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Hello! I just started the MBSR and can´t find the audio guidance for the body scan. could anybody help me? .

Hello @tdeplato, from time to time I struggle as well. What is your main struggle? The posture, the guidance, the voice, the pace? There might be some insight there to look into with curiosity. I have added a sitting meditation to the overview led by Jon Kabat-Zinn the founder of MBSR. Tara Brach also has a simple meditation which is suitable for the beginning of the MBSR course but it's much shorter. https://www.tarabrach.com/meditation-coming-home-breath/

Hi, I'm Amy, pleased to meet you! I'm a newish member too & currently on the MBSR course. Big congratulations on your post, it takkes a lot to put yourself out there & you did it, well done! Hope to keep in touch with you. Love & light x

I have successfully completed the MBSR program and it has definitely influenced my life and doula practice. I’m very grateful for this free program. I did note there was a certification emailed from happiness.com but did not receive that. At the end of my program I had a choice to review or get certification. As I choose review to happily give my positive feedback the certification option never reappeared. Just curious how to follow up on that?

Hello All Just started the MBSR course last week and am finishing week 1 getting ready for Week 2. The videos in week 1 were incredibly inspiring and interesting. Thank you for Jon Kabat-Zinn and all the amazing teachers out there who have helped and shared their experience. I am a practitioning yogi and have practised yoga relaxation so am familiar with body scan techniques. Inevitably I still fall asleep myself during the practice! I find it's easier to relax in it whilst lying on the floor, but I'm more prone to sleep here. Doing it sitting in a chair keeps me from sleep, where at least I catch myself moving if I do find sleep coming on! In terms of practice, it's interesting starting at different points in the body. Vipassana meditation generally starts from top of the head and moves down to toes and then back up through the back of the body. With yoga it starts in the right hand. There are a number of different ways to approach it, it seems, and I wonder whether different ways would work at different times, depending on how one is feeling or might need at the time. It is interesting to experiment thus far. ? Thank you all for sharing. ?

Today was my first body scan. Physically I noticed far more tension in my body than I had thought I was carrying. I knew that my shoulders are full of knots but hadn’t realised how sore my head was - and that my tongue was glued to the top of my mouth. My dentist’s comments about signs of teeth grinding are starting to make sense! At one point I was surprised to find myself feeling very sceptical about whether the meditation was going to work for me. I’m totally sold on the science of MBSR (or so I thought!), so that was an unexpected train of thought. I was sorry to finish the meditation and am already looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.

In MBSR, I often talk about how some of the meditations we practice are not meant to calm the mind. A calmer mind may or may not be a side product. So how do you calm the mind? What are your go-to strategies in times of unrest or when you are in bed, but you can't sleep?

I've used this meditation long before I started mbsr. It makes people easier to deal with. At least that's the result I found. I really struggle with my dad. But it was always easier to deal with him after I wished him to he safe, healthy, happy, and free from suffering. And I'd always start with this phrase, just as everyone wants to be happy and free from suffering, may my dad be content and free from suffering. It helped so much!!! So I love this meditation. I just like doing it without a recording best. But awesome practice to focus on!

I started meditating in 2014 after coming across more and more studies suggesting it's a positive effect on the mind, thoughts, emotions and our mental but also bodily health. So I was first convinced to try it by science. A few months after having done my first MBSR course (The same we offer here for free btw) I was blown away by the profound changes that had happened over time and were only really visible in hindsight. As I dug deeper into the science and worked on my personal practise that's when for me also the spiritual side started coming more into focus with questions about purpose, boundaries, morals, ethics, service, ... I practice daily, mostly insight meditation and loving kindness. Some days I allow myself to let a few minute checks in count as "having meditated" too.

Tara Brach has lots of inspiring pieces around the subjects of being too hard on yourself, feeling like not being enough. She calls it the trance of unworthiness. There's one thing I'd like to point out regarding the MBSR course. If we have way too much on our plate, after the course, we will still have way too much on our plate. But we get assistance developing behaviours like knowing and setting boundaries and asking for help.

Welcome to happiness ✨ How inspiring to read about your journey so far with mindfulness and that it has helped you ? I hope you enjoy the MBSR course too!

Hi all. I've just started the MBSR course and have just got to the 7 myths of meditation, but there only seems to be 2? I can't find the other pages, as it then goes on to another video? Am I doing something wrong? ??‍♀️

Hi guys n gals.... Just a quick intro here. I'm new to this site and am undergoing the MBSR free course. I've been practising Yoga for a couple of years and it's really spoken to me. My friend a nutritionist introduced me recently to mindful eating and I decided I wanted to know more and apply this process to all things in life. My journey so far has taught me so much about myself and helped me with my Dad and Husband who both suffer from different strains of mental illness - after all its hard being strong and smiley all the time. I needed something for me to help me have a better understanding of the world and my loved ones as well as myself and have found mindfulness is just the ticket. It helps me approach situations in a better calmer way and deal with them so much more effectively. I look forward to continuing my journey with all you lovely likeminded people xxx

Welcome to happiness ✨ If you have any good traveling tips, feel free to start a new topic about that. I'm sure there are lots of others who share the love for exploring new places ? Hope you enjoy the MBSR course!

Welcome, Linda! Your motivation inspires me I'm currently doing the Grief course, and I don't know if I'll get a certificate at the end, but I can double check for you about the MBSR course, if that's the one you're enrolled in. I wish you the very best on your journey and please reach out if I can assist with anything ✨

Hi i'm new here , and l am looking forward to the future of this platform. Lets be honest about Facebook ? This resonates true .... Anyway a bit about myself . I love travelling ( hardly got started in terms of the world ) , so any experiences shared will be fun . Also just started the MBSR course . Hello again :-)

Greetings, I'm Sheena, a Baltimore-based meditation teacher launching a mindful leadership business. MBSR came up during two of my teacher training programs so I decided to check it out for myself. I currently serve on the Board of Directors of Mind Oasis, a meditation-related nonprofit dedicated to making meditation more accessible. Excited to start this journey with all of you. Best, Sheena

Greeting everyone. I am a newbie to the site and hoping to take away some new ideas for coping with my depression/anxiety which unfortunately seem to hand in hand. I am currently enrolled in the free MBSR course here and still trying to learn my way around. I have suffered with depression and anxiety for years but I have experienced a couple of rough years which has put me into a deep depression. I didn't deal with my issues for years and with all that has occurred in the last while everything I repressed for so many years has coming flooding back and I am now trying to learn how to cope. The ruminating thoughts are awful and seem like an endless negative feedback loop. I am hopeful between this site, the course here, my CBT therapist and sheer will I am going to come out on the other side better. I have never been one to talk about my issues with others and I am quickly learning that is probably one of the best things to do. I have been ashamed for so many years of my illness. I am learning slowly that I am not alone in my illness and I hope between all I am doing here and with therapy I will improve mentally. Thanks for listening

Regarding the MBSR course, I think it's pretty straight forward: Doing the formal and informal practices as scheduled in the course. Within that, you can choose between a longer and a shorter version. But stick to the minimum time and stick with the type of meditation. Altering the position as needed is ok. Once you've finished the course, and you want to maintain your meditation routine, it becomes harder. For example, I found myself cheating using a Yoga Nidra session on insight timer to fall asleep. It's counted there as a meditation but not only did I know that while it does have it's benefits it's not the kind of mental exercise I was supposed to be doing, rather something I could do as well. After a while, I also became aware of how the positive changes mindfulness meditation were getting weaker. Going to a Vipassana retreat was my way to kickstart my meditation practice again thoroughly. Somehow I feel it's like going to the gym. If it's not somehow hard if there's no "sweat" if there's no inner resistance to overcome there's little to be gained, and if we are honest to ourselves we know when we are making the easy choice. I easily fall asleep lying down as well unless I am incredibly well-rested. So I sometimes do the bodyscan in my regular meditation position, which helps a lot staying awake as well as staying warm as I do use a warm blanket.

In the MBSR course forum, I often talk about being the expert for yourself and therefore encourage people to make their own choices about what works and what doesn't work for them: alter a position, stand up or lye down and so on. At the same time, our mind continually tries to push us to choose comfort over courage: The courage to challenge yourself, your perceptions, your preconceptions, your relationship with the inner and outer world. How can we tell the difference? Where is the line between adapting to our unique situation and simply choosing comfort?

This is a really nice and well led meditation. There's one thing I'd like to point out. In the MBSR practices we are mostly looking at what is already there without adding to it, evoking sensations or trying to get rid of sensations, toughts or emotions. This color meditation asks you to do the bodyscan with the twist of sending a certain color into the different parts of the body. This is not the non-judgemental curiosity and openness towards what is already there the classic MBSR bodyscan cultivates. Maybe try both and see the different approaches for yourself. ?

As @ShareeBelshaw already pointed out, the MBSR course can help loads with rumination and negative self-talk. So great to hear someone talk about the program and recommend it with the same enthusiasm as I do. Thank you! I know this from my own experience and the amazing effect it had in hindsight in my own life motivated to become an MBSR trainer myself. However, if you are going through a strong depressive episode looking more intensively at your thoughts might not be advised. Even if you are managing your depression reasonably well at the moment, you should talk to your therapist before you join the program. Also, speak to friends and family about it, and always remember "you are the expert for yourself". We usually know if we are lazy and our thoughts want to talk us into not going to the gym or going to the gym really hurts our knees or spine. It's similar with this there is some inner resistance we need to overcome to get our meditation and mindfulness practise going, but that's different to actually hurt ourselfs. We usually know which one is which. Besides that welcome! I think talking about depression and mental health, sharing our stories and struggles and most importantly realizing we are not alone with what we are going through might be one of the most powerful steps to acceptance and from there to change.

Hi all, I am on week one of MBSR course. I just completed first MBS. I have done these in the past but never for 30 minutes. Actually my journey to within, back to self and body began in January this year when I really committed to doing a MBS daily. I did it for three months and then began practising other ways of going within with less video voice guidance and did quick mental MBS when needed ( when wanting to be responsive to environment instead of relative). Found it difficult to stay focused for the 30 minutes today. Dog snoring beside me, thoughts of helping others came up mainly while feeling into stomach area ( interesting alignment with chakras...) and I just had surgery so overall lots of discomfort in body. I also did this laying down due to recent surgery and struggle with that as I generally do this practice seated. I will comment again when week one is done and See the differences for me. K

MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) is an 8-week foundation course that provides an introduction to the practice of mindfulness and is suitable for adults who are ready to invest in their health and wellbeing. There will be plenty of opportunity for each participant to get the guidance they need to establish their own personal mindfulness meditation practice. MBSR is a certificated course that gives you the grounding for any further specialist training in mindfulness and to move on to teacher training courses if you wanted to in the future. In an effort to make the course accessible to all I am offering a sliding scale of fees, from which you can choose as fits your means without requiring any proof, we call this 'trust basis' - you pay what you can honestly afford- £195/ 225/ 255 The course will be held at the University of Dundee Chaplaincy on Saturday mornings from 10am until 12.30pm on the following dates: January 11th, 18th, 25th, February 1st, 8th, Full practice day 10am-4pm on Saturday 15th February (held in countryside location very close to Dundee) Feb 22nd, March 7th, March 14th To receive the certificate you cannot miss more than one or two sessions and you must attend the silent day of practice. Please find the application form here: https://earthworks-ecopsychology.com/mindfulness Please email Stephanie in the with your application form to begin the booking process: [email protected] and type "MBSR" in the subject line. Before making a payment please arrange a short informal chat (in person or by phone/ zoom) with Stephanie to check the suitability of the course for you at the current time. If you experience a significant challenging life event near to the time of the course start it will be important to review suitability (fees would of course be refunded if that were the case). The 8 week course is an immersive experience, each class being 2.5 hours and home practice each week of around an hour, that will gradually extend through your normal daily activities so that over the duration of the course you will have integrated mindfulness into your daily life. In addition, a full day of silent (guided) practice is included. Mindfulness Training is about ‘waking up’ to be with reality as it is, with an open, non-judging mind. Mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, however this is a non-religious course that is about opening to our own experience. This is not about trying to attain any state of relaxation, nor is it all about meditation, it is about developing an awareness of how things really are, without grasping at how we wish they were different. Stephanie Gooding is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, HCPC registered, who has practiced mindfulness for around 20 years both for herself and professionally with clients of ages 12 to 75 and over. (This course is for adults age 18+). She has undertaken specialist training with the Mindfulness Network and Bangor University and has a background in study and practice of Mahayana Buddhism. Also see: https://facebook.com/events/568859850551838/?ti=icl

Thank you for your contribution. An essential part of the MBSR course is sharing and hearing about other peoples experiences. Such a wide range and so much beauty, connection and insight is gained by the different viewpoints of the same practice.