On 19th April 2021 a group of Occupational Therapy students from the University of Cumbria conducted a session on Mindfulness for the members of Headway North Cumbria. The six students involved had been able to join us on our weekly zoom meetings for a number of weeks beforehand and had been able to get to know the group well and were able to tailor their session to meet the needs of the participants.
The session, which was conducted on Zoom, included an introduction to mindfulness and a discussion of the benefits to health and well being that it offered.
This was followed by a guided mindfulness activity – mindful eating. Mindful Eating is an approach to food that focuses on individuals’ sensual awareness of the food and their experience of the food. Participants had been invited to bring along a favourite item of food and were invited to explore and reflect on it using all five senses – touch, sight, hearing, smell and finally taste.
The session had been well researched, was well presented, and was consequently very enjoyable and well received by those that participated.
Headway North Cumbria would like to thank the University of Cumbria and, particularly the students – Caitlin, Helen, Helena, Ross, Sarah and Vicky – for their magnificent efforts. We wish them all the very best for the rest of their degree course and their future careers as OTs.