Registration for our next MBSR course (October 29th through December 17th) is now open, and registration is information below.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (or MBSR) is an 8-week course developed in the 1970s by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, to help patients who were dealing with chronic pain. Since it was created, more than 25,000 people have completed an MBSR course.

Mindfulness is an awareness that comes when we pay attention, on purpose, to the present moment, with kindness and without judgment. Mindfulness can help us to better see ways that we can deal with stress in our lives, and change our relationships to parts of our lives that we find challenging or painful.

And, while we all may experience moments of mindfulness in our lives, programs such as MBSR can help us to be more mindful in our daily lives, much like taking music lessons or a fitness class can help us improve other kinds of skills.

While many mindfulness-based programs exist today, MBSR has been studied extensively, and research has shown that the MBSR course is effective in helping many people better deal with stress, anxiety, depression, pain, chronic illnesses, and a range of other challenges. For example, a study published in 2022 found that MBSR performed similarly to a common medication used to help treat anxiety.

The MBSR 8-week program

The 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course is intensive, and involves approximately 25 hours of class meetings, as well as daily mindfulness practice:

  • We meet once a week for about 2.5 hours
  • After the sixth class, we have an all-day class which meets for approximately 7 hours
  • And, there is daily homework that will take between 45 minutes to an hour each day

MBSR classes and daily homework focus on mindfulness exercises (meditation, gentle stretching, body awareness) and bringing greater awareness all parts of our life. Class sessions are interactive, including guided mindfulness exercises and discussions stress, how we perceive the world, how we handle challenging social situations, and more.

Each class builds on the previous sessions, and it is important for each person to attend all of the scheduled class sessions.

If you are interested in the MBSR class, but you know in advance that you will have to miss two or more of the scheduled class sessions, it would be better to wait for another opportunity to take the MBSR course in the future.

Upcoming MBSR classes: October 2024

Neil Schmitzer-Torbert will be offering our next next mindfulness-based stress reduction class starting on October 29th at the Quest for Balance Wellness Studio in Crawfordsville.

The class will meet:

  • October 29th through December 17th (Tuesdays) from 6pm to 8:30pm
  • All-day class: Sunday, December 8th – 8:30am to 3:30pm

Anyone who is interested in this MBSR course is encouraged to attend one of our mindfulness workshops to learn more about mindfulness and the 8-week MBSR class. We will be offering two Mindfulness and Stress workshops in October (Tuesday Oct 15th and 22nd, 6-7pm at the Crawfordsville District Public Library). More details are posted on our Workshopspage once those dates are set.

Cost

Typically, an 8-week MBSR course will cost between $450-$700 for an in-person or virtual class. The cost is driven mainly by the intensive nature of the program (the intensive class sessions and out of class work required for the instructor).

In order to make the MBSR program accessible to anyone who is willing to commit to the work, we are offering this class using what we are calling pay-it-forward pricing. By this, what we mean is that we will use registration fee to support people who take an MBSR class in the future.

At registration, we ask each person to consider their personal situation and commit to an amount that is reasonable for them (between $25 and $450, more details are below in the Registration section). This fee should be something that you could pay over one to two months without being a financial hardship.

Registration for the October 2024 MBSR course

Registration is open, and the class will be limited to a maximum of 20 people.

Please use the form on this page or reach out directly to Neil (neil@mindfulinmoco.com). After registering, Neil will reach out with more information about the course and payment.

  • Registration fee: At registration, consider what you would be able to pay in order to support the MBSR class.
    • If it would not be a hardship for you, we would encourage you to commit to paying our regular course fee ($250).
      • You can also choose any amount between $25 and $250.
      • And if you are able, consider paying a bit more (up to $450) to help support our MBSR classes in the future.
    • We ask that people pay at least $25 of the fee upfront at registration to reserve their spot in the course.
      • And once the course begins, at least half of the registration fee should be paid by the halfway point of the class (November 26th) and the full course fee by the end of the course (December 17th).

MBSR registration form

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name
Do you prefer:
Have you attended one of our workshops? (Diving into Mindfulness or Mindfulness and Stress)
This class will use a "pay-it-forward" registration fee, where your contributions will support people who take the MBSR class in the future.

If it would not be a hardship, we ask you commit to paying our regular registration fee ($250). You can also choose an amount between $25 and $250.

And if you are able, consider paying a bit more (up to $450) to help sustain our MBSR classes in the future.

Questions about MBSR?

If you would like to know more about our MBSR courses, or have a question about an upcoming class, please feel free to reach out to Neil (neil@mindfulinmoco.com).

And, you can also use the form below to sign up for our email list: