On the Cushion with Karen Atkinson

As founder and CEO of MindfulnessUK, Karen Atkinson leads its growth and development while pioneering innovative initiatives. Author of Compassionate Mindful Inquiry in Therapeutic Practice (2020), she previously chaired the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) and remains an active member.MindfulnessUK is a BAMBA and EAMBA-affiliated training organisation, with courses regulated by the CPD Standards Office. Karen, an Honorary Lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast, began her mindfulness journey in her 20’s as a way of managing the suffering experienced as a result of insidious trauma throughout her childhood. A yoga teacher with the British Wheel of Yoga, she deepened her self-compassion practice during cancer recovery in 2013 and, when diagnosed with her second primary cancer in 2023, responded with deep self-kindness and equilibrium. These experiences empassion Karen to deliver trauma-informed teaching and training globally and she has become an acknowledged specialist in her field.She enjoys gardening, sea swimming, and cycling on her electric bike, Bluebell.In this episode I talk with Karen about how she came to mindfulness and how her background influences her facilitation of mindfulness.