Online Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course

Being mindful is the practice of being present—so simple, and so very difficult. While we want to be awake and aware in the moments of our life, too often we aren’t and instead shift into autopilot, shut down emotionally (or become overwhelmed), or settle for simply getting through the day.

The practice of mindfulness calls on us to stop settling, and to wake up to exactly how things are right here, right now. This present moment awareness sometimes brings about relief and ease, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it always points us to a genuine experience of our own precious life.

The MBSR course is an evidence-based, intensive exploration of the practice of mindfulness, and what it means to practice mindfulness in your own life. Taught by Rebecca Eldridge, a mindfulness teacher certified through University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness, the course provides all the instruction and materials you need to practice mindfulness weekly within a group, and daily on your own. You must supply the strong commitment to stick with the course and to practice every single day—when it’s pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral.

Details:

We will practice mindfulness in many forms (sitting, moving, walking, scanning, and so on) in class, sometimes in silence, and there will be opportunity for small and whole group sharing, checking in, asking questions, and so on. You will receive audio to guide much of your daily, at home practice. Between classes you will also have the opportunity to enter our virtual practice space 24/7, and beyond the 8-week course, you will be provided a way to continue to connect with other course participants, if you choose.

We will convene using the Zoom video conference platform. It is imperative that you attend the classes, but classes will be recorded for you to review if you must miss a class (if you know that you will have to miss more than one class, you are invited to participate at another time; participating live in the half-day retreat is a must).

People participate in the MBSR course for many reasons—to relieve stress of all kinds, to soothe emotional and physical pain, to live and love more fully, to establish a regular practice of mindfulness, and more.

The following is required:

• Participate in the orientation, all eight classes, and the half-day retreat
• Practice daily for approximately one hour
• Hold yourself and the other participants with respect and kind-heartedness
• Stay curious about this live exploration
• Be willing to be seen as human (imperfect and completely okay)
• Stick with it for 8 weeks

CLASS MEETING TIMES:

Orientation: April 10 6:30p.m. – 8:30p.m. EDT

Eight classes on Wednesday evenings, April 13 – June 1, 6:00p.m. – 8:30p.m. EDT

Plus a half-day retreat, May 22, 11:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. EDT

Registration for this course is now closed.

This is a rare opportunity to participate in the full MBSR program online.

Limited to 25 participants

This program is not free for Open Heart Project Sangha members.

REFUND POLICY:

You may receive a full refund if you notify Michele by email at least 72 hours prior to the first class. (This will give us time to notify anyone on the waitlist.) No refunds will be granted thereafter.

Questions? Please email Michele.

More about Rebecca

Rebecca Eldridge is one of a limited number of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teachers worldwide to receive full teacher certification through the Center for Mindfulness at University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has taught mindfulness to cancer survivors, people in chronic pain, businesses, medical students, lay ministers, and monastics. Her own meditation practice is guided by her teacher, Pema Chödrön, and she recently had a guided meditation produced by Shambhala Publications as part of an online course taught by Pema Chödrön: Making Friends with Yourself. Before beginning her work in mindfulness, she taught literature and creative writing and worked as an information developer in the tech field.