Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

What is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)?

This is an eight-week stress reduction programme based on the practice of mindfulness. Tens of thousands of people throughout the world with a variety of problems have learned to integrate these stress reduction methods into their lives. These courses are open to all including  people with variety of health conditions, health professionals and anyone wishing to find ways of living life with less stress and greater ease.

What is Mindfulness? 

Mindfulness is a way of learning to relate directly to whatever is happening in your life, a way of taking charge of your life, of doing something for yourself that no-one else can do for you – consciously and systematically working with your own stress, pain, illness and the challenging demands of everyday life.

In contrast, you’ve probably encountered moments of “mindlessness” – a loss of awareness resulting in forgetfulness, separation from self, and a sense of living mechanically. Restoring within yourself a balanced sense of health and well-being requires increased awareness of yourself including body and mind, heart and soul. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is intended to ignite this inner capacity and infuse your life with awareness.

Fortunately, mindfulness is not something that we have to “get” or acquire. It is already within us – a deep internal resource available and patiently waiting to be released and used in this service of learning, growing and healing. We can learn how  to access this resource through this MBSR programme.

What is involved in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme? 

The course consists of eight weeks of two hour morning or evening classes and one day-long class on a Saturday.
This is a life-affirming course which is highly participatory and practical and includes:
· Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices
· Mindful gentle stretching exercises
· Enquiry exercises to enhance awareness of everyday life
· Individually tailored instructions
· Group discussion
· Daily home practice of mindfulness
· Four audio CDs to support home practice
· A course workbook and home practice sheets

The course is both challenging and life-affirming. Dr Caroline Hoffman, Haven Clinical and Research Director, runs the course in a safe, supportive and deeply engaging learning environment.

Caroline trained to teach MBSR at the University of Massachusetts Centre for Mindfulness in Spring 2004. This is the leading world centre for MSBR which was started by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979.  She has taught the MBSR programme to hundreds of people with positive results and feedback. In 2005 - 2006, she evaluated the MBSR programme with 229 people attending the Haven for her PhD research, finding statistically significant improvements in its effects on mood, quality of life and wellbeing in people treated for breast cancer who did the programme compared to people who had not. This research is being published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2012.

MBSR courses at The Haven in London in 2012

There are further morning and evening eight-week MBSR courses in 2012  to choose from commencing on the following dates:

Evening courses commence  Tuesday 17th April 2012 at 6pm

Morning courses commence  Wednesday 18th April 2012 at 10.30am

Evening courses commence  Tuesday 18th September 2012 at 6pm

Morning courses commence  Wednesday 19th September  2012 at 10.30am

Please contact Caroline Hoffman for further information as follows: caroline.hoffman@thehaven.org.uk or call her on 020 7384 0007

 MBSR courses at The Haven in Leeds, Yorkshire in 2012

 There is an MBSR course at our Haven in Leeds to commence in February 2012 led by Madeleine Chappell. Please contact deb.hope@thehaven.org.uk  or ring 0113 284 7829

 Tai Chi and mindfulness meditation classes are available at our Hereford Haven with Richard Farmer. Please ring  01432 361 061