Life is full of stressful events such as difficult relationships, demanding work, health problems, money issues, too much to do in too little time. When the level of stress exceeds your ability to cope, you may suffer from physical and emotional symptoms such as

• Headaches and backaches
• Frequent illnesses or accidents
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue and sleep problems
• Depression, anxiety, and panic
• Irritability and mood swings
• Chronic pain
• Heart disease

Stress is responsible for lost work days, reduces your ability to perform effectively, and erodes both personal and professional relationships.'

Mindfulness is a way of learning to relate directly to whatever is happening in your life, a way of being responsible for your life, a way of doing something for yourself that no one else can do for you: consciously and systematically working with your own stress, pain, illness, or the challenges and demands of everyday life. You will learn how to slow down, to recognize the warning signs of stress reactions, and to stay focused and relaxed in ways that enhance the body’s natural adaptive and healing abilities and the mind’s ability to choose healthy responses. Mindfulness helps to calm people who are receiving medical care and is an essential foundation for other stress reduction techniques. Some of the benefits of learning mindfulness are:

• More ease and equilibrium in every aspect of life
• Increased clarity, choice, and balance
• Deeper understanding of emotions and thoughts and how they interact
• More refined sensory awareness
• Less suffering from physical and mental difficulties
• More calm and contentment
• Heightened appreciation of life

The class format includes instruction and practice of mindfulness skills, mind-body exercises, group dialogue, and daily home assignments. In this program you will receive:

• 8 weekly classes of 2-1/2 hours each
• One 6-hour retreat on a Saturday
• Recordings with guided meditations and stretching practices
• Notebook with handouts, reading lists, home assignments, resources, etc.
• 20-minute private mindfulness consultation with your instructor

Participants are expected to practice home assignments for 30-40 minutes every day and to complete an initial questionnaire and a culminating evaluation. The program is challenging and life-affirming and requires a strong commitment to participate in class and to practice at home to receive the greatest benefit. Your instructors are committed to and skilled at creating a safe, supportive, and deeply engaging learning environment.

Research on MBSR at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and at the Harvard Medical School shows that the majority of people who attended the eight-week MBSR course reported lasting improvement in both physical and psychological symptoms from conditions such as heart disease, migraine headaches, some auto-immune diseases, obsessive thinking, anxiety, depression, and hostility. They also report an increased ability to relax, greater energy and enthusiasm for life, improved confidence and self-esteem, and more effective coping with both short-term and long-term stress.

View a schedule of upcoming mindfulness courses here!

Email mindfulness@med.unc.edu.  Questions? Phone 919-966-8586.