Our Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course offers a chance to build and strengthen resilience in a frantic and uncertain world. There is growing evidence to suggest that the practice of mindfulness protects our mental and physical health, and is an effective adjunct treatment in chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, cancer, anxiety, and depression.

Each class includes a chance to discuss what comes up for each individual in learning the techniques. This may often lead into some discussions on neuroscience and the evidence supporting mindfulness practices in a variety of contexts.

Home practice is set each week. Each class includes an opening meditation, discussion, guided meditation practices, enquiry about the practice, other mindful exercises and a closing sit with a weekly poem that 'speaks' to the theme of the weekly class. We allow 2.15 hours per class which varies depending on the group from 2 to 2.5 hours.

This course is led by our newest member of the team, Dr Nick Penney BSc (Hons) Ost Med, PhD (Musculoskeletal Medicine).

Nick is available for help and support both throughout the course and on an ongoing basis.

Read below for a course outline:

Week 1: Remembering to step out of automatic pilot and experience the moment.

Learn how to interrupt your automatic pilot, slow down and pay attention to your immediate experience, use sensations as an anchor, move from 'doing; into 'being' mode and notice the flow of thoughts, emotions and sensations that arise moment to moment.

Week 2: Thoughts, emotions and sensations: what the mind does!

Differentiate between thoughts, emotions and sensations, notice how they relate to reactions and behaviour, come back to the present moment over and over, practice patience and acceptance, recognise judgement, cultivate curiosity and kindness towards your experiences.

Week 3: Mindfulness of breath and movement.

Engage the breath as an anchor to the present moment, recognise patterns of distress and suffering, use mindful movement to facilitate attention in the moment, cultivate sitting practice, use awareness of hearing and sounds, learn how to turn positive events into positive experiences.

Week 4: Staying present with emotions.

Learn more about your stress reactivity, distress and experiential avoidance, explore emotion in an accepting, curious and creative way, use metaphor to work with emotions, recognise thoughts as being associated with strong emotions, and use the breath as a way of 'being' with strong and unpleasant emotions.

Week 5: Thoughts are not facts!

Realise that your thoughts are not facts, recognise patterns of unhelpful thinking, look 'at' thoughts not 'from' them, use metaphor to work with thoughts and interrupt ruminative thinking through bringing your attention to breath and body.

Week 6: Allowing and letting be.

Expanding on what you learnt in classes 4 & 5, turn toward rather than away from distress and suffering, cultivate acceptance of all experience, and use the body to work with distressing experiences.

Optional all day silent retreat: 

Sunday 28th November, continuous practice in silence, usually held for 6 hours on the Sunday.

Week 7: Looking after myself; applying mindfulness.

Practice without guidance, incorporate mindfulness into daily life, explore how you might simplify your life and reflect on how you might better look after yourself.

Week 8: Making mindfulness part of my life.

Exploring what we have already achieved, recognise mindfulness as a way of living, not a technique, and explore ways to support ongoing practice in your life.

When:

Our MBSR course commences on Tuesday 19 October from 6:00pm – 8:15pm and ends on Tuesday 7th December. There is also an optional 6 hour silent retreat on Sunday 28 November. 

Where:

The course will be held at the Halswell Rd Clinic, 64 Halswell Road Hoon Hay

We have 10 places available which will be allocated on a 'first come first served' basis.

Cost:

 The cost of the course is $690.00 inc GST. The silent retreat is $57.50 inc GST for the day.

More information:

If you would like to register or request further information please email admin@osteopath.net.nz, or call us on 03 322 4506 with any questions.