off the outdated stereotypes of meditation and presents the traditional practices within the modern trappings of empirical research from the therapeutic and neuroscience fields. The approach offered is one that demystifies mindfulness and meditation and endeavours to make it something that can be easily adopted in daily life.

Since its formation, The Mindful Method has successfully delivered one-to-one and group mindfulness classes as well as taster sessions, workshops and bespoke classes in the charitable, public and private sectors. Whether in the personal or professional sphere, the teachings offered by The Mindful Method enable people to delve into a more experiential appreciation of life, giving clients the mindset and skills they need to approach life with more equanimity and resilience.

james_milfordI am a dedicated and thoughtful mindfulness meditation practitioner and I have been practicing mindful meditation since 2011. I was introduced to mindfulness by a progressive GP who believed it would help me cope with the stress and anxieties of my life. Mindfulness was ideal because it would allow me to take back control without setting myself goals of achieving any particular emotional state. The premise sounded counter-intuitive and I admit I was sceptical but within weeks of beginning practice I felt a subtle but important shift within my behaviour. I was calmer, happier and felt more able to cope with whatever life could throw at me. These positive changes abounded as I continued to practice mindfulness over the months and years.

It is the profound and transformative properties of mindfulness and the impact it had on my life that informed my decision to change direction professionally and look for ways to share these practices with others. It was a personal “eureka” moment where I realised I could help others in the way that my mindfulness teachers had helped me. This led to the founding of The Mindful Method.

However, mindfulness is for me more than simply a training to impart or a commercial enterprise. It has become a way of life that I attempt to embody every day through my personal practice and my teaching. Both my practice and teaching are steps in an ongoing journey. I developed my personal practice and theoretical understanding through the pioneering MSc Studies in Mindfulness at the University of Aberdeen. The course encompasses mindfulness, compassion, insight and wisdom training in the expansive Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC) and its teachings underpin my practice and the work of The Mindful Method.

I am working closely with the Mindfulness Association to further develop my study of mindfulness and am committed to adhering to the Good Practice Guidelines (GPG) as set out by the UK Network for Mindfulness-Based Teachers. I am also dedicated to Continued Professional Development and have received additional training from The Mindfulness Association and The Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

I am incorporating my training and continued study to develop an individual approach firmly grounded in the traditions and teachings of mindfulness that is both relevant and accessible. I am passing on a genuine compassion and empathy for the struggles that bring people to mindfulness and the tools for them to alleviate their own suffering.