MINDFULNESS therapy is based on paying attention to your inner-self, according to its American architect Jon Kabat-Zinn.

The therapy can be used as a day-to-day coping mechanism or to treat deep-rooted conditions like anxiety, depression, relationship problems and anger issues, says Fremantle practitioner Ajay Hawkes.

It helps people remain centered and grounded in challenging situations, he says. “They get less triggered.”

At the heart of the therapy is breaking down core beliefs established over a lifetime.

• Ajay Hawkes

Emotions

“Past experiences and traumas are held in our bodies and our emotions as well as our thoughts and our beliefs,” Mr Hawkes says.

Mindfulness counselling helps unlock old beliefs and patterns, reprograming the brain and body.

“By safely bringing painful experiences to resolution, you can open up new horizons. With these simple yet powerful tools you can change your limiting beliefs.”

A qualified counsellor and psychotherapist, with a masters degree in social work, Mr Hawkes has more than 20 years experience in mindfulness therapy, and has worked with a range of clients from company CEOs to men serving time in jail.

Interviewing Mr Hawkes in his High Street office, I sit with my feet flat on the floor and eyes closed as he gives me a brief idea of what clients can expect.

It felt like a cross between guided meditation and hypnosis as he soothingly commands that I focus on my feet and how they are placed, then my hands, then shoulders hunched from too much time in front of a computer.

Silken tones tell me to focus on my breathing and with each breath I can feel my shoulders lower and the tension in my neck slip away.

As a mental health social worker, Mr Hawkes has Medicare accreditation.

For more information go to upliftcounselling.com.au or call him on 0421 476 429.