MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum – Online Training
MBSR Mindfulness Training Online
Welcome to the MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum
MBSR mindfulness curriculum. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training was developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This mindfulness training consists of 9-lesson modules. Each lesson contains 12-topics.
Self-pace learning
The program does not have to be completed in 8-weeks. We recommend that you take your time. Learning about and most importantly practicing mindfulness training.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
“My working definition of mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention on purpose in the present moment — non-judgmentally.” -Jon Kabat-Zinn
The non-judging part is the kicker, we have ideas and opinions about virtually everything. Consciousness, colored by our likes and dislikes. All highly conditioned, habitual behaviors really come down to this: do I like it or not, do I want more, or do I want to less? This is below the surface of awareness and it runs our lives.
MBSR mindfulness Curriculums, Table of Contents:
Module-1, Difficulties are workable.
Module-2, The role of self-responsibility.
Module-3, Add mindfulness into everyday life.
Module-4, The development of focus & concentration.
Module-5, Adapting more rapidly to everyday challenges.
Module-6, The application of previously learned MBSR skills.
Module-6R, The exploration, and adventure of the Self-Retreat.
Module-7, Creating your own blend of MBSR practices and skills.
Module-8, MBSR training end & the beginning of the rest of your life.
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-1
“There is more right with you than there is wrong with you.”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-1
Introduction & Theme
Theme – From our point of view, there is more right with us than wrong with us, no matter what challenges we are facing. Challenges and difficulties are workable. Mindful awareness, defined as paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, is fundamental to this work since the present moment is the only time anyone ever has to perceive, learn, grow or change.
Opening meditation:
Guidelines for participation:
- self-care
- confidentiality
- communication with instructor
Guided internal reflection:
What is your intention?
What do you really want?
What has brought you here?
What are your expectations for the program?
Yoga:
15-minute introduction to standing Mountain Pose and other standing poses.
Raisin-eating exercise:
Focusing on direct sensory observation -what can be seen, felt, smelled, tasted, heard.
Noticing if your observations of the immediate experience of mindfully eating, are becoming personal opinions and theories.
Abdominal breathing:
Introduction various comfortable postures for lying down: corpse pose and sitting in a chair.
Focusing on the feeling of the abdomen rising and falling with the in-breath and the out-breath, mindfully “tasting” the breath in the same way open-minded way as tasting the raisin.
Non-judgmentally observing one’s own breathing from moment to moment; and gently bringing one’s attention back to the breath and the present moment when it wanders.
From mindfulness of breathing, we move into the guided body scan where we lie on the floor or sit in a comfortable position.
Mindfulness Training Summary:
We finish with an inner reflection on our experiences of the body scan and MBSR training lesson-1.
Assignment:
Home Practice Assignment:
Home Practice Manual: 9 dots exercise
Eat one meal this week mindfully
(Optional assignment -read “Upstream/Downstream” by Donald Ardell)
Closing:
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-2
“The pivotal role of self-responsibility”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-2
Introduction & Theme
This 2.5-hour MBSR lesson includes:
- Experiential mindfulness training and skill development
- The pivotal role of self-responsibility in the positive development of short and long-term goals.
- Focused reflection concerning the role of perception and conditioning in the appraisal and assessment of stress.
- Home practice is assigned with an emphasis on the regular daily practice of the body scan for a second week, plus the introduction of short periods of sitting meditation and the application and integration of mindfulness in everyday life.
Mindfulness Training Theme:
Perception: how we see things (or don’t see them) will determine in large how we will respond to them. This ties in with how we see our participation in the program:
- How we see our pain and illness.
- How we see the stress and anxiety in our lives.
- How our perceptions will set the level of commitment we bring to this mindfulness program.
- The principle that “It’s not the stressors per se, but how we handle them” influences the short and long-term health effects.
Typical Class Sequence:
- Outline
- Stop & Drop
- Attitude
- Reflections
- Body Scan
- Standing Yoga
- Breath Awareness
- Summary
- Assignments
- Closing
Reflections:
- Reflecting on our experience of the body scan.
- How successful are we in making the time for it?
- What problems were encountered, i.e. sleepiness, boredom
- how were the problems worked with or not
- What are we learning (seeing) about ourselves from it, if anything?
Important:
We see the universality of the busy mind and the potential of working with it.
The coming back is as much a part of the meditation as staying on the object of attention.
Mindfulness training is the repeated recognition & acceptance of what is happening in our body and mind.
We note where the mind goes and what is on one’s mind; emphasize the importance of not repressing and suppressing thoughts or feelings.
A new way of learning:
“The best way to get somewhere in meditation is not to try to get anywhere…rather just let go.”
The body has its own language and its own intelligence. The possible breakthrough “aha!” experience. (Connect this theme to practicing the body scan.)
We Recall:
- What it was like to eat one meal mindfully?
- What was our relationship with food this week?
Talks:
In MBSR course-2 we examine, the experience of working with the 9 dots and the theme. We consider expanding the field of awareness in problem-solving and recognizing behavioral, cognitive, and emotional patterns that arise when working with difficulties.
(Option: Consider different ways of seeing or not seeing and the “Upstream/Downstream” article as a reflection on intervention and self-care.)
Meditation:
The introduction of sitting meditation with awareness of breathing as a primary object of attention.
Reflection:
Awareness of breathing meditation.
Assignment:
- Body Scan recording ~ 6 times per week
- Awareness of breathing sitting meditation: 10-15 minutes per day.
- Home Practice Manual: fill out Pleasant Events Calendar for the week -one entry per day.
- Mindfulness of routine activities: brushing teeth, washing dishes, taking a shower, taking out garbage, shopping, reading to kids, eating.
Close:
- Stopping & Dropping
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-3
“There is pleasure and power in being present”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-3
Introduction & Theme
Welcome, in this 2.5-hour session, we will practice several distinct yet interrelated formal mindfulness practices:
- Lying Yoga
- Sitting Meditation
- Walking Meditation
This 90 minutes extended formal practice period is followed by an inquiry into and exploration of our experiences with in-class and assigned home practices. Typical topics include challenges and insights encountered in formal practice and in integrating mindfulness into everyday life.
Mindfulness Training Theme:
Yoga is a practice of mindfulness, with an emphasis on gentleness and non-judgment, curiosity, respect for current physical limits, and non-striving.
Pleasant & Unpleasant:
Noticing the tendency of the mind to label events as pleasant or unpleasant, the way we push away what is unpleasant and grasp what we perceive to be pleasant, and the role of conditioning.
Questioning of our relationship to self-narratives and beliefs and fixed opinions about the nature of reality as personally experienced.
Recognition that we can have pleasant moments in spite of being in a crisis or in pain, and unpleasant moments in situations that would normally be perceived as pleasurable. (Note: this theme continues into Class 4.)
Typical Class Sequence:
Practice:
Reflection:
Practice:
Walking Meditation.
Practice:
Mindful yoga, slowly going through the sequence of postures on the Lying-down Yoga recording, with comments interspersed as required. Emphasis is on mindfulness and approaching one’s current limits with gentleness. We are encouraged to avoid any postures we feel would cause injury or a setback, or to experiment with caution and care when in doubt. Particular attention is paid to chronic problems with the lower back, neck, and chronic pain in general.
Reflecting on the experience of practicing the yoga postures.
Pleasant Events Calendar considers leading a short guided reflection that asks us to select one pleasant event, focusing on physical sensations, emotions and thoughts as they arise as memory and then as they arise in the present moment.
Review the Pleasant Events Calendar, being particularly attentive to exploring the ordinariness of experiencing a moment as pleasant. With an emphasis on mind/body connections, patterns, what we observed/learned about ourselves.
Wondering together if there were any pleasant moments experienced during the body scan in the past week. Investigating what qualities in all of these pleasant moments or events caused them to be labeled as pleasant? What qualities do these distinct pleasant moments or events have in common?
Assign homework, alternating yoga with the body scan. Emphasize the importance of getting down on the floor and working mindfully with your body every day, if only for a few minutes.
Finish class with short sitting meditation, Awareness of Breathing, expanding attention to the whole body.
Weeks Practice Assignment:
• Home Practice Manual:
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-4
“Learning to strengthen the mind”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-4
Introduction & Theme
- Body Scan
- Standing Yoga
- Sitting Meditation
Instruction emphasizes the development of concentration and the systematic expansion of the field of awareness.
Mindfulness Training Theme:
The daily mindfulness practice is recognizing, accepting, and then experientially inquiring into our reactive patterns.
Typical Class Sequence:
- body sensations
- the in-breath
- the whole body
Explore the opening ‘Stopping & Dropping’ meditation in this session.
- the daily sitting practice, and yoga
- the experience of working with physical sensations
Mindfulness Training Review:
- Attentive to exploring the familiarity of unpleasant moments.
- What common qualities do these distinct unpleasant moments or events have?
- Emphasis on mind/body connections, patterns, we observe/learn about ourselves.
- Reflecting on unpleasant moments experienced during any of the formal or informal home practices in the past week
- Investigating any common attributes in all of these unpleasant moments or events that caused them to be labeled as unpleasant.
Exploring:
- What is stress?
- How does it influence the mind, body, health, and patterns of behavior?
- Continue exploring physical sensations, emotions, thoughts associated with unpleasant events.
- Connect to the experience of stress — How do we actually experience it physically, cognitively, and effectively?
- We name the stressors –what is particularly stressful for us and what are we discovering about it through the practice of mindfulness?
- Association with expectations, not getting one’s own way (what is my way, anyway…and would I know it if I got it, and how long would it last?)
Home Practice Assignment:
- Alternate Body Scan with Yoga, > 6 days per week
- Standing/Lying, every other day
- Every day, Sitting Meditation 20-30 minutes> 6 days per week
- Awareness of the sensations of breathing and of the whole body.
- Be aware of stress reactions during the week, without trying to change them.
- Awareness of feeling stuck, blocking, numbing, and shutting off to the present moment when it happens this week.
Optional Workbook:
- Do the informal assessment:
- How Stressed Are You? page 11-13
- List 10 reoccurring stressful situations
- Rate from 1-10 how stressful the situation is in the Start Column.
- Optional Reading:
- Mindful Breathing, pg. 42
- Wandering Mind, pg. 43
- Posture & Practice, pg. 44
- Formal Practice, pg. 45
- Informal Practice, pg. 46
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-5
“Responsive thinking and the midway assessment”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-5
Introduction & Theme
Daily mindfulness practice is assigned, with an emphasis on the observation of daily life without judgment.
Theme One:
Experiencing being stuck in one’s habitual thought patterns about one’s Life
Investigation of unpleasant and pleasant reactivity in the ways people often cope with stressful events.
Honoring that these coping methods may have been protective and supported survival, and are now counter-revolutionary and limiting, if not destructive.
Theme Two:
Connecting mindfulness with perception in the critical moment (the moment of conscious contact), and with the arising of reactive physical sensations, emotions, cognitions and behaviors.
Emphasis on attentiveness to the capacity to respond rather than to react to stressful situations.
Explore the effect of emotional reactivity in health and illness. Learning to honor the full range of emotions and when called for, to express them with clarity and respect for self and others.
Typical Class Sequence:
Bringing bare attention to the body, sounds, emotions, and thoughts as “events” in consciousness. Distinguishing the event from the content and then choice-less awareness. Stillness is emphasized.
Reflection:
What am I learning?
- How has it been going so far?
- How does it show up in my life?
- Am I willing to recommit for the second half of the course?
- How am I engaging with this program in terms of commitment to weekly classes and daily practice?
Note: Mindfulness growth is non-linear. Letting go of expectations for the second half based on the experience of the first half of course.
Invitation:
Reflection:
Reflections:
Introducing the possibility of responding with awareness in these moments, rather than reacting automatically. In making the distinction between reacting and responding, emphasize that in many situations, reacting is skillful. It’s not the stress, but how you handle it, which dictates its effects on the mind and the body (within limits).
Note:
The new Sitting Meditation recording has more silence on it to allow us to practice more deeply on our own in between the guided instructions.
Home Practice Assignment:
• Bring awareness to moments of reacting and explore options for responding with greater mindfulness, spaciousness, and creativity, in formal meditation practice and in everyday life.
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-6
“Interpersonal communication patterns”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-6
Introduction & Theme
Reflection is oriented around the continued development of “transformational coping strategies,” attitudes and behaviors that enhance the psychological characteristic known as “stress hardiness” or resilience.
The focus of this strategy-building session revolves around the application of previously learned MBSR skills and methods in the area of communications. A variety of communication styles are examined both intellectually and experientially, and strategies for more effective and creative interpersonal communication are developed.
Mindfulness Training Theme:
Interpersonal mindfulness: staying aware and balanced in relationships, especially under conditions of acute or chronic stress, the strong expectations of others, past habits of emotional expression/suppression, and the presentation of self in everyday life. Based on the skills that we have been developing through the entire program, emphasize cultivating the capacity to be more flexible and to recover more rapidly during challenging interpersonal situations.
Typical Class Sequence:
- What did you notice about responding more creatively in life and in meditation?
- Were there new responses?
- What surprised you?
Reflecting on the upcoming all-day session. Explaining the intentions underlying this session and describe in detail the structure and format of the day, including options for self-care and teacher availability. Consider how to work with extended periods of silence and practice. Provide suggestions for preparing for the day, including what to bring: Lunch, loose-fitting clothes (layers), mat, blanket, etc.
Optional:
Guided reflection, recall a situation from the Difficult Communications Calendar. Examine habitual relational patterns and how they are experienced in the mind and body and how they manifest as behavior.
Exploring Difficult Communications:
It is essential to pause and reflect on these experiences and to notice how relational patterns are externalizations of internal mind and body states. We make connections between our present-moment experience of witnessing and/or participating in these exercises and the personal cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns with which we have become familiar during the course. These exercises also provide an opportunity for us to experiment with new behaviors and ways of engaging interpersonally.
Note:
The intention behind engaging in any of the following (or any other) communication exercises is the cultivation of awareness. The form of the exercise is less important than the essence of this intention.
Some of the options for communications exercises may include, but are not limited to:
• Aikido-based “pushing exercises”, role-playing the initial contact (taking the hit); avoiding conflict/stepping aside/passive-aggressive; being submissive; aggressive, engaged in an equal struggle; and assertive/blending/ “entering”, staying engaged and with eye and wrist contact, but stepping out of the path of the aggression.
Importance of grounding at the moment, taking a firm stand, not running away but not having to be in total control; the importance of stepping out of the way, of making contact and acknowledging the other person’s point of view; showing one’s own point of view; staying in the process without knowing where it is going or being fully in control; maintaining mindfulness, openness, staying grounded and centered.
Daily Practice Assignment
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-6R
“A special time to go within.”
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-7
“Daily Mindfulness”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-7
Introduction & Theme
Overview:
Emphasis is on maintaining 45 minutes of daily practice, without recorded instructions. Participants are encouraged to create their own blend of the various practices. (For example, 20 minutes of sitting, 15 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of body scan.) The intention is to further maintain the discipline and flexibility of personal daily mindfulness practice by encouraging people to become attuned to the changing conditions in their lives.
Mindfulness Training Theme:
Typical Class Sequence:
- Yoga
- Body Scan
- Loving-Kindness
- Difficult Emotions- R.A.I.N.
- The Science of Mindfulness
- Seeing from a different perspective
Mindfulness Training Reflection:
What you saw, what you learned about yourself. Invite responses to different aspects of the day, and how it felt afterward. Connect the reflection to the experience of doing the meditation practice this week, both formal and informal (daily life).
Emphasis the importance of making the practice one’s own. This week, no recordings for home practice. Encourage people to take the same 45 minutes, and practice on their own. They decide what, how much, etc.
Option:
Mindfulness training reflections and observations about communication stemming from last week’s session. If necessary, there is the option of continuing to explore communication through the exercises that are related to this week’s class reflection.
Home practice assignment:
- No recordings this week. Practice formal sitting, yoga, walking, and/or the body scan on your own, every day for 45 minutes. (Note: if this is too difficult, alternating between the recordings and self-guidance every other day.)
- Practice informally when you are not doing the above formal practices by being as aware and awake as possible throughout the day.
MINDFULNESS TRAINING-8
“The rest of our lives”
MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum-8
Introduction & Theme
Overview:
In this 3.5-hour session, experiential mindfulness practice continues and participants are given ample opportunity to inquire into and clarify any lingering questions about the various practices and their applications in everyday life.
A review of the MBSR mindfulness curriculum program is included. With an emphasis on daily strategies for maintaining. Deepening the skills developed during the course of the program. Creating a satisfying closure by honoring both the end of this mindfulness training program and the beginning of the rest of your life.
Mindfulness Training Theme:
Keeping up the momentum and discipline developed over the past 7 weeks in the meditation practice, both formal and informal.
Review of supports to help in the process of integrating the learning from this program over time: books, recordings, graduate programs, free all-day sessions for all graduates 4 times per year; mention retreat centers.
Hand out Hints and Reminders booklet with reading list and resources list.
Typical Class Sequence:
Yoga stretching, either guided or self-guided.
Sitting Meditation, mostly silent.
Optional:
One or both of the following:
Option of setting three short-term (3 months) and three long-term (3 years or more) goals that come out of your direct experience in the program and with the meditation practice.
Include potential obstacles to reaching these goals and your strategies for working with them.
Examples of questions:
Think back to why you came originally -expectations -and why you stayed:
- What did you learn?
- Were the costs to you?
- What did you want/hope for?
- Were there sacrifices you made?
- What obstacles did you encounter?
- Working with the obstacles what was learned?
- Were there any insights from the MBSR program?
- How will you continue to practice when this program is over?
Mindfulness Training:
How was it practicing without recordings this week?
Review the entire course and focus briefly on salient features.
Final meditation and acknowledgment of the ending of this MBSR program.
Home Practice Assignment:
- Go back to the recordings if you wish.
- Keep up the practice and make it your own.
Thank you for your interest in the MBSR Mindfulness Curriculum.
More Mindfulness- https://themindfulcoach.com/
Respectfully,
Heidi & Ross
Please, BookMark! 
G Ross Clark C.C.P.,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,
Email- TheMindfulCoach@gmail.com,
Training- MBSRtraining.com