Mindful living in Britain is a crowded phrase attached to a scattered set of people. Yoga studios, mindfulness training providers, slow living writers and wellbeing centres all sit under it, and almost none of them appear in the same place.
This is a directory of the ones we have found worth knowing about, organised by what they actually do.
Free to be listed, and nothing here is paid
We sell statues and singing bowls, not listings. Nobody on this page has paid to appear and there is no requirement to link back. Details for being added are at the bottom.
What mindful living actually means
Worth defining, since the phrase has been attached to almost everything.
The short version
Mindfulness has two histories. The long one is Buddhist, where the Pali word sati appears throughout the earliest texts. The short one is clinical, beginning with Jon Kabat Zinn at the University of Massachusetts in 1979.
Mindful living is the broader attempt to bring deliberate attention into ordinary life rather than confining it to a set practice. Our article on what mindful living actually means covers the evidence honestly, including where it does not support the claims made for it.
Mindfulness training and research
Oxford Mindfulness Foundation · Oxford
Registered charity collaborating with the University of Oxford, focused on Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and its evidence base. The most research led organisation in this field in Britain.
MindfulnessUK · Somerset and online
Training provider running accredited mindfulness and compassion courses.
Shamash Alidina · London
Author of Mindfulness for Dummies, publishing on practice since 2011.
Richard Gilpin · Brighton
Accredited psychotherapist writing on mindfulness, including a sustained critique of its commercialisation.
If you want a structured course rather than a directory
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy are the two established eight week programmes in Britain. MBCT is recommended by NICE as an option for preventing relapse in recurrent depression, and some courses are available through the NHS on referral. Your GP is a reasonable first call.
Yoga studios and teachers
London and the South East
triyoga · London
Studio group across several central London sites with an extensive programme including sound baths.
YogaLondon · London
Yoga Alliance accredited teacher training school.
Intelligent Yoga Teacher Training · London
Scaravelli inspired teacher training.
Norman Blair · London
Yin teacher and author, also writing extensively on pay and conditions for yoga teachers.
Yoga with Olivia · Farringdon, London
Science and anatomy led teaching, group and corporate classes.
Nick Stolerman · London
Yoga, meditation, breathwork and gong baths delivered into workplaces.
Laura Green Yoga · Hampshire
Teaching and mentoring, with a substantial body of writing on running a yoga business.
The Midlands and nationwide
Yogalily Studio · Milton Keynes
Yoga, reformer pilates, tai chi and qigong, running seasonal sound bath events.
Movement for Modern Life · Online, UK wide
Online yoga platform supporting British teachers.
Yoga United · UK
Yoga props and equipment, working with makers in South India.
Wellbeing and therapy centres
The Sunflower Centre · Brockley, London
Multi practitioner centre with yoga and pilates alongside osteopathy, acupuncture and counselling.
Slow living and mindful home writers
Not practice groups, but people writing thoughtfully about living with less in Britain.
Slow living publication and a curated directory of small independent British businesses.
A Considered Life · Birmingham
Simple living, sustainable style and intentional buying.
Geoffrey and Grace · UK
Slow living, wellbeing and creativity with a yoga and mindfulness thread.
Striving for Simple · UK
Simple and sustainable living in Britain.
Sound practitioners
Covered separately
Sound healing and gong bath practitioners have their own page, since the category needed more detail on what a session involves and who should check with a GP first. See our UK gong bath and sound bath finder.
Choosing between them
These do genuinely different things, and matching the right one to what you want saves money and disappointment.
| If you want | Look at | Typical commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence based help with recurring low mood or anxiety | An MBCT or MBSR course, ideally through your GP | Eight weekly sessions plus daily home practice |
| To learn to meditate properly for the first time | An eight week course, or a drop in group at a Buddhist centre | One evening a week |
| A regular physical practice | A local yoga studio. Style matters less than whether you will actually go | One to three classes a week |
| Gentle movement with a physical limitation | A studio advertising restorative, yin or chair yoga, and tell the teacher beforehand | One class a week |
| To learn to teach yoga | An accredited teacher training school. Check Yoga Alliance or equivalent registration | Two hundred hours minimum, usually over months |
| An hour of deep rest with nothing required of you | A sound bath | A single ninety minute session |
| Help with stress at work | Workplace wellbeing providers, or an MBSR course privately | Varies. Some employers fund it |
| To sleep better | A sound bath or a wind down practice at home rather than a course | Ten minutes nightly |
| To buy less and think about what you own | The slow living writers | Reading, and one decision at a time |
| A calmer home without a practice | Fewer objects on surfaces, and better lighting | An afternoon |
| Buddhist practice specifically | Our separate Buddhist centres directory | Usually a weekly sit, free or by donation |
| Somewhere to start with none of the above | Any local group that meets this week | One evening |
One honest note
This field contains both serious practitioners and a good deal of marketing. A useful test: does the person specify a mechanism, or gesture at one? Reduces reported stress is a claim you can check. Balances your energy is not. Our own view is that objects and courses can make an intention easier to act on, and neither is a substitute for the practice itself.
Getting listed, or removed
Add your practice
Send us your name, what you do, where you are and a website or contact route. No charge, no link requirement, no commercial arrangement.
We would particularly like entries outside London and the South East, which is where this list is thinnest.
If you are listed and would rather not be, tell us and we will remove you the same week. Corrections are welcome.
Our companion UK Buddhist centres directory covers centres, temples, monasteries and meditation groups.
Questions people ask
What is mindful living?
The attempt to bring deliberate attention into ordinary life rather than confining it to a set practice. It means noticing what you are doing while you do it, and arranging your surroundings so attention is easier rather than harder.
Is mindfulness the same as Buddhism?
No. Mindfulness has Buddhist roots in the Pali word sati, but the secular clinical form was developed by Jon Kabat Zinn in 1979 with the religious framing removed. Buddhist practice is a much larger ethical and philosophical system.
Which mindfulness course should I do?
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy are the two established eight week programmes. MBCT is recommended by NICE for preventing relapse in recurrent depression and some courses are available through the NHS.
How do I choose a yoga studio?
Proximity matters more than style. A studio you will actually attend weekly beats a better one you will visit twice. Most offer a trial class or an introductory rate.
Is this a paid directory?
No. Nobody has paid to appear and there is no requirement to link back. Listing is free and always will be.
