MBSR – Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

MBSR was developed in the late 1970s by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, at the Center for Mindfulness (CFM) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Since then, thousands have participated in this program all over the world and learned to use their innate resources and skills to respond more effectively to stress, pain and illness. MBSR is currently the most extensively researched mindfulness program.

Course
MBSR is an experiential learning program based on mindfulness training. The central focus of the program is an intensive training of the mind, through mindfulness meditation and its subsequent integration into daily life, allowing us to remain balanced in the face of all that life throws at us.

It is part of the program
• Guided instruction in mindfulness meditations
• Mindfulness movement
• Personalized instruction and group sharing
• MP3 with guided meditation practices for personal practice
• Course manual
• Certificate of final participation for those who participate in all sessions and on the retreat day (requirement for those who want to take the MBSR TTI – Teacher Training Intensive).

In this course we will learn
• How mindfulness can help in reducing stress, pain and illness, improving well-being.
• To become more aware of our thoughts and to deal with difficult emotions.
• Responding with choice in the face of difficulty, rather than being conditioned by reactive impulses.
• How to include mindfulness into everyday life.
• To practice and apply mindfulness techniques in the personal and professional field.
• Integrate mindfulness in the social context in order to facilitate more conscious communication.

Duration
The program consists of 8 sessions of 2:30h over 8 weeks, plus an intensive 6h day, usually between the sixth and the seventh session.

Session 1 – Introduction to mindfulness
Session 2 – Perception
Session 3 – Doing mode and being mode
Session 4 – Patterns of reactivity to stress
Session 5 – Respond with mindfulness
Session 6 – Difficult communications
Retreat Day
Session 7 – Taking care of oneself
Session 8 – Keeping mindfulness alive