In 2014, a project coordinator at GSK who had used mindfulness to recover from a series of panic attacks and a loss of confidence, first started offering taster sessions and sharing her own personal journey in order to dispel myths and encourage employees to join a course.

In May 2015, she was offered a secondment as Health & Resilience Specialist to offer sessions to employees globally and has received mindfulness teacher training through Exeter University.

Today she is running sessions in 3 time zones - UK/Europe, the US and Asia Pacific - and building interest weekly. 

People have the option of joining as an individual by ‘live meeting’ from their desk, from home or to join ‘local champions’ at sites who coordinate a room for employees to practice together. 

She explains that: “The key is sharing my own experiences in an authentic way, explaining how mindfulness meditation helped me transform." 

"Equally important is reinforcing the point that on the one hand, mindfulness meditation can be seen as a mental exercise, a shift in perception, a technique that allows you to relate differently to your thoughts, emotions, sensory experiences, the moment itself."  

"On the other hand, it can be a deeply transformative personal experience. “

Word of mouth seems to be the most powerful way to develop interest in the sessions but GSK are also actively promoting courses via corporate communications channels.