MBSR Course Outline

Orientation

Orientations occur one to two weeks before your first class and are required for enrollment in 8-week courses.

You will:

• Meet the instructor and other participants
• Receive a full overview of the course, ask questions and make an informed decision about enrolling.
• Engage in MBSR practices 

You'll also learn how MBSR’s evidence-based practices can complement mainstream medical treatments and positively impact your daily life. 

Note: Please review our tuition and refund policy. You may receive a full tuition refund if you notify us by the day before Class 1.

Week 1

Receive a more in-depth overview of the course, explore the mind-body connection, and discover what it means to be fully engaged in the present moment. You'll experience mindful eating, the body-scan meditation, and review your at-home practice for the week. 

Week 2

Changing your perception and response to challenges can reduce stress. How you see things (or don't see them) will determine in large part how you respond. You’ll examine your perceptions, assumptions, and the way you view the world. You’ll further explore the body-scan practice to create more awareness of how you react to stressful situations. This week’s homework includes a focused awareness practice and ways to bring mindfulness practice into your daily routine.

Week 3

This week you’ll practice mindful movement, sitting meditation and walking meditation. You’ll discover that there is both pleasure and power in being present. This is an ideal time to share your experiences and ways you are integrating mindfulness into your daily life.

Week 4

This week, your practice will focus on your ability to concentrate and expand your field of awareness. You'll learn how your body and mind react to stress, and how to use mindful methods to respond positively and proactively to stressful situations.

Week 5

By now, you’ll understand and use the basics of mindfulness to manage challenges and stress. We'll focus on identifying and interrupting recurring unhealthy patterns through mindful awareness. You’ll also discover how to apply mindfulness when encountering physical sensations, intense emotions, or difficult conditions.

Week 6

Resilience refers to our ability to recover and restore balance after stressful events. You’ll draw on inner resources and develop practices to strengthen your ability to handle stress. You'll also learn how to be more aware and present in difficult conversations by experimenting with different styles to improve how you connect and engage with others.

All-Day Session

This guided online retreat typically takes place on a weekend between weeks 6 and 7. This meeting is an intensive 7.5-hour session essential to helping you integrate MBSR skills into your daily life and equip you to apply them long after the program ends.

Week 7 

We'll look at how you can bring mindfulness into every part of your life. MBSR is not just about having a formal meditation practice, but also being aware in everything you do and using non-judgmental mindfulness in your self-reflection and decision-making. You'll learn how to maintain your daily practice even as circumstances change throughout your life.

Week 8

In the final week, we'll revisit everything you've learned, focusing on how to maintain your progress in the months and years ahead. You’ll explore resources to deepen your mindfulness practice as your life evolves, along with support systems to help you keep integrating, learning, and growing. Mindfulness is most effective when it’s a lifelong commitment. This final class marks the end of the MBSR program but the start of your ongoing journey with mindfulness.
 

Before You Register

• Learn more about our online program guidelines.
• Review our tuition and refund policy.