Mindfulness course MBSR (eight weeks)

Do you suffer with anxiety, panic attacks, obsessing, stress, relationship problems, feeling overwhelmed, tension, anger, depression, sleep or digestive problems? Do you find yourself thinking the same things over and over again and can’t find the off button for thinking? Mindfulness may be the off button for you!

Mindfulness is the practice of breathing, relaxing, sensing, observing your thoughts, feelings, sensations and behaviours and choosing effective ways of looking after yourself. Mindfulness allows you to develop ways of finding peace in a frantic world.

The MBSR is the most recognised and established mindfulness course, taught all over the world, and scientifically proven to help people cope better with stress, depression and anxiety. 

This eight week course will help you find ways of living life with less stress, help you cope better and improve your sense of well being and quality of life.

The aim of the course is to bring more awareness and acceptance into everyday life by establishing a daily mindfulness practise; to deepen understanding of the way we think, feel and react to stress and to understand and practise mindful responses to stress. The course is very practical and participatory; over the weeks we systematically work to cultivate the skill necessary to live a life with more ease, joy and present moment awareness.  

Mindfulness is a nourishing training that enhances our learning ability, concentration, and creativity; it builds emotional resilience, and increases professional effectiveness. One of the benefits of mindfulness is an increased appreciation of life. A person who is more mindful tends to find that all of life’s activities become more fulfilling.

For more information please refer to my website: http://www.emotionalfreedom4you.co.uk/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-8-week-course/

Details:

We all have times when we experience stress, along with difficult physical sensations, feelings and moods. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) can help us learn new ways of handling stress and all that comes with it.

MBSR can significantly change the way we relate to stress and difficulty, and enhance our capacity to cope on a daily basis. By developing more awareness, you can learn to deal more effectively with difficulties and take more pleasure in the good things in life.

MBSR was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the USA, and it is the base for later Mindfulness based approaches such as MBCT. It is taught in a supportive group environment.

The core skill that you will learn is 'mindfulness' - a way of paying attention, on purpose and non-judgmentally, to what goes on in the present moment in your body, mind, and the world around you. Mindfulness can enable you to see things differently, undoing mental and physical knots and tensions. It can increase your sense of personal confidence and help you feel that you have more options, giving you greater strength to face challenges in your life.

Some of the benefits of the course:

Nearly everybody reports some benefits from participating in the course; these can include a general improvement in well-being, an increased ability to relax and a greater sense of control in life.

Often people find that while their circumstances may not have changed, the way that they relate to them has. They find that they are less distressed or frustrated by situations that would have been a problem for them before the course.

An increased ability to cope with difficulties is a common benefit of practicing mindfulness. This can lead, in turn, to a reduction in physical pain, anxiety and distress.

Practicing mindfulness also helps us to increase our self-awareness, so that we can come to know ourselves better and recognise our own needs more clearly. This means we will be more likely to make sure our own needs are met.

Finally, mindfulness can help us to live with a greater sense of peace, clarity and aliveness so life becomes richer and more fulfilling.

Evidence:

An interesting recent study on participants in an eight-week MBSR course showed structural brain changes including increased grey-matter density in the hippo campus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. There is now a very strong evidence base for the benefits of mindfulness, both neuro scientific and qualitative research.

MBSR course outline:

The central aim of this course is to systematically develop the skill of being present with the interplay between your internal and external experience, such as sensations, thoughts, feelings, interactions with others, givens of the world, etc.

Course structure:  

• Eight weekly 2.5 hour sessions, with tea together afterwards.
• One day at a guided Silent Meditation Retreat.
• Support if needed between sessions.

Formal and informal practise:

• Mindfulness meditation instructions.
• Body-scan relaxation.
• Mindful movement.
• Sitting meditation including guidance on posture.
• Guidance in developing and establishing informal mindfulness practise.
• 45 mins daily home practises.
• Linking the practise to everyday life and challenges.

In each session you will be taught various meditation practises: sitting, walking, moving and lying down. Throughout the session there will be discussions between the whole group, and sometimes in smaller groups, to help to deepen our awareness about what we are learning.

There is no obligation to participate in any of the practises if it makes you feel uncomfortable and no pressure to say anything if you don’t want to. You will be encouraged to work at your own pace and trust your own instincts as to what is right for you.

Time commitment and home practise:

A highly participatory course, you will be guided through meditation practises and exercises as well as having an opportunity to share your experience or discuss difficulties if you wish to. Home practise is an integral and essential part of the course that is intended to help you establish your own regular meditation practise. You will need to set aside up to about an hour per day for home practise whilst on the course.

Comprehensive workbook:

You will receive a workbook with some in-depth reading about each week’s topic, which will support all the learning that the course covers, along with audio's of all the meditations.

Finally, mindfulness can help us to live with a greater sense of peace, clarity and aliveness so life becomes richer and more fulfilling.