Donegal Mindfulness
The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
About Mary
As well as being a meditation teacher, motivational speaker and mentor, she is also a mum of five and a grandmother of four beautiful little girls. Mindfulness has deeply enriched Mary’s life and changed it for the better, and it brings her great joy to be able to share it with people everyday.
Mary is so deeply passionate about mindfulness because she has experienced its incredible benefits first-hand. She worked as a mental health professional for over thirty years and loved
every minute of it, from the most challenging days to the most rewarding.
However, in 2010 her career was unexpectedly cut short due to serious surgical complications. She spent five days on life support, underwent a tracheostomy, and was given very little chance of survival by her team.
Against all odds, Mary survived - but her life as she knew it was over. The road to recovery was a long and painful one, and Mary found herself relying on medication and alcohol to help her cope with the devastating loss of her career, as well as turmoil in her personal life. She knew she had to forge a new path in life and rediscover the bubbly, fun-loving person she once was, but she didn’t know how or where to start.
One very ordinary evening in 2016, a life-changing chain of events was set in motion as Mary sat down to watch ‘The Late Late Show’... not something that normally happens when watching Ryan Tubridy!! One of the guests on the show was Sister Stan, an Irish nun who spoke about bringing mindfulness to Ireland 35 years previously.
Her words sparked something deep within Mary’s soul and she decided to reach out to The Sanctuary, Sister Stan’s mindfulness centre in Dublin. Mary didn’t know it at the time, but she had just taken her first step towards healing and rebuilding a happier, healthier life for herself.
After completing an 8 week course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, her health and wellbeing improved so dramatically that she became passionate about learning all she could about mindfulness. She went on to complete a Diploma in Mindfulness and Positive Psychology through the Irish Mindfulness Academy and she made it her mission to share the gift of mindfulness with the people of Donegal.
As well as being a fully qualified Reflexologist and Reiki master, Mary also has a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Professionals and a Certificate in Mindful Eating. She is always learning and adding to her skill set in order to provide the best possible service to the community.
Mary's clients
Mary's clients range from individuals and families right up to large organisations, community groups, and service providers in areas of health, education
and training.
Through one-to-one and group sessions, Mary helps people to make positive changes to their mindset and develop an attitude of gratitude, something that plays a huge role in her own
daily practice.
At the core of Mary’s work is a deep sense of respect and duty of care towards her clients, which includes maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality and adhering to best practice guidelines at all times.
Mary’s goal is to provide people of all ages and from all walks of life with a safe space in which to explore the many wonderful benefits of mindfulness, meditation, and holistic therapies. No two sessions or clients are the same, and she feels that she learns just as much from her clients as they do from her. There are tears and plenty of laughter along the way, and that is what Mary loves most about her work.
Reviews
Mary Kara, Donegal Mindfulness is such an inspiring, passionate, knowledgeable and caring Mindfulness teacher. Her life experience and her qualifications are such a vital ingredient.
D, C.