Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Orientations occur one to two weeks before your first class. An orientation is required for enrollment in the 8-week course. You will:

• Learn how MBSR’s evidence-based practices can complement mainstream medical treatments and positively impact your daily life
• Receive a full overview of the course, be able to ask questions and make an informed decision about enrolling
• Meet the instructor and your fellow participants
• Experience mindfulness meditation practices 

Receive a more in-depth overview of the course, explore the mind-body connection and discover what it means to be fully engaged in the present moment. Experience mindful eating, the body-scan meditation and review your at-home practice for the week.

Changing your perception and response to challenges can reduce stress. How you see things (or don't see them) largely determines how you respond. Examine your perceptions, assumptions and the way you view the world.

Explore the body-scan practice to create more awareness of how you react to stressful situations. This week’s homework includes focused awareness practice and ways to bring mindfulness into your daily routine.

This week, you practice mindful movement, sitting meditation and walking meditation. Discover the pleasure and power in being present. This is an ideal time to share your experiences and how you are integrating mindfulness into your daily life.

Your practice focuses on your ability to concentrate and expand your field of awareness. Learn how your body and mind react to stress and how to use mindful methods to respond positively and proactively to stressful situations.

At this point, you can understand and use the basics of mindfulness to manage challenges and stress. We now focus on identifying and interrupting unhealthy recurring patterns through mindful awareness. Discover how to apply mindfulness when you encounter physical sensations, intense emotions or challenging conditions.

Resilience refers to the ability to recover and restore balance after stressful events. Draw on inner resources and develop practices to strengthen your ability to handle stress. Learn to be more aware and present in difficult conversations. We experiment with different styles to improve our connection and engagement with others.

This guided online retreat typically takes place on a weekend between weeks 6 and 7. This session is a 7.5-hour practice intensive. It helps you integrate MBSR skills into your daily life and apply them long after the program ends.

We look at how you can bring mindfulness into every part of your life. MBSR is not just about having a formal meditation practice. It’s also about being aware during everything you do and using nonjudgment in your self-reflection and decision-making. Learn how to maintain your daily practice even as circumstances change throughout your life.

In the final week, we revisit everything you've learned, focusing on how to maintain your progress in the months and years ahead. You’ll explore resources to deepen your mindfulness practice as your life evolves. And we discuss ongoing support systems to help you continue to integrate, learn and grow.

Mindfulness is most effective when it’s a lifelong commitment. This final class marks the end of the MBSR program, but the start of your ongoing journey with mindfulness.

Register for the MBSR Program