Breathworks Project
‘Peace of Mind’ / Breathworks – Project Background
Vidyamala Burch began exploring mindfulness and meditation in her twenties after a car accident left her with significant back trauma. She turned to these practices to manage her pain and found them profoundly life-changing and transformative.
In 2000, Vidyamala asked me an acquaintance of hers to support her application for the Scope “Give it a Go” Millennium Award Scheme for her self-titled ‘Peace of Mind’ pilot project. I agreed to be her official mentor. Vidyamala later credited my guidance and hands-on support as a key factor in her success, saying:
“You've inspired me to not only get back into the workplace, but also how I can do it sustainably too.”
With my mentorship, Vidyamala secured the grant she sought. In 2001, she began running trial individual and group-based mindfulness sessions as part of the ‘Peace of Mind’ pilot project. The pilot was very well received and generated a high level of interest from participants.
Scope required mentors like me to bring the following skills to the projects they supported:
• Understanding the barriers that disabled people face in everyday life
• Commitment to equal opportunities
• Experience developing and running community projects
• Experience in mentoring or similar support roles
• Enthusiasm and commitment to the project
• Strong listening and communication skills
In 2004, Vidyamala renamed her organization Breathworks and officially founded it as a social enterprise, following the vision outlined in her pilot project proposal. She was supported by two Buddhist colleagues, Sona Fricker and Gary Hennessey, both experienced mindfulness practitioners and teachers to take her work forward. The three founders also received organizational and financial support from the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), also known as Triratna.
In 2005, Vidyamala developed a teacher training pathway, modelled on the successful train-the-trainers framework I had previously created for the Workable Centre Network – Europe project back in the late 1990s. This pathway has enabled and continues to enable more people to access the services and support offered by Breathworks today.
Today
“The Breathworks Foundation
Making mindfulness accessible
We are a registered charity, with a mission is to make mindfulness accessible to everyone. Being an organisation that gives back has been important to us from the very beginning. Our Founder Vidyamala was living on benefits for many years before she was able to secure funding through a disability grant to start Breathworks. We know that many who benefit the most from our services are least able to afford it, so we are committed to help those in need through bursaries, scholarships, free resources and other funding initiatives.“ Source Breathworks website