Mindfulness has become something of a buzzword over the last
few years, but very few people actually know what it is! Or the benefits that
it can bring to your life. One woman who does is Nicola Forshaw, founder of
Mindfit, a provider of Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence training to
schools, businesses and individuals.
Nicola says; ‘Mindfulness
is a practice. It is a way of being. Mindfulness is not a religion, doesn’t
take a lot of time and can be practiced anywhere, sitting on a bus, walking to
work, at your desk, cooking at home or even socialising with your friends.
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to your thoughts, emotions and
body sensations in the present moment non-judgementally and with compassion.’
‘When we do this it
allows us to create some space in the mind to respond skilfully rather than
habitually. This can lead us to making wiser decisions. Mindfulness is a way of
being that can help us to build up emotional intelligence skills such as resilience,
focus and compassion for our self and others.’
At Mindfit, Nicola works with CEO’s, executive teams and
staff to improve wellbeing, performance and company culture. She also works
with schools, colleges and universities teaching both teachers and pupils
mindfulness to improve their emotional wellbeing, focus and attention, teaching
‘how to live in the present moment’ and
cultivate attitudes of positivity and kindness.
Prior to setting up her own business Nicola worked for 15
years in corporate sales and business development in telecommunications,
advertising and sports marketing. But it wasn’t until 2008 that Nicola found
mindfulness after she began meditating to help her cope with stress and
depression that she was facing. ‘The
practice was key in transforming my mind set, and my life!’ Ever since then
Nicola has been studying meditation, personal development and mindfulness, and
in 2010 she decided that she wanted a career change. ‘I had two objectives, it had to be something I was passionate about and
it had to be something that would help others. Ironically, the idea came to me
whilst meditating! I wanted to teach others how to find peace and happiness,
which lead to me becoming an accredited mindfulness teacher.’
Nicola got in contact with her local growth hub broker The Women's Organisation and was directed to tailored business growth support through our programme; New Markets 2 and began working with Business Adviser; Janine Hyland. ‘ I benefited enormously from my one to one mentoring with Janine who has
shown genuine interest in the growth of my business and has been brilliant to
work with!’ Nicola worked with Janine and had one to one meetings as well
as an away morning with her to help her plan her growth strategy.
For Nicola one of the biggest barriers when starting her
business was the lack of start-up capital. To solve this problem Nicola decided
to continue working full-time whilst she started her business simultaneously. ‘For the first couple of years I had to
continue working whilst studying and practicing mindfulness during evenings and
weekends. This was very tiring, especially with a young baby, thinking back it
was such hard work but definitely worth it!’
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| Mindfulness in the workplace |
Nicola has always juggled many different things and is
dedicated to finding the perfect work/life balance. ‘I’m a working mum so I have to fit my business around my young
daughter. So like most working mums there can be a lot of juggling. But when
it’s your passion, it doesn’t feel like work!’ And even within the business
Nicola admits that there are a lot of different areas to contend with; ‘There’s so much to think about when you’re
running your business; marketing, social media, accounts, networking, business
development – and that’s on top of the most important work of all which is the
teaching!’ – But Nicola says that her own mindfulness practice has helped
her enormously to cope and also achieve her goals, she sets aside 30-40 minutes
each day for this.
Now Mindfit is going from strength. Nicola says; ‘We are working with national as well as
local businesses and the number of clients we have has quadrupled since last
year with 98% of the attendees rating our sessions as excellent! We are now
working with larger groups, I recently taught a session at Liverpool Hope
University that was attended by 140 people! I am excited about taking the
business forward in 2017 and have lots of plans to continue to bring
mindfulness and meditation to a wider audience and help people lead happier,
healthier lives.’
If you would like to find out more about Mindfit, you can do
so by using the contact details below!
www.mind-fit.co.uk
Twitter
Feb 2018 update...
Since working on the New Markets 2 Programme Nicola's business has continued to grow, seeing significant increase in her turnover, and building an impressive client portfolio.
Over the last 12 months Nicola has been implementing a mindfulness programme at Merseyside Police.
Nicola told us "It's a great opportunity to work with an organisation under immense pressure to change mindset and culture in a positive way".
Thanks to unbelievable feedback Nicola currently has a further 5 courses commissioned with Merseyside Police and she is finding waiting lists are often needed as the staff can see what a positive impact the programme is having.
Nicola commented "As the police officers are learning how to let worry and tension go, they are not only improving their health and well being, but their productivity is increasing."
On the back of the success in Merseyside, Nicola is due to start working on a similar project with West Yorkshire Police, and is positive about the direction her business is going in.
Feb 2018 update...
Since working on the New Markets 2 Programme Nicola's business has continued to grow, seeing significant increase in her turnover, and building an impressive client portfolio.
Over the last 12 months Nicola has been implementing a mindfulness programme at Merseyside Police.
Nicola told us "It's a great opportunity to work with an organisation under immense pressure to change mindset and culture in a positive way".
Thanks to unbelievable feedback Nicola currently has a further 5 courses commissioned with Merseyside Police and she is finding waiting lists are often needed as the staff can see what a positive impact the programme is having.
Nicola commented "As the police officers are learning how to let worry and tension go, they are not only improving their health and well being, but their productivity is increasing."
On the back of the success in Merseyside, Nicola is due to start working on a similar project with West Yorkshire Police, and is positive about the direction her business is going in.
And if you’ve been inspired by Nicola’s story and would like
to find out how we can help you start or grow your business through our programmes part funded by European Regional Development Fund, then get in touch
with us! We operate as a broker for the local growth hub meaning we are available to give advice and guidance whatever stage your business. Email us on hello@thewo.org.uk
or ring us on 0151 706 8111
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