What is the MBSR Course?
Openground’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course is a practical and engaging training program equipping you with tools for responding to stress more effectively and cultivating greater balance, wellbeing and ease.
In signing up for the course, you will engage in:
- A one-on-one phone session with your teacher
- 8 weekly classes for 2.5 hours, plus a day’s silent retreat
- Yoga, movement and embodiment trainings
- Tools for identifying and changing habits of mind and body
- Presentations on relevant theory and group discussions
- One-on-one support, feedback and tailored practice options from your teacher
- Scientific research on mindfulness
- Establishing your own daily practice
Is this distance mindfulness training course for me?
This secular program, informed by insights drawn from eastern and western science, psychology and philosophy is open to all and highly accessible. You don’t have to believe in anything to practice mindfulness. Just come and give it a try!
Course Pricing & Scholarships
- Standard Rate $695
- And we are delighted to offer discounted places for those who need financial support to come along.
Register Now OR Apply for a Scholarship
What will I take away from investing in this mindfulness program?
An investment in this program, both financial and more importantly, in terms of your own time and attention, will equip you with integrated skills for taking a stand in your own life; for living with greater clarity, resilience, integrity and focus.
When it comes to meditation and mindfulness, The MBSR Course has one of the largest bodies of evidence-based research behind it: over 40 years of studies detailing some of the following outcomes:
- Increased capacity to manage stress and respond to physical, mental or emotional challenges
- Increase in overall wellbeing, steadiness and contentment
- Decrease in actual stress symptoms and in reactivity
- Flexibility in both mind and body
- Emotional healing and regulation
- Increased energy and efficacy in life and in daily tasks
- Health benefits including immune system function, cell repair and digestion
- Improved problem-solving, motivation and concentration
Engaging in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) can enhance chronic pain management beyond standard treatments. Studies reveal that MBSR participants often see significant improvements in their mental health, with decreases in anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. Moreover, eight-week mindfulness programs can boost cognitive function and mood by improving focus-related skills (such as sustained attention and working memory) and emotional well-being (like reducing rumination).
Make a donation to support our life-enhancing programs.

"The online course was amazing. I learned so much about meditation techniques and about how to keep my mind calm — I am very grateful. It has provided me with such invaluable tools to manage life stress. I highly recommend the course."
Meet our Distance Live-Online Mindfulness Teacher
Di Shaw
Grad. Dip. Sustainability Studies, GAICD
Di has long been curious about neuroplasticity and our capacity for change. Her personal mindfulness practice has included Feldenkrais awareness through movement for over thirty years and mindfulness meditation for over thirteen years, including a number of Silent Insight Meditation retreats. She trained as an MBSR teacher with Openground in Melbourne in 2007, and has facilitated several MBSR courses. She completed her Professional Feldenkrais Training in London in 1991, has taught numerous awareness through movement classes, and incorporates Feldenkrais in her MBSR teaching.
With a commitment to lifelong learning, Di is an experienced trainer, teaching courses such as Handling Difficult Behaviours and Chairing and Negotiating Skills. As a facilitator she has engaged diverse and remote communities across Australia in dialogue and cultural and strategic planning to assist their self-agency and improve their quality of life. For decades, she has been passionate about cultural and community development, both as a creative practitioner, and as a senior manager and CEO. Much of her work has involved creating community celebrations and rituals honouring people and place and generating a sense of belonging.
Di is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds a Post Graduate Degree in Sustainability and is passionate about the four pillars of sustainability - social, cultural, environmental and economic - and believes we can leave the world a kinder place than the one into which we were born.
Some testimonials about the distance MBSR Training

Why learn with Openground?
Personal attention and skilled teaching
Learning mindfulness with an experienced teacher can’t be compared with using an app. We take a genuine, personal approach and our highly trained and dedicated teachers go the extra mile to help you engage with your practice in ways that can bring real transformation.

Evidence-based program
MBSR is an authentic, evidence-based program of mindfulness training, grounded in 39 years of research. Unlike many shorter mindfulness courses, which have no evidence of benefit, MBSR is globally recognised as the gold standard for mental and physical health in the field.

Excellent value
Our immersive, eight-week courses include 28 hours of personal mindfulness training. Many short courses only give you a taste of mindfulness, and are actually more expensive than MBSR on an hourly rate basis. Our courses offer significant value, and we can also arrange serious discounts if you need a helping hand.
-
I've tried meditation and can't do it.
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 mindfulness 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 to support your mental health. 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.
-
What is an evidence-based mindfulness course?
Openground has 20 years of experience in helping people with serious mental and physical health challenges. and our programs spring from a long tradition of preventative and behavioural medicine which has been researched over decades. Much of the more recent mindfulness stuff has been watered down:
- using videos V being supported by a dedicated teacher
- just using an app, rather than a detailed exploration of your patterns and how to interrupt them
- focussing on "well-being" rather than acknowledging just how tough mental health problems can be.
-
Why is it important to practice?
Mindfulness meditation is not just a good idea – it’s a practice! As 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.
For the meditation training to make a real difference to your mental health, ask yourself if you are willing to make a commitment to undertake some formal meditation 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! -
Do mindfulness apps work?
We may not like it, but real change takes time. This is why your training for stress and burnout, anxiety, depression and trauma unfolds over eight weeks plus a whole day retreat – a total of 27 hours of training, as well as your home practice.
Promises of a quick fix are always tempting. There are many apps and pre-recorded short courses about recently, that don't have the clinical evidence behind them. If you have tried these and only had minimal benefit, that makes sense.
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 program.
Change happens through practice, and evidence suggests that for clinical conditions eight weeks is an 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.
-
Is this course for Health Professionals?
The eight week mindfulness training can assist with your capacity for listening, empathy, compassion and genuine curiosity. It can also help you see into our own patterns that can get in the way of being truly helpful.
However these programs are 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 courses present 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 -
Can I claim through Medicare?
Unfortunately, not all health professionals can be registered to offer a Medicare rebate. Although many of our teachers are among the best trained and most skilled in the country, they are not able to offer a rebate. However, we do offer discounts for people whose circumstances make it impossible to afford the full fee, and we’re happy to discuss this option with you.
-
What if I miss a class or the Day of Mindfulness?
In some locations, there are a few courses happening simultaneously, so you could arrange to attend one of the other locations for that week. If that is not possible in your area, the course book is quite detailed in terms of covering the material each week, and you will be able to keep practicing and arrange to check in with your teacher by phone or email about your process that week.
Missing the Day of Mindfulness is also sometimes inevitable. However, this day-long meditation retreat is held every quarter, so you can always attend next time.
-
Difference between MBSR and a silent retreat?
Both of these can be valuable pathways for learning mindfulness meditation. However, many people find the intensive retreat process more manageable after they have built some basic practice skills.
One of the advantages of choosing the more gradual, eight-week process is learning to integrate your practice into day-to-day life, and creating mindful habits in the way you relate to yourself, your family, work colleagues and the world. -
Is my teacher is qualified to teach mindfulness?
All Openground teachers engage in regular professional development, silent retreats, and ongoing personal practice. The University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness (CFM) and the Mindfulness Training Institute Australasia (MTIA) recommends a sequence for MBSR teacher training involving foundational training, initial teaching, supervision, advanced training and certification.
To ensure you are receiving the best possible guidance from a suitably experienced mindfulness teacher. You could ask your potential teacher if they:
- have their own personal meditation practice
- take regular silent retreats
- have trained in a reputable form of group-based mindfulness training (such as MBSR)?
- And, if so, what form of training did they do?
To find out more, take a look at this article from Rebecca Crane about standards and competency in teaching: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234071305_Competence_in_Teaching_Mindfulness-Based_Courses_Concepts_Development_and_Assessment/link/0fcfd50a94ad6677f0000000/download -
Why choose MBSR over free local options?
Many people come to MBSR because they specifically want a mindfulness training that is secular and has no particular spiritual orientation or beliefs attached to the process.
In addition, most ‘free’ meditation centres depend on the generosity of people to support and sustain their work. If you want these centres to survive, you may want to offer payment for the services you receive, so these wonderful resources can continue to thrive.

Experiences
Evidence based 8 week programs
Tuesday , 6:30 - 9:00 pm (AEDT)
If you need a reduced rate, please apply for a discount via the application, above.
Friday , 10 am - 12:30 pm (AEDT)
If you need a reduced rate, please apply for a discount via the questionnaire, above.
Sunday , 2:00 - 4:30 pm (AEDT)
If you need a reduced rate, please apply for a discount via the application, above.
Saturday , 3 - 5:30pm (AEDT) /12 - 2:30pm (AWDT)
If you need a reduced rate, please apply for a discount via the application, above.
Tuesday , 6 - 8:30 pm (AEST)
If you need a reduced rate, please apply for a discount via the questionnaire, above.