Breathworks Project
‘Peace of Mind’ / Breathworks – Project Background
Vidyamala originally wrote her self-proclaimed life story in a piece she titled “Being Here” which appeared in Dharma Life, Issue 14 in 2000. In this piece Vidyamala outlines that she turned to learning meditation practices initially in Wellington, New Zealand, in which she outlines among other things a life saving accident she incurred aged sixteen, and a car accident in her twenties which left her with significant back trauma. In this piece Vidyamala outlines how she used meditation practices to manage her pain, finding them profoundly life-changing and trans-formative.
In 2000, Vidyamala asked me an acquaintance of hers to support her application for the Scope “Give it a Go” Millennium Award Scheme (The original Millennium Awards Scheme was a temporary project-funding program run directly by the Millennium Commission around 2000. The Millennium Awards Trust aka UnLtd Connections was later created in 2003 and is directly connected to this fund and is a a permanent £100 million legacy endowment to continue those grants in perpetuity.) for her self-titled ‘Peace of Mind’ pilot project. I agreed to be her official mentor. Vidyamala, a few years 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, experience and backing Vidyamala was able to secure the grant she sought to develop her pilot project. In 2001, she began running trial individual and group-based mindfulness sessions as part of her ‘Peace of Mind’ pilot project. Her pilot project 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 company, following the vision outlined in our pilot project proposal. She was supported by two Buddhist friends, Sona Fricker and Gary Hennessey, both experienced mindfulness practitioners and teachers to enable her work forward. The three of them received the organizational backing and financial support from the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), also known as Triratna to enable their business to flourish.
In 2005, Vidyamala developed a teacher training pathway, modeled in part on the successful train-the-trainers framework and successful model I had previously created for the Workable Centre Network (WCN) – Europe developed during the late nineties. These teaching enabled and continues to enable more people to access the services and support offered by Breathworks today both in-person and online.
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