Does mindfulness based stress reduction really reduce stress?

Manage the racing mind

Through mindfulness practices participants observe how the mind races into the future, filling them with stresses and anxieties about things that are yet to come, or they find their mind racing back into the past where they ruminate over things that they cannot change.

Live fully in the present

MBSR teaches participants to manage their thoughts and emotions so they can live fully in the present, make peace with the past and let it go. It teaches to observe the mind getting caught into the future and come back to the present, letting go of anxieties or worries of things that may never happen.

Pleasant and unpleasant

Participants explore pleasant experiences, of which there are many, however most of us are so busy caught up in the next thing we miss the magic that is happening around us. Importantly, people learn how to be with unpleasant experiences, which are part of life, and how to relate to them differently, freeing themselves from many upsets.

Stress reduction through direct experience

Through direct experience people come to realise their own power to choose how they want to be in a situation instead of following automatic pilot of previous conditioning. It is the practice of mindfulness that reduces stress, it reminds us to let go and to find peace.

Research

Ample research now shows that mindfulness based stress reduction helps manage stress, anxiety, depression, illness, pain, improve performance, and lead to significant improvements in wellbeing.

"I’m happier, less stressed and more at peace with myself. It has made me appreciate more all the amazing people I have in my life. Thank you," said Niamh, a participant in a recent mindfulness course.

When and where

An eight week course including day retreat will begin in Claregalway on Monday February 6 from 6.30pm to 9pm; or in Athenry on Tuesday February 7 from 10am to 12.30pm. Contact Sue Redmond at 086 8102770 or [email protected].

 

Page generated in 0.2105 seconds.