As we wrote the book Relational Mindfulness for Coaches we became increasingly aware that readers would benefit from accessing resources provided by a range of others working in fields that resonate with Relational Mindfulness (RM). There are so many resources generously provided for those who want to learn to meditate, and to practise compassion, loving kindness and other relevant practices.
If you haven’t read the book, these resources will still be valuable, but the link to RM and particularly the RM guidelines will be much clearer and richer once you read the book.
Pause through mindfulness/meditation
As mentioned in Chapter 8 of the book, almost any mindfulness or meditation practice is likely to help you develop your capacity to pause. There are many excellent resources available to support us to learn and continue a mindfulness/meditation practice. For example, the Healthy Minds app is a free resource that provides a range of guided meditations. For those who struggle to set aside separate time for meditation and prefer a practice that can be done whilst doing in other things, the Healthy Minds app offers the option of doing the guided meditations either sitting or whilst engaged in a routine activity.
Pause through mindfulness during activity
As mentioned in Chapter 8 of the book, if you struggle to establish a regular mindfulness/meditation practice that involves setting aside separate time, you might consider taking on a practice that can be done whilst engaging in another activity (walking, household chores, exercising…) There are meditation teachers who offer guidance on taking a light-touch, life-integrated approach to practice, such as Alexis Santos, as well as resources from Plum Village (see below).
Relax/allow through self-compassion
As mentioned in Chapter 9 of the book, a great way to engage with the RM guideline Relax/allow is to bring self-compassion into your practice. Self-compassion encourages a softening towards and care for ourselves that has similarities to and synergies with Relax/allow. There are some wonderful meditation teachers that offer free resources to support self-compassion practices. Two are Chris Germer and Kristin Neff.
Open through Loving Kindness Meditation
As mentioned in Chapter 10 of the book, we can build our capacity for the RM guideline Open by introducing Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) practices. LKM encourages an appreciation and care for others, emphasising the interconnected, interrelated nature of all things, which supports the wide, compassionate awareness intrinsic to Open. Barbara Fredrickson provides free guided LKM practices.
Open through compassion and ‘just like me’
As mentioned in Chapter 10 of the book, we can build our capacity for the RM guideline, Open by introducing compassion and ‘just like me’ practices. These forms of meditation encourage an appreciation and care for others, emphasising the interconnected, interrelated nature of all things, which supports the wide, compassionate awareness intrinsic to Open. Thupten Jinpa provides a range of free compassion cultivation resources. He also provides a ‘just like me’ practice on YouTube.
Understanding the RM guidelines
As mentioned in Chapter 5, the form of RM we offer in the book and in our programmes is based on the Buddhist practice Insight Dialogue (ID). ID was created by meditation teacher, Gregory Kramer, who brought together traditional Insight Meditation and dialogue. You can listen to an introduction to each of the ID-based RM guidelines in Gregory Kramer’s words.
Supporting embodiment in RM and other somatic approaches
As mentioned in Chapter 19, mindfulness of the body is the starting point and anchor into the present moment, which is vital for RM enhanced coaching and other embodied approaches to coaching. We can introduce this bodily foundation through practices such as the Body Scan, Mindful Eating, Mindfulness of Breathing, Mindfulness of Sound and Mindful Walking.
Download an audio of Liz guiding a 12 minute Body Scan | Listen:
Download an audio of Liz guiding a 12 minute Mindful Breathing practice (Awareness of Breath) | Listen:
Plum Village resources
As mentioned in Chapter 20, the late Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh established a spiritual community called Plum Village, initially in France and subsequently elsewhere in the world. The Plum Village community proposes various sets of trainings and shares many practices based on deep listening and loving speech. These are beautifully aligned with RM, and can support our development of all the RM guidelines. You can explore these resources via the Plum Village website and app. In addition to many talks, guided meditations and videos, the app includes key Plum Village texts such as the Five Mindfulness trainings mentioned in Chapter 20 and features a ’bell of mindfulness’ which can be set to ring when you so desire, helping you to ‘Pause’.
Pause through mindfulness/meditation
As mentioned in Chapter 8 of the book, almost any mindfulness or meditation practice is likely to help you develop your capacity to pause. There are many excellent resources available to support us to learn and continue a mindfulness/meditation practice. For example, the Healthy Minds app is a free resource that provides a range of guided meditations. For those who struggle to set aside separate time for meditation and prefer a practice that can be done whilst doing in other things, the Healthy Minds app offers the option of doing the guided meditations either sitting or whilst engaged in a routine activity.
Pause through mindfulness during activity
As mentioned in Chapter 8 of the book, if you struggle to establish a regular mindfulness/meditation practice that involves setting aside separate time, you might consider taking on a practice that can be done whilst engaging in another activity (walking, household chores, exercising…) There are meditation teachers who offer guidance on taking a light-touch, life-integrated approach to practice, such as Alexis Santos, as well as resources from Plum Village (see below).
Relax/allow through self-compassion
As mentioned in Chapter 9 of the book, a great way to engage with the RM guideline Relax/allow is to bring self-compassion into your practice. Self-compassion encourages a softening towards and care for ourselves that has similarities to and synergies with Relax/allow. There are some wonderful meditation teachers that offer free resources to support self-compassion practices. Two are Chris Germer and Kristin Neff.
Open through Loving Kindness Meditation
As mentioned in Chapter 10 of the book, we can build our capacity for the RM guideline Open by introducing Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) practices. LKM encourages an appreciation and care for others, emphasising the interconnected, interrelated nature of all things, which supports the wide, compassionate awareness intrinsic to Open. Barbara Fredrickson provides free guided LKM practices.
Open through compassion and ‘just like me’
As mentioned in Chapter 10 of the book, we can build our capacity for the RM guideline, Open by introducing compassion and ‘just like me’ practices. These forms of meditation encourage an appreciation and care for others, emphasising the interconnected, interrelated nature of all things, which supports the wide, compassionate awareness intrinsic to Open. Thupten Jinpa provides a range of free compassion cultivation resources. He also provides a ‘just like me’ practice on YouTube.
Understanding the RM guidelines
As mentioned in Chapter 5, the form of RM we offer in the book and in our programmes is based on the Buddhist practice Insight Dialogue (ID). ID was created by meditation teacher, Gregory Kramer, who brought together traditional Insight Meditation and dialogue. You can listen to an introduction to each of the ID-based RM guidelines in Gregory Kramer’s words.
Supporting embodiment in RM and other somatic approaches
As mentioned in Chapter 19, mindfulness of the body is the starting point and anchor into the present moment, which is vital for RM enhanced coaching and other embodied approaches to coaching. We can introduce this bodily foundation through practices such as the Body Scan, Mindful Eating, Mindfulness of Breathing, Mindfulness of Sound and Mindful Walking.
Download an audio of Liz guiding a 12 minute Body Scan | Listen:
Download an audio of Liz guiding a 12 minute Mindful Breathing practice (Awareness of Breath) | Listen:
Plum Village resources
As mentioned in Chapter 20, the late Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh established a spiritual community called Plum Village, initially in France and subsequently elsewhere in the world. The Plum Village community proposes various sets of trainings and shares many practices based on deep listening and loving speech. These are beautifully aligned with RM, and can support our development of all the RM guidelines. You can explore these resources via the Plum Village website and app. In addition to many talks, guided meditations and videos, the app includes key Plum Village texts such as the Five Mindfulness trainings mentioned in Chapter 20 and features a ’bell of mindfulness’ which can be set to ring when you so desire, helping you to ‘Pause’.