Take a Deeper Dive with Intro to MBSR
Grab your spot and get ready for 2025!
Join us and Sign up today for our next cohort of INtro to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Join Community Mindfulness Project’s facilitator and mentor Lisa Sheehan this winter for an introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) - a secular program created at UMASS Medical School by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979.
This experiential, introspective program examines the science behind mindfulness, the psychology and physiology of stress, and encompasses a variety of mindfulness techniques, including meditation. Explore how mindfulness supports present moment awareness of sensations, thoughts, and emotions - building internal resources to manage stress and our responses more skillfully.
No previous experience is necessary to participate in this 6-week Intro to MBSR program. All are welcome.
Nonprofit, frontline, healthcare and government workers are encouraged to apply and let us know if a scholarship would be valuable.
All sign ups are tax deductible and donations for scholarships are encouraged for those that have the means, donations for scholarships are welcomes at greatly appreciated.
Wednesdays, 7:00-8:30pm EST
January 8th - February 12th
Via Zoom
Registration closes when spots fill or by Dec 31, 2024 (whichever comes first!)
Grab your spot today!
What's In It For YOU?
Key benefits include:
Enhanced self-awareness of how stress impacts the body, mind, and emotions
Greater ability to break habitual stress patterns
Improved capacity to respond to stress with awareness rather than reactivity
Better ability to engage harmoniously with people of differing viewpoints
Cultivation of an even-minded approach to all situations, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral
Natural awareness of thoughts and feelings
Improved coping skills
Increased sense of kindness and benevolence toward all people and things
Program Components:
Pre-Program Participant Survey
Full color, 29 page Program Guidebook PDF
Weekly Emails
9 Hours of Programming - Wednesdays 7 - 8:30PM on zoom
Weekly Assignments and Available Resources 24/7
Post-Program Participant Survey
Certificate of Completion
“Thank you for this amazing opportunity. I can already see the benefits with myself, family and students. (also…) This course has helped me and others to recognize our own thought patterns in a way that empowers us.”
“My favorite part was the tangible techniques and handouts to reference. I loved the experiential learning and found that useful in integrating the concepts/skills in my life.”
“Lisa did a great job of connecting the science to real life experiences.”
“This six-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program has been transformative in helping me develop greater awareness and equanimity in my daily life.
The program introduced a wide range of techniques to better manage stress and maintain emotional balance...this program has given me practical tools and a deeper understanding of mindfulness, making it easier to handle stress and navigate life’s ups and downs with more grace and composure.
”
Personal & Professional benefits
Personal:
The Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) offers a transformative opportunity for personal growth and well-being. While the U.S. self-help market is projected to reach $16.5 billion this year, many products—such as books, gadgets, and quick-fix solutions—tend to provide only temporary enjoyment and fail to deliver lasting health benefits. In contrast, this 6-week program introduces scientifically-supported mindfulness tools that promote emotional regulation, present-moment awareness, enhanced interpersonal skills, and effective stress management. By participating, individuals gain practical skills that they can integrate into their daily lives, fostering long-term resilience and well-being.
Professional:
The 6-Week Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course can help educators, social workers, and nonprofit professionals integrate scientifically-backed mindfulness tools into their work with students, colleagues, clients, and the broader community. Although many professionals in these fields have received related training, many continue to face high levels of burnout and stress due to a lack of personal practice. This course provides evidence-based methods alongside practical mindfulness exercises, giving participants the time and space to develop self-care strategies, build personal resilience, and more effectively support the communities they serve.
This is a personal and professional development program and not a meditation teacher training program.
course overview
Week 1: Awakening to the Moment: What is mindfulness and where to begin?
Week 2: The Power in the Pause: Using mindfulness to respond to life with awareness vs. reactivity.
Week 3: Changing Our Relationships to Thoughts: Mindful awareness of stressful thought patterns.
Week 4: The Mind~Body Connection and the Science behind Mindfulness: the antidote to the negativity bias.
Week 5: Mindfulness of Emotions - Cultivating Interoception for Emotional Regulation
Week 6: Mindfulness and Resilience: returning to homeostasis more rapidly after a stressful event.
Meet Lisa sheehan, MA
When Lisa began practicing yoga in 2005, she was enamored with the meditation and relaxation at the end of each class and subsequently pursued studies in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at UMASS Medical School Center for Mindfulness. Lisa is registered as a 'Qualified' MBSR instructor, has taken .B & Deep Play for Kids courses and is also a yoga instructor for both children and adults certified through Yoga Alliance. She joined CMP as a facilitator in 2016. Lisa is passionate about empowering people of all ages with mindfulness tools to enable them to more skillfully cope with stress, or to simply tap into a place of respite, stillness & quietude.
Secure your spot now (and learn more about that STOP sign!)
Other details to know:
Each cohort we have a majority of participants join us with costs covered. Scholarships are need based. If you have any questions about registering or affording this course, do not hesitate to reach out to our team at welcome@communitymindfulnessproject.org.
If you are registering your organization's team, welcome! Please share all full names and email addresses of participants one week before our start date with welcome@communitymindfulnessproject.org.
Registration is non-transferable and refunds are not available at this time.
Once you complete registration and as we get closer, look out for emails from Julia from our team will reach out to you with further details.
If you miss the chance to register before it's sold out, you can still sign up on the waitlist by clicking your registration choice below and we will give you a priority spot in an upcoming session.
Liability Waiver & Release
Please read this information carefully before signing. Your acknowledgement is required before registration will be considered complete.
I, (Participant) seek to participate in the Community Mindfulness Project’s (“CMP”) 6 Week Intro to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) (the “program”) and I agree to this Liability and Release Agreement (the “Release”), governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut, broadly and inclusively. The Program may involve mental, physical and emotional activity that might be more demanding than my usual activities. I understand and acknowledge that my participation in the Program is my voluntary decision and I acknowledge my responsibility for my own judgment in participating in the Program and I knowingly and voluntarily assume the risk of any injury, whether physical or emotional to myself or caused to others by me during the Program. I waive, release, and forever discharge all claims and causes of action of any kind against CMP and its officers, directors, employees and agents (“Representatives”) including without limitation claims of personal injury, illness, death, property damage or any other liability, including negligence and lawyer fees and costs. I agree to indemnify and hold harmless CMP and its Representatives of all liability, claims, suits and damages.