Mindfulness is all the rage at the moment, with Melburnians coughing up for emotional intelligence workshops, crystal healing, meditation sessions and apps designed to make you zen.
Psychologist Doctor Daryl Higgins applauds mindfulness as a technique to alleviate stress.
“I think mindfulness is a useful item in the toolkit for psychologists, particularly where you are dealing with clients who are experiencing anxiety, distress, or difficulty in regulating their emotions,” Dr Higgins said.
Mental health help was once synonymous with little more than a stiff brown couch and stern men sporting quizzical gazes. Times have drastically changed, with the mindfulness business booming around Melbourne. Here are nine places you can get your fix.
1. The School of Life
The School of Life. Image: Tamara McDonald.
The School of Life offers students an array of interesting and informative classes, varying from ‘Understanding Mindfulness’ to the more morbid ‘How to Face Death’. As well as running classes, The School of Life is home to the Conversation Café, where patrons can read philosophical works and chat with other patrons over coffee and snacks.
669 Bourke Street, Melbourne
2. Melbourne Mindfulness Institute
Mobile mindfulness. Image: Sarah Aquilina.
The Melbourne Mindfulness Institute, located in the CBD, focuses on individual and group therapy. The centre teaches Mindfulness Integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which aims to alter behavioural patterns to ease feelings of depression, anxiety and stress.
Level 39/285 Bourke Street, Melbourne
3. Janet Lowndes & Associates
Image: mrhayata, Flickr.
Janet Lowndes & Associates centre has psychology, meditation and mindfulness sessions. The centre teaches mindfulness and iRest Deep Relaxation, a form of yoga focusing on self-inquiry. Brigid Kearney, a 22-year-old meditation skeptic, took iRest classes at the centre and was impressed by the different approach.
“It was much better than usual meditation, where they ask you to picture yourself in a beautiful green field,” Kearney said.
Suite 404, 34 Queens Road, Melbourne
4. Love & Light Holistic Therapies
Image: cobalt123, Flickr.
Combine the mental with the physical through a mindful massage. Choose a session that combines meditation with crystal healing massages, and come away with a new perspective on all things holistic healing.
Level 1/343 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
5. Lunchtime meditation at Federation Square
Federation Square. Image: Tamara McDonald.
Kadmapa Meditation Centre runs free meditation sessions every Tuesday lunchtime between 12.30 and 1pm at the Atrium in Federation Square. Break up a busy day with a bit of mindfulness to get you through the afternoon.
6. Melbourne Mind Body Spirit Festival
Exhibition and Convention Centre. Image: Tamara McDonald.
The Mind Body Spirit Festival features performances and seminars aimed to help guests improve both physical and mental wellbeing. Visit vendors or attend seminars to soothe your soul and learn more about how to keep both your mind and body healthy.
The festival takes place November 20 to 22 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
7. www.calm.com
The soothing background of calm.com.
If you’re tied to your desk, or feel like getting super zen from the comfort of your own home, get this calming site up on your laptop. Choose a meditation session, gaze at the tranquil lake, and let the narrator help you bliss out.
8. The Mindfulness App, available on iTunes for $3.79
Modern meditation.
This hugely popular app has a program of guided meditations, so users can zone out wherever they are. It also allows users to set positive messages and affirmations, to be sent to themselves at random times throughout the day.
9. The Smiling Mind app
The Smiling Mind app.
The Smiling Mind is a free app aimed at helping young people improve their mental wellbeing. It’s a non-for-profit initiative and hugely popular with high school and university students.
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