Men and Mindfulness: link to business, sports and performance for greater uptake finds two year project funded by the Movember Foundation

Participation also increases if training delivered at work

VANCOUVER, Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Men are more likely to sign up for mindfulness training if it's linked to business, sports or performance and delivered at work according to a two year project funded by the Movember Foundation. Called 'Meeting Men in the Moment', the project was executed by MindWell-U, a mindfulness consultancy based in Vancouver, Canada. MWU delivered in-person and online mindfulness training over a two year period to more than 1,000 people at five organizations including Coca-Cola Canada, WestJet and the Region of Waterloo. The in-person training was comprised of group classes, retreats, lunch 'n' learns, workshops and one-on-one coaching.

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"Men benefit from mindfulness training in significant ways but the challenge is to get them to sign up," says Dr. Geoff Soloway, Co-Founder and Chief Training Officer, MindWell-U. "Mindfulness is proven to lower stress, improve self-care, and increase resilience and wellbeing, all of which men desperately need, but many see mindfulness as 'fluffy' stuff and so they often shy away."

The project determined that the optics around mindfulness training is important for getting more men to sign up. "When we linked mindfulness training to business and leadership, highlighted its use by winning athletes and sports teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and the LA Lakers, or showed how it's used in the military, men were more inclined to give it a try," says Soloway. "And when we delivered mindfulness training in the workplace, demonstrating it's endorsed by their employer and making it more accessible, we really saw men open up to mindfulness and reap the rewards."

MindWell-U Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer Ann Gallery adds: "Just like sliding spinach into a brownie recipe to add health benefits, the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness can be delivered to men by simply repositioning it and changing where the training is delivered."

"Men are known to go through difficult experiences in silence - they tough it out instead of talking when things get tough," says Kevin Edwards, Country Director, the Movember Canada Foundation. "Meeting Men in the Moment goes to where men are, like their workplace, and engages them to take action to improve their mental health and wellbeing."

MindWell-U's Top Five Ways to Engage Men with Mindfulness:

• Deliver a blended approach of in-person and online mindfulness training. Note that online training reaches more men quicker, and the in-person training was important when working with leadership teams.
• Teach men 'mindfulness-in-action' so they can use it in the middle of whatever they are doing rather than needing to find an extra 10 minutes in their day.
• Keep the content short, sharp and action-oriented.
• Use diverse learning tools to engage different learning styles (and keep the journaling to a minimum!).
• Get corporate leaders behind mindfulness to help with the trickle-down effect.

To access the project's resources for men and HR professionals, please visit http://www.mindwellu.com/mmm/. 

About MindWell-U

MindWell-U delivers in-person and online mindfulness training in the workplace that leads to less stress, more joy and peak performance. The company has trained more than 6,000 leaders, managers and employees in its 30 Day Mindfulness Challenge which is recommended by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. UBC's Sauder School of Business showed the Challenge lowers stress, increases resilience and improves health and wellbeing in just five to 10 minutes a day. Visit Mindwellu.com for more information.

About Movember Foundation

The Movember Foundation is the only global charity focused solely on men's health. We raise funds that deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programs to enable men to live happier, healthier, longer lives. Awareness and fundraising activities are run year-round, with the annual Movember Campaign in November being globally recognized for its fun, disruptive approach to fundraising and getting men to take action for their health. Since Movember started in Melbourne, Australia in 2003, millions have joined the movement, raising over $759 Million and funding over 1,200 projects focused on men's mental health & suicide prevention, prostate and testicular cancer. You can help stop men dying too young at Movember.com

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SOURCE MindWell-U