Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

8 Week Mindfulness Course – Live Online

• Get unstuck
• Find freedom from anxiety and overwhelm
• Feel calmer and more at ease
• Learn fresh solutions to your persistent life challenges
• Gain a comprehensive set of tools and practices to be in the driver's seat of your wellbeing and happiness

Image by Anthony DELANOIX

Welcome to MBSR

 

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) infuses the energy of mindfulness into your everyday life by systematically training the mind to break free from cycles of stress, anxiety, exhaustion, and unhappiness.

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MBSR has over 40 years of scientific research demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing chronic stress and pain, enhancing immune function, strengthening focus and concentration, and improving mood regulation.

 

MBSR is considered the gold standard of non-religious mindfulness training.

Image by Joel Holland

Spring Programs 2021

Wednesday Evenings

April 7 - May 26

6-8:30pm PT  |  Live Online

All-Day Online Retreat - May 15

Tuition = $549

Instructor:

Laura Martin

(River Rock Mindfulness)

Read Bio

Sunday Evenings

May 9 – June 27

6:30-9pm PT  |  Live Online

All-Day Online Retreat – June 12

Tuition = $549

Instructor:

Ryan Kenny

Read Bio

Registration for the Spring MBSR programs is now closed.

To receive an email when the fall MBSR programs are posted, please click the button below.

Course Format

 

You'll meet once per week as a class (LIVE online) and then engage in ongoing home practice material throughout the rest of the week. This course also includes one 7-hour Saturday retreat.

MBSR Scholarships

 

If you are experiencing financial hardship at this time and need support, we have scholarship opportunities and payment plans available.

 

Chat with Us

Schedule a free 15-minute phone visit to ask questions and discuss if this course is right for you.

What You'll Receive in this Course 

 

MBSR is a structured program that helps you incrementally build the foundation and tools to develop a way of engaging in your life more fully. Course components include:

  • Eight weekly 2.5 hour classes
     

  • ​One 7-hour weekend practice retreat 
     

  • 31 hours of direct instruction and feedback
     

  • 180 minutes of guided audio meditation practices
     

  • Daily home practice assignments (45-60 mins per day)
     

  • Guided training in mindfulness meditation practices
     

  • Gentle stretching and mindful movement 
     

  • Group discussions to deepen understanding of material
     

  • MP3 Downloads or CDs to facilitate home practice
     

  • MBSR Digital Workbook with readings and exercises

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  • 3-Month Unlimited Membership to Pause Studio

How MBSR Can Change Your Life

MBSR is an evidence-based course with more than 750 programs worldwide that have helped people learn, grow and heal. A majority of participants who complete the program consistently report the following benefits:

Lasting improvements in physical and psychological symptoms

Capacity to take better care of oneself

Ability to enjoy life and live with more ease

Reduced pain levels and improved ability to cope with persistent pain

Ability to more effectively manage daily stressors

Increased energy levels

Enhanced relationships and self-esteem

Greater meaning in daily life

Pause Studio, Downtown PDX

What People Are Saying About This Course

"The Pause MBSR course seriously changed my life! I have learned so many amazing tools to navigate in the world. It has improved my health, my relationships, and my overall sense of purpose. Pause is an amazing community that I am so grateful to have found."

- Mary G.

Who Will Benefit From This Course 

 

Anyone eager to lower stress levels and cultivate greater balance and well-being. MBSR has helped people with the following:

  • Work

  • School

  • Family

  • Aging

  • Life Uncertainty

  • Life Transitions

  • Financial

  • Illness

  • Grief

  • Chronic Pain

  • Chronic Illness

  • High Blood Pressure

  • Heart Disease

  • Cancer

  • ​Auto-Immune Disorders

  • Gastro-Intestinal (GI) Distress

  • Fatigue

Stress

Medical

Conditions

  • Better Quality of Life

  • More Ease and Balance

  • ​Boosted Resilience

  • Improved Self-Care

  • Disease Prevention

  • Improved Self-Regulation

Health &

Wellness

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Panic Attacks

  • Loss of Control

  • Anger

  • Overwhelm

  • Sleep Disorders

Psychological Distress

Course Curriculum Overview 

ORIENTATION – The Beginning of a Journey

In this opening session, you will learn about the basics of mindfulness, the evidence for stress reduction, potential benefits of the program, and an overview of what you will gain from the comprehensive 8-week curriculum. You will have an opportunity to ask questions and will also experience a simple mindfulness practice to get a feel for the instructor, MBSR practices and group dynamics.



WEEK 1 – The Journey Begins

Class one begins your mindfulness journey of exploring a new way of being. We consider the proposition, “If you’re breathing right now, there is more right than wrong with you,” and you are invited to investigate this concept for yourself using your inner resources of curiosity and kindness. You will be invited to approach your life from a fresh perspective with mindful awareness using three core practices: the body scan, mindfulness of breathing, and mindful eating.



WEEK 2 – Perception and Creative Responding

In class two, you will investigate the role of perception in your experience of stress. How you see a given problem determines how you attempt to solve the problem, so you will learn to pause and consider how habitual perceptions, assumptions, and perspectives may keep you stuck in cycles of stress. As you continue to expand your awareness and approach challenging situations freshly, you'll also learn how to address obstacles that arise in your practice. You'll continue to hone your concentration and deepen your practice through the body scan, and will also be invited to begin sitting meditation practice.



WEEK 3 – Pleasure and Power in Presence

In class three, you will explore the power of presence. You are invited to reflect on positive events that you encountered over the past week and reveal the pleasure and potential that exists in being fully present to your life. Insights are drawn out through group discussion and practice continues to evolve as you learn to develop mindful awareness in motion through mindful movement practices including gentle hatha yoga and mindful walking.



WEEK 4 – Automatic Stress Reactivity

In class four, you will begin to blend experiential learning with a scientific understanding of stress. We dive into the physiology and psychology of the automatic habitual stress reaction that takes shape anytime we feel threatened or thinks our needs won’t be met. You will continue to explore the role of expanding your awareness and attending to your moment-to-moment experience with kindness and curiosity.



WEEK 5 – Mindful Responding and Resilience

Halfway through the course, your attention will become more stable and you will explore how to use awareness and attention as a means to get yourself unstuck and interrupt automatic stress patterns. You'll begin to respond to situations with greater control and employ strategies to recover from stress more quickly. Your experience will broaden to include open-awareness practice and you will learn tools to work more skillfully with difficult emotions and/or physical pain.



WEEK 6 – Mindful Communication and Transformational Coping

In this class, you will extend the practice of mindfulness to interpersonal relationships, learning the fundamentals of mindful communication and the primary communication styles that take shape when communications become difficult. We'll explore various coping strategies that support “stress hardiness” and resilience.



WEEK 7 – Self-Care and Everyday Mindfulness

In class seven, you will learn various sources of stress that fly under the radar of conscious awareness in modern life. We look at food diets, information and technology diets, and other behaviors that naturally unfold in our daily experience, as well as in the workplace. As you learn to integrate mindfulness more fully into the various spheres of your life, some of the structure of the course is removed so you begin shaping your own personal practice in the way that feels most supportive for you.



WEEK 8 – Keeping the Momentum Going

Class eight marks the end of the course and the beginning of the rest of your life. Together we will review the lessons learned, core meditation practices, and key strategies for mindful living. Lingering questions you may have are addressed and we discuss best practices and resources for continuing this journey of mindfulness.



ALL-DAY RETREAT – Developing Seamless Awareness

This guided all-day retreat experience is a powerful chapter of the MBSR journey. You spend the day practicing seamless awareness, moving in and out of practices that we’ve worked with throughout the preceding 6 weeks. New meditation practices (including loving-kindness and compassion) are folded into the retreat. This sustained practice time will help you deepen your understanding of mindfulness and help you establish the use of mindfulness skills in various life situations.



Pause Graduate Practice Sessions

At the end of the 8-week course, you'll be invited to join monthly graduate practice sessions for sustaining support to keep your practice alive.

Special Bonuses Included with Tuition

Total additional value of $192!

BONUS #1

BONUS #2

UNLIMITED LIVE STREAM MEMBERSHIP FOR THREE FULL MONTHS

Value of $150

3 GUEST PASSES

Meditation is better with pals! Bring up to 3 guests to Pause live stream classes.

Value of $42

Join the Stress Reduction Program Today

Wednesday Evenings

April 7 - May 26

6-8:30pm PST  |  Live Online

All-Day Online Retreat - May 15

Tuition = $549

Instructor:

Laura Martin

(River Rock Mindfulness)

Read Bio

Sunday Evenings

May 9 – June 27

6:30-9pm Pacific  |  Live Online

All-Day Online Retreat – June 12

Tuition = $549

Instructor:

Ryan Kenny

Read Bio

Registration for the Spring MBSR programs is now closed.

To receive an email when the fall MBSR programs are posted, please click the button below.

Questions?

We'd love to talk with you.

Email: connect@pausemeditation.org
Phone: 503.343.4831

Not quite ready for an 8-week course?

Our 4-week Focus + Calm course is a great place to start.

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