Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
What is MBSR?
A group program that focuses on the gradual acquisition of mindfulness.
The MBSR program is an eight-week course that includes weekly group meetings and a one-day retreat. To really apply the new skills and deepen the practice, daily homework of 45 minutes is required. The program consists of the instruction in three formal techniques: mindfulness meditation, body scan and simple yoga postures. Group discussion and exploration are a central part of the program. With the body scan you will learn the first longer formal mindfulness technique. During the body scan, you sit or lie quietly and step by step travel with your attention through different areas of the body. Later in the program, sitting meditation and yoga are added as formal practices.
According to Kabat-Zinn, the foundation of MBSR is mindfulness, which he defines as “non-judgmental moment-to-moment awareness.” During the program, you are encouraged to focus on informal practices as well, incorporating mindfulness into your daily routines.
Why MBSR?
Developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the 1970s by Professor Jon Kabat-Zin, MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) is one of the mindfulness programs with the longest experience in being taught. Today there are courses available all around the globe with countless students every year.
Mindfulness practice can enhance wellbeing. Research on MBSR among post-secondary students has shown that it could help to alleviate psychological distress. In one study, the long-term impact of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) treatment extended to two months after the intervention was completed. One of the ways this works is that the program helps to increase self-compassion. Higher levels of self-compassion in return have been found to greatly reduce stress.
Increased attention and focus can be the result of an MBSR intervention, as research suggests mindfulness training improves focus, attention, and ability to work under stress.
How is the program structured?
In our weekly sessions we come together to discuss the practice, acquire new tools and overcome difficulties together. The weekly rhythm helps you to keep going and get new impulses throughout the journey. The mindful day is there to deepen the practice and step out of your day to day commitments for a fully immersive experience.
What are the tools we teach?
These include formal sitting meditation, body awareness in stillness and movement, breathing techniques and much more.
As integral part of the MBSR journey, you are asked to make 45 minutes time in your schedule on a daily basis, deepening your practice and familiarizing yourself with the benefits. This will not always be easy, but is required for the seeds planted in the weekly sessions to blossom.
The 8-week program is just the beginning. Once the course is concluded you are invited to find your own rhythm of integrating both formal and informal practices into your daily life as it suits you.
Who is MBSR for?
Everyone carries a backpack with them of past experiences and potentially scary events in the future. This course can help you to embrace life moment by moment and befriend yourself with what is. Important to highlight is also, that whilst having its roots in Buddhist wisdom teachings, the MBSR program itself is secular without any specific spiritual direction or content.
This course is for you, if you
- wish to increase your resilience
- are looking for an effective way to cope with stress in your everyday life
- want to make an active contribution to re-establishing or maintaining your inner balance and physical and mental health
- seek to increase your attention and focus
- are curious to learn ways to understand yourself better and reclaim the driver’s seat of your life
