Gisela Romanach, UKCMM Accredited Practitioner of Mindfulness Meditation with Mindfulness Now Programme.

1. Introduction

1.1. In these Terms and Conditions, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Calm Mindfulness Meditations.

1.2 Calm Mindfulness Meditations, as a provider of mindfulness sessions and coaching, are committed to the highest possible standards of service. As such, we develop and maintain our own personal mindfulness practice as well as attending supervision, mindfulness retreats and CPD during the year.

2. Confidentiality

2.1 Calm Mindfulness Meditations take the confidentiality of those who come to our sessions and those who work for us very seriously. From time to time, participants may share sensitive personal information during a group session or one-to-one session. The Practitioner and staff members are under an obligation to keep any participant information shared prior to, during and after the events completely confidential.

2.2 However, under exceptional circumstances we might be required to share such information with medical doctors, social workers or within a court of law, if so required for the purposes of legal evidence. Such exceptional circumstances would include where the client has revealed to us evidence of a serious crime having been committed, especially a crime against a child, or where there may be evidence that the client could be in serious danger of committing harm to themselves or to others.

2.3 During course groups, we expect all participants to respect each other’s confidentiality and treat any information shared as confidential. Should come to our attention that information gained in this way about another participant has been shared inappropriately or outside the group, this would be treated extremely seriously and may result in the participant involved being asked to leave the course.

2.4 In certain circumstances, session recordings might be necessary when working one- to-one with participants. The recordings will only include the guided meditation used and not the discussion with the participant.

3. Attendance and conduct

3.1 We reserve the right to refuse admission to any person who we consider to be unsuitable for admission to the session.

3.2 We reserve the right to ask participants to leave a session if their behaviour is deemed inappropriate or is impacting negatively on the experience of other participants. The full fee may not be returned in such cases.

3.3 We also ask participants who want to leave any of our sessions unexpectedly to inform the leader beforehand.

3.4 Please ensure you arrive on time for your online or in-person session. We welcome early arrival of 15 minutes early for either online or/and in-person sessions.

4.Medical conditions

4.1 Mindfulness can be regarded as a very safe practice and there are hardly any occasions where it would be harmful for someone to undertake either informal mindfulness or formal mindfulness meditation

4.2 However, in certain circumstances, the practice of mindfulness is contraindicated. These occasions could be when a participant has a serious mental illness of a psychotic nature. Since we are not able to diagnose this ourselves, we are reliant on the information provided by our participant, in our intake questionnaire and in relation to the confidentiality statement which follows. An exception to the above may be where we have a psychiatrist referral.

4.3 Another contraindication is when a participant suffers from epileptic seizures, that may be triggered by relaxation. We will still be working with the participant with epilepsy if we have either, their own, or preferably their doctor’s written permission to do so. In that case, we will need to be told in advance how to make seizure safe and whether first aid is on-hand.

4.4 Asthmatic episodes may also be triggered by a focus on breathing and the advice here is preferably to work one-to one with participants with this condition. In this case, the participant should let us know in advance whether they have a charged inhaler.

4.5 Any activity we engage in mindfulness is of a gentle nature. However, we still ask participants to let us know if they have any physical issues that impede them to do gentle exercises or to undertake gentle movement, including stretching. If in any doubt, our participants must check with their GPs to find out whether such physical activity is alright for them. We advise our participants to move, or stretch, only to the extent that is completely comfortable for them and to stop immediately if they are feeling any discomfort.

5.Booking, Payment and Cancellation policies

5.1 The practitioner will endeavour to ensure that sessions are conducted, as much as possible, at agreed dates and times. We will endeavour to attend as agreed and to provide reasonable notice (48 hours, if possible) in the event of being unable to attend.

5.2 The full amount payable is to be made at the time of booking a session to reserve a place.

5.3 A booking can be cancelled no later than 48 hours in advance of a session in which case 50% of the full payment will be refunded.

5.4 Any cancellation less than 48 hours in advance of a session will result in no refund being given.

5.5 No refund will be given for a ‘no-show’ or non-arrival on the day of a session.

6. Mobile phone and preparation for online sessions

6.1 To ensure our sessions have the best experience for the participants, we request mobile and other devises to be muted or switched off at the time of the sessions.

6.2 We recommend finding a comfortable, cosy space or room to attend the sessions online to enhance your experience during the session.

6.3 We also suggest wearing comfortable, lose clothes during the sessions.

7. Complaints

7.1 If you have any cause for complaint or any feedback during the session, we would like to hear from you, so that we can address the issue and improve our standards, wherever possible. We will take any complaints seriously and aim to respond promptly, fairly and effectively.

8. Guarantee of effectiveness

8.1 No guarantee of the effectiveness of mindfulness is given or implied and by continuing, you agree to receive sessions at Calm Mindfulness Meditations.

Updated: 31.12.23