THE MINDFULNESS TRAINING PROGRAM
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an immersive eight-week program that supports participants to skillfully manage and respond to life’s difficulties and embrace its wonders moment-by-moment. The course has brought mindfulness meditation into the medical mainstream and has changed tens of thousands of lives for over three decades. Scientific research from medical centres all over the world suggests that the MBSR training program can positively and often profoundly affect participants' ability to reduce medical symptoms and psychological distress while learning to live life more fully.
Jon Kabat-Zinn founded MBSR in 1979, and it aimed to support those who continued to suffer, despite receiving the best available medical treatment at the time.
The predominant skill learned is the inquiry tool mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is the act and art of paying attention in the present, with an open-hearted awareness of both body and mind. It is a way of Being that when incorporated into daily life, offers the opportunity to break unskillful, habitual ways of relating to ourselves and the world around us, offering different ways to respond to stress and suffering. In this way, the ancient practice is one of self-discovery, rooted in the simple but profound assertion:
That every human Being has the ability to develop the mind’s inherent stability, clarity and strength in order to be more awake and to cultivate the compassion and insight necessary to care for oneself and beyond.
“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down”
Scientifically validated
Rewires brain anatomy and connectivity supporting emotional intelligence
Non-religious
Lasting decreases in unhelpful physical and psychological symptoms
Simple, practical techniques
Benefits all minds and bodies, yes, even chattery and stiff or painful ones!
WEEK BY WEEK
Week 1
Awareness, automatic pilot and recognising the present moment
week 2
Perception and conditioning -what we bring to experience and how we make sense of the world
Week 3
The pleasure and power of being present
Week 4
Investigating conditioned ways of reacting to our experience and coming towards the difficult
week 5
Responding to stress -exploring perceptions and thoughts
week 6
Interpersonal mindfulness and translating practice into action
day retreat
The intensive nature of this day-long session, the ‘Day of Mindfulness', is intended to assist you in firmly and effectively establishing the use of MBSR skills across multiple situations in your life in order to best prepare you to utilise these methods far beyond the conclusion of the program
week 7
Living Purposefully: A reflection on what matters to us the most and what parts of our lives are calling for our awareness
week 8
Making mindfulness part of life
If you are ready to open towards a new way of relating to yourself and others, one which fosters greater emotional, physical and psychological resilience, I invite you to join us on this stirring course
Note-to-self
Mindfulness is not to be known intellectually, but rather, experientially. Mindfulness is a practice, and the old adage you only get out what you put in is certainly relevant for learning this skill. Awakening from our old ways of Being requires us to show up and consistently participate.
The more we train the mindfulness muscle, the easier it becomes to recognise when we default back into autopilot (mind-less-ness); or when we are perpetuating emotional states such as anger, resentment, stress or worry; or when we are reacting rather than responding to an event. Therefore, the MBSR program is grounded in immersion, repetition and home practice. Please be aware of your commitment to practising before determining your readiness to join a course.
