Have you ever felt like mindfulness just isn’t working for you?

In this episode of 'Getting Real with Mindfulness', Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness) and mindfulness teacher Victoria Fontana dive into what is means for mindfulness to 'work'. They explore why expectations matter, what “working” really means, and how shifting from 'shoulds' to a sense of curiosity and patience can be really helpful for your mindfulness practice - particularly during the holiday season.

🎧 Listen for honest reflections, practical insights, and a few surprising truths about what mindfulness can, and can’t, do.

👥 About the Hosts

Claire Kelly is a mindfulness-based mentor and the Director of Teaching and Training at Oxford Mindfulness. With over 25 years in education, she's also passionate about developing and delivering evidence-based programmes to support mental health and wellbeing in education.

Victoria Fontana is a certified mindfulness and compassion teacher, executive coach, and educator who helps people cultivate calm, clarity, and resilience in their lives and work. Victoria teaches mindfulness and compassion-based programs internationally through IE University, the Mindfulness and Health Institute, and through her own programs at https://www.mindgazing.com/

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website 👉 https://oxfordmindfulness.org/

If you'd like to get in touch to share your thoughts, reflections or ideas for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. 📧 Email [email protected]

📑 Episode Resources

Oxford Mindfulness Resources https://oxfordmindfulness.org/events-and-resources

Oxford Mindfulness Podcasts https://oxfordmindfulness.org/podcasts

Is mindfulness just fluffy nonsense?! In this episode of 'Getting Real with Mindfulness', hosts Claire and Victoria take on one of the most common misconceptions about mindfulness - that it’s soft, indulgent, or lacking substance.

Through personal stories, practical examples, and a touch of neuroscience, they explore how mindfulness is far from fluffy. It’s gritty, challenging, and surprisingly practical. From mindful colouring to fierce compassion, they unpack what mindfulness really is and what it isn’t.

Whether you're a curious beginner, a trained teacher, or somewhere in between, this episode offers a fresh perspective on how mindfulness builds agency, supports emotional resilience, and helps us respond, rather than habitually react, to life.

👥 About the Hosts

Claire Kelly is a mindfulness-based mentor and the Director of Teaching and Training at Oxford Mindfulness. With over 25 years in education, she's also passionate about developing and delivering evidence-based programmes to support mental health and wellbeing in education.

Victoria Fontana is a certified mindfulness and compassion teacher, executive coach, and educator who helps people cultivate calm, clarity, and resilience in their lives and work. Victoria teaches mindfulness and compassion-based programs internationally through IE University, the Mindfulness and Health Institute, and through her own programs at https://www.mindgazing.com/

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website 👉 https://oxfordmindfulness.org/

📑 Episode Resources

New Podcast 📢 Getting Real with Mindfulness

Ep. 1: "Down and Dirty" with Mindfulness: What We Wish We’d Known

In this first episode of Getting Real with Mindfulness, Claire Kelly (Oxford Mindfulness Director of Teaching and Training) and Victoria Fontana (mindfulness and compassion teacher and executive coach) sit down for a candid conversation about what they wish they’d known when they started practicing.

From the pressure to “get it right” to the surprising emotional breakthroughs, they explore the messy, magical, and deeply human side of mindfulness.

They get, as they say, “down and dirty” with the practice - sharing personal stories, hard-earned insights, and gentle reminders that mindfulness isn’t about perfection, but presence.

Whether you're a personal learner, or a trained teacher, this episode offers something real, relatable, and refreshingly honest.

Claire Kelly is a mindfulness-based mentor and the Director of Teaching and Training at Oxford Mindfulness. With over 25 years in education, she's also passionate about developing and delivering evidence-based programmes to support mental health and wellbeing in education.

Victoria Fontana is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, executive coach, and trainer with over a decade of experience leading transformative programmes. She's a certified instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Compassion-Based Resilience Training (CBRT), and Introducing Mindfulness (IM).

Find out more about Victoria 👉 https://www.mindgazing.com/

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website 👉  https://oxfordmindfulness.org/

Join us for Chapter 12 "A Life Well Lived”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this final session, Willem explored being “the change you want to see in the world”; within ourselves, our relationships, and our shared world. Through a sample of recordings from characters featured in his book 'Mindfulness for Life', Willem discussed what it means to live well, and mindfulness as a tool to support a life well lived.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Join us for Chapter 11 "Living Well: Taking Care of Ourselves, Our Relationships and the World”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explored how taking care of ourselves, our relationships and the world are deeply interconnected. Drawing on wisdom from contemplative traditions and neuroscience, Willem guides us through reflections and practices that invite us to inquire into well-being as a learnable skill.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Join us for Chapter 10 “Cool Head and Warm Heart: the Art of Balance and Equanimity”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explored the nature of balance and equanimity to cultivate a cool head and warm heart, weaving in wisdom stories such as ‘The Ancient Oak’ and ‘The Flight of Icarus’, alongside guided practices like the breathing space and grounding in the body.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Join us for Chapter Eight “Perspective: Changing the View”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explores the theme of perspective. He introduces five tools to support us in shifting our viewpoint: grounding in the body, zooming in and out, ‘time travelling’ to reflect on the present from the future, seeing through others’ eyes, and allowing experiences to run their course.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Join us for Chapter Nine “Responding Wisely”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explored the power of pausing between stimulus and response to support wise responses. He looked at tools we can use in that space such as grounding in the body, using values as a compass and responsive breathing spaces.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Join us for Chapter Seven “Befriending Our Minds”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem explores the foundational attitudes of mindfulness, contemplative traditions, and practices like the befriending practice to consider the concept of befriending your mind as a lifelong friendship to nurture.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website

Join us for Chapter Six, “How We React to Stress and Difficulties”, of our year-long Guest Speaker Event series: "A Life Well-Lived: Mindfulness for Life in 12 Chapters," in collaboration with Professor Willem Kuyken.

In this insightful session, Willem Kuyken explores our habitual reactions to stress and challenge through concepts like the 'vicious flower' and 'two arrows of pain and suffering'. Willem discusses how our responses can be supported through practices like the breathing space, the 50/50 practice, and mindful walking.

Oxford Mindfulness is a not-for-profit organisation helping people achieve greater well-being and improved mental health through research-based mindfulness. Visit our website