How I came into teaching mindfulness

I attended my first MBSR course in 2007 while studying for my MBA, training for a cycling trip to the French Alps, running a thriving business coaching practice, chairing my local Chamber of Commerce, and raising two young children. Weekends were filled with sport and family commitments - life was full, fast, and demanding.

I was probably the worst MBSR student ever. I rushed to my weekly evening sessions and regularly fell asleep during the lying-down body scan practice. It wasn’t until the Day of Silence in Week 6 that something began to shift. Then, during my first weekend silent retreat, the penny started to drop.

The seven-day silent retreat that followed was transformative. Silence felt strangely familiar. On my second retreat, I realised why - it reminded me of my time in the Army: moving quietly, noticing everything, eating in silence, being deeply attentive to the present moment. That recognition brought together two parts of my life that had seemed separate - disciplined alertness and contemplative awareness.

Mindfulness gradually shifted from being a stress-management tool to becoming a way of living and working. I began to experience firsthand the power of present-moment attention -  what’s done is done, what is to come will come, and life is lived in between.

I undertook teacher training in 2013 and completed my certification in 2015. Since then, I have facilitated multiple MBSR programs and integrated Mindfulness at Work programs into my business coaching practice, bringing mindfulness directly into leadership, decision-making, and organisational life.

Background

• Registered MBSR Teacher (Teacher Training commenced 2013, completed 2015)
• Former Army experience, informing disciplined awareness and leadership under pressure
• Business coach and former Chair of a local Chamber of Commerce
• Facilitator: MBSR and Mindfulness at Work programs
• Extensive personal retreat practice, including multiple seven-day silent retreats

Specialisation

With a background in business coaching and leadership, I specialise in integrating mindfulness into high-performance environments.

I understand firsthand the pressures of running businesses, leading teams, raising families, and striving for achievement. My work focuses on helping leaders and professionals:

• Reduce stress without losing ambition
• Improve clarity in decision-making
• Develop emotional regulation under pressure
• Strengthen resilience and sustainable performance
• Lead with presence rather than reactivity

In corporate and entrepreneurial environments, the mental “to-do list” can become relentless. Mindfulness creates space - space to choose rather than react, to listen more deeply, to notice assumptions, and to respond strategically.

Feelings rise and fall depending on where thoughts dwell. By cultivating curiosity instead of judgment, leaders discover that they can live and work from the only place that ever truly exists - now.

Teaching Philosophy

How do we live and lead well in complex, fast-moving environments?
How do we remain decisive without becoming reactive?
How do we pursue success without sacrificing wellbeing?
How do we create organisations grounded in clarity, accountability, and humanity?

Mindfulness invites us to:

• Bring non-judgmental awareness to present-moment experience
• Notice the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviour
• Develop the capacity to pause before acting
• Replace habitual reactivity with intentional response
• Build cultures of attention, respect, and resilience

In business - as in life - what’s done is done, and what is to come will come. The quality of our leadership, our relationships, and our decisions is shaped by how we meet this moment Mindfulness is not about withdrawing from ambition. It is about bringing clarity and steadiness to it.