We are about to begin another eight-week (28 hour) Course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Last year, this course was offered as part of a free pilot program. We’re delighted to announce that we are now able to offer this course on a self-sustaining fee-based model.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is the most widely studied and accepted program of its kind. It teaches participants how to harness their own innate abilities in order to diminish stress and pain, and to improve overall physical and mental health. It was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. in 1979, and is used in hundreds of schools, hospitals and other institutional facilities worldwide. Kabat-Zinn’s eight-week MBSR curriculum has been completed by more than 20,000 people since its creation.

Nationwide, MBSR courses cost between $400-$600. Thanks to generous UO support, we’re able to subsidize our course and provide it to UO faculty, students and staff for $250. (Cost for non-UO participants is $350.)

What: An eight-week course (plus one mandatory orientation session – October 5) in stress reduction techniques, inspired by the curriculum pioneered over thirty years ago at UMass Medical School.

Who: Especially geared for UO faculty and staff, but open to everyone.

Where: Classes to be held at the UO Baker Downtown Center.

When: Monday evenings from October 7-November 25, plus 1 full-day workshop on Saturday, November 16.

To register, please review the course requirements at http://healthyoregon.uoregon.edu/Events/MBSR/MBSRPreRegistration.aspx.

About the Instructor:  Lisa Freinkel is a UO administrator and professor, whose current research focuses on questions of mindfulness in higher ed. Trained in MBSR and other mindfulness meditation techniques, she has taught meditation in prison, hospital and university settings since 2007.