MBSR Course Overview

This secular, evidence-based MBSR course will equip you with practical, transferable skills and techniques that allow you to explore and develop the “how to” of wellbeing in real-life application, right from the first session.

Whether your goals are to reduce stress, anxiety, low mood and pain or to improve focus, performance, wellbeing and the ability to relax – mindfulness practice builds the capacity, skills and resources to create sustainable, practical and tangible changes in your life, work and relationships.

Mindfulness skills and practice are cumulative, they continue to strengthen and evolve long after the course finishes, allowing you to enjoy and appreciate your life more fully and to work more skilfully with life’s inevitable difficulties. Please see “Course Structure” below for more details.

Details

This course combines Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) curricula to provide professional, accessible, user-friendly mindfulness training in order to address a wide range of issues.

The MBSR course takes place over 8 weeks (2 hours per session) and includes optional access to an additional retreat session, course materials and audio files.

The environment is friendly, informal and accessible – fully supporting you to learn and develop at your own pace. The course is suitable for complete beginners and experienced practitioners.

The MBSR course rationale and format is has been developed from 30 years of clinical research and is structured to support you to build mindfulness skills and practice cumulatively over the 8 week period, in order to establish lasting changes that you can continue to cultivate during and after the course finishes.

This is a highly interactive, experiential course – each session includes:

• Jargon free, evidence based, accessible practices and information you can begin to use immediately.
• Practical, guided mindfulness practice.
• The opportunity to apply the new skills “live” during and between the sessions
• Opportunities to discuss, explore and ask questions about your practice during the course in pairs and as a group – the teaching facilitated is highly responsive to participant’s general and individual contexts.
• Exercise choice to develop at your own pace in ways that suit you.
• Psychological education regarding stress, anxiety, mental habits and how to apply mindfulness in everyday life.
• The freedom to participate as much or little as you want to – all contributions, including and especially listening, are valuable and valid.
• Cumulative education and practice, developing new skills and practices that build from previous weeks. Weeks 1-3 develop attention, focus, awareness, weeks 3-5 develop insight from the skills learned, weeks 6-8 explore how best to integrate, utilise and develop your skills in your own personal context after the course finishes.
• The opportunity to learn and grow alongside others/group peers within a friendly, supportive and respectful environment.
• There is absolutely no need or expectation to sit cross-legged on the floor – you choose what position feels best for you – practices are usually carried out sitting on a chair or laying down.

MBSR Course resources include:

• A variety of audio files of guided meditation ranging from 3mins – 40mins
• A PDF handbook to support and explain the theory of each session
• A daily log to record your practice
• On going events for course graduates

A friendly word about home practice

To get the best results from the 8-week MSBSR course you are provided with materials and resources to support you to develop a daily personal mindfulness practice that you can develop in any way you choose.

Although research indicates 45 minutes of daily home practice is usually expected and desirable on a standard MBSR course, it recognised that this is not always possible. Therefore, shorter guided practice options from 10 – 40 minutes per day will be provided to accommodate different preferences and circumstances on this course.

You simply listen to the audio practices each day – you don’t have to “achieve” or “do” anything or whilst listening to them. It may be helpful to view the practices in the same way you view daily personal hygiene – as a neutral activity, prioritised for obvious, well evidenced, short and long term benefits.

ROI – Mindfulness Costs and Benefits

In real terms, making time for less than 1%-8% of guided mindfulness practice in your day could profoundly impact/transform the remaining 92-99%. It’s your choice to experiment and explore what works for you.