WHY MBSR?
Are you interested in mindfulness and its potential for enhancing health and well-being? Are you under stress? Are you struggling with chronic conditions such as chronic pain, depression, and anxiety? Are you feeling as if life is too much? Or do you simply want to live a fuller life with greater balance?
The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course is a great place to start, or continue, your journey into mindfulness. MBSR helps you learn what mindfulness is with enough time and practice to allow you to integrate it into your life with hands-on practices that help you make mindfulness your own.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This 8-week course includes:
- Learning about stress reactivity and how mindfulness helps with stress
- Learning how to apply mindfulness to everyday situations like communication
- Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices
- Body awareness practices including the body scan and gentle mindful movement
- Group dialogue and small group exercises
- A 70-page workbook with short readings, a guide to the course, and resources to support your ongoing investigation of mindfulness
- Eight 2.5 hour classroom sessions plus a 7-hour weekend retreat.
The opportunity to practice mindfulness skills and obtain peace and calm during this very stressful time is priceless. An added benefit was the camaraderie and community spirit that was experienced amongst fellow mindfulness students, even within a virtual classroom environment. Not only did I learn mindfulness practices and techniques that I could use for my own benefit, but I was able to share what I learned with my clients during counseling sessions.
The eight class sessions include lessons on what mindfulness is and how to apply it to real life situations, sitting and walking meditation, small and whole group discussions, gentle yoga-based movement, and other practices. In between classes, home practice and explorations support the growth of mindfulness in your life. And there’s an additional retreat session on the weekend to deepen your practice.
To learn more about whether the time is right for you to register for this course, please see What Are Our Classes Like? in the FAQs, from Executive Director Tim Burnett.
ABOUT MBSR
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is the “gold standard” course for learning mindfulness and how to apply it to your daily life. It was designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and the Center for Mindfulness at the UMass Medical Center in the late 1970’s. Please see our MBSR page for full details about this well-researched class.
Decades of research show that MBSR reduces chronic pain and boosts the immune system; addresses painful mental states like depression and anxiety; minimizes emotional reactivity and promotes well-being; increases flexible attention and sharpens mental focus; and actually thickens grey matter in the areas of empathy and problem-solving. Happiness can be a delightful by-product.
SCHEDULE
Tuesdays, October 18 – December 6
6 – 8:30pm PST
All-Day Retreat: Saturday, December 3, 9am-4pm PST
TEACHERS
Karen Schwisow & Amandeep Jassal
LOCATION
Offered Live Online. Zoom link will be sent to you by email once you register.
COST
Tuition is offered on a sliding scale ($285-$530). We also offer payment plans and a limited number of scholarships for each program. No need to apply; simply choose the amount that’s right for your budget.
CONTINUING ED FOR EDUCATORS
Up to 26 Clock Hours are available for eligible Washington State (K-12) teachers, administrators, and educational staff associates who take this course. Please check this page to confirm eligibility for clock hours. Mindfulness Northwest is an approved provider through Washington State OSPI.
Register for this program
Registration is closed for this program.
