What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the experience of the present moment without judgment, with curiosity, care, and kindness. Often, we are not fully present to what is happening in the body and mind at the present moment. Often, we get lost in thoughts about our past or an imagined future, habitually react in a certain way, shut down emotionally, or let our auto-pilot (or default mode network) take over. Such habitual patterns may make us feel stuck, helpless, unhappy, or prevent us from living life fully. Present moment awareness awakens us to our own precious life as it unfolds moment by moment, not missing it. The increased awareness makes it possible for us to see new possibilities and options, and act differently.
How is mindfulness practiced?
Mindfulness is practiced simply by paying attention on purpose to the experience of the present moment in the body and the mind without judgment. It can be practiced in a still body in various postures such as sitting, lying down, or standing. It can also be practiced through movements, with yoga or walking. Mindfulness can be practiced formally with the discipline of setting aside a time regularly to do just that. It can also be practiced informally by bringing mindfulness to everyday life, to whatever we do routinely. It can be practiced internally with oneself. It can also be practiced in inter-personal interactions. Through regular practice, it has the potential of becoming one's own way of being.
What is MBSR?
MBSR is an acronym for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. It is an 8-week-long educational program that was designed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the UMASS Medical School in 1979 as a public health initiative to alleviate stress and suffering that is found abundantly in the modern society. It consists of 10 sessions offered over 8 weeks in a group setting, where learning happens through practice, sharing, asking questions, and listening deeply. Nine of the sessions are 2.5 to 3 hours long and one of the sessions, called the all-day retreat, is 6-7 hours long. Participants are required to commit to attend all the 10 sessions and also set aside 45 to 60 minutes, 6 days a week, for home practice and explorations. Over the 8 weeks, with a teacher's guidance, participants learn and practice mindfulness systematically in different ways. They also explore their stress reactivity and habitual patterns in a mindful way to understand their own life better. Their own active engagement with the practice and what they discover in the process provide them options to alter their relationship with the stressors in their lives.
What are the benefits of MBSR?
MBSR participation has the potential to increase one's awareness that makes it possible to notice one's habitual stress reactivity patterns. it also makes it possible to discover options to respond differently, rather than repeating the habitual unhelpful patterns and feeling stuck or helpless. The MBSR curriculum, when taught by a competent teacher, makes it possible for participants with no prior experience but with sincere commitment, to learn and apply mindfulness to their lives, to better cope with everyday stress, to heal from old wounds, and to become more resilient to stress. Here is what participants say about how the program helped them. Research findings in the following 3 main areas also support the potential of stress reduction through MBSR participation:
Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the experience of the present moment without judgment, with curiosity, care, and kindness. Often, we are not fully present to what is happening in the body and mind at the present moment. Often, we get lost in thoughts about our past or an imagined future, habitually react in a certain way, shut down emotionally, or let our auto-pilot (or default mode network) take over. Such habitual patterns may make us feel stuck, helpless, unhappy, or prevent us from living life fully. Present moment awareness awakens us to our own precious life as it unfolds moment by moment, not missing it. The increased awareness makes it possible for us to see new possibilities and options, and act differently.
How is mindfulness practiced?
Mindfulness is practiced simply by paying attention on purpose to the experience of the present moment in the body and the mind without judgment. It can be practiced in a still body in various postures such as sitting, lying down, or standing. It can also be practiced through movements, with yoga or walking. Mindfulness can be practiced formally with the discipline of setting aside a time regularly to do just that. It can also be practiced informally by bringing mindfulness to everyday life, to whatever we do routinely. It can be practiced internally with oneself. It can also be practiced in inter-personal interactions. Through regular practice, it has the potential of becoming one's own way of being.
What is MBSR?
MBSR is an acronym for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. It is an 8-week-long educational program that was designed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the UMASS Medical School in 1979 as a public health initiative to alleviate stress and suffering that is found abundantly in the modern society. It consists of 10 sessions offered over 8 weeks in a group setting, where learning happens through practice, sharing, asking questions, and listening deeply. Nine of the sessions are 2.5 to 3 hours long and one of the sessions, called the all-day retreat, is 6-7 hours long. Participants are required to commit to attend all the 10 sessions and also set aside 45 to 60 minutes, 6 days a week, for home practice and explorations. Over the 8 weeks, with a teacher's guidance, participants learn and practice mindfulness systematically in different ways. They also explore their stress reactivity and habitual patterns in a mindful way to understand their own life better. Their own active engagement with the practice and what they discover in the process provide them options to alter their relationship with the stressors in their lives.
What are the benefits of MBSR?
MBSR participation has the potential to increase one's awareness that makes it possible to notice one's habitual stress reactivity patterns. it also makes it possible to discover options to respond differently, rather than repeating the habitual unhelpful patterns and feeling stuck or helpless. The MBSR curriculum, when taught by a competent teacher, makes it possible for participants with no prior experience but with sincere commitment, to learn and apply mindfulness to their lives, to better cope with everyday stress, to heal from old wounds, and to become more resilient to stress. Here is what participants say about how the program helped them. Research findings in the following 3 main areas also support the potential of stress reduction through MBSR participation:
- Improvements in symptoms such as reduced stress, anxiety, and depression; better sleep, mood, and focus
- Improvements in biological markers such as lower cortisol level and reduced cellular aging
- Changes in the brain such as increased grey matter in prefrontal cortex and decreased amygdala size which support increased clarity and reduced reactivity