What is the Weekly Overview of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)?

The MBSR curriculum presented here serves as a general overview and is subject to potential modifications based on the unique needs, insights, and discussions that may arise during class.

Orientation: Welcome and introductions
MBSR is introduced as a secular, evidence-based practice, including a discussion around the history and scientific basis of MBSR and how it can positively affect the quality of everyday life. Course logistics, expectations, and potential challenges of mindfulness practice are also reviewed. 

Week 1: Building a mindfulness foundation 
The definition of mindfulness is discussed, including what mindfulness is and is not and common misconceptions. Students are also introduced to present moment awareness through experiential practices such as mindful eating, focused attention meditation, and body scan meditation. 

Week 2: Perception and creative responding
Experiential mindfulness continues to be explored through meditation practices and self-reflections. The role of perception and assumptions and the way they can impact the present moment experience is introduced. The difference between reactivity and responsiveness is also discussed, and how mindfulness can create the space to respond more skillfully.

Week 3: The power of being present 
Students continue to engage with experiential mindfulness practices with opportunities to discuss the challenges and insights encountered in formal practice and in integrating mindfulness into everyday life. Students will explore how to skillfully manage all ranges of experiences, and attention toward pleasant events that may go unnoticed is introduced. 

Week 4: “The unwanted” 
Unpleasant emotions and sensations are investigated with an emphasis on cultivating curiosity and openness to the full range of experiences. There is a review of the physiological and psychological effects of stress reactivity and students are encouraged to identify their personal stress patterns. Strategies for responding positively and proactively with a mindful practice are also discussed. 

Week 5: Dealing with difficult emotions or physical pain
Specific attention is provided on how to apply mindfulness when experiencing a strong physical sensation, intense emotion, or challenging thought. “Turning Toward” is introduced as a method to deliberately investigate these experiences rather than avoid them. 

Week 6: Communication and interpersonal relating 
Experiential training in MBSR continues with an emphasis on the growing capacity to self-regulate and cope more effectively with stress as it presents within the domain of communications – particularly difficult and challenging interpersonal exchanges. Communication styles and strategies are explored, including how mindfulness can foster thoughtful responses and help manage intense emotions.

All-Day: Slowing down and “being” 
This 8 hour silent retreat provides students with the opportunity to reinforce and build upon the mindfulness practices learned in the course by engaging with the established mindfulness practices and exploring some new ones. With reduced external demands and distractions, this day of practice helps to strengthen one’s use of mindfulness across multiple situations in daily life and may spark new insights and perceptions.

Week 7: Integrating mindfulness into daily life 
In addition to cultivating a consistent daily meditation routine, students explore various ways to cultivate a broader sense of awareness and presence in every moment. Students will reflect on lifestyle choices and habits, discerning between those that are self-nourishing and maladaptive.

Week 8: Making the practice your own 
Students engage in the final experiential components of the course with opportunities for clarifying questions. Students are guided to reflect about their mindfulness development and insights gained over the last 8 weeks. Key course topics are reviewed along with strategies for maintaining and deepening mindfulness skills beyond the course's completion.

What are the Learning Objectives and Outcomes of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)?

• Discuss what mindfulness is and is not from a theory- and evidence-based perspective
• Discuss the history of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
• Discuss the Attitudinal Foundations of mindfulness practice
• Discuss the benefits of mindfulness and MBSR substantiated by empirical research
• Discuss the purpose of the stress response, including its usefulness
• Discuss the difference between an active acceptance of distress and an emotional resignation
• Discuss how thoughts and core beliefs dictate the unconscious stress reactivity
• Explain how cognitive distortions or conditioned ways of thinking may foster the habit of stress reactivity
• Explain how reactivity to stress can impair mental, emotional and physical wellbeing
• Explain how mindfulness can alter the automatic feedback loop to facilitate self-management of stress reactivity from an evidence-based perspective
• Utilize mindfulness to build awareness of one’s own stress responses, including recognizing habitual patterns of reactivity to stressors
• Utilize mindfulness to develop alternative responses to stress
• Utilize mindfulness practices to promote greater mental flexibility
• Explain how mindfulness strengthens purposeful attention
• Explain how mindfulness promotes emotional regulation
• Practice and employ the body scan meditation, bringing attention and awareness to how the body can hold stress
• Employ and practice the focused attention meditation as a tool for developing less reactivity and less negativity
• Employ and practice the mindful movement (yoga) meditation, experiencing the potential of the body’s strengths and flexibility, and developing awareness of what it means to care for one’s own body
• Employ and practice informal mindfulness practices that are useful in daily life, workplace, social environments, and in communications
• Identify when formal meditations may be used to support overall wellbeing
• Identify when informal mindfulness practices may be used to support overall wellbeing
• Utilize mindfulness to identify typical bodily sensations that arise when the stress response is activated
• Utilize mindfulness to identify, feel, explore and tolerate unpleasant, unwanted, and contradictory emotions
• Apply mindfulness to cultivate a greater sense of present-moment awareness
• Apply mindfulness to cultivate a deeper connection with the body
• Apply mindfulness to cultivate a deeper connection with emotions
• Apply mindfulness to cultivate a deeper connection in relationship to others
• Utilize mindfulness to enhance interpersonal relationships
• Utilize mindfulness to enhance effective communication

What is the Science and Research on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)?

MBSR has an extensive history of empirical validation, spanning over 40 years, including research supporting substantial psychological and physical benefits such as: 

• Prosocial behaviors such as increased empathy and compassion toward others ^{1, 2}
• Cognitive functions including enhanced focus, attentional control, and cognitive flexibility, as well as improvements in long and short-term memory processing and recollection ^{3, 4, 5}
• Psychological health as a result of reduced stress and reduction in ruminating thoughts, as well as enhanced emotional regulation and increased resilience ^{3, 5, 7, 8}
• Physical well-being including improved immune function, pain relief, and reduced blood pressure ^{9, 10, 11}

While individual experiences may differ, engaging in mindfulness practices offers individuals a valuable opportunity to tap into its wide-ranging benefits. The brain is not hard-wired. It’s possible to learn to be happier and healthier, more focused and resilient.

Sources Cited

1. Lim, D., Condon, P., & DeSteno D. (2015). Mindfulness and Compassion: An Examination of Mechanism and Scalability. PlosOne, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118221
2. Weng, H. Y., Fox, A. S., Hessenthaler, H. C., Stodola, D. E. & Davidson, R. J. (2015). The Role of Compassion in Altruistic Helping and Punishment Behavior. PlosOne, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143794
3. Zou, Y. Li, P., Hofmann, S. G., & Liu, X (2020). The Mediating Role of Non-reactivity to Mindfulness Training and Cognitive Flexibility: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Front. Psychol, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01053
4. Greenburg, J., Romero, V. L., Elkin-Frankston, S., Bezdek, M. A., Schumacher, E. H., & Lazar, S. W. (2018). Reduced interference in working memory following mindfulness training is associated with increases in hippocampal volume. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 13, 366–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-9858-4
5. Jha, A. P., Witkin, J. E., Morrison, A. B., Rostrup, N., & Stanley, E. (2017). Short-Form Mindfulness Training Protects Against Working Memory Degradation over High-Demand Intervals. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 1, 154–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-017-0035-2
6. Ireland, M. J., Clough, B., Gill, K., Langan, F., O’Conner, A., & Spencer, L. (2017). A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness to reduce stress and burnout among intern medical practitioners. Medical Teacher, 39(4), 409-414. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2017.1294749
7. Chambers, R., Lo, B. C. Y., & Allen, N. B. (2008). The Impact of Intensive Mindfulness Training on Attentional Control, Cognitive Style, and Affect. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 303–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9119-0
8. Chin, B., Lindsay, E. K., Greco, C. M., Brown, K. W., Smyth, J. M. et al. (2019). Psychological mechanisms driving stress resilience in mindfulness training: A randomized controlled trial. Health Psychology, 38(8), 759–768. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000763
9. Witek-Janusek, L., Albuquerque, K., Chroniak, K. R., Chroniak, C., Durazo-Arvizu, R., & Matthews, H. L. (2008). Effect of mindfulness based stress reduction on immune function, quality of life and coping in women newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 22(6), 969-981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2008.01.012
10. Zeidan, F., Adler-Neal, A. L., Wells, R. E., Stagnaro, E., May, L. M., et al. (2016). Mindfulness-Meditation-Based Pain Relief Is Not Mediated by Endogenous Opioids. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(11) 3391-3397. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4328-15.2016
11. Loucks, E. B., Nardi, W. R., Gutman, R., Kronish, I. M., Saadeh, F. B., et al. (2019). Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP): Stage 1 single-arm clinical trial. PlosOne. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223095