Michael Chaskalson is the UK's leading trainer of mindfulness-based approaches to work, with clients including London Business School, Prudential and GlaxoSmithKline. He is an honorary lecturer at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University, UK, and has more than thirty years experience of Buddhism and formal meditation.
This book offers a practical and theoretical guide to the benefits of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in the workplace, describing the latest neuroscience research into the effects of mindfulness training and detailing an eight-week mindfulness training course.
* Provides techniques which allow people in organizations to listen more attentively, communicate more clearly, manage stress and foster strong relationships
* Includes a complete eight-week mindfulness training course, specifically customized for workplace settings, along with further reading and training resources
* Written by a mindfulness expert and leading corporate trainer
Foreword ix
Preface xiii
Introduction: The Business Case for Mindfulness Training 1
1 What Is Mindfulness? 13
2 What Is Mindfulness Practice? 31
3 Positive and Negative Stress: Up and Down the Yerkes-Dodson Curve 57
4 Approach and Avoidance: Learning New Ways to Be with What Is 73
5 Metacognition: Knowing Your Thoughts as Thoughts 89
6 Respond: Learning Not to React 101
7 Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence: Positive Relationships at Work 111
8 Mindfulness for Leaders 127
9 Mindfulness in Coaching 145
10 Living Mindfully 157
11 Putting on an Eight-Week Mindfulness Course in a Workplace Setting 163
Appendix 1: Good Practice Guidance for Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses 183
Appendix 2: Review of Significant Mindfulness Research 187
Appendix 3: Further Reading 191
Appendix 4: Further Training and Other Resources 193
Index 195