Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Courses
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD in 1979 at The University of Massachusetts Medical School. In the beginning people learned how to change their orientation to the stressors in their lives and along with stress levels improving, there were also observations that many physical ailments improved or resolved completely. Through the research of Richard Davidson, PhD at The University of Wisconsin and many others, this course has been instrumental in making the connection between the mind and the body in the practice of Western medicine. There are now a multitude of well-established neurological and inflammatory pathways that demonstrate the connection between the brain and the immune system, the digestive system, the cardiovascular system, and hormonal balance.
MBSR joins the disciplines of mindfulness meditation and yoga (or mindful movement). These ancient disciplines are taught in an 8-week class format where students meet weekly and have assigned home practice in between sessions. Students cultivate an awareness of mind-body unity. They begin to see how unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can undermine emotional, physical and spiritual health. Waking up to sympathetic (fight, flight or freeze) responses that unconsciously “run the show ”, it becomes possible to invite a calmer, (parasympathetic) orientation to life. This results overall in less pain and suffering.
This course is taught around the world in hospitals and other large institutions to smaller offices using many different languages always with the same results. Beth Claxton, MD has undergone extensive training since 2013 with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Florence Meleo-Meyer, and Saki Santorelli, to name a few, to teach this course.
This course will be held online. Registration is required through our patient portal. We look forward to seeing you in class!
