Listen to Dr Joey Weber from the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing here at the University talk about his newly published PhD on The role of equanimity in facilitating positive mental states and mental wellbeing and his journey to publishing it.

Did that inspire you to find out more about the research? Access the full text here.

You can also find out more about his other publications here. 

If you have found Mindfulness and Meditation to be helpful, you might like to view our Resource page on Mindfulness and Meditation, available here!

Chaplain Gill Smart also provides pastoral support to all students and staff (regardless of faith). Find out more about support available here.

Check out the Library's Wellbeing Reading List, complete with online resources on a number of subjects, including anxiety, resilience, and mindfulness. You will find eBooks and links to a variety of charities that can offer direct support on a number of issues. 

Mindfulness is the practice of focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. It is a proven method that can help us to manage stress and anxiety. 

Here is a short interactive video introducing the idea of mindfulness and including an opportunity to engage in a fun mindful activity involving chocolate. ( Chocolate not provided ! ) :-)

If you have enjoyed this exercise why not follow this link and complete our Mindfulness LEAP module.

Here is another great video about the mindful practice of 5 things: a short mindful exercise that can be engaged in at any time to help reduce stress or simply ground us in the present moment.

Why Knit and Natter?

In addition to the social benefits of joining a group, there has been a lot of recent research highlighting the many benefits on both your physical and mental health that knitting, crocheting and other crafts can have. The rhythmic and repetitive nature of ‘knit one, purl one’ can be calming, comforting and contemplative, and is now used in some Mindfulness practices. Studies have shown that it can be also be a valuable self-help tool for those dealing with low mood, anxiety, and depression as it can help you to manage your everyday stresses.

The University has a knit and natter group which meets on Wednesday lunchtime in the Life Lounge.  It is a very mixed group, some are regular knitters, others have not done any crafts for a long time, whilst others have never tried knitting and want to learn.  We have a range of patterns and some spare needles and wool available.

The group recently made around 100 cream egg covers to raise money for charity, and we really enjoyed that project.

During Social Distancing, we are still knitting from home.

Another project we are doing is making mask extenders to donate to health care workers to avoid the mask ties rubbing their ears. This is a very simple pattern and uses a small amount of wool and 2 buttons. We will be donating these to Bolton Royal Hospital.
Wool can be purchased online, or ask family and friends if they can give you some wool and needles.

Give it a go... If you have any queries, you can email Pam pjj1@bolton.ac.uk or Maureen mm25@bolton.ac.uk