Choosing Calm From Dawn Till Sleep - by Derek Hill

COURSE

Choosing Calm From Dawn Till Sleep

With Derek Hill

Over the next 4 days, you'll bring a fresh perspective to 4 key moments in your day. Moments which have the power to determine your mood, emotional stability and your levels of stress. It won't require any significant life changes, or an overhaul of your routine. But it will have an immediate impact on your sense of calm, stability and focus. And a lasting impact on your health, stress levels and emotional wellbeing. It only requires you to use one special power: “Your conscious choice” In the actions or activities you invest your attention in. The choice you make when you: 1) Identify ‘your’ morning routine and make it more supportive 2) Intentionally pause to break cycles of stress and seed healthier habits 3) Allow the voice of self-compassion to rise above the inner critic 4) Reflect on reasons to be grateful, rewiring your brain for positivity And through practical examples, we’ll explore how our neurobiology and hard-wired habits and behaviours condition us to react, instead of responding more self-supportively. Each day we'll share short but powerful practices to transform these habits. And we'll embed them more deeply through Mindfulness meditations, in the body and breath. We’ll cultivate self-compassion and gratitude too. This course is ideal if you: - Want to refresh your daily routine and ‘choose’ more moments of calm, stability and focus - Need to know why we struggle with stress and emotional reactivity, even on our ‘good days” - Would like a spark of inspiration for your practice and a mindful nudge towards lasting wellbeing, It’s ideal, if you wish to "choose calm, from dawn till sleep"


Meet your Teacher

Derek Hill believes in creating opportunities for genuine connection, with ourselves, nature, and each other. Supporting people to look inwardly, with self-compassion - helping them uncover their inner resources for self-support and purposeful direction in life. He is a mindfulness and compassion teacher, speaker, and coach, accredited by Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB). He teaches 4 to 8-week courses, including Jon Kabat-Zinn's gold standard "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction." He works with individuals, groups, and organizations to inspire greater happiness, health, and human connection in life and work. Derek's course ‘Waves of Wellbeing and Resilience’ was drawn from both his teaching qualifications, as well his own personal life and professional experiences. He has coached and mentored people for 20 years in high-stress corporate environments, as well as purpose-driven ‘technology for good’ organizations like JustGiving and Farewill, where he spent many wonderful years working with not-for-profit organizations. Derek is sincerely committed to helping others realize their potential, creativity, and fundamental connection to self, others, and the universe. Derek moved to London from his hometown in Dublin. His early life in Ireland colored so much of what he has learned throughout life. Having graduated in creative writing, he always found great inspiration in the books of others, whether fictional, philosophical, or those challenging conventions. Throughout his professional career, where he enjoyed the highs and lows of working abroad, growing businesses, and making a purposeful impact, there was always a pull towards the traditions and philosophies, which inspire his work today. A few life-changing events and an ever-growing personal commitment to meditation practice, finally nudged him to retrain as a mindfulness and compassion teacher, picking up a CPCAB accredited Level 4 qualification, as well as training to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Derek then redesigned his life around a passion and purpose, so he could sustainably support his health and well-being and that of his family. He founded his company Waking Waves to make this possible and is now on his own mindful mission to share the benefits of mindfulness and compassion with others, so they can too!

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4 Days

659 students

4.9 stars

17 min / day

Stress

English


Lesson 1

Your Morning Routine

In Day 1, we identify the morning routine we already have and the impact it has on everything from mood and stress levels, to our ability to focus and regulate emotion. Together we'll make our first conscious choice - to make our existing routine more mindful. After this, setting an intention to find deeper calm through a grounding body and breath practice.

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Lesson 2

STOP for a Breaktime Breather

In Day 2 we discuss how how stressful moments and tension build up, regardless of a calm or stabilising beginning to our day. How we can benefit from having a circuit-breaker for stress. But also a practice which prevents the build up of this stressful 'wear and tear' on our bodies and minds. The STOP practice will help us do this in two ways.

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Lesson 3

Self-Compassionate Evening De-Stress

In Day 3, we recognise the voice of the inner critic. A voice which generates a large volume of negative self-talk, which embeds deep in our emotional memory. And we counterbalance this with a voice, rarely heard - the voice of self-compassion. Instead of increasing emotional reactivity, we increase gestures of self-kindness and understanding. Easing stress and emotional discomfort with a nourishing evening self-compassion practice.

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Lesson 4

Night-time Gratitude

In Day 4, we acknowledge that despite our best efforts, it may still prove difficult to retain our calm and balance. Our new healthier routine. Life can hamper the very best of our intentions! So together we will make use of our brain's "plasticity" - its ability to reorganise and build new neural pathways - strengthening and forming new habits in the process. And by cultivating Night-time Gratitude together, we will invite nourishing moments to sink deep into our emotional memory, supporting healthy, restoring sleep in the process.

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Ask your teacher

This course includes 7 community questions and 6 audio replies from Derek Hill. The community classroom and teacher audio replies are only available via the app.

7

4.9 (29)

Recent Reviews

Denise

August 16, 2025

Thank you

David

March 26, 2024

Excellent course. Wonderful reminder to be grounded and grateful.

Venice

January 25, 2024

Excellent, four-day course really helped to relax me and find deep self compassion

Anne

December 10, 2023

Good exercises and meditation ideas to help you keep mindful during the day

Maria

November 6, 2023

Thank you

Paul

November 4, 2023

Thank you Derek 🙏I have found this course to be hugely supportive for easing the everyday stresses and strains that can easily occur on any given day. I really appreciate how you offer the perfect practices to engage in at each stage of the day ‘from dusk to sleep’. It is encouraging to know mindfulness can come to the rescue in a variety of ways depending on the time and circumstance we are facing. I also value your deep knowledge of the science behind why our minds suffer in different moments, as well as why the practices and meditation are reliable antidotes. Thank you for your authenticity, wisdom, guidance and compassion. Very grateful for your wonderful teaching 🙏

🦋Christine

November 1, 2023

I have enjoyed being reminded of mindful ways to calm my days from dawn until night. Derek continues to provide great advice, with examples we can all relate to and his gently spoken, simple meditations are always most relaxing. 🙏🏻🕊️✨☔️🌊🌤️

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