Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction 8 Weeks

Course Description: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

By preparing to embark upon a journey, we mean that you should consider MBSR as something that develops or deepens over time, much like learning a new language or musical instrument. However, before beginning a course with us, we need to stress the importance of seeking consultation with a healthcare provider or mental health professional before commencing MBSR, much like you would if beginning any new form of exercise, especially if you have any physical or emotional conditions or illnesses or are currently experiencing very high or unrelenting levels of stress, anxiety or depression.

Much like physical pain, psychological pain is a signal that something is wrong and requires attention to prevent damage and further suffering. Also like physical pain, psychological pain varies in intensity and origins and how it impacts our lives. So, without close professional guidance, you risk further emotional and psychological injury.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has an eight-week program to help. It reduces stress and increase well-being, and may be an instrument for fostering balance. It is based in mindfulness. As developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, MBSR is also effective in increasing resilience, self-awareness, and emotional regulation.

Course participants will practice a variety of mindfulness activities and exercises based on experience during each class. Each weekly session will provide a supportive and nurturing environment for personal growth and self-discovery.

Each section has three parts:

Theory: This helps us move closer to understanding mindfulness.

Formal meditation: Meditation that involves training you to live in the present moment, not judging.

Informal meditation: We need no major preparations for such a meditation in our daily lives. We’ve learned that what it makes up “mindfulness” is to live with all five senses in the present moment and take things as they are. In this program you can train the five senses because there is a practice for each of them. This is what could be called “mindfulness of the full senses.”

Course Components:

• Week 1: Theory-What’s Mindfulness. Formal meditation:  Breathing meditation. Informal meditation: STOP System.
• Week 2: Theory-Formal and Informal Meditation. Formal meditation:  Boddy Scan Meditation. Informal meditation: Mindfulness Eating.
• Week 3: Theory-Why is Mindfulness useful controlling mental suffering?. Formal meditation:  Breathing Pranayama Meditation. Informal meditation: Mindfulness Sound
• Week 4: Theory-What’s Stress?. Formal meditation:  Tonglen Meditation. Informal meditation: Mindfulness Smell.
• Week 5: Theory-Benefits of Mindfulness. Formal meditation:  Gratitude Mindfulness. Informal meditation: Mindfulness Sight.
• Week 6: Theory-History of Mindfulness. Formal meditation:  Mindfulness Walking. Informal meditation: Mindfulness Touch.
• Week 7: Theory-Mindfulness and Compassion. Formal meditation:  Mindfulness Metta. Informal meditation: Street Meditation.
• Week 8: Theory-Mindfulness in the School. Formal meditation: THICH NHAT HANH meditation. Informal meditation: Slow motion Meditation.

The participants are encouraged to engage in mindfulness exercises. They are to spend 20-40 minutes daily deepening their experience with the exercises.

Free of charge, the classes are led by a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction instructor. We offer these classes with no strings attached–because we love and care about our society. Because just a bit of input from everybody can leave a truly deep impression.

No matter whether you’re just starting out in mindfulness or wondering how to raise the level of your practice, an MBSR course with its solid foundation on evidence might just be for you. Don’t forget that mindfulness requires a way of thinking. You should strive to live completely in the present, without judging the merits of your experiences. To do so, train your mind in formal practices which eventually translate into informal practices: this will allow you to bring mindfulness into your everyday life. Bear in mind that an active mind that persistently dwells on the future or past is often ill at ease. Enjoy the course!