I'm Gillian Higgins

One of my passions in life is sharing the practice of mindfulness with others. My approach to mindfulness has always been no-nonsense, scientifically based and practical.  Learn how to feel less stressed, improve your focus, grow your self-compassion and enjoy a greater sense of well-being with Everyday Mindfulness.

As a person guided by fact and reason, I found that mindfulness was a scientifically proven and versatile tool to regulate stress. 

A few years ago, I had a sneaky feeling that I was being mentally and physically highjacked by increasing demands and radical changes in my profession. I found myself running around in circles, feeling stressed and overwrought, on an almost daily basis. As a parent and a barrister, I felt there must be a way to run the professional motor and enjoy parenthood without feeling guilty or completely exhausted.

I started to look for answers on the strict basis that they had to be both workable and provable. It was at this point that I turned to mindfulness. I did my research, attended an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course (MBSR), read as many books and scientific papers as I could and started to practise, even when I didn’t want to.

After a few months, I could start to feel a difference. As a barrister, I found myself better able to cope with stressful situations in a more thoughtful and less reactive manner. As a parent, I was more willing to be present and more able to develop some breathing space to be able to respond, rather than knee-jerk react, to the challenges that arose.

I became more aware of the ability of negative emotions to hijack us at any moment of the day, without prior notice, and that our thoughts are not facts. After several years of practise, I decided to qualify to teach mindfulness with The British School of Meditation. Since then, I have spent the last few years practising as a barrister and teaching mindfulness.