Cognitive Compassion

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The Cognitive Compassion Retreat includes:
  • 6 nights accommodation in unique Spanish Farmhouses with many acres of private land
  • Buffet breakfast, delicious lunches, & 3 healthy Mediterranean dinners
  • Daily Mindfulness Meditation sessions (based on the MBSR/MBCT program), handouts, & references
  • Private 15 mins. session with Mindfulness Practitioner
  • Daily Sunrise Yoga and Tai-chi sessions
  • Cognitive Compassion talks & workshops based on modern psychology research
  • Kabat-Zin & Exchart Tolle documentaries in Cinema Room
  • 2 guided coastal & country walks
  • Coffee, tea, water & afternoon cake
  • 3 Massages & Private Yoga or Mindfulness sessions with Wellbeing Package
  • Sea kayaking, tennis coaching & mountain biking sessions with Fitness Package

The Cognitive Compasion holiday (formerly "The Mallorca Retreat") is DANA's signature retreat. This holiday retreat is a unique Mindfulness Meditation (MBSR & MBCT), CBT skills, Yoga & Wellbeing holiday for guests looking to explore new Wellbeing practices and stress reduction methods in a Mediterranean environment of peace and calm. During the 6 days you will cover half the content of the MBSR/MBCT course allowing you to learn most of the Meditation practices and theoretical underpinnings associated with these programs.

At DANA, we believe that creating a healthy & positive life for yourself is a challenge and requires support as well as daily, consistent steps executd with patience. The Cognitive Compassion holiday is a place where you can explore how to achieve this for yourself. by getting involved in a healthy exercise and nutrition routine & gain insight into new Wellbeing research based on Mindfulness Meditation practice. The holiday is hosted by compassionate professional practitioners all intent on passing on their practical knowledge and making your stay worthwhile for you.

We look forward to welcoming you on DANA's Cognitive Compassion Retreat

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness can be described as bringing attention to the present moment, intentionally, & without judgement. Mindfulness-based therapy involves simple breathing meditations and yoga stretches to help participants become more aware of the "now", including getting in touch with moment-to-moment changes in the mind and body.

The mindfulness practices that are learned on the The Mindfulness Retreat come from Buddhist meditation but they are skills that anyone can use and are taught in a completely non-religious way. In fact, we all have the ability to be mindful. It is simply something that we need to develop with practice. This is exactly what Mindfulness Training teaches us to do and is why homepractice is such an important part of the course. During the week, you will learn practices such as the Body Scan, Mindful Movement and Sitting Meditation but the aim is to be able to take what you learn in these practices into your everyday life.

Background

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) The Stress Reduction Clinic was founded in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School to reach those patients whom the healthcare system was failing. Since then over 16,000 people have completed The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programme, coming with conditions as diverse as coronary artery disease, psoriasis, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, sleep problems, life stress and many more. The programme has also been extended to teach staff and medical students and other programmes have been developed in prisons, schools and for specific problems such as eating disorders.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) In the last 12 years Professor Mark Williams, Dr John Teasdale and Professor Zindel Segal have further developed the programme specifically for the treatment of depression. MBCT is now recommended as a treatment of choice by The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2004, p76) for people who have suffered 3 or more episodes of depression. This programme has also been taught to groups with other conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and cancer patients and their carers. Most courses now include a combination of both MBSR and MBCT

What are the benefits of Mindfulness Meditation?

  • Helps you to recognise when your mind is caught in unhelpful thought patterns, allowing you to gently untangle yourself and come back to the present moment.
  • An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long-term stressful situations
  • Allows you to develop the skill of paying attention and coming into the present moment. This means that you can begin to experience your life with immense clarity & vividness.
  • Reductions in pain levels and an enhanced ability to cope with pain that may not go away
  • Helps you to step out of constant doing and allowing yourself time for simply being.
  • A way taking time to pause and come back to your present moment experience time and time again. This means that you are present for everything - the beautiful aspects of your experience and also the uncomfortable and the boring.

    • Above text is Copyright of Vanessa Hope & DANA Holidays 2009. Many Thanks.