My Programs | Iris Bar Mindfulness Therapy | Mindfulness
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Ways to Work with Me
Transform old patterns into new ways of being

Therapy

There are three ways to work with me:

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Follow the links to find out how to begin or continue your healing journey with me.

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Mindfulness & Meditation Therapy Sessions

3 programs - 1-on-1 sessions 

I offer three Mindfulness Therapy Programs (or portals) for mindful transformation through one-on-one therapy:

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We work through these programs together in hour-long therapy sessions. Using mindfulness and other therapeutic modes of healing, we co-create a space in which tender self-awareness unfolds. I support you with insight, kindness and compassion as you:


•    Become more aware of your thinking, emotional and behavioural patterns
•    Recognise how these patterns influence and interlink with one another
•    Discover mindful choices
•    Nurture your capacity to deal with adversity
•    Soften towards yourself and others.


Program duration …


The choice, direction and flow of each program is based on each person’s specific needs. 
The process may unfold quickly or take it’s time. It is typical for clients to have several sessions. The time between sessions aligns with their evolving capacity for mindful self-care.

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People I work with …


I work with people who experience


•    Stress, exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed
•    Emotional eating
•    Health crises
•    Disruptive life-transitions (such as divorce)
•    Challenging change (such as having a new baby or menopause)
•    Difficulty integrating mindfulness meditation practice in their life.


I work with meditation, formal and informal mindfulness practices, guided imagery, intuitive writing, compassionate self-inquiry and more.


I aspire to empower my clients. I give people as many tools and practices as I can to help them establish a secure foundation for mindful self-care. As we work together in practice and process, I find I am able to help my clients discover their full capacity for healing.

 

How to get underway …


Sessions begin after we have talked about the best options for you.

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I would love to walk a while with you on your healing journey.


If you feel ready to walk with me, email me at iris@irisbar.com.au to talk about the best way to begin our first steps together.

Course

Mindfulness and Meditation Course

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5-week course - small group format - in person OR online

Healing to wholeness with compassionate self-care


We hear a lot about mindfulness and meditation these days, but what is mindfulness? 

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  • What does mindfulness really mean? 

  • How can mindfulness help me here, now, in my day?

  • Will mindfulness truly reduce my stress? 

  • How can mindfulness assist me in times of crisis and hardship?

  • Do I really have to clear my mind from thinking while I meditate?

  • Is that even possible? 

  • What does the phrase clear your mind actually mean?

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You will learn


In this five-week course we address what meditation and mindfulness is AND what it is not. You will come to understand mindfulness as it truly is, and learn how to nurture a greater sense of balance, peace and awareness in your life through gentle practices of mindful meditation.


We will explore all you need to know to start or enhance a daily meditation practice. You will learn five different habit-forming exercises that can be practiced when different needs arise: 

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  • Dealing with stress

  • Attending strong reactions and emotions

  • Developing self-compassion. 

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You will learn how to use your breath and body sensations as an anchor for meditation practice, and observe the true nature of your busy mind. 


We will navigate challenges that often hinder meditation practice (such as wandering mind, boredom and doubt), and learn how to deal with active thinking during meditation practice.

 

Course content


Week 1: The what, why, how of mindful meditation practice


What mindfulness is/is not * Why mindfulness can bring about big changes in our lives * Working with the body * Meditation postures * Meditation breath * Working with intention


Mindful Meditation Practice—   The Body Scan Meditation

Breathing softly through body sensations to soften body, to quite the mind

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Week 2: Auto-pilot


Habitual thinking * Working with our busy minds * Untangling thoughts * Untangling inner stories * Raising awareness of the present moment * Using breath as an anchor * Mindfully reducing stress * Mindfully coping with feeling overwhelmed

 

Mindful Meditation Practice—   Sitting Meditation

Sitting with self to return home

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Week 3: Intense feelings and physical discomfort


Mindfully observing intensity * Sitting with discomfort * Exploring gentle attention * Strengthening self with tender care


Mindful Meditation Practice—   RAIN Meditation

Recognizing, allowing, investigation, nourishing our emotions.

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Week 4: Compassion and Self-Compassion


Developing self-compassion * Understanding others * Accepting self and others with tender care

 

Mindful Meditation Practice—   Loving-Kindness Meditation

Forgiving self and others by sending kindness to self and others, by giving and receiving love

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Week 5: Life conscious, life aware

 

Turning towards life and not against it * Cultivating conscious awareness * Integrating mindfulness into life * Nurturing regular practice * Navigating challenges along the way


Mindful Meditation Practice—   Open Awareness Meditation

Resting softly in open awareness to let the present moment be

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How to get underway …

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I would love to walk a while with you on your healing journey.


If you feel ready to walk with me, email me at iris@irisbar.com.au to talk about the best way to begin our first steps together.

Workshop

Inner Child Workshops — Meet, Greet and Embrace

Healing for your inner child

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My inner child workshop offers you mindful hours with your inner child in the flow of a single day.

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We all have a child within us who needs our attention. Often our inner child is begging to be seen and heard, but barriers of fear and resistance block us from listening and responding with maturity. During the workshop we:

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  • Cultivate ways to meet and connect with your inner child

  • Learn how to listen to childhood hurts and pain with compassionate and wise attention

  • Investigate and foster new ways to nurture your inner child

  • Create a safe space for truthful communication

  • Show them they are seen, heard, protected and loved.

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Flow of the day

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As we work with techniques such as guided imagery, intuitive writing, free drawing, curious self-inquiry and gentle meditation practices, the workshop creates a safe space for bonding with your inner child.

You will acquire mindful and conscious ways to take part in the process of reparenting your inner child, learning healthy boundaries and how to take care of yourself with kindness, care, tenderness and compassion.

You will be able to establish a trustful ongoing connection with your inner child as you forge a new relationship that attends their un-met needs.

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How to get underway …

 

Workshops are scheduled as small groups come together.

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I would love to walk a while with you on your healing journey.


If you feel ready to walk with me, email me at iris@irisbar.com.au to talk about the best way to begin our first steps together.

Image by Michael Fenton

LOVE AFTER LOVE

by Derek Walcott

 

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

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