Meditate Wenatchee

It is certainly safe to say that stress is happening for all of us on some level, and we all have habits around stress or things that always set us off or make us feel “stressed.”  However, for many people today, the chronicity and toxicity of stress is so intense or habitually hard-wired, that we are literally making ourselves sick.  Stress is part of our lives more than ever before. 

Seventy-five to 90% of all doctor’s office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.   -webMD

There is no question that the physiological stress response in our bodies is both fast and powerful and is often happening behind the scenes–without us even knowing.  What Mindfulness can teach us is that the stress response is also mediated by how we perceive what’s happening.  In other words, we feel stressed when we perceive that a situation will exceed, or has exceeded, our resources.

Every one of us has a different tipping point for stress and a personal definition of stress.  And the way in which we “see,” or perceive the world, matters.  This includes what is happening around us; at work, in our homes, our environment, in our local and larger communities, globally, and what is happening in our bodies and minds.  Mindfulness is a place where we can gain awareness and take back control over the stress, and the way we perceive stress, in our lives.

Mindfulness and meditation is also a powerful way to learn how to rest our bodies and minds.  We’ve taken to living at a non-sustainable pace that we are not adapted for and this means often that the biggest challenge is allowing ourselves to go “offline” and just be–to rest and to heal.  MBSR offers a 2-month supported environment to learn just this.

Recent research in the Body-Mind branch of medicine has given validity and credentials to this practice for the first time in our human history.  We’ve taken an ancient practice and squeezed it into a medical research model and……ta-da, now we have evidence that it works!  Many thanks to Jon Kabat- Zinn, Ph.D., who pioneered this work in the late 70’s for patients at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

There is so much more to read about MBSR, its origins and the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn.  He is a prolific author, teacher and advocate for cultivating the tools of self-awareness for a better life and a better world.

Research shows Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR):

• Boosts the immune system

• Reduces chronic pain

• Increases attention and sharpens mental focus

• Improves coping with conditions like depression and anxiety

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Is:

MBSR is an eight-week educational course designed to empower participants to take an active role in the management of their health and wellness.  The curriculum teaches body and mind awareness practices to assist people living with daily stress and those with physical or psychological related pain and illness.

This curriculum is evidence-based and is considered the gold standard to reduce stress and enhance health and well-being. For more on MBSR.

What To Expect: 

• A self-investigative process to learn about your stress related habits and patterns. 

• Activate your body’s natural relaxation response, turning off “fight-flight” reactivity. 

• Deepen your Body-Mind connection and re-establish resilience, balance and a sense of well-being. 

• Develop attentional tools to manage physical, emotional and psychological pain and suffering. 

• Investigate the healing power of compassion in your life. 

• Learn about mindful communication and how to be more skillful in all relationships.

• Gain more control over the “monkey-mind”and feel empowered to live life more fully.

Commitment:

Even though all of our lives are full and challenges can and do arise that may thwart our best efforts, to receive the benefit from a program like MBSR, you must be ready to make your best effort. This means attending all eight class sessions, the full day of Mindfulness and engaging with the home practice as best as you can. 

The invitation is to bring a gentle but consistent effort with an open-mind and a spirit of interest and curiosity. The support from the instructor is always available to you, as is the recorded and written materials, and from the group itself, but the decision to commit to MBSR can come only from you.  Are you ready to make this happen for you?

This Course Offers:

• A safe, supportive & structured learning environment

• Guided mindfulness meditation practices

• Group dialogue and discussions

• Gentle stretching and mindful movement

• PDF Workbook & access to home practice audio files

Time & Place:

We will meet 9 times total.  Each Monday for 2.5 hours per week from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm and additionally for our Day of Mindfulness retreat day.  We begin spring quarter on March 27th and end on May 15th. The classroom opens 15- minutes before class starts.  The course location for all meetings is 10 Orondo Ave Suite C, Wenatchee, WA.  This is the Midtown building and the business of Wenatchee Community Acupuncture.

In Person Learning:

While there are benefits of both online and in person learning, we are planning to be in person, for this quarter.  If for whatever reason you are only interested in online learning, please send us an email and let us know of your interest.  If you need to miss a class for any reason, and you know ahead of time, we may be able to record the session for you.  However, it is not recommended to miss more than one session.

Registration: 

To register simply fill in the form at the bottom of this page and I will be in touch with you to schedule a brief phone interview to answer any questions.  After this, payment is the final step for official registration and can be done via Cash App or Venmo. 

Payment & Cancellation Policy: 

Cost for this 27-hour course is available on a sliding scale.  The range is between $300 – $550. You decide what you can afford to pay and what feels reasonable and fair. Payment in full is preferred at time of registration. If this is not possible, we also offer a zero interest 3-installment payment plan over the course of the 8-week program.  There are also two partial scholarship slots for this course.  Contact us for details and eligibility.

Cancellation: If you have paid upon registration, you are eligible for a full refund if you cancel within 7 business days of the first class.  After that time, you can choose to be enrolled in a future class or lose your payment if you decide the course is not for you.  

Who this class is for: 

This adult class is open to the general public and is taught in English. Come join us in a learning adventure!  

 Join The Mindfulness Movement–here and now!

What Previous MBSR Students Are Saying: