Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Yes, we know! Everybody has this experience when they first start mindfulness practice, and most people in your class will feel the same way. Don't worry – it won't prevent you from developing more ease and peace in your life through MBSR training.

We all need to start with the mind we have, and if that is a busy and preoccupied mind, then that’s the perfect place to begin. Initially, mindfulness practice is about becoming familiar with your own mind and body, and exploring ways to soothe, calm, and simply explore how you tick.

Step-by-step throughout the course, you’ll be offered different ways of practicing so you can bring more of this way of being into your life. By exploring the science of mindfulness, you’ll also discover why so many of us have such jumpy, 'jack-rabbit' minds and learn what you need to do to cultivate a calmer and clearer mind.

Our MBSR course is for anyone who wants to reduce work, family or health-related stress, bring a greater sense of balance and meaning to their lives, and learn how to manage challenges more skillfuly. The MBSR course involves:

• an individual phone interview with your teacher
• a 2.5 hour class, once a week for eight weeks, plus one full retreat day
• yoga and body awareness training
• an exploration of your own patterns of thinking, feeling and action, and how to transform them
• brief lectures and discussions
• individual feedback and support
• scientific rationale for the practice
• your commitment to daily homework practice using audio tracks and a course book.

Over 39 years of research into the MBSR program, evidence has been established for the following outcomes:
• greater capacity to deal with stress
• increased sense of wellbeing and balance
• lasting decrease in physical and psychological symptoms of stress
• increased energy and productivity; feeling more engaged with life
• stronger immune system
• increased levels of attention and concentration
• more creative problem solving and greater focus
• increased sense of connection, meaning and purpose.

Mindfulness is not just a good idea – it’s a practice!

A with any new skill – like learning to swim, do Pilates or play golf – just hearing or reading about mindfulness can only take you so far. Experience and practice are the two things that will lead to lasting and profound changes.

To fully benefit from the program, ask yourself if you are willing to make a commitment to undertake some formal practice each day over the eight weeks of your course. This will make all the difference to your satisfaction with the course, the benefits you experience, and your life.

Training in mindfulness will equip you with a very portable set of skills that you can practice anywhere, anytime. Give it a go and let's see what happens!

We may not like it, but real change takes time. This is why your MBSR training unfolds over eight weeks of 2.5-hour sessions plus a whole day retreat – a total of 28 hours of training, as well as your home practice.

Promises of a quick fix are always tempting. There are many short, 4-6 week courses that offer a few hours of training and claim to be based on MBSR or 'the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn'. Often these courses also inaccurately draw on the MBSR research base, when this is not evident in the structure of the course or the experience of the teacher.

Mindfulness involves changing the habits of your mind and body. Change happens through practice, and evidence suggests that eight weeks is the optimum time for new cognitive, emotional, neurological and behavioural changes to become embedded. Our experience is that practice develops most effectively and sustainably when there is an ongoing personal relationship with a teacher who really knows their stuff.

We encourage you to do some research of your own. If you are quite stressed, or you’re facing some big challenges, you may find greater benefit in an in-depth, evidence-based MBSR program.

Read more about why a mindfulness app may not be the best way of learning.

MBSR is a wonderful program for people working in helping professions. It assists with our capacity for listening, empathy, compassion and genuine curiosity. It can also help us see into our own patterns that can get in the way of being truly helpful.

However, MBSR is not a professional training program for using mindfulness with clients. We welcome you to join the course as a participant, leave your professional hat at the door, and immerse yourself in mindfulness practice. Our MBSR course presents an opportunity to learn about mindfulness from the inside out, by engaging in the group process and learning from your fellow participants.

There are good ethical and professional reasons to develop an in-depth understanding of your own personal mindfulness practice before teaching others. A sustained mindfulness practice, including completing an MBSR course and a teacher-led silent mindfulness retreat, is a pre-requisite for training to teach others.