mPEAK( Mindful Performance Enhancement Awareness and Knowledge is an eight-week training program for individuals who want to push themselves towards excellence. This course is geared toward a diverse range of individuals and vocations including athletes, entrepreneurs, small business owners, artists, and anyone looking to achieve their goals or live happier, more productive lives. This course draws upon mindfulness and scientifically proven practices to expand what is possible in your life and career. We sat down with Derek Covington, Msc and Jennifer Innes, MSc, who are teaching the program to learn more about their journey with mindfulness and what to expect from the mPEAK program.
Tell us a bit about yourself, and your background? Why did you become a mindfulness professional and how did you start teaching mPEAK?
Derek:
Ever since I was 7 when the 1976 Olympics came to my hometown, my dream was to go to the Olympics. I got really good at the 110m hurdle event and tried out for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. In the finals, it did not go so well, and I hit the last hurdle so hard that I stumbled across the finish line in last place – and now the dream was over – or so I thought. Working as an urban planner for several years, I put my Olympic dream aside. I found my way back into sport working for Athletics Canada, and 8 years after that fateful day on the track in Montreal in 1992, I found myself walking into the ceremonies at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
After 20+ years in the high-performance sport over nine Olympic Games, as the former Director of Olympic Performance for the Canadian Olympic Team, I have been able to help elite performers and teams across the globe achieve the real meaning of success that is not equated to goal-based achievements, but as a journey of transformation. I began my meditation practice in 2010 alongside an active vinyasa yoga practice; and in 2018 embarked on a journey to increase my capacity to live and perform mindfully by becoming a certified mPEAK instructor through the School of Medicine, Centre for Mindfulness at the University of California, San Diego. As a business owner and mindfulness coach, I am combining my Olympic experience and mindful performance training into a powerful approach toward being our best selves when it matters most.
Jennifer:
I came to mPEAK teacher training later, after having become a certified and trained MBSR and MSC teacher, as well as having almost a decade of daily dedicated mindfulness practice behind me. At this time, I was also experiencing much more flow I’m my life, and in my work. This was particularly noticeable to me, given a past (almost) debilitating fear of public speaking that had been holding me back in my life. How was it that I could go from such an extreme fear to actually experiencing flow in these moments? I became curious about how mPEAK could allow me to more fully understand this change in my life, and how to learn how to create the conditions for more flow, get out of my own way in all aspects of my life, and teach this to others.
Also, as a past (almost fully recovered) perfectionist, who didn’t always motivate herself in the kindest, most effective ways, I was interested in discovering how mEAPK could allow me to deepen my own understanding when perfectionist tendencies would still subtly creep in, and to learn how to offer these evidence-based skills to others. I am deeply feel grateful for this program. As a facilitator who teaches different mindfulness-based interventions, I can say that mPEAK feels very unique — it’s upbeat and positive, not to mention the potential it creates to deepen awareness, apply mindfulness to any performance area, and transform in various ways (well beyond performance.)
What is mPEAK?
This cutting-edge training program is built around the latest brain research related to peak performance, resilience, focus, and “flow”. The mPEAK program enhances the human capacity of mindfulness through established practices and exercises, tailored to fit the needs and desires of the team, organization or individual. The foundation of this program is drawn from the highly respected and empirically-supported Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Additionally, the program incorporates specific practices and exercises formulated to correspond to recent neuroscientific findings, competitive advances, and related research regarding optimal performance.
mPEAK is an intensive course in mindfulness training for those who seek to draw upon this proven practice to achieve their goals, both personal and professional, as well as attain new levels of performance and success.
Who is mPEAK best suited for?
Anybody who is on an adventure or has been called to start one. This course is well suited to athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs, small business owners, first responders, military personnel, or the corporate athlete/leader.
What will I learn?
You will enhance your capacity for performance skills in attention, awareness, and compassion critical to optimizing performance, mental health, and wellbeing.
- Develop greater focus and attentional control skills to “play present
- Build awareness of unhelpful narratives and limiting inner dialogue
- Train a skillful inner coach to understand, and work with self-criticism
- Develop resilience to work with difficulty instead of reacting against it.
- Stretch personal edges while reducing the potential of injury or burnout.
- Rewire habits of thinking to cultivate a greater capacity to access flow states
What can I hope to accomplish by taking the course?
What are the costs of not making this investment? We have become increasingly aware that high performance sports and high-pressure workplaces often come at a cost, leading to high rates of dropout, burnout, anxiety, and suffering. Training your body, while simultaneously training your mind leads to maximizing your highest potential and long-term sustainable performance.
To attend the mPEAK course starting April 21st, register here
To learn more about Jennifer Innes visit here
To learn more about Derek Covington visit here
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