MoMint
training course in May 2019, in Czech Republic
exploration of mindfulness in youth work
from the 14th to the 23th of May 2019 in Buchov -Benesov , Czech Republic
We came together to be, move, play, observe, listen, share, explore, experiment, challenge ourselves,
learn from within and from each other, get to know new people & ways & attitudes,
and create this experience together.
MoMint was an 8-day training course which aimed to introduce and explore principles of “Mindfulness” and experiment with practical and fun tools and techniques that can be readily used in daily life, creative work and in the other situations and places too. Training own awareness, acceptance and sense of presence can improve the quality of our days and the things we do. We will learn how to be present and to tune and respond properly to the needs of the diverse people and situations we are working with.
Why Mindfulness?
Mindfulness develops the skill to bring one's attention to the present moment on purpose and serves to strengthen one’s capacity for stress resistance, kindness and compassion both in personal and professional life. Science-based methods allow participants in training to experience visceral, ‘in the moment’ practices within an overtly reflective and supportive environment.
Furthermore, mindfulness cultivates one’s skill to welcome and observe the incoming inputs from inside and outside without attachment, not to be dragged or manipulated by emotions and upcoming thoughts. It also represents a more fitting response to the complexity of human relations in which youth workers operate and thereby help to preserve the integrity of process-based practice. Enhanced concentration and clarity brings more creativity into trainers’ daily work and supports learners’ success.
Who was this training for?
The training was designed for youth workers & volunteers
and other people who work with people, that want to refresh their skills and attitudes to their days, to other people, to work and to the world.
We hosted 27 participants from
Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Latvia, Macedonia and Cyprus
This training was for youth workers who:
● want to explore and experiment with specific tools from non formal fields
(body based methods, theater, movement, dance,
nature based methods, meditation, arts, creative expression),
● want to use and imply the learned skills in your professional work with people,
● are open to sharing your own skills and learning the skills with others,
● are motivated and willing to commit to work during the whole duration of the project (preparation, training course, follow-up activities
What we have been doing?
● collecting new inputs and inspiration that renew motivations to act with commitment and new ideas.
● refreshing curiosity and playfulness in approaching your work in order to prevent burning out.
● improving your trainers’ and personal skills to be more efficient, adaptable, responding to issues and demands in your work and daily life.
● widening your perspectives and points of view to see new opportunities, create new patterns, and avoid situations of stalemate when working with people with different cultural background.
● gathering specific tools from non formal fields (theater, dance, meditation, creative expression) that are not easily accessible for all the youth workers.
By training your own awareness, acceptance, sense of initiative you can improve the quality of your being and of your actions. We wish to support you in finding ways to be more resilient and empathic through mindfulness – by developing your skills to be fully present, listen, accept and act, by equipping you with mindfulness based tools that you can later on use in your practice.
Working methods
In the 8 days together, we will be, move, play, observe, listen, share, explore, experiment, challenge ourselves, learn from within and from each other, get to know new people & ways & attitudes, and create this experience together.
We will be exploring the principles and techniques of various mindfulness-based methodologies. We will be learning by doing.
The dramaturgy of the program, the red line connecting above mentioned activities, uses a combination of meditation, body awareness, mindful movement and exploration of patterns of behaviour, thinking, feeling and action.
“Mindfulness can be understood as the non-judgemental acceptance and “open-hearted” investigation of present experience, including body sensations, internal mental states, thoughts, emotions, impulses and memories, in order to reduce suffering or distress and to increase well-being.”
~ Kabat-Zinn
The course will also have a strong component based on the sharing of ideas, opinions, experiences and best practices, so if you consider joining the training, start thinking of some activities, you would like to propose.
Also, bear in mind that previous experiences with mindfulness practices are not needed to attend the training.
More information and outcomes
For more detailed information about the day to day programm please read the DAILY REPORT
Description and instructions to all activities designed and implemented by participants in "MindSpace" in second half of the training you can find in MoMint BOOKLET
To tune into the soundtrack of the training listen to MoMint Spotify Playlist
For more information about the training please read the official INFOPACK
Stay updated by following the FACEBOOK PAGE
Or contact us via mail:
Few words from participants
On my exploring journey of finding tools that I can further use in my personal and professional practice I had the beautiful opportunity to take part in an Erasmus+ project, learning and exploring the principles of Mindfulness.
The project was hosted in a wonderful rural area in Czech Republic. During 9 days of training course using theatre, movement, dance, meditation, arts, creative expression I was able to explore my mind and body,to cultivate the ability to be present in order to strengthen my capacity for stress resistance, kindness and compassion both in personal and professional life. All this shared with a lovely community of 27 people all around the Europe, an inspiration source for kindness and acceptance.
Thanks to Andrej, Antonio and Jana, beautiful trainers who inspired with their attitude and made the magic happen. Also thanks to Bogdan from Dreams for Life for the support during the recruitment process.
Still felling the smell of sage incense and the taste of white tea, I'm sharing some special moments happened during the course.
Ramona, Romania
Mindfulness… today quite a fashionable concept. But what does it actually mean?
For me mindfulness is about being fully present. Here and now. About hearing, seeing, experiencing the world as it is. About being in a flow, when nothing else beside this very moment actually matters. Mindfulness means for me to be aware, on a very deep level. Aware of myself, of people around, of nature, of the world and of life itself.
I’ve learned mindfulness with small steps taken mostly during our travel around the world. Leaving Europe almost 4 years ago I knew already that there is something more than rationality to understand life with, I had my first very strong experience of being here and now (which had happened few months before during an Interpersonal Training), I was conscious that if I wanted to go deeper in understanding, I needed something more than what I’d tried before. And I’d already tried quite a lot, I went through few coaching processes, I participated in different important and developing courses, training and events, I did few times Camino de Santiago, etc.
To read the full article please continue to Anna's Exchange the world webpage here.
Anna, Poland
Hi, I’m Miso from Macedonia (or North Macedonia, if you like). I love Erasmus+ projects, even though I haven’t been to many. MoMint+ was only my third one, but it was by far my favorite and probably the most useful to me as a person; I believe it was, too, to all of the participants that shared in the wonderful experience.
Nonformal education has a way of bringing people together and igniting creative and critical thinking, but MoMint+ was on a completely different level! The energy of all the facilitators, each of the participants (and even the cooks!) was so wonderfully synchronized that it set the pace for deeply involving and useful activities which all of the participants cheerfully took part in. It was like magic in action, to see such a diverse group of people come together like pieces of a puzzle and create something magical each and every day. [If you’d like to learn more about how incredible the balance of the group was, even as dictated by the stars, I would direct you to Jean’s very very interesting WAVE theory.]
Seriously, each moment passing by made me feel thankful for it happening (the slightly upsetting ones, too, which were few and far between) and paradoxically created a feeling of nostalgia even while it was happening.
To read the full article please continue here.
Miso, The Republic of North Macedonia
