Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

As developed by The Center for Mindfulness at the UMASS Medical School

NEW WINTER MBSR Course On-Line
Beginning February 8th, 2022
email Nancy@NOWMindfulness.org

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an intensive 8-week, evidence-based course designed to help people in distress discover the healing power of mindfulness. Created by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the late ‘70’s, MBSR has helped over 24,000 graduates learn to cultivate awareness in the present moment and discover their natural capacity for wellness, ease, and peace of mind.

Offered by Nancy Bennett

Brown University Certified MBSR teacher
trained at the Center for Mindfulness (CFM)
UMASS Medical School and Brown Mindfulness Center

and

Innerlight Center for Yoga & Meditation
Middletown, RI 02842
401-849-3200
Innerlightyoga.com
nancy@nowmindfulness.org

We have come through so much in the past year and half - a chaotic political scene, a pandemic that won’t quite recede and appears to be surging anew, vaccines that saved our lives even as the virus evolves and erodes it, the searing images out of Afghanistan, and the dire news about the environment with wild fires, floods, frequent storms, and changing weather patterns adding an element of disturbing uncertainty to our lives.

Once again, life as we knew it is evolving into something different; we learn again that the only certainty is change.

As we struggle to adjust to a new and often unwelcome normal and the daily visitors of uncertainly and fear take new forms, the skills and practices of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) are more important and essential than ever.

In 8 weekly classes and one All Day session, we will explore what causes stress, how perception affects stress levels, what makes it difficult to manage stress, and what helps free us from reactivity so that we can respond with wisdom and compassion for ourselves and others. And we find that even in the midst of uncertainty, there can be peace, tranquillity, and joy.

Through a variety of mindfulness practices including sitting and walking meditation, the body scan, mindful movement/yoga, and loving kindness meditation, we learn to bring awareness to thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations to empower ourselves to move through these days of crisis with greater connection to self and others and to live our lives more fully, more productively, and, yes, even now, more joyfully.

“Moments of experiencing wholeness, moments when you connect with the domain of your own being, often include a palpable sense of being larger than your problems and in a much better position to come to terms with them.”  

-Jon Kabat-Zinn

 “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged
to change ourselves.”
~~ Viktor Frankl

These are some of the many reasons people have turned to MBSR:  trouble falling asleep; feeling anxious, depressed, overwhelmed or out of control; impatience with family or friends; problems balancing work and family at home or fear of infection at work; challenging physical conditions or illnesses; loss through death or relationship change or pandemic shifting; an inability to enjoy life. And many people report old fears and anxieties re-surfacing in this time of intense worry and changed circumstances.

Participants report more balance, ease, and peace of mind in their lives. 

Here’s what recent graduates had to say:

• “The course was life-changing – these new communication and meditation tools will become a part of my life going forward!”

• “Loved learning to meditate.”

• “Nancy Bennett is fabulous teacher.  She makes all this chaos in our heads make sense!”

• “I learned a lot about stress and how we deal with it – and how there are other options if we bring awareness to the reaction.”

• “The CD sessions were very good for me.  After doing them, I had no more unfocused anxiety for the rest of the day.” 

• “Learning to meditate - always thought it was much more difficult, but when you just let go of thoughts as they arise, it frees you up to focus again.”

• “Nancy Bennett is an excellent teacher, she showed dedication, encouragement, and caring.”

Free Orientation & Introduction to MBSR on-line

This Orientation will introduce participants to the themes and elements of the course.
Attendance at one of the following Orientations and a completed application (download below) are prerequisites for enrolling in the course.
Tues., Jan. 25th * Tues., Feb. 1st * Thurs., Feb. 3rd
from 6:00 - 7:30pm
Register on the Innerlight website. https://www.innerlightyoga.com/
An invitation to join the Zoom Meeting will be sent via email.
Email Nancy@nowmindfulness.org with questions or to request zoom assistance.

Pricing Options:     “Pay What You Can” These prices have been discounted to make the teachings more widely available in this time of need.

*$200 Base Rate                   **$265 Sustaining Rate          ***$350 Benefactor Rate

* Essential workers receive a further discount.
** MBSR Graduates Discount – 50% Sustaining Rate.
***The Benefactor rate supports essential workers and scholarship funds for those less able to pay at this time.    

Scholarship funds available for those less able to pay at this time.

Dana is a Pali word that means generosity. The Buddha connected the monks and the villagers they served through generosity - the monks gave the teachings to villagers freely, the villagers shared their food with the monks. While MBSR is a course with fees, we have tried to add the flavor of Dana to the experience. Sharon Salzberg, well-known meditation teacher of loving kindness, suggests this guide: “Pay so you have no regrets.” This beautifully simple phrase allows for reflection to support not paying beyond one’s means but also honoring the teachings and generosity of the teachings with one’s offering.

The Course will be conducted On-Line via Zoom and consists of the following: 

·      a free 1 ½ hour “Introduction & Orientation to MBSR”

·       8 weekly classes of 2.5 to 3 hours

·       an All-Day retreat

·       daily mindfulness home practices of 45 to 60 minutes a day

The Course Schedule in Detail
The course is 8 weeks with 2.5 to 3 hour classes weekly on Tuesdays at 6pm with an All-Day Session between Classes 6 and 7.
·     Class 1 Tues., Feb. 8th                 
·     Class 2 Tues., Feb. 15th                 
·     Class 3 Tues., Feb. 22nd                 
·     Class 4 Tues., March 1st                 
·     Class 5 Tues., March 8th                           
·     Class 6   Tues., March 15th                 
·     ALL DAY  Sat., March 19th 9:30am - 5:00pm            
·     Class 7 Tues., March 22nd                  
·     Class 8 Tues., March 29th                          

Most classes will be 2.5 hours; Class 1 and Class 8 will be 3 hours.     

Please note the All-Day Session between Class 6 and Class 7 is a required part of the course.

NOTE: A strong commitment to showing up, participating, and engaging over the 8 weeks is required.  If a prospective participant expects to miss two or more classes, it is recommended he or she take the course at a later, more convenient time. 

Each participant will receive an MBSR Practice Manual and MP-3’s for home practice.

… trained at the Center for Mindfulness at the UMASS Medical School and the Brown Mindfulness Center. Nancy has been offering the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course and mindfulness and stress reduction workshops for several years.   She has an MA in Pastoral Care & Counseling with a concentration in Buddhism from New York Theological Seminary and the NY Zen Center for Contemplative Care with experience as a chaplain intern in NYC & RI hospitals offering mindfulness groups for nurses, social workers, aides and other staff and leading mindfulness and spiritual care groups for patients in psychiatric care units. 
A meditator since 1994, she has studied and practiced in the Vipassana/Insight tradition with renown Insight meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein, Guy Armstrong, Sally Clough Armstrong, Sharon Salzberg, Larry Rosenberg, and Venerable Analayo among others.  And, of course, Jon Kabat-Zinn and the MBSR teachers, Saki Santorelli, Florence Meleo-Meyer, Caroline West, and Lynn Koerbel.
She has also completed David Treleaven’s Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Widening the Window of Tolerance and Supporting Trauma Recovery and is currently enrolled in Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s two year Mindfulness-Meditation Teacher Certification Program.