Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention from moment to moment in a nonjudgmental way. This simple practice opens the door to self-healing and insight. It also can provide options for coping with the stress of illness and everyday life.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Class
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is an eight-week program offered by the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health. It introduces you to the practice of meditation, body awareness and mindful movement. This course is modeled after a program developed at the University of Massachusetts by Jon Kabat-Zinn. There are more than 250 similar programs nationwide.
Medical research has shown that mindfulness-based stress reduction is effective for the physical and emotional symptoms of general stress as well as stress due to illness, such as cancer, depression, anxiety disorders, fibromyalgia, psoriasis and chronic pain. Benefit also has been seen in a wide range of other heart and vascular, gastrointestinal, and psychological conditions.
The program includes:
- Private interview with an instructor
- Weekly two-and-a-half-hour classes for eight weeks
- Guided mindfulness practice, group discussion and instruction
- All-day retreat
- Audio files to guide home practice
- Workbook
Cost and Registration
The fee for the class is $376 and an additional $19 for materials. A $25 discount is available to UCSF faculty, staff and students.
You will need a copy of Full Catastrophe Living (Revised and Updated Edition, 2013) by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. For in-person classes, the book fee is $16.
You can register online at http://osher.ucsf.edu/public-classes/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-mbsr or call the center at (415) 353-7718.
