About SoundMind
SoundMind was founded by Elaine Bradley and is supported by a team of experienced mindfulness facilitators and trainers. All of our trainers follow the Good Practice Guidance for Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses published by the UK Network of Mindfulness-Based Teacher Trainers.
Our Mission
We are committed to providing the highest quality of mindfulness training within a supportive, inclusive and compassionate environment. We aim to help ease the suffering and strains that can be part of life by teaching practical mindfulness approaches that can easily be applied to daily living.
Our Values
We adhere to Breathworks ethical principles. The values that underpin these principles are:
- We work with the intention of alleviating suffering.
- We care for others with an intention of kindness and compassion.
- We value acceptance, integrity and commitment.
- We respect diversity in all its forms and are open to all who may benefit.
- We aim to be clear and honest in our communication.
- We avoid any activities that we feel will compromise these values.
Who We Are
Elaine Bradley
After attending my first meditation retreat in 2000, I quickly realised the benefits of mindfulness practice in daily life. Having spent many years as a teacher and trainer, delivering university degree programmes and leadership programmes in organisations, I found the practice of mindfulness to be invaluable in managing my own responses to stress.
In 2010 I began formal training in mindfulness, beginning with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and studying Mindfulness Based Approaches to Pain and Illness with Breathworks. Studying with Breathworks not only deepened my own mindfulness practice but also transformed my understanding of the ways in which mindfulness can help those dealing with chronic pain, illness and stress. Continuing to explore mindfulness approaches, I completed specialist MBSR and TTR2 training at the University of Bangor and teacher training in the Mindfulness in Schools programmes to support teachers in bringing mindfulness into schools and universities.
My mindfulness journey continues through further exploration of the benefits of nature connection for health and wellbeing and ongoing study of the positive ways in which mindfulness can be applied to ease the suffering and stresses of life. As well as being trained as a mindfulness teacher, I also hold a BA (Hons) in Commerce and an MPhil in Psychology.
Jan Penrose
My training in mindfulness evolved as a response to both the demanding roles of being a University lecturer and concerns about the suffering of so many of my students. In 2011, I took an 8 week mindfulness course and found the practices so valuable to all aspects of my life that I decided to deepen my understanding and practice. This involved additional formal training in mindfulness and compassion over several years. As my own practice deepened, and the benefits of it became increasingly obvious (to me and those around me), I began to explore how I might share these experiences with my students. Like many of my academic colleagues, I was aware that a growing number of students were experiencing debilitating levels of stress, anxiety and depression in response to the demands and pressures of university life. In 2014, I began training with the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) and as soon as I encountered their .b programme, I felt very confident that their approach to teaching mindfulness would work very well with my students.
Elaine and I then trialed the .b course at the University of Edinburgh and the response and feedback was so overwhelmingly positive that we secured funding to continue teaching. We began work on developing a programme that is dedicated to, and designed for, university students. As part of this development I supported MiSP in training other teachers to deliver the .b programme, worked in schools training teachers and completed .b Foundations training to further explore how best to teach mindfulness approaches to students.
Although it is of little relevance in the present context, readers of this blurb may be comforted to know that I hold B.A. and M.A. degrees from McGill University and a PhD from the University of Toronto. These obvious, and happy, connections with my homeland of Canada are balanced by over 28 years of equally contented life in Scotland and work at the University of Edinburgh.
Jan Penrose
My training in mindfulness evolved as a response to both the demanding roles of being a University lecturer and concerns about the suffering of so many of my students. In 2011, I took an 8 week mindfulness course and found the practices so valuable to all aspects of my life that I decided to deepen my understanding and practice. This involved additional formal training in mindfulness and compassion over several years. As my own practice deepened, and the benefits of it became increasingly obvious (to me and those around me), I began to explore how I might share these experiences with my students. Like many of my academic colleagues, I was aware that a growing number of students were experiencing debilitating levels of stress, anxiety and depression in response to the demands and pressures of university life. In 2014, I began training with the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) and as soon as I encountered their .b programme, I felt very confident that their approach to teaching mindfulness would work very well with my students.
Elaine and I then trialed the .b course at the University of Edinburgh and the response and feedback was so overwhelmingly positive that we secured funding to continue teaching. We began work on developing a programme that is dedicated to, and designed for, university students. As part of this development I supported MiSP in training other teachers to deliver the .b programme, worked in schools training teachers and completed .b Foundations training to further explore how best to teach mindfulness approaches to students.
Although it is of little relevance in the present context, readers of this blurb may be comforted to know that I hold B.A. and M.A. degrees from McGill University and a PhD from the University of Toronto. These obvious, and happy, connections with my homeland of Canada are balanced by over 28 years of equally contented life in Scotland and work at the University of Edinburgh.
