Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
MBSR IN-PERSON Program
with Karen Sothers, M.Ed., E-RYT
Please note: Karen is currently not offering the MBSR In-Person Program. If you are interested in being notified when the next MBSR In-Person Program will be offered by Karen, please click HERE to send her an email about your interest. If you are interested in learning about her upcoming MBSR Online Program, click HERE.
MBSR Overall Description
In the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8-Week In-Person Program modeled after the world-renowned MBSR developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., you will learn how to:
- Pay attention with curiosity and kindness to your present moment experience
- Intentionally respond with wisdom and compassion rather than react automatically
- Relate skillfully to physical and emotional pain to live more fully in the midst of it
- Use mindfulness meditation to improve your sleeping patterns
- Build your capacity to learn from and transform difficult emotions, such as anxiety, anger, frustration and depression
- Increase self-acceptance and self-compassion while decreasing critical self-judgments
- Create and sustain a daily formal and informal mindfulness practice
- Apply MBSR as a highly effective complement to the conventional medical care you are currently receiving to relieve physical symptoms, such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems or high blood pressure, etc
MBSR Overall Benefits
According to published research plus as reported by our graduates of MBSR at SCIM:
- Long-term relief from physical and psychological symptoms
- More effective responses to stress and less reactive
- Improved energy levels, mindset, mood and sleeping patterns
- Less pain and improved pain management
- Overall increase in acceptance and compassion for oneself and others
What are the MBSR 8-Week In-Person Program modalities?
Throughout the 8-weeks you will experience:
- Systematic instruction in formal mindfulness meditation practices
- Listening to mindfulness audio recordings in-between classes to create your own daily formal meditation practice (10 – 45 minutes per day)
- How to integrate informal mindfulness practices as part of your daily activities, such as mindful breathing, eating, driving, exercising, working, communicating, etc.
- Gentle mindful yoga postures adapted to your needs
- Walking meditation practices
- A one-on-one phone session with Karen (30 minutes between classes 1 – 3)
- Learning about the science, physiology and psychology of mindfulness and stress using the visual aid of power point slides to guide the exploration and discussion
- Reading from the comprehensive MBSR program manual to reinforce the in-class learning process
- Group and dyad dialogue interactions to enhance the awareness of what you are learning and practicing each week
- Weekly Mindfulness Encouraging Words emails to support your in-between class formal and informal practices
- The Day of Mindfulness retreat on a Saturday between week 6 and 7 to deepen and expand your mindfulness practices
What is the MBSR 8-Week In-Person Program structure?
- Eight Weekly Classes of 2.5 – 3 hours each (A total of 30 hours class time including the Day of Mindfulness)
- One-on-One phone session (30 minutes) with Karen between classes 1 – 3
- Eight weekly Mindfulness Encouraging Words emails to support your mindfulness practice between class sessions
- Day of Mindfulness retreat on a Saturday between week 6 and 7
- Commitment to your own daily formal (10 – 45 minutes per day) and informal mindfulness practices in-between classes
Where is the MBSR 8-Week In-Person Program held?
Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, 10820 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037
What is the tuition fee for the MBSR 8-Week In-Person Program?
Tuition fee is $595. Fee includes the 8-week series, Day of Mindfulness retreat, comprehensive MBSR program manual, weekly email with additional practice support and (downloadable) mindfulness audio files.
Please note: Pre-registration the MBSR 8-Week In-Person program is required.
To register and/or if you have questions, email Karen by clicking HERE or call Karen at 858-481-2251.
MBSR Program Director/Teacher: Karen Sothers, MEd, E-RYT, has been directing and teaching MBSR since 2004. She has completed the MBSR teacher training taught by the UMASS Center for Mindfulness. Karen earned a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences from Kansas State University and a Masters of Education in Health and Exercise Science from Vanderbilt University. She is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT). Karen taught the MBSR In-Person Program at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine from 2004 to 2020. With the onset of COVD in-person group restrictions in March 2020, Karen created a highly beneficial online version of MBSR that she has been leading for the past 3 years. For more than 30 years, Karen has dedicated her life to teaching the art and science of conscious living. She blends healing and transformative mind-body practices with the most current research in mindfulness, resiliency and compassion to inspire people to live more fully, and with greater ease and vitality. Karen is highly regarded for her down-to-earth teaching style and wise, compassionate presence that makes stress mastery, mindfulness and other mind-body practices accessible to everyone.