MBSR introduces you to mindfulness practice in the form of sitting meditation, body awareness, and mindful movement, modeled by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. This program can help if stress is having a negative impact on your life, if you are experiencing chronic physical or mental distress, or if you are simply interested in learning ways to maintain health and well-being. Over 6,000 research papers have published findings on MBSR including decreased depression, pain, and distress, and increased attention, concentration, performance, and quality of life. 

This orientation session on September 15 is correlated with the class that meets on Thursday afternoons from 2:45-5:15 p.m. from September 29 to November 17. The virtual retreat is on Saturday, November 5, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The instructor is James Mitchell. All meetings will be online. 

• To register for this class, visit https://osher.ucsf.edu/public-classes/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-mbsr. The cost for the class is $395.

• If you are unsure whether you would like to register for the class, and would like to attend the orientation as a guest, please email osher.center.classes@ucsf.edu. Note that classes do tend to fill and develop a waitlist, so if you plan on waiting until after the orientation to decide whether you want to register or not, it is possible that you will need to join a later cohort.

The Orientation and Introduction to Mindfulness session consists of meeting the instructor and other participants; an introduction to what participation in the class entails; a talk about the impact of stress and mindfulness on health, the history of MBSR, and research on the MBSR model; and instruction in and practice of introductory mindfulness techniques.

The MBSR program is comprised of the Orientation and Introduction to Mindfulness, a 30-minute private interview with the instructor before the first class, 8 weekly sessions, and one daylong session on a Saturday or Sunday.