MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR) [ONLINE]
MBSR is an eight-week program, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, that assists people who want to learn to use their own internal resources to respond more skillfully to stress, medical and psychological conditions, and promote healthy living. MBSR has been highly researched since its onset in 1979, and research strongly supports its effectiveness in improving difficulties in multiple areas of health and wellness.
Some reasons people come to the group include: job, school or family stress; chronic pain; hypertension; attention deficits; enhancement of quality of life/happiness; mild or situational depression; gastrointestinal disorders; wellness and self-care; cancer; anxiety and panic; anger-management; life transitions.
Intentional, present-moment awareness, developed through mindfulness meditation practices, helps us experience whatever is happening in our life as it unfolds with curiosity, non-judging attention, and compassion for ourselves and others. Engaging with our life in this manner helps us to become more skillful and creative in our responses, while gaining insight into how to free ourselves from habitual patterns of reacting.
This program can be a complement to current medical care, as well as promotion of health and well-being.
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Tuition: $550
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Price includes eight 2.5-hour live experiential sessions, a 6.5-hour daylong retreat, a workbook, and over eighteen guided meditations.
Scholarship is available. Click here to apply.
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UPCOMINGÂ MBSR COURSES
NEW COURSE STARTING JULY 2024
Introductory Session: Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 6:30 - 8 pm ET
Course: Eight Tuesdays starting in July 2024, 6:30 - 9 pm ET (7/9, 7/16, 7/23, 7/30, 8/6, 8/13, 8/20, and 8/27) with a retreat day on Sunday, August 18, 2024, 10 am - 4:30 pm ET
All classes and retreat offered via Zoom Videoconference
REVIEWS FROM MBSR PARTICIPANTS
This program showed me a new way to live—a much more full experience in my everyday experiences. I learned to meditate in new ways, opening myself to healing compassion I did not know (or want to admit) I truly needed. Stan was such a phenomenal teacher—he gave wonderful classes and was available for make-up classes as needed. He went above and beyond anything I could have imagined. This course truly changed my life.
~Samantha
I came into this course a nervous wreck, had a depressive episode four months prior, and full of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. But with Stan's guidance and kindness, I am now confident, happy and serene. I've had a good performance review, mended relations with people, and through the deepest longing meditation found a new direction in life. I am completely changed, and I'm very thankful.
~Jeremy
Before attending this MBSR class, I had relatively little prior experience with meditation. The course definitely helped me gain insight into causes of stress and practical ways to address it. But the benefits of the course were much broader. There was a significant benefit from attending classes and participating in the class discussions. The class was very open and non-judgmental, with no pressure to share beyond what was comfortable. Also, the CDs that Stan made available for home use provide several different types of guided meditation which are all easy to follow. I had to miss one class but Stan was very accommodating in emailing material that was covered in the class that I missed. Since completing this MBSR course, I have continued with regular meditation (and basic yoga) practice. I highly recommend both this course and Stan as a teacher.
~Terry
The beauty of this course is every bit due to the skill and talent of the teacher, Stan, as it is the profoundly rich materials and practices. With compassion, humor and humility, Stan guides students through the carefully constructed mindfulness practices that have the potential to bring powerful changes into our daily lives. I wanted to return to meditation but had no idea of how much more deeply this practice of mindful meditation could go. It opens up the connection between mind and body, not on an intellectual level, but through true physical awareness of sensations and their connections to feelings and thoughts. Through that awareness I finally understood how shifts in beliefs and behavior are truly possible. What a gift to yourself and others to carry into each day of your life that can make for more peaceful, sane responses to stresses and kindness to yourself and others. Stan creates an emotionally safe community for that to unfold.
~Delsi
This course showed me how to put mindfulness into action in my life. The many class exercises and experiences helped me to become aware of body sensations and underlying thoughts associated with feelings and reactions to stressors. I learned how to be kind to myself through self-kindness meditation. Many different meditation experiences were provided. This class was full of information and rich experiences that enable one to keep coming back to the present moment. Thank you, Stan.
~Karen
I highly recommend this class for anyone interested in a richer, more positive, life experience. Stan is a fantastic teacher, has tremendous compassion, understanding, knowledge, and a great guided meditation voice. He also clearly connects what we are learning and practicing to our daily lives. I took this class because I wanted to make meditation a more regular practice in my life and was just not doing it. So my only expectation was that this class might help me meditate (I didn’t even know it was focused on mindfulness). It turned out to be so much more, and tremendously more helpful for general life skills than I was anticipating. It gave me skills to help me stay more centered in irritable situations, and compassion for myself and others that makes life so much enjoyable! It also helped with a more positive and realistic concept of myself. I feel more resilient in the face of the everyday ups and downs of life.
~Meghan
This course helped strengthen and deepen my meditation practice. We learned to become familiar with the physical symptoms of our emotional states and watch thoughts float by like leaves on a stream. In a life characterized by inevitable stress, pain, confusion, and chaos, the MBSR class really teaches you to surf the waves rather than fight against the current. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. In my case, I have noticed a giant transformation from how I dealt with stress, anxiety, and sadness before and after the course. This is easily the best money and time I've ever spent for anything in my life. The material and structure of the course by itself is amazing. In my opinion, however, it wouldn't have been nearly as great if it weren't for the man in the front of the room, Stan. He is an extremely talented teacher and role model.
~Charlie
For as long as 8 weeks sounds, the class breezed by in a flash. I miss it and the gang dearly, which is an indication of how much I appreciated this class. Given my struggles with chronic, intense physical pain + fatigue + anxiety/depression along with everything that comes with that baggage, the strategies or tools/techniques we learned have helped me greatly. For the first time since I was diagnosed with this TN, I am learning to "be with it" as opposed to just seeking to be "fixed" or pretending it away or busying my mind as opposed to learning to deal, live and find some peace. Still have a very long way to go, but def see life through a completely new lens now. I continue to meditate daily, in fact, some days Ill do multiple depending on the severity of the TN episodes. Have not gotten the entire meditation without guidance down, but working on it. Thank you Stan for your guidance and introducing me to meditation and mindfulness.
~Albee
Going in, I had no real expectations, but by the end of the course, I found my way of responding to my pain and disability had changed dramatically. And I was feeling better for it—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. For months, I was totally caught up in a cycle of feeling worthless, angry, and blaming my body for having failed me, but MBSR showed me how to reframe my thoughts and see life through a different lens. Even at my worst—when I wasn’t able to run around the playground with my girls anymore—I realized I could still read to them or wipe away a tear. I’m grateful for everything I have and can do right now.
~Jean
The 8-week MBSR course with Stan Eisenstein of IMCW was life changing. No hyperbole. By practicing the meditation techniques, I have overcome a thinking pattern that has impacted my entire adult life. (I am 71.) Of course I plan to continue with my practice. If I can achieve that in 8 weeks, what awaits in years to come?
~Dierdre
Even though I have been practicing Mindfulness for over 20 years, I came away from each MBSR practice with new insights. Stan's teaching style was clear and he was able to guide me into deep practices for personal transformation. I was concerned that a structured program like MBSR would not be organic but Stan put his own brilliant stamp on this program and I enjoyed each session and each practice.
~Leyla
Before this class, I would call a business, etc. and say “I have a question” and would feel anxious. Since taking this class I don’t say that anymore and I feel calmer talking on the phone. I also have checked my heart rhythm with a stethoscope before and after a formal meditation and found I have less irregular heart beats after formal meditation. I want to keep practicing meditation!
~Laurie
Stan's class provided some much needed focus for my life. Not only do I feel better prepared to deal with the day-to-day stresses of my life, but I also feel that I have a better understanding of how I want to live my life, of what really matters to me. It has truly been life-changing!
~Virginia
Stan's explanations of different mindfulness concepts was very helpful to me and I had many "ah hah!" moments as a result. His stories about his own experiences as well as other stories he told helped me understand many of the concepts.
~Liz
The course reinforced many principles that I have learned from yoga and the book "Buddha's Brain" including to pause, to stay in the moment, and to have compassion for myself and others. I began to appreciate and notice the felt sense of a stress reaction and the difference between what it feels like to be happy versus to feel stressed. I am now better able to identify why a stressful situation feels like a threat to me. I also noticed that when I feel threatened, I feel ungrounded. By pausing and regaining my grounding, I am better able to defend myself and be heard in a calm and effective way.
~Marlyn
This course was just what I needed to help with my crazy, busy lifestyle. Stan's teaching style is very kind and compassionate and taught me how to be more compassionate with myself. Best of all, I've been feeling less on edge and sleeping so peacefully!
~Cecilia
The course has greatly helped me in developing a meditation practice and apply mindfulness in daily life. The calmness and equanimity I experienced during the course has strengthened my motivation and commitment to meditation.
~Rob
Stan is an excellent meditation teacher. I have learned other methods of meditation in the past and have taken many classes on yoga, cultivating awareness in different modalities and mindfulness over the years, as well teaching some of this myself. So as both a student and a teacher I was impressed by his ability to hold space for a large class of people with very different experiences. There were concepts that made sense to me for the first time ever with Stan's teaching. He is clearly an experienced teacher and meditator, but wears that experience lightly to connect with his students as a person on the same journey.
~Diane
Stan is a very thoughtful and encouraging teacher. I came to the class with a certain amount of skepticism about how powerful MBSR might be, but this class has proven to me that mindfulness holds the key for bringing some peace back to my daily life. Many practical suggestions and daily models.
~Maria
Stan went above and beyond my expectations by sending weekly encouragement and reminders. I especially appreciated the email with the course materials I missed due to an important prior engagement.
~Christina
This course has helped me to slow down and be more intentional in my daily life, which gives me focus and my life more meaning. I found the course extraordinary and am eager to have at my fingertips ways to better approach stress and unease. I cannot speak more highly of Stan and his ability to convey information in a succinct and enticing manner. He has helped to reshape my response to stress by using techniques that invite curiosity and kindness