User:Vidyamala
Vidyamala (Prue) Burch | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pruence Burch 1959 |
| Nationality | British New Zealander |
| Known for | Mindfulness teacher, author |
Vidyamala, originally Prudence Burch, is one of the three founding directors of Breathworks CIC – a not-for-profit social enterprise based in the UK. Breathworks CIC,[1] and The Breathworks Foundation, [2] She also is an author of three books on Mindfulness and currently holds the position of Managing Director of Breathworks CIC. – a not-for-profit social enterprise based in the UK. Burch is also an ordained member of the Triratna Buddhist Order and a student of Sangharakshita,
Her study of Buddhism, yoga and meditation led her to utilise these ancient techniques in the daily management of her chronic pain following a series of spinal injuries and post-operative complications in her youth. This in turn led to her found Breathworks which teaches mindfulness practices to help people cope with chronic pain, illness, stress and suffering. This is done via eight-week programmes, teacher training pathways as well as online provision. Burch also helped found the Breathworks Foundation - the charitable wing of Breathworks which funds research and provides bursary scholarships to people seeking financial assistance to attend Breathworks programmes. The Breathworks’ Mindfulness for Health and Mindfulness for Stress courses created by Burch and her colleagues are offered in community centres, yoga studios, pain management centers and hospitals in over 20 countries around the world.
Contents
• 1 Life and work • 2 Works • 3 References
Life and Work Burch was born in Wellington, New Zealand on December 17 1959, to Robert Burch, an accountant and founder of ArtyBees bookshop & Julien Burch. Burch has four siblings, including a twin sister, Debbi Burch. She attended secondary school at Wellington Girls’ College but her studies were interrupted when she was 16 by her first spinal injury in 1976. Prior to this Burch had excelled academically and in many sports. In 1977 Burch developed a passion for photography and in 1978 she began working in the film industry, working her way up to being a film and sound editor on several feature films and TV series. In 1981 she spent a year travelling in Europe which included riding a moped from Corsica to the UK. In 1983 she was injured in a car accident, exacerbating her spinal problems, leading to the curtailment of her promising career in 1985. A period followed where she focused on photography and community arts projects whilst also beginning to explore meditation as a way to deal with her pain and disability. This led her to undertake the study of Buddhism and in 1990 she moved to the UK where, for 5 years, she lived at Taraloka Buddhist Retreat Centre for Women in Shropshire. She continues to lead Buddhist retreats there as well as other centres internationally, specialising in intensive meditation retreats focusing on mindfulness and compassion. Breathworks is the context where she takes the central principles of Buddhism and translates them for anyone who is interested in training their minds and hearts to free themselves from reactive suffering - regardless of their religious beliefs. This follows the tradition of so-called ‘secular or mainstream mindfulness’ started by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late seventies. Burch continues to develop Mindfulness programs for delivery in the UK, internationally and online. In 2008 she published the successful book ‘Living Well with Pain and Illness’ now translated into a dozen languages and in 2013 she has co-authored ‘Mindfulness for Health’ with writer and journalist Danny Penman. This is also translated into 12 languages and won first prize in the British Medical Association book awards in 2014 in the ‘Popular Medicine’ category. Mindfulness for Health was released in the USA in 2015 under the title You Are Not Your Pain. On Feb 4th 2016 she will release ‘Mindfulness for Women’, co-authored with the journalist Claire Irvin.
Burch lives with her partner Sona Fricker in Ledbury, UK. Sona is one of the other co-founders of Breathworks along with Gary Hennessey (AKA Ratnaguna). Sona started meditating in London in 1972 and was ordained into the Western Buddhist Order (now called the Triratna Buddhist Order) in 1974. He has 2 adult children and 6 grand children who live in the UK.
Works Published written works:
- ‘Mindfulness for Women – declutter your mind, simplify your life, find time to ‘be’. ISBN-13: 978-034908514 By Vidyamala Burch and Claire Irvin, Piatkus Books (2016)
- Mindfulness for Health: a practical guide to relieving pain, reducing stress and restoring wellbeing’. By Danny Penman and Vidyamala Burch, Piatkus Books 2013. ISBN-13: 978-0749959241 (also available in German, US English, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Korean, Turkish, Norwegian, Spanish, Finnish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish). Winner first prize British Medical Association book awards 2014 - ‘Popular Medicine’ category (2014)
- You Are Not Your Pain. By Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman, Flatriron Books, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-1250052674. This is the US imprint of Mindfulness for Health. (2015)
- Living Well with Pain and Illness: how mindfulness can free you from suffering. By Vidyamala Burch, Piatkus Books 2008. ISBN 978-0-7499-2860-5. (also available in German, Dutch, Russian, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Marathi, US English, Spanish and Turkish) (2008)
- • The Art of Mindfulness – Mindfulness in Daily Life. Vidyamala Burch. Pub Breathworks ISBN-13: 978-0955012075 (2008)
Chapters in:
- ‘The Psychology of Meditation’ ed. Michael West. ed. Professor Michael West. Pub: Oxford University Press. ISBN -13 978-0199688906 (2016). Vidyamala write chapter 7 ‘meditation and the management of pain’
- ’27 Flavors of Fulfillment'; How to Live Life to the Fullest! awarded Bronze medalist award in the ‘Living Now Book Awards’ - Personal Development/Motivation category. Ed. Nathan Crane, ISBN-13: 978-0615798233 (2014). Vidyamala wrote chapter entitled: ‘The Beautiful Breath’
‘The Mindfulness Revolution’, ed. Barry Boyce, pub. Shambala, ISBN-13: 978-1590308899 (2011)
‘Challenging Times: stories of Buddhist practice when things get tough’ ed. Vishvapani, pub. Windhorse Publications. ISBN-13: 978-1899579761 (2006) also available to read: http://www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/articles/being-here ‘One Moment at a time’, first published by the Buddhist Hospice Trust (2005) also available to read at http://www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/articles/one-moment-at-a-time Published audio works: • Mindfulness for Health. Audio book version of the written work referenced above. Available from Audible and also available under the US title You Are Not Your Pain. Macmillan Audio. http://us.macmillan.com/books/9781427258144. CD version ISBN-13: 978-1427258137 (2015)
• Meditations for Pain Relief. New World Music, https://www.newworldmusic.com/uk/mindfulness-meditation-pain-relief (2013)
• Meditations for Stress Relief. New World Music (2016)
• Living Well with Pain and Illness: a mindful way to free yourself from suffering. By Vidyamala Burch, Guided meditation CD. ISBN 978-0-9550120-6-8. (2009)
• Body Scan, V.Burch & Sona Fricker, 1 CD, guided meditation, Breathworks, ISBN 978-0-9550120-3-7. (2009) • Kindly Awareness, V.Burch & Sona Fricker, 2 CD’s, guided meditations, Breathworks, ISBN 978-0-9550120-5-1. (2009) • Mindfulness of Breathing, V.Burch & Sona Fricker, 2 CD’s, guided meditations, Breathworks, ISBN 978-0-9550120-4-4. (2009) Multi-media works: • Mindful Movement the Breathworks Way, by Vidyamala Burch with Padmadarshini (Rosey cole), Breathworks CIC 2011, Book, DVD & CD set, ISBN 978-0-9550120-8-2. (2012)
Articles: • The Mindful Way to Well Being: The Breathworks Approach. http://www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/PDF/Breathworks_mindfulness_article_Jan_2010.pdf Regular columns for Dharma Life magazine. http://www.dharmalife.com/
Interviews: A list of interviews with Vidyamala are available here: add link to Vidyamala web site when this page is ready. References: Published articles on the Breathworks’ Programme ‘Psychobiological correlates of improved mental health in patients with musculoskeletal pain after a mindfulness-based pain management program’,Christopher A. Brown, PhD and Anthony K. P. Jones, MD Human Pain Research Group, University of Manchester Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, UK Clinical Journal of Pain, 2013, Mar;29(3):233-44.
‘Evaluation of the Breathworks mindfulness-based pain management programme: Effects of well-being and multiple measures of mindfulness’, Dr. Bryony Cusen, Journal of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Volume 17, Issue 1, January/February 2010, pp 63 – 78
‘Experiencing Wellness Within Illness: Exploring a Mindfulness-Based Approach to Chronic Back Pain’, Natasha J. Doran (PhD). Qualitative Health Research, 2014, June, vol. 24, no. 6, pp 749-760
For more on the Breathworks research programme: http://www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/research.
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