People take my Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes because they want to improve their lives. Some people are suffering from emotional or chronic physical pain. Some people have stressful lives and want to learn to manage their stresses better. You can take a look at the testimonial page and see what some people have said about these classes.
Why take the class with me? People come to me for a number of reasons. They know that I am a psychotherapist and know people well. They know I have an extensive background in education and that I know how to get new ideas across and am an excellent teacher. They know that the classes I teach are based on the same curriculum as the classes being taught to the executives at a number of huge corporations right now, including the Google Executives, Deutsche Bank executives and many others. They know that the research on this work is well documented and scientifically based. They know that the classes lead to life-transforming changes. My classes in fact use the same curriculum bases as those being taught at many hospitals and institutions across Canada and the USA, including Sunnybrook Hospital, St. Michael's and St. Joseph's hospitals in Toronto, The Center for Mindfulness in the USA, etc. The research shows results for many physical illnesses as well as for depression and anxiety. I would strongly encourage you to check out some of this research. I would also encourage you to talk to me and to talk to people who have taken the classes. I would encourage you to read some of the myriad of books out there right now on this topic as well.
Another word for Mindfulness could be Awareness, or simply, paying attention.
Mindfulness means paying attention in a special way.
It means growing in awareness. It means staying in the present moment ( isn't this the only moment we have, after all?) It means suspending judgement and accepting what is. After all, what is is. It is what it is, isn't it?
When we are mindful, we are where we are when we are there. Such a novel idea if you think about it in today's hectic, often chaotic world.
When was the last time you took to "smell the roses"? We live in a world where people are constantly "on". We think about work while we are driving. We phone while we are computing. We eat while we read. We worry while we sleep.
Learning to be mindful is to give yourself the gift of recharging your batteries. It is the gift of stillness and peace and acceptance. it is taking time to connect with the self, to pay attention to this moment - our only moment. it is the gift of healing that we give ourselves.
Mindfulness is easy to learn. We all have it in us- it is as natural as breathing.
The expression Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction was first coined by Jon Kabat- Zinn to describe the program begun in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Jon was head of the Center for Mindfulness. He developed this program to serve people who were suffering chronic pain and serious illnesses and for whom there seemed to be no more relief from traditional interventions ( eg. drugs and surgeries).
You can read a lot more about this program in Jon's best-selling book, Full Catastrophe Living. Extensive research has been carried out since that time- in fact there have been literally thousands of research projects. One can say now it is a science based program.
My program is modelled on this early program, which continues to be successful around the world now. In the Center for Mindfulness alone, more than 17,000 patients have benefited to date.
If you would like more information or you would like more reference or reading materials, please don't hesitate to call me. Better still, join a group and learn for yourself.
