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a practical practice for
real people dealing with
real life. 

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Register for MBSR

I want to help you feel less stressed.

For more than 25 years, I’ve taught mindfulness to people looking for relief from the stress, overwhelm, and demands of everyday life. MBSR is where so much of that work began for me—and I’m excited to teach this powerful 8-week program live online again.

You don’t have to live with this much stress.

Stress has a way of taking over.

When we're under a lot of stress, it doesn't stay neatly contained to the thing we're stressed about. It can affect how we sleep, how we feel in our bodies, how we respond to the people around us, how clearly we think, and how much we're able to enjoy our lives.

And while we can't remove every stressful circumstance, we can change what all that stress is doing to us.

That's what Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction was created to help us do.

 

MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION

What is MBSR?

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979.

It was originally created to help people living with chronic pain and stress learn practical ways to reduce their suffering and improve their quality of life.

Today, MBSR is one of the most established and widely studied mindfulness programs in the world.

And at its heart, it is remarkably practical.

Over eight weeks, you'll learn and practice simple mindfulness meditations designed to help reduce stress—and develop ways of responding to the challenges of everyday life that don't leave you quite so overwhelmed by them.
 
Register for MBSR
THE RESEARCH

Decades of research. Real-world benefits.

While no program eliminates stress from our lives, research suggests that MBSR can make a meaningful difference in how much stress—and the difficulties that often come with it—we experience.


Here are just a few of the findings:

29 STUDIES
2,668 PEOPLE

Less Stress

A large analysis of MBSR research found particularly strong effects on stress, with benefits still evident at follow-up.

ANXIETY 

Less anxiety

MBSR has also been shown to reduce anxiety. In one major clinical trial, an 8-week MBSR program was found to be as effective as a commonly prescribed first-line medication for adults diagnosed with anxiety disorders.

WELL BEING

Feeling better overall

Research has found improvements not only in stress, but also in depression, distress, and overall quality of life following MBSR.

Your Guide

Michelle DuVal, MA

For Michelle, MBSR is where much of this work began.

I first discovered MBSR more than 40 years ago, when my father was accepted into an internship with Jon Kabat-Zinn at UMass Medical Center, where he immersed himself in the early MBSR program—attending as many as five programs a day.

Through him, I was introduced to MBSR very early in my life and eventually became what is still quite rare: a second-generation MBSR teacher. MBSR fundamentally shaped the way I understand and teach mindfulness. What I loved then is what I still love about it now: it is practical. We practice meditation not to become better meditators, but because of what the practice can change in our actual lives.

Over eight weeks, I’ll guide you through the practices and principles of MBSR—and help you discover how they can become part of your own life, long after the course is over.

THE 8-WEEK LIVE ONLINE PROGRAM

$175 + tax

8 weeks · Live Online
Tuesdays, Sept. 29 – Nov. 17
6:00–7:30 PM MT on Zoom

8 live weekly MBSR classes
Each week, we’ll meet live online as a group for guided mindfulness practice, teaching, discussion, and the shared experience of learning MBSR together.

Guided mindfulness practices
Learn the core practices of MBSR, including sitting meditation, body scan, mindful movement, and walking meditation.

Week 6: Extended Practice Session
During Week 6, we’ll devote our full 90-minute class to meditation practice together.

Everything you need for home practice
You’ll receive guided meditations, an e-coursebook, and recordings of every live session to support your practice between classes—and long after the program ends.

Register for MBSR
Faq's

Frequently Asked Questions

MBSR PROGRAM OVERVIEW

What We’ll Explore Each Week

Week 1 — Foundations of Mindfulness

  • What mindfulness is—and what it isn't
  • What neuroscience can teach us about mindfulness and meditation
  • The #1 obstacle to establishing a meditation practice
  • The three foundational skills of mindfulness meditation
  • How to begin a regular home practice

Week 2 — Stress & the Present Moment

  • What “distraction” really means in meditation
  • What we mean when we talk about being present
  • Where stress comes from—and how mindfulness can help
  • The difference between formal and informal mindfulness practice
  • How to use mini-meditations in the middle of everyday life

Week 3 — Working With the Breath

  • Going deeper with mini-meditations and present-moment awareness
  • A deeper look at where our stress really comes from
  • Two key elements of a supportive meditation posture
  • How to practice mindfulness of breathing
  • Continuing to build a regular home practice

Week 4 — The Body in Mindfulness

  • How naming our experience can change our relationship to it
  • The important role of the body in mindfulness practice
  • How to bring mindfulness to movement
  • Learning and practicing moving meditation

Week 5 — Bringing Mindfulness Into Everyday Life

  • How to practice mindful eating
  • Learning and practicing walking meditation
  • What a mindfulness retreat is
  • Why extended periods of practice can deepen what we're learning

Week 6 — Extended Practice

  • Stepping out of our usual routine and into sustained practice
  • Experiencing a 90-minute period of guided mindfulness practice together
  • Exploring what becomes possible when we spend less time learning about mindfulness and more time simply practicing it

Week 7 — Mindfulness in Relationships

  • Bringing mindfulness into our interactions with other people
  • Recognizing our habitual reactions during communication
  • Using facial awareness as a mindfulness practice
  • Exploring how greater awareness can change the way we listen and respond

Week 8 — Taking the Practice With You

  • Exploring contemplative meditation practice
  • Understanding some of the benefits of long-term mindfulness practice
  • Looking back at what you've learned over eight weeks
  • Creating a realistic plan for continuing your practice after MBSR ends