HEALS HEALS is a transformative approach to whole-life health, designed to empower you to take control of your wellbeing. This 11-week online course combines: ➡️ Lifestyle medicine ➡️ Awareness training ➡️ Habit methodology Creating sustainable lifestyle changes to improve physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. A Holistic Approach to Managing Pain & Illness Managing your health, whether it’s a long-term illness, pain, fatigue or menopause, can feel overwhelming, with so many factors to consider and experiment with. HEALS simplifies this process by providing structured, expert guidance to help you achieve manageable, sustained change in the areas of life known to improve our health, such as our nutrition, sleep and exercise. explore dates HEALS represents key pillars of a healthy lifestyle: Healthy Nutrition: principles of nutritious dietary choices to support overall health. Engaging with Movement: how to enhance strength, stamina, and flexibility for better wellbeing. Awareness: foundational practice for behaviour change in health management. Love: promoting emotional healing through cultivating love for yourself, others and nature Sleep: Strategies to improve sleep quality for better health outcomes. Whole-Life Health Improvement Integrate multiple aspects of your health, including: Nutrition Physical activity Mindfulness Nature connection Compassion Sleep What You'll Learn HEALS consists of 9 core modules: Awareness Breathing Self-compassion Connection Goals & Habits Nature Movement Sleep Nutrition Find next course dates Developed by Experts HEALS integrates principles from experts in lifestyle medicine and wellbeing, alongside Vidyamala Burch OBE’s personal experiences and her award-winning Mindfulness for Health approach. Vidyamala’s 40-year journey with chronic spinal pain has taught her that small, manageable changes across key areas of your life can lead to significant, lasting and transformative improvements. Why Awareness? Awareness is at the heart of HEALS. With over 20 years of expertise in mindfulness and chronic pain management, Breathworks emphasises the crucial role the mind plays when managing health and well-being. Awareness training helps you learn to make small and achievable ‘wise choices’ in how you respond to your symptoms to bring about positive behaviour change for whole-life health management. Small changes to your lifestyle can bring about big changes to your wellbeing. Tiny Habit Methodology HEALS incorporates the Tiny Habit Methodology, which focuses on implementing small, manageable changes and value-based goals that lead to significant positive outcomes. This method includes prompts, worksheets, and group support to help you achieve big shifts through small actions. Behaviour Change in Three Steps WHAT MATTERS? Identify your deepest values that motivate you MAKE IT MANAGEABLE Break down your goals for each wellbeing pillar TAKE ACTION Set weekly ‘tiny habits’ to move towards your chosen goals What You Will Gain Improved Self-Awareness: develop mindfulness as a foundational skill for wise decision-making. Sustainable Lifestyle Changes: make small, manageable changes that are easy to maintain. Enhanced Physical Wellbeing: strengthening, stretching and stamina and movement to improve physical fitness and balance the nervous system Improved Nutritional Habits: learn and apply principles of healthy nutrition. Better Sleep Quality: discover strategies to improve sleep, crucial for recovery and mental clarity. Connection with nature: learn about the health benefits of being in touch with nature and the science of awe. Emotional & Psychological Benefits: cultivate love and compassion, reduce stress, and enhance your connection with nature. Control Over Your Health: feel empowered to manage your health through mindful practices and awareness. Positive Behaviour Change: use Tiny Habit Methodology to implement gradual, positive changes. “In the past 2 to 3 weeks I feel much better than I have ever felt, even before my diagnosis. It is as if learning how to live with pain has given me tools to use fruitfully in the rest of my life. I can honestly say I feel happier than ever before” Edith, 62, lives with nerve pain What You Will Get Weekly Live 2-Hour Sessions: learn from a wellbeing and mindfulness expert. Supportive Community: join a buddy group for daily check-ins and mutual support. Lifetime Access: enjoy ongoing access to the course materials and resources. Behaviour Change Techniques: introduction to the Tiny Habits Methodology. Resources and Materials: access to a wealth of online resources for each pillar including videos, reading materials, guided meditations, worksheets, and practical exercises. Community Support: connect with fellow participants for shared experiences and support. Lifelong Skills: develop skills and knowledge for ongoing wellbeing. CONTENT 9 modules exploring whole-life health management STRUCTURE 11-week course with 2-hour weekly sessions EXPERTISE Created by global leader in pain & health management MATERIAL Information-rich resources and practical exercises EVIDENCED Grounded in science & guided by clinical experts LIFELONG Return to the material as often as you like - it's yours for life! Who is This For? This course is ideal for individuals living with chronic pain or health conditions, as well as those looking to improve their overall wellbeing, manage symptoms of menopause, or feel more in control of their health as they age. The course is paced in manageable learning chunks for those living with the demands of a health condition. By completing HEALS, you will gain practical tools and knowledge to enhance your overall wellbeing through mindful practices, nutrition, physical movement, compassion, connection with nature and improved sleep, all within a supportive community framework. "The HEALS course has reminded me to use my breathing and focus to work with my pain and symptoms rather than work against them." Hazel, 54, lives with Fibromyalgia Explore course dates Your Experts Course Developer Vidyamala Burch OBE Vidyamala is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, award-winning author and coach. She founded Breathworks in 2001 to offer her mindfulness approach for managing pain and illness following her own personal experience living with health challenges. At age 23, she sustained spinal injuries that required multiple surgeries and left her with partial paraplegia and chronic pain. She began to explore mindfulness and meditation as a way to manage her pain and found the results to be life changing. In 2004, she developed through Breathworks the world’s first Mindfulness-based Pain Management (MBPM) programme which has now been recognised by the NHS and global health boards and has reached over 100,000 people coping with pain, illness and stress. Vidyamala’s list of accolades includes an OBE for services to Wellbeing and Pain Management and an honorary membership from The British Pain Society for her outstanding work for the alleviation of pain. She has been recognised as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK for four years running by the Shaw Trust Power List. She is the author of Living Well with Pain and Illness (2008), Mindfulness for Health (2013), and Mindfulness for Women(2016). Mindfulness for Health was awarded first prize in Popular Medicine in the British Medical Association Books Awards in 2014, and was named the best self-help book in its category by health professionals in the UK’s Reading Well Scheme. Vidyamala offers wise and kind guidance and through her work hopes to pass on the tools that have helped her reclaim a full, happy and meaningful life. Clinical & Scientific Advisory Board Dr Tonya Cruikshank Dr Tonya Cruikshank worked in acute care before spending 20 years as a specialist GP running her own GP practice. Her journey within medicine has led her to believe a more personalised and holistic approach is needed for wellbeing. This has led her to train in more holistic modalities and specialise in gut and emotional health. She has become a certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner, accredited Breathworks Mindfulness Teacher, and Emotional Release Coach. Dr Siobhan McCormack Dr Siobhan McCormack has been a GP partner in the NHS for over 30 years. After witnessing first-hand the devastating impact of chronic disease on the healthcare landscape, she became interested in lifestyle medicine and later completed the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Diploma. She is doing an MSc in Nutritional Medicine at the University of Surrey, has co-authored a Gut Microbiome Course for clinicians and has lectured widely on Microbiome Science, Sleep and Lifestyle Medicine. Dr Margaret Macky Dr Macky is a Medical Doctor and Occupational Health Consultant with a background in General Practice and Occupational and Environmental medicine.She has a special clinical interest in pain medicine, rehabilitation and clinical hypnotherapy. Graduating in the 1980s, Margaret has seen a great many changes in medical practice over the years but has also observed the benefits to health of integrating modalities. Margaret has studied qigong for 25 years and is a teacher of Zhineng Mingjue Qigong. Dr Sofia Isabel Ribeiro Pereira Dr Sofia Pereira is a Sleep Expert and Neuroscientist with an MSc in Molecular Biology and an MSc in Psychology (Conversion). During her PhD, Sofia studied the role of sleep in memory consolidation in healthy populations, a topic of research that she continued to pursue during her post-doc as a Research Associate which resulted in several publications in peer-reviewed international journals. Course Methodology Mindfulness: used as the underlying foundation for health management. Lifestyle Medicine: the discipline guiding the 5 key pillars of a healthy lifestyle. Tiny Habit Methodology: introduced in week 4 to support positive behaviour change. Supportive Buddy Groups: participants will check in daily with their buddy group for mutual support and sharing experiences. I am now able to go to the gym three times a week and have gradually built up my exercise. I can now mange the pain with breathing techniques, being mindful, recognising the pain, and being kind to myself. Elizabeth, lives with Chronic Pain Course Structure The course is 11 weeks and has a break in the middle, giving you time to consolidate and review. Week 1: Awareness and Course Overview Introduction to the course and the central role of awareness. Week 2: Breathing Techniques and benefits of mindful breathing. Week 3: Compassion and Love for Self and Others Cultivating compassion and love as a healing practice. Week 4: Values, Behaviour Change, and Introduction to ‘Tiny Habits’ Model Introduction to behaviour change methodologies focusing on small, sustainable changes. Week 5: Nature and How it Can Help with Wellbeing Exploring the role of nature in enhancing wellbeing. Week 6: Consolidation week (no session, review of past learning) Week 7: Engaging with Movement Detailed practices and exercises for physical activity. Week 8: Sleep Strategies to improve sleep quality. Week 9: Healthy Nutrition In-depth exploration of nutritional principles. Week 10: Review Nutrition and Re-visit Mindfulness Revisiting nutritional concepts and mindfulness practices. Week 11: Summary and How to Take Forward in Your Life Consolidation of learning and strategies for long-term application. What People Have Said “The course is full of useful and experiential learnings that have made me reconsider my relationship to food, nature and movement” - HEALS 2024 pilot course participant “I now routinely surpass ten thousand steps per day; before the course I took no particular pleasure in walking or nature. The walking process was simply A to B for me, now it's A into B.” - HEALS 2024 pilot course participant “The eating mindfully exercises have allowed me to better understand that some of my own choices are ritualistic and habitual rather than my own choosing” - HEALS 2024 pilot course participant FAQS Is any prior experience required to join HEALS? HEALS is suitable for beginners to mindfulness, and no health-related knowledge is needed to join the course. I’m new to Breathworks, should I do HEALS or Mindfulness for Health? Both courses complement each other: Mindfulness for Health builds a foundation in mindfulness, while HEALS shows you how to apply awareness to all life areas for whole-life health and wellbeing. HEALS will provide an introduction to mindfulness, however if you are new to the practice, you could start with Mindfulness for Health to build a deeper understanding of the foundations before going on to learn how you can take it wider in your life with HEALS. Can I take part if I’m not physically fit? Yes! This course encourages you to adapt exercise and movement to suit your own physical condition as well as effectively pace your physical activitiy so you don’t overexert yourself. I have a sleep disorder, can this course treat it? Sleep education and sleep hygiene measures such as the ones covered in this course are not an appropriate form of treatment for serious sleep disorders (e.g.Severe Insomnia, Sleep Disordered Breathing, Parasomnias, Hypersomnias and Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders). If you have a diagnosed sleep disorder, or suspect that you might have one, please consult with your GP for the appropriate line of treatment for you. Ready to transform your health with HEALS? Explore our next course dates. Book today Manage Cookie Preferences