• This transformative course is suited for those who want to learn more about mindfulness. Experienced mindfulness practitioners also attend with the intention to deepen their mindfulness practice.
• The entire course is live through the online Zoom platform. This allows participants from around the world to interact with each other.

The experiential course includes:

• One introduction course, followed by 8 classes with instruction on formal and informal mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation practices. (20 hours).
• Group discussions around the experiences participants are having as they practice.
• Daily home practice coursework.
• Meditation recordings to download and use when practicing at home.
• Gentle mindful movement and stretching yoga.
• The opportunity for check-ins with the instructor throughout the course.
• Includes an “All Day” live virtual silent retreat on May 20th (6 hour)
• Worksheets

Identify the key coping skills of mindfulness as it relates to:

• • Stress reduction
  • Coping with pain and illness
  • Enhancing overall well-being
  • Increasing self-awareness (self-observation)
  • Choosing our responses
  • Being with the present moment

• Apply mindfulness techniques in both personal and professional settings as a means of navigating the demands of both worlds more effectively and with greater clarity, giving access to experiencing life & work harmony.
• Apply mindfulness into social interactions with others to facilitate more effective and mindful communication.
• Practices that are designed to enhance our awareness of the body and the tension we hold unconsciously.
• Increased self-awareness, emotional intelligence, emotion regulation and empathy.

• Orientation | Expectations
  • Introductions
  • Review of course structure
  • Mindfulness practice
• Week 1 | Beginner’s Mind 
  • We review the structure of the course and group norms. We talk about how the body and mind are connected. We talk about ways to self-regulate.
  • Participants are experientially introduced to mindful eating, mindfulness of breathing and the body scan.
  • Home practice:  The body scan is the first meditation recording provided as a means of beginning to learn how to be mindfully aware of the body.
  • A special emphasis on what it means to be fully engaged in the present moment.
• Week 2 | Perceptions
  • In this session, we examine perceptions, assumptions, and consider how we view the world.
  • Our perception is our reality and is key to mindful awareness. When an event occurs, the thoughts we have about that event determine how we feel, the actions we take, and the responses we receive.
  • We use body-scan practice to cultivate a greater degree of awareness and understanding of how we react to stressful situations.
  • This increased self-awareness allows us to change the way we perceive the events occurring in our lives, and this impacts our minds and bodies both in the short-term and the long-term.
• Week 3 | Bringing Curiosity 
  • In this session, we work with a few mindfulness practices—mindful yoga, sitting meditation, and walking meditation.
  • We have group discussions around the insights everyone is having as they engage in formal practice and integrate mindfulness into our daily lives.
  • We talk about how there is both pleasure and power in being present.
  • We work with attending to and being curious about how mindful awareness can impact sensations and experiences of both pleasure and discomfort in the mind and body.
• Week 4 | Habitual Stress Reactions
  • This week, our practice focuses on the continued development of our ability to focus and expand our field of awareness. So while one mindful practice may ask us to focus on one thing, other practices may ask us to move from our breath to hearing sounds.
  • We talk about the physiological and psychological bases of stress reactivity, the cost of that reactivity and experience mindful strategies for responding in more positive and skillful ways to stressful situations.
• Week 5 | Noticing
  • Being halfway through the course, participants are now familiar with the foundations of mindfulness and able to focus on applying it more rapidly and effectively to specific challenges and stressors.
  • This week, we talk about what is coming up for participants. We talk about the challenges, unhealthy habits that may be causing us to get stuck.
  • We learn how to respond to an intense emotion, craving, or physical sensation with curiosity and awareness.
  • Cultivate responsiveness versus reactivity.
• Week 6 | Stressful Communication
  • This week, we focus on mindfulness practices and transformational coping strategies that can enhance resilience.
  • We learn how to apply awareness and presence when communication becomes difficult (i.e. strong emotions, differing opinions).
  • Through direct experience we learn how to apply mindfulness to our interpersonal communications, and in our daily relationships.
• All Day Silent Retreat
  • The purpose of this 6-hour session is intended to help integrate all that has been learned to date in the MBSR program.
• Week 7 | Intentional Integration
  • This week, we will explore the many ways that we can integrate mindfulness more fully and personally into our lives.
  • We look at lifestyle choices and consider the question, how can I best take care of myself?
  • We consider how we can stay open in an unpredictable world.
• Week 8 | Support
  • In the final week of the program, you will have a complete review of everything you’ve learned over the past eight weeks, with an emphasis on carrying the momentum you’ve built forward into the coming months and years.
  • We talk about the other community support available to continue to integrate, learn, and grow our mindfulness practice.
  • The final lesson is a celebration honoring both the end of this program and the beginning of the rest of your life.