City’s Centre for Excellence in Mindfulness Research (CEMR) is expanding its offering of free, online mindfulness sessions, delivered regularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
By Mr Shamim Quadir (Senior Communications Officer), Published
The Centre for Excellence in Mindfulness Research (CEMR) is increasing the number of drop-in online mindfulness practice opportunities for anyone interested in taking half an hour out of their day to focus on their well-being.
From Thursday 27th May, Dr Beverley Duguid will be joining the facilitator team, delivering mindfulness sessions every Thursday morning 9-9:30am in addition to the current schedule of sessions delivered at 12:30-1pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
An online CEMR mindfulness session
Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock describes the concept of mindfulness and the online CEMR sessions
Since Autumn 2019 the drop-in mindfulness sessions delivered by CEMR have become a space for community, friendly smiles, and self-care.
The sessions were previously delivered weekly, in person. However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic led the team to deliver the sessions online since March 2020, increasing the frequency of delivery to three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 12:30-1pm.
Dr Trudi Edginton and Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock , CEMR co-directors, have been organising these sessions throughout 2020 and are committed to continue serving the City mindfulness community in this way until the end of the pandemic.
“As long as we’re forced to stay away from Northampton Square, we just keep on practicing mindfulness remotely – but together”, confirmed Dr Tobias Mortlock.
Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock (left) and Dr Trudi Edginton (right)
The lunchtime mindfulness sessions have enabled hundreds of City staff, students, and friends of City to find mental peace in the middle of their workdays, and to date, some 140 sessions have been delivered.
The mindfulness facilitator team has also been expanding: Former City Psychology PhD student, Dr Lucie Zernerova, joined Trudi and Jutta in facilitating sessions in the summer of 2020.
Dr Lucie Zernerova
Current Psychology PhD student, Lena de Klerk, is another popular session facilitator, not least because of her scientific expertise in lovingkindness.
Lena de Klerk
New team members
Ailbhe Lynch
Ailbhe Lynch, organisational psychologist, and Organisational Development Advisor at City has recently joined the mindfulness session facilitator team. You can read the Organisational Development Team’s blog in conversation with Ailbhe about her approach to mindfulness.
Dr Beverley Duguid
From Thursday 27th May, Dr Beverley Duguid will be joining the facilitator team. Dr Duguid is a researcher at City’s School of Health Sciences and has extensive experience of adapting mindfulness interventions for individuals and groups suffering inequalities, and in particular, people with visual impairments through her work. She previously worked for vision charity, London Vision, and recently created a three minute guided meditation based around visual awareness, for the visually impaired.
Reflecting on the continued success of the mindfulness sessions over the course of the pandemic, Dr Trudi Edginton, co-director of CEMR, session facilitator, and Head of the Department of Psychology at City, University of London, said:
Join a session
Facilitated mindfulness sessions take place from 12:30 – 1pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (except Bank Holidays).
From Thursday 27th May, additional sessions will take place from 9-9:30 am every Thursday morning (except Bank Holidays). PLEASE NOTE THURSDAY SESSIONS ARE CURRENTLY NOT BEING HELD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Anyone is welcome to join. The sessions are delivered through Zoom. Please contact Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock for details on how to join the session.
For more details about the Centre for Excellence in Mindfulness Research, please visit CEMR website.