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Learning to ski with John Arnold, a students journey, by Paul Unwin

Rather than encouraging his skiers to focus technically, everything John teaches is about ‘opening up’, enjoying the unique wonder of the mountains, and doing that from a profound sense of calm and relaxation.
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Skiing the Now

You know those slopes where everything seems to click into place, your skis, body and mind were in the right place at the right time, causing the outcome to be a pure pinnacle performance. Yes? Then you stopped dreaming and found the reality…
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Skiing Ready 2025/2026

Improve and Enjoy your Skiing. We are just two months away from the skiing season start and I for one am eager to be back on skis, upon the mountains. The summer here in Sardinia has been long and hot; plenty of time for being in the sea,…
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Accepting Without Preference

Be accepting of what you are as a skier, now in this present moment, and you will become the skier you know you can become. Letting go of the fighting with your judgemental critical self can be the most liberating, valuable process in your…
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Spring Skiing 2026

Mindful Mountains, Spring Fling, 11th to 18th April 2026 Ski More – Think Less – Improve by Practicing Our Spring skiing week is happening this year in Champoluc, the last week of the season for Monterosa Ski area. With records showing…

Inside – Out Instructor Workshop Notes

‘Inside – Out’ an Instructor training session at The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead. It was great to meet you all last week, thanks for coming along to the session and engaging with the content, it made it a pleasure for me. Here are…

Cognition To Sensation

Mindfulness is much about being centred in one’s own body, in one’s being, moving through one’s day with a focused knowing of who one is and what one is being. We are aware of each present moment remaining conscious of our internal domain,…

Attitude at Altitude

Making the transition from piste to powder is the aspiration of many skiers who have spent their fair share of time grooving their skills on the red and black graded slopes. This article looks at the ways we approach the adventure of venturing…

Mindful Skiing

In this blog John summarises some of the mindful skiing methods he uses to improve skiers’ performance. As they are methods for learning and coaching, they apply to all ability levels, from beginner to expert and in all terrain, from piste…

Breathe and Perform

It’s all there within us already; we often have the tendency to look outside ourselves for the way forward, ways to live our lives and searching outward to find what it is we desire and achieve. The problem with this is that what we find…

The Power of Purposeful Practice

Here’s an article I wrote in the summer of 2016 about how ‘practicing on purpose’ adds value to the quality of your training. The article was published last Autumn in the Annual Publication of the National Schools Snowsport Association…

From Winter Skiing to Summer hiking and meditation

On the move to Italy in January this year I was welcomed with two metres of snowfall, Champoluc and the Monterosa mountain range were looking magnificent. Everyone skiing in the Alps this winter had the best snow conditions we have seen for…

From Happy Hills to Mindful Mountains

This is the story about a journey from hills to mountains and how, 40 years ago, a handful of teenagers made the journey from their local dry ski slope to the European Alps. In the 1970’s there were no performance pathways, sports institutes…

Changes in Champoluc for Winter 2019

As Champoluc, along with every other resort in the Alps, works hard to make themselves a‘must visit’ destination for skiers, the construction of new lifts and hotels is always something to inspire visitors. The resort is eagerly awaiting…

Newsletter November 2018

We are almost there, the autumn colours faded and first snows appeared this week in Champoluc, presently a foot of snow at 2000m. The main gondola lift out of the village has been renewed this summer and mid station upgraded to enable speedy…

Newsletter December 2018

While waiting for the snow to arrive at below 2000 metres I’ve been organising the summer and autumn weeks and here’s what we have so far; In June a Monterosa hiking week taking in 7 mountain refuges and traveling from Champoluc towards…

Mindful Learning Research Findings 2014

I would sincerely like to thank all the staff and members of the Aberdeen Snowsports Centre who took part in the coaching sessions. You all had so much enthusiasm, interest, humour and an open approach, for which I am very grateful, thank you.…

Mindful Learning Research Abstract 2013

This research looked into mindful based learning in a sport, Alpine Skiing, context.  Its focus is the learners experience of mindful learning. What motivated the need to research this subject was the recognition that a significant block to…