Breathworks CIC is an international

mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...

organization founded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, which offers mindfulness-based approaches to living well with pain, stress, and illness. It is known particularly for developing the approach of mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM), which shares many elements with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) but is adapted specifically for those living with chronic pain and illness, and incorporates a distinctive emphasis on the practice of '

loving-kindness Loving-kindness may refer to: * an English translation of Chesed ( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love o ...

'. Breathworks is a registered

Community Interest Company A community interest company (CIC, colloquially pronounced "kick") is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social ente ...

(CIC) in the United Kingdom, and has nearly 500 accredited teachers working in 35 countries.

History

Breathworks was founded in 2004 by Vidyamala Burch, Sona Fricker, and Gary Hennessey, growing out of a 2001 pilot scheme funded by a grant from the UK's

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

. This grant supported Burch to receive training from

Jon Kabat-Zinn Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...

in mindfulness-based stress reduction, and enabled her to begin a "Peace of Mind" course in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

that used

and loving-kindness meditations to help those suffering from chronic pain. Drawing on her own experience of severe long-term back pain and partial

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

, Burch emphasized the need to turn towards difficult experiences with acceptance and kindness rather than continually struggling to defeat or overcome them. The pilot course received a positive response from participants, and was inundated with inquiries. An ordained member of the

Triratna Buddhist Order The Triratna ( pi, or ; sa, or ) is a Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha). Symbol The Triratna symbol is composed of: * A lotus flower within a circle. * A dia ...

, Burch worked with other members of the Order to found Breathworks, and initially focused the organization on creating a community of trainers who could share the "Peace of Mind" program more widely.

Current work

Subsequent to its foundation in 2004 Breathworks has grown rapidly, playing an active role in the UK mindfulness teaching community and establishing an international presence. In 2005 Breathworks was a founding member of the UK Network of Mindfulness-Based Teacher Training Organisations (later renamed the

British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches The British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) is a UK-based network of mindfulness organizations and teachers, which has been described as "the lead organisation overseeing the quality of mindfulness-based training in the UK." ...

, or BAMBA), and since then has adhered to this organization's Good Practice Guidelines for training mindfulness teachers and delivering courses. The majority of Breathworks trainers and teachers now come from a very wide range of professions and backgrounds and Breathworks is clear that, while drawing on contemplative training derived from Buddhism, it offers a secular mindfulness pathway appropriate to a wide range of applications. Breathworks established its Teacher Training Pathway in 2005, and by 2019 there were almost 500 accredited Breathworks teachers working in 35 countries, reaching 11,000 people. Breathworks is a registered

in the UK, meaning that its profits are used to provide bursaries and scholarships for its programs through the

Breathworks Foundation The Breathworks Foundation is a registered charity in the United Kingdom that aims to broaden access to mindfulness and compassion training. It provides bursaries enabling people in financial hardship to access the programs of Breathworks CIC, de ...

charity. Breathworks now offers a range of mindfulness programs catering to people with varied needs and circumstances. The "Peace of Mind" program evolved into the 8-week Mindfulness for Health course, which in 2015 was delivered to over 800 people in the UK. This course is aimed primarily at those suffering from chronic pain and illness, and is the main vehicle through which Breathworks delivers mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM). A parallel 8-week course for those suffering primarily from stress - the Mindfulness for Stress course - was developed by Gary Hennessey, and in 2015 was delivered to over 1000 people in the UK. Breathworks also offers bespoke Mindfulness in the Workplace programs. In 2020 Breathworks began offering live online versions of its Teacher Training, Mindfulness for Health, Mindfulness for Stress, and Mindfulness in the Workplace programs, allowing it to continue to reach significant numbers during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Mindfulness-Based Pain Management (MBPM)

Breathworks is known particularly for developing the approach of mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM). Drawing on the experience of Breathworks co-founder Vidyamala Burch, MBPM adapts the core concepts and practices of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and

mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an approach to psychotherapy that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods in collaboration with mindfulness meditative practices and similar psychological strategies. The origins to its concept ...

(MBCT) to create a program specifically tailored to those living with chronic pain and illness. In addition to using shorter meditations and integrating a pacing program into the course, MBPM includes a distinctive emphasis on the concepts of "primary" and "secondary" suffering, and on the practice of "

". Utilizing a "six-step process" oriented towards the cultivation of qualities such as

awareness Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some inform ...

, acceptance, sympathetic joy,

equanimity Equanimity (Latin: ''æquanimitas'', having an even mind; ''aequus'' even; ''animus'' mind/soul) is a state of inner peace, psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenom ...

, and choice, MBPM has been seen as sensitive to concerns about the dangers of removing mindfulness teaching from its original ethical framework, while also providing a secular evidence-based approach appropriate for people of all faiths, and none. MBPM is delivered primarily through the Breathworks Mindfulness for Health course, but has also been adapted to those suffering from stress in the Mindfulness for Stress course. A 2018 literature review found that research on the Mindfulness for Health and Stress courses has shown them "to be very helpful for people with severe chronic pain and illness", but also noted that further

randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...

s were needed.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* https://www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/ Mind–body interventions Meditation Mindfulness Pain management Community interest companies Mindfulness movement

History

Current work

Mindfulness-Based Pain Management (MBPM)

See also

References

Further reading

External links