Courses


A new, LIVE 8 Week session of MBSR is scheduled!

 

October 26 – December 21, 2023

Retreat Day: Saturday, December 9, 2023

weekly on Thursdays 6-8:30pm | No class on Thanksgiving

Teacher
Jim O’Neill, LCPC

Location
Journey Mindfulness
5136 Dorsey Hall Drive | Ellicott City, MD 21042

See below for course description. Limited to 10 spots. 

Cost: $650

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Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Benefits of MBSR:

Three decades of published research indicates that the majority of people who complete MBSR courses report:

  • Improved self-esteem
  • An increased ability to relax
  • Greater energy and enthusiasm for life
  • Reductions in pain levels and an enhanced ability to cope with pain
  • An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long-term stressful situations.

Mindfulness is not something that one gets or acquires. It is already within the human experience. A deep internal resource of attention, intention and mindset. That is available to us and is patiently waiting to be observed and used in the service of learning, growing, and healing.

The 4 Basic MBSR Practices Are:

  • The Body Scan – mindful attention while lying down
  • Mindful Walking – mindful attention in daily life and activities
  • Mindful Sitting Meditation – mindful attention while sitting still
  • Mindful Stretching – mindful attention while stretching or doing yoga

 The Lessons Are Highly Participatory And Include:

  • Reflections
  • Poetry and Articles
  • Gentle stretching and mindful yoga
  • Audios with 22 practices and practice forms
  • Daily home assignments – at least 45 minutes a day
  • Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practice
  • Inquiry exercises to enhance personal awareness in everyday life
  • Instruction on stress response and stress hardiness models and research

No previous experience with meditation or yoga in necessary, just your willingness to make the effort to improve your life and learn to work with pain and difficulty while learning to be present and joyful for lifes more pleasant moments. Limited to 10 particpants. Brief interview with teacher required. Class is not appropriate for those in active addiction or in active depressive episode.

Ready to Begin?

 

MBSR Online

This online program is designed to develop resiliency, peace, relief, and life-transforming insights. Following video lectures, meditations, and exercises in the online learning platform, this 8 week program is a tour-de-force in building a calmer and healthier version of you.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the MBSR session has started, can I still join?
If there is still space, I allow new participants to join up through the second meeting. Once the course has met twice, no new participants are brought in; if this has occurred, please contact me for information about the next course time.

What is required during the course?
In order to get the most out of the course, both regular attendance of the classes and regular work with the material between classes is required. Home practice might take the form of practicing one or more of the mindfulness meditations, or applying mindfulness to daily life situations, for instance, practicing “mindful eating” between classes. Bringing mindfulness to our daily activities does not take any more time than not being mindful of them.

Practicing meditations do take time and its important to make this a priority during the class, which may include re-prioritizing your daily activities to find minutes during the day. As someone recently said, “If you have time for Facebook or Twitter, you have time for meditation.” Likewise “if you can breathe, you can meditate.” Support and ideas for finding time for the home practices is available during the course, however, it will still require your commitment to make this happen, and your own strong determination. The goal is simply to share the teaching to those willing to learn.

mPEAK

mPEAK

While this program is designed for athletes, it is also beneficial to musicians, dancers, law enforcement, first responders, executives and anyone who sets large goals and pushes themselves towards excellence. Participating in this 3-day intensive program satisfies one of the prerequisites for becoming an mPEAK program teacher. Meditation experience is not necessary to participate in this 3-day intensive, but it can facilitate a deeper learning experience.

mPEAK is a performance mindfulness based approach designed specifically to help athletes reach their peak potential. We teach mindfulness skills to take your performance to the next level in your sport or specific area of performance by utilizing the power of neuroscience to train your brain with mindfulness, compassion, and find greater FLOW in your life.

mPEAK was designed by neuroscientists at the UC San Diego Medical School in conjunction with the Center for Mindfulness to create a cutting edge performance training program for the US BMX cycling team. It has since been adopted by several Olympic Training Programs, US Special Operations, law enforcement, Homeland Security, and professional sports teams to increase awareness, performance, and resilience in their respective fields.

How does mPEAK help?
While this program is designed for athletes, it is also beneficial to musicians, dancers, law enforcement, first responders, executives and anyone who sets large goals and pushes themselves towards excellence. Participating in this 3-day intensive program satisfies one of the prerequisites for becoming an mPEAK program teacher. Meditation experience is not necessary to participate in this 3-day intensive, but it can facilitate a deeper learning experience.

Objectives:

  • Describe the theory and research supporting mPEAK
  • Use skills to motivate themselves with encouragement rather than self-criticism
  • Apply core mindfulness exercises into daily life
  • Demonstrate simple mindfulness and mPEAK practices with patients, students, or clients
  • Describe the central role of mindfulness meditation practice for fostering peak performance in the regulation of emotions and behaviors
  • Articulate the rationale for an ongoing mindfulness meditation practice to derive full benefit from the mPEAK program

The 3-day Intensive mPEAK program will help attendees delve deeply into mindfulness practice; explore how this can support their desire to achieve, improve, create and excel; and will provide opportunities to enjoy activities of daily life.

While the curriculum can be tailored for specific settings, teams and organizations, the basic mPEAK program is formulated as a 3-day intensive workshop followed by 6 weeks of virtual sessions to deepen the participants mindfulness practice and integrate the four pillars of mPEAK into daily routines in the workplace, the training environment or in competition. All sessions provide a safe forum for dialogue, questions and comments.

Follow up Sessions
After the three-day workshop is complete, we offer six weeks of 1-hour online video sessions with the trainers. These follow up sessions are designed to encourage your continued mindfulness practice, provide additional information and guidance, and help you on the challenges that arise in the real world. Each session will also include a specific relevant topic to focus the meeting and reinforce the importance of continued practice. Our instructors are committed to providing an environment of respect, safety, support, privacy, individual responsibility and compassion.

To develop an mPEAK workshop tailored to your specific needs please contact us.