ABOUT MINDFUL EDGE

TDAE has always supported the goals of our clients, from injury recovery, specific training for events, weight loss, and overall physical conditioning. We understand the importance of strengthening the physical body, but also value mental training as an integral component of enhanced health and wellbeing. Our coaching staff has already completed an 8-week mindfulness training and will continue to practice and hone their mindfulness skills.

Now we’re excited to begin the roll out of similar teaching and learning opportunities for our clients in the coming weeks and months. Mindfulness practice is an accessible and worthwhile tool, not only to help you get the most out of your training, but also to support overall health and wellness in your daily life.

WHat is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the ability to be fully engaged in the present moment, with both kindness and curiosity about whatever thoughts, feelings, or sensations exist. It is an enhanced awareness and acceptance of yourself, others, and the world around you. It is the polar opposite of being on auto-pilot, but instead is a way of being that allows you to skillfully manage and regulate your responses to your environment. When we are mindful, we are more tuned in, focused, and present in our lives, which ultimately enables us to be more calm and less stressed.

What is meditation?

Meditation is the foundational mental training and building block of living more mindfully. There are many different types of meditation and various techniques, but all train our attention and focus, and all require practice for us to see their benefits and results. Mindfulness-based meditation practice teaches us, through various breathing, focus, and compassion exercises, to have more agency over our thoughts and behavior. Meditation is a practice that helps us to develop the skills to live more mindfully.

How do we become more mindful?

Have you ever stood on the beach and looked out towards the waves and sky with a sense of wonder or calm, nothing else on your mind but the beautiful vista, the sound and smell of the surf, and the feeling of the sand beneath your feet? That is a mindful moment. Of course, it’s relatively easy to feel relaxed or connected in peaceful places, but infinitely more difficult in challenging ones. So, while on your own you can begin to recognize the beauty in the world around you, the reality is that it takes training and practice to really make mindfulness a habit. Learning basic mindfulness and meditation skills, and transferring and applying those skills in everyday life, strengthens our mindfulness muscles.

What do Mindfulness Coaches Do?

A Mindfulness Coach is trained in various techniques and teachings to guide clients in discovering and developing their own mindful practices. The key word here is practice. Just like your coach at the gym, we can’t do the work for you, but we can support you in the inner work that is fundamental to mental training. This involves learning how to practice with curiosity, and with an open mind that is free of judgment. Mindful coaching acknowledges our shared human values of wanting to live our lives with more ease, less stress and anxiety, more self-regulation, more joy, and more kindness and compassion.

Next Steps

If you’re interested in mindfulness coaching, please contact Meredith Tedford about the opportunities we offer. You can email Meredith by clicking the button below. Or, if you train in person with us you can also stop in during Meredith’s office hours.

Office Hours: Mondays 7:45am - 10:15am & Tuesdays 8:00am - 11:00am

Meet the Coaches

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Becky DiFrancesco

MEREDITH TEDFORD

Becky DiFrancesco

After retiring six years ago from 29 years as a Master level Special Educator in Vermont, Becky has focused on bringing mindfulness practices to students and teachers in a variety of settings. Through a long-running grant, Becky provides consulting services as a Colleague Coach, guiding teachers in integrating mindfulness practices into their own classrooms. She also co-teaches collaboratively designed Master’s level course titled Developing Educational Leadership Practices. In addition, throughout the year, Becky guides adults and young people in one-to-one sessions and through her daily Mindful Moment Text Meditations that are shared with program participants year-round to support their practice. Her latest projects include bringing mindfulness to Family Camp in Post Mills, VT, and collaborating with Meredith Tedford on an 8-week mindfulness-based introductory course for TDAE staff.

Becky received her mindfulness training and certification from Antioch University New England, graduating in 2015 with a title of Experienced Educator Mindfulness. She is also certified in the Intensive Non-Violent Communications Program. Becky believes that together, these two programs offer the opportunity to transform the mind with compassion and understanding, thus enhancing the ability to relate and connect to oneself, others, and life experiences in a manner that conveys understanding of basic human feelings and needs, ultimately allowing this to better inform communication and our relational interconnectedness.

For Becky, this work is both a calling and one of the most fundamental offerings we can give ourselves and others who desire to lead satisfying, need-fulfilling lives. Her experience with teaching and learning provides a sense of satisfaction, value, meaning, and joy in her life. She also can’t help but smile when ‘her learners’ share their own experiences of gratitude, hope, and deep satisfaction in having brought these wonderful mindful practices into their own lives.

Meredith Tedford

Meredith began exploring mindfulness over six years ago when an injury sidelined her yoga practice. It was not until stepping away from the mat that she realized how much she valued the mental benefits of yoga as much as the physical ones, and the mind-body connection inherent in practice. She discovered she could replicate and cultivate that same sense of calm and ease in seated meditation practice, and through continued study and practice has an even greater appreciation and understanding of mindfulness as a tool to support and enhance all aspects of daily life. Her current study of mindfulness practice is through Lesley University’s Mindfulness Studies program, the only M.A. of its kind. She will complete her degree by Summer of 2022, focusing on the integration of mindfulness in physical fitness programs.

While Meredith is beginning her journey as a Mindfulness Coach, her background in Communication and Education informs her philosophy of teaching and learning. She strives to embody compassionate, mindful practice in engaging with students of all ages, recognizing that learning is a lifelong endeavor, and everyone is capable of personal growth. Meredith’s mindfulness practice has helped her to better manage stress and anxiety, become a more effective and compassionate communicator, and enjoy each small moment with much more focus and calm. It is both Meredith’s privilege and purpose to share mindfulness practices that support overall health and wellbeing with others.

Meredith’s personal interest in mindfulness practice has been bolstered by her study of traditional Buddhist philosophy. She is also certified in Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness practice and Advanced Mindfulness Based Interventions for Children and Teens, as well as being a certified Reiki Level 2 practitioner.