8 Week Mindfulness Training 1.0 (Beginners) + Introduction to buddhism
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During the training you will learn how to meditate independently and learn techniques to keep an objective view regarding thoughts, feelings, anf physical experiences in order to gain insight in the cause and effect of your own behavior and that of others. By practising and thus developing and making the techniques your own, you will grow in facing difficult situations, problems and/or challenges from a relaxed position. You will enlarge your awareness and with that your sense of time and happiness. Mindfulness has its origin in Buddhism. Buddha that lived around 500 years before Christ, described an 8 fold path towards enlightentment with the objective: how do you diminish suffering and enlarge happiness that you and others experience. Step 7 to enlightentment consists out of developing the right amount of concentration to be able to live in the moment.
Every week we still start by making the body supple through hatha yoga, yin yoga or chi kong. The positions are carefully selected in preparation for the concentration meditation (shamatha meditation). You will train your concentration and imagination by using 8 meditation techniques: the short and long bodyscan, the sit meditation on breath and body, the lake and mountain meditation, 3-5 minutes breathing room + coping, concentrating on routine activities, and the walk meditation. You will live more aware in the here and now and will become more calm.
The 8 Week Mindfulness training helped participants in coping with: stress, concentration problems, fatigue, addiction, pain, insomnia and heavily distorting emotions such as anger and fear. Research on meditation shows that by meditating the activity of the brain changes. The amount of corisol will drop and the amount of melatonine will rise. Through this you will relax and sleep better. From a relaxed position it is easier to break through day to day patterns than from a stressful situation. When you are in a stressful situation you usually will fall back into old patterns.
The mindfulness workbook, which you will work with, is based on the 8 Week MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) of Jon Kabatt Zin. The audio files are recorded by Hans Kloosterman in Dutch and English
Methods: Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, Chi Kong, concentration meditation on the breath, on an object outside of you and on an object placed in your mind ( guided meditations )
Why participate?
Experience more calmth and tranquility
Cope better with stress
Improve your concentration
Increase your energy level
Worry less and less (over)thinking
Prevent a burn-out
Choose more aware at work and at home
Sleep better
You will learn to meditate independently and will learn techniques to take on an objective stance against thoughts, feelings, and physical experiences in order to gain insight in the cause and effect of your own behaviour and that of others. By practising and in so developing and learning the techniques you will grow in facing difficult situations, problems and/or challenges from a relaxed position. You will enlarge your awareness and therefore your sense of time and happiness.
Learning Objectives
-†Concentration
-†Awareness (mindful)
-†Being in the here and now
-†Acceptance
-†Letting go
-†Being instead of doing
-†Learning to coop differently with problems instead of the automatic pilot
Material
Meditation cushion, blankets and mats are present.
The group
Minimum number of participants is 8, the maximum is 12 participants.
Intake per participant
After signing up you will receive an intake form. Please fill this in and return it a couple of days before the training. This intake form consists of questions about learning goals, health, experience, etc. By using that info the training can be custom made to your needs. On request a telephone or personal interview can take place.
Silence & concentration
During the training you will speak or make contact non verbally on a minimal level untill it is explicitly asked by the trainer. This is in order to create a learning environment in which the participant can concentrate on his or her personal experience. This approach is a part of the training. (Mindfulness of ‘thoughts’, the intention of the questions mindfulness of ‘speach’. ) Every participant can ask for 15 minutes of personal time during which the participant can ask questions to the trainer.
Training & practice in the participant's own time
During the 8 weeks it expected of you to meditate every day and make sure you have the appropriate means to do so, such as a meditation cushion or bench. The largest part will be learned outside the sessions! It is recommended to report on the mental development by writing short notes of the experience after every meditation.Per week you will have supporting excersizes. You will have to spend between 30 and 60 minutes on excersizes and assignments every day.
Clothes during meditation
The participants are recommended to wear comfortable clothes that are not tight around the legs and butt. Also you are recommended to wear enough clothes in layers. Sometimes people can get cold during meditation.
Themes during the training
Week 1 – The automatic pilot
Week 2 – Coping with obstacles
Week 3 – Awareness of breath
Week 4 – Staying present
Week 5 – Allow, let be
Week 6 – Thoughts are no facts
Week 7 – How can I take care of myself the best way
Week 8 – The end of the beginning
Week 9 - Lesson in Silence, Recap of the 8 weeks + addition of Compassion meditation
Here is a good movie that explains the use of Mindfulness
Experiences from Participants
I have taken 8 week mindfulness course under the guidance of Hans. The course was very well defined and Hans has made it really interesting and fun to do. Together with learning about mindful meditation some time was also spent on learning the basics of yoga which really helped me to keep on continuing with yoga. Though all the participants except me in the course were Dutch speakers but Hans made it really easy by communicating and cooperating both in English and Dutch. This alone explains enough that how much patience and understanding he has while dealing with his students. Hans has vast knowledge about human mind and body and it all comes down to so called body engineering. Having a healthy mind and body is our birth right and it is essential to learn about it in today's robotic life to make living more smooth and peaceful. What I liked about him is that he doesn’t only act as a teacher but instead he feels you, he tries to understand you, your problems and then adjust himself as per in terms of training and guiding. Tea, fruits and snacks were well taken care of during the course. I came to Hans (found via google search) when I was going through a very turbulent period and it all worked out very well after successfully completing the 8 week course. I have learnt a lot about body and mind which further results in calming down of the turbulence. Other thing which I really finds interesting about Hans is that he has actually spent few years of his life living as a Monk in countries like India, Tibet, Nepal. No doubt that it has made him an excellent and wonderful teacher. I admire his patience, way of communicating and transferring the knowledge. In case you are going through some hard times and looking for a mindfulness meditation guru, I definitely recommends you to visit Hans once.
- Jatinder
Earlier experiences of participants
I have had a lot of mindfulness training. I followed a yoga teacher training myself and always thought that mindfulness I know.
I have experience with meditation and silence. Still, the training gave me a lot and more than expected. Well constructed, practical and methodical. In addition, you also get a dose of lightness with Hans, which makes it a very nice workout.
- Annemiek van Dulmen
Recently I participated in the 8 week mindfulness because I felt very rushed and did not consciously experience my life.
Through Hans Kloosterman I heard that this course existed and he advised me to join in and experience it myself.
The first lesson for me was getting used to because I am not used to making time for myself. A few weeks later, meditating and experiencing tranquility as well as being mindfull began to become my own and I use it over and over again.
I have felt much more comfortable since I participated and notice that my life has become more pleasant.
Thank you Hans for this gift to myself.
I can definitely recommend this course. Nice and educational .. relaxed and a beautiful view of the future.
- Robbert-Jan
Signing up
You can sign up for the following datesWay of payment
You can wiretransfer the amount to the bankaccount noted in your confirmation e-mail after you have signed up.
If you are in possession of a dutch Bank account, you can pay through iDeal. After you've signed up you will receive an automatic confirmation email in which the payment details and an iDeal payment link is included. If you can, please try to pay with iDeal as it diminishes the administration time. Using iDeal will automatically process your payment. If it's not possible you can wire transfer the amount. See the bank-details on the invoice or watch under my website/contactdetails. Many thanks.
Click on the Sign up button to proceed to the sign up form.