About Us:
Take a deeper look at MindfulnessUK
How it all began
MindfulnessUK was created by our CEO Karen Atkinson, a respected and regulated mindfulness and compassion and yoga teacher, with over 30 years experience, and author of Compassionate Mindful Inquiry in Therapeutic Practice. Throughout Karen’s career mindfulness and compassion have underpinned her work.
Having gone to Australia with her family, Karen spent her early years there before returning to the UK aged 11, and later studied for her Nursing Studies Degree and become a Registered General Nurse. During her nursing career she witnessed first-hand the impact an holistic approach has on well-being and the happiness it can bring to patients.
Karen says: “The best thing about being the CEO at MindfulnessUK, is that every day I work with a great team who share my vision of building a compassionate mindfulness community of practitioners and qualified teachers, sharing the transformational potential of mindfulness and compassion with others.
MindfulnessUK was founded to teach mindfulness and compassion and to train others to teach it, because I wanted to share that joy with others. I cannot imagine my life without mindfulness and compassion practices. It empowers me to make choices on a moment by moment basis. It helps me to keep everything in perspective and to be more compassionate to myself and others, always. I consciously immersed myself into compassion practices during my recovery from cancer, soon after setting up MindfulnessUK.
My favourite practice differs but my “go-to” practices are body-based. My body tells me so much about how I am right now and I trust that by paying attention and tuning into how my body is feeling and moving, a sense of ease permeates my entire being. I feel aligned with my body, thoughts and emotions and connect with my core values more fully through practice.”
Always practical and action-focused Karen has now been teaching mindful movement and meditation for many years, specifically teaching mindfulness and compassion for over 20 years, however it is fair to say that she takes the greatest pride in having used her unique position to develop and deliver ground-breaking courses and qualifications, including the Level 4 Certificate “Integrating Mindfulness and Compassion in Professional Practice” which enables others to offer these transformative practices and skills to either individuals or groups. She also created The JOY Programme train-the-trainer programme for organisations and the Compassionate Mindful Resilience course. Thus enabling effective mindfulness practices to be more widely enjoyed and supports the MindfulnessUK goal to bring about enhanced joy and ease to others.
Compassionate Mindful Inquiry in Therapeutic Practice.
A Practical Guide for Mindfulness Teachers, Yoga Teachers and Allied Health Professionals
Karen Atkinson’s book is an important contribution to the evolving fields of mindfulness and compassion, both of which are essential methods to help alleviate suffering and enable people to live more rewarding lives.
This book is a must read for mindfulness teachers, meditators and professionals wanting to explore compassionate mindful inquiry, learn valuable tools and continuously evolve their skill-set. With a whole chapter dedicated to the neuroscience behind our tricky brains, Dr Trudi Edginton, demonstrates how compassionate mindfulness can profoundly change how our brains and nervous systems function.
She explores the neuroscience of mindfulness and compassion, the measurable effects and introduces The Compassionate Mindful Inquiry Neuroscience Model.
Meet the team
Karen Atkinson CEO
Karen is the co-founder and CEO of MindfulnessUK, leading all aspects of the organisation and pioneering new initiatives, growth, and development. Author of "Compassionate Mindful Inquiry in Therapeutic Practice" (2020, Singing Dragon), her dynamic leadership and innovative vision drive the continued success and expansion of the organisation. In 2019, Karen served as the Chair of the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) and remains an active member of the BAMBA team. MindfulnessUK, under Karen's guidance, is a recognised teacher training organisation affiliated with BAMBA and EAMBA (European Associations for Mindfulness Support Exchange) and is regulated by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body as well as the CPD Standards Office. Karen is also an Honorary Lecturer at Queens University, Belfast and sits on their Advisory Board for the research they conduct on Compassionate Mindful Resilience. Karen's journey into mindfulness and yoga began in her 20s after experiencing insidious trauma. She found sanctuary in her body through compassionate and mindful yoga practice. This initial exploration led her to seated meditations and the development of a deep philosophical and spiritual practice over the decades. She became a yoga teacher with the British Wheel of Yoga, further solidifying her commitment to these disciplines. A pivotal moment in her life came with her first experience of cancer in 2013, which deepened her practice of self-compassion. This transformative period changed ingrained patterns, introducing self-soothing phrases and mindful acts of kindness. Outside of her professional life, Karen finds joy in nature. She is a keen gardener, particularly enjoying the beauty of scented and colourful flowers. She loves swimming in the sea and cycling through the Blackdown Hills on her beloved electric bicycle, Bluebell.
Angie Ward CXO
I am Chief Experience Officer, ensuring our customers voice is at the heart of what Mindfulness offers. I manage and deliver the Integrating Mindfulness and Compassion (IMC) Level 4 Qualification, deliver retreats and bespoke training. I also teach the JOY Programme, the BAMBA registered 8-week MBSR Teacher Training and offer shadowing and co-teaching. I’ve meditated since I was 19 and was first introduced to Mindfulness in 2004. I found the 8-week MBSR hugely transformative. In 2014 I completed the IMC Qualification myself and then the MBSR Teacher Training. Teaching others and utilising my 30 year+ background in education, health and social care, performance and as qualified teacher, reignited my passion for training others to teach and I began teaching the IMC qualification the same year. I have had the privilege and pleasure of training thousands of people and becoming a supervisor. I love the sea and performing, I am a parent carer, neurodiverse myself and bring years of lived experience and professional expertise to the inclusive way I teach.
Neil Atkinson
Finance Manager
With a commercial background, Neil has an eye for detail and runs our financial department like clockwork.
Chika Okorafor Head of Learning & Development
Chika is a Trustee (Youth and Education), for the British Association of Mindfulness Approaches (BAMBA) and is passionate about lifelong learning and mindful leadership. She loves being and breathing in nature around the world and is fascinated by lived experiences and life transitions. Her appreciation and gratitude for mindfulness deepened after an MBSR course with MindfulnessUK (MUK) as an international participant. She then went on to complete the IMC, MBSR and CMR teacher training pathways. She is fiercely compassionate about being an advocate of the benefits of mindfulness for all and regularly increases awareness. Read more...
Dr Trudi Edginton Consultant and Researcher
Dr Trudi Edginton is a Clinical Psychologist, EMDR and CBT therapist and Mindfulness practitioner with clinical and research expertise in Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuropsychology assessment and compassion-focused interventions. Trudi started her professional career as a nurse before completing her Psychology degree and PhD at the University of Sussex exploring cognitive decline in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. Trudi works clinically with individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury, Hydrocephalus and Spina bifida, Neurodiversity and Trauma. Read more...
Amanda Sutton Teacher Training Coordinator
Joel Atkinson Head of Growth
It's my job at MindfulnessUK to allow our team to help as many people as possible. I'm a 2 x Startup Founder and a Business Growth Mentor at UOB but most importantly to me, I'm a fitness lover. Which means I'm currently either listening to business podcasts, filling out an excel document or eating chicken and rice. All 3 are good with me.
Lynsey Jarvis Marketing Manager
I manage the marketing and communications for the business, aligning all the wonderful things MindfulnessUK offers with the needs of its customers and communicating this far and wide through social media, email and public relations. At home, you'll find me balancing the needs of my toddler daughter and my very needy dog, Billy!
Dave Boulden Website Specialist
I handle the technical side of the website, developing new features with others in the team to keep the site running smoothly. I particularly enjoy the collaborative nature of this work. Away from work I enjoy performing at live events playing keyboards with my band from small pubs to large festivals most weekends. I also love traveling to new places with my partner. We try to get away as often as we can. We especially enjoy discovering and experiencing the less obvious places – you never know what little gems you are going to find.
Sam Winch Content Specialist
I work with a range of clients to help them turn their knowledge into online courses, and love being involved with seeing the MindfulnessUK content coming together. Between running a busy business and wrangling 4 kids, I take moments of mindfulness in our thriving garden. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my back, listening to the birds and then insects, and finding the vegetables ready for harvest, are all such grounding experiences when we take the time to notice them.
Bindi Anstee Finance Support
I’ve been involved with MindfulnessUk for several years, providing support to maintain financial accounts. They are an incredible team, with a huge amount of knowledge and understanding of mindfulness and compassion. Offering my bookkeeping and accounting knowledge to complement their inspiring work is very gratifying. Outside of my professional life my family keep me busy but when I get the chance I’m likely to be found trying to master the wonders of gardening, absorbed in a book or working on my latest knitted creation, I take huge pleasure in peace and simplicity.
Our Values
Kindness
Opening their expertise to all, the experienced and friendly team at MindfulnessUK will work with you and support you throughout your mindfulness and compassion experiences and aspirations as a mindfulness teacher.
Integrity
Everyone in the team has a mindfulness practice and utterly understand the benefits of mindfulness, and provide a trustworthy space to develop and learn in.
Inclusive
Making mindfulness and compassion available to all is at the heart of how the MindfulnessUK team teach and nurture students, providing accessible teaching methods and a wide range of options to learn.
Professional
With a deep-rooted belief in integrated mindfulness and compassion, the team take great pride in delivering comprehensive and robust teacher training adhering to good practice guidelines and accredited by external organisations.
Mission Statement:
We are here to educate and empower more people to teach the benefits of mindfulness and compassion and help people to thrive in their personal and professional lives.
Our Partners
MindfulnessUK is a BAMBA Member Organisation, with Karen the previous BAMBA Chair and a member of the British Wheel of Yoga.
The team at MindfulnessUK have published many articles on mindfulness and compassion and often present at professional conferences and webinars. MindfulnessUK prides itself on fulfilling Good Practice Guidelines.
We don’t work in isolation, all our work is evidence-based and neuroscientifically proven. We take great pride in working closely with the City University London and in particular with researcher Dr Trudi Edginton, also with Helsinki, Oulu and Belfast universities. We also work with team leaders from Somerset County Council, foster carers and others as projects develop.
Charities
We support a number of charities and take great pride in raising money for the Maternity Unit in Tibet, The Tibet Relief Fund, sponsoring a polar bear through WWF, donating to Unicef and giving a monthly offering to the Venerable Amy Miller. We also offer use of our centre and therapy rooms to the Beacon Centre, Oncology Unit at Musgrove Park Hospital.
