The next course in spring 2025. Please get in touch with me for more details.
MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR)
THE 8-WEEK COURSE 2024
Discover the power of mindfulness for improved emotional and physical wellbeing on the scientifically proven mindfulness programme.
Course Schedule
The MBSR course includes weekly practice sessions in a small group guided by an experienced mindfulness reached and a retreat-style meditation day in silence.
8 x 2-hour weekly classes + a retreat-style guided meditation day
at CourtX, Eastern Parade, Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 9RF (Southsea seafront)
Dates & times:
Saturdays, 11 am - 1 pm
October 19, 26
November 3, 9, 16, 23, 30
December 7
A retreat-style meditation day: Sunday, November 24, 10:30 - 4:30
Course fee: £245 (includes £60 deposit paid at booking)
Bookings and enquiries: Email Elisa at info@southcoastmindfulness.com or call 079 61 378 891 to book your place.
Course Overview
The Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course is one of the most established and widely researched mindfulness programmes, with decades of evidence of its health benefits. The 8-week MBSR course combines the ancient wisdom of meditation with modern neuroscience and psychology. The group-based course includes elements of teaching, guided meditation and exercises, and discussion. It has been designed for anyone interested in better managing stress and improving physical and psychological well-being to deal effectively with the challenges of modern life.
What You Learn
Mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn developed the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction course in 1979. It is the original and the ‘gold standard’ of mindfulness training, to which many later-created mindfulness programmes refer. The 8-week programme taught all over the world has been shown to effectively deal with challenges such as stress, anxiety, low mood, sleep difficulties, and long-term chronic conditions.
In the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction course, you learn to actively engage in self-care, recognise and manage the effects of stress on your life, and begin to respond to yourself with friendliness and care. You will learn an efficient mind and body awareness technique to improve your self-knowledge and self-acceptance and contribute to personal growth.
How You Learn
The Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction course consists of eight weekly 2-hour sessions, a retreat-style guided meditation day and daily practice at home between the sessions. The course is held in a small group and involves a combination of teaching, guided mindfulness practices and discussion. As part of the course, you will receive a comprehensive mindfulness handbook and mindfulness recordings to use at home.
What will I do in this course
Attend a short one-to-one orientation conversation before the course starts (by phone or Zoom).
Attend 8 weekly sessions lasting 2 hours each week.
Attend a silent, guided meditation day between sessions 6 & 7.
You will be in a group of a maximum of 10 people, facilitated by a qualified and experienced mindfulness teacher.
Each session will have guided and structured meditation practices - many drawn from modern psychology.
Each practice or exercise is followed by a review of what you and/or other participants experienced or discovered in that practice/exercise. This review does not include a discussion of participants’ history or past experiences.
Each session (except the first) includes a review of the previous week’s practice.
Each session is followed by setting the home practice for the week, which includes guided practices and ways to cultivate new habits of mindfulness in everyday life. The recommended time for the home practice is 45 - 60 minutes daily.
You will receive a comprehensive workbook to expand on the themes of each session.
You will have access to a web resource which gives you guided practices to download and written material to support each session.
The teacher available for contact between the sessions
Session Structure
The course follows a carefully structured curriculum and focuses each week on a different aspect of mindfulness. You will learn the principles of mindfulness, practice consistently, and integrate them into your life. You will learn how to train your attention, manage your thoughts and emotions skillfully, respond rather than react to life’s ups and downs, and foster a more profound sense of being.
- Session 1: Introduction to the Course
- Session 2: The Role of Perception
- Session 3: Breath and Movement
- Session 4: Recognizing Stress Patterns
- Session 5: Mindful Stress Response
- Session 6: Interpersonal Mindfulness
- Day of Mindfulness: Guided Meditation Day
- Session 7: Healthy Lifestyle Choices
- Session 8: Sustaining Mindfulness in Life
Who Is It For
The MBSR course is a comprehensive course intended for adults interested in exploring mindfulness to manage stress, develop emotional resilience and improve physical and psychological well-being.
It is suitable for you if:
You are new to mindfulness
You have tried mindfulness before—perhaps listening to an app or reading a book—and you want to experience a course in a group led by a mindfulness teacher.
You have joined a shorter mindfulness course or another 8-week course with a teacher and would like to deepen your skills or rejuvenate your meditation practice.
Where Does The Course Lead You
This is an in-depth program designed to equip participants with a strong understanding and experience of mindfulness for stress management. The participants may continue practising independently utilising the meditation recordings provided, join a meditation group to support habits or register for a specialised mindfulness course to develop skills further.
There are no prerequisites for the MBSR course. If you would like an overview of mindfulness and to try out skills for a shorter period, before further commitment, you can join one of our Introducing Mindfulness (IM) 3-week courses first. This gives you a strong foundation for further learning.
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Mindfulness practice can be a gradual process for those with busy lives, as it encourages us to pause and attentively observe the present moment with care and interest.
Contrary to the common assumption of mindfulness as a relaxation technique, it can also reveal feelings of distraction, tiredness, sadness, or irritability, which is perfectly normal. In fact, mindfulness teaches us to recognize these states and develop adaptive responses. However, with perseverance and support from the course teacher, and keeping in mind that mindfulness is not primarily a relaxation method but a practice that fosters awareness and self-management, participants can experience numerous benefits. Just like acquiring any new skill, experiencing the full benefits of mindfulness may take time.
Between the weekly meetings, you are asked to practice the skills daily, listening to guided meditations and engaging in short exercises to help improve stress response and integrate mindfulness techniques into your life. Life is busy for most of us, so you might find making time for home practice at times challenging. The invitation is to do your best with the home exercises; approaching the challenges you face with care and compassion - this is an important learning in itself. The more you practice, the more you access the benefits, but what you do is between you and you - you will not be checked on how much home practice you have done.
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Mindfulness recognises that while stress is a natural response, long-term exposure without coping strategies can harm our health and relationships.
MBSR has been scientifically proven to reduce stress and enhance well-being, backed by compelling evidence from neuroscience studies. The MBSR course has shown to be beneficial for those dealing with various life challenges, including but not limited to stress, anxiety, chronic pain, depression, and sleep disturbances.Even though every participant’s experience is unique, we hope you begin experiencing some of these benefits rather quickly:
A feeling of having more time and space in your day.
Appreciation for life's enjoyable aspects.
Improved capacity to support yourself during challenging moments like distractions, stress, or anxiety.
Respond to yourself, your thoughts and feelings with acceptance
Improved clarity and compassion in your daily responses, aligning with your values.
Recognise your stress triggers and how to step out of your habitual patterns when under stress
Slow down the emotional reactivity
Respond to others with calm and compassion and experiencing more meaningful relationships
Improve self-knowledge and self-caring habits
Create routines and integrate mindfulness into a part of your life beyond the course.
Your Teacher
Elisa is an experienced Southsea-based mindfulness teacher trained with accredited mindfulness training organisations. Elisa has several years of experience in teaching the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Course.
Elisa is passionate about teaching skills that are strongly rooted in science and modern psychology, delivered with her compassionate and calm style. Elisa regularly develops her mindfulness knowledge and teaching skills through professional training and meditation practice.
Testimonials
“Mindfulness has made such a difference to my daily life. I am able to approach challenging situations in a more positive way and have a wide range of practices to use to integrate into my day. Elisa is an excellent teacher and I would highly recommend this course. Thank you.”
“It has helped me become more aware of myself, and how I react to things, and overall this has led me to become more calm and less anxious. I have found this quite helpful in dealing with depression, and also in how I relate and present to others in a way that I wasn’t previously able to do.”
“All aspects of the course delivery - teaching style, session facilitation, time management, communication, building the rapport together, and safety - were excellent. Very smooth and very professional. Each lesson was given with support, care, empathy, kindness. One hundred percent recommend taking this MBSR course with Elisa.”
“Most importantly I felt the group was a safe space to practice meditation and share your thoughts and feelings. I registered to this course because I felt a strong connection with Elisa teaching style and delivery and this course has completely matched my expectations. ”
Terms and Conditions
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Your place on the course is confirmed once you have:
paid the course deposit (£60)
filled out a brief contact detail and personal history questionnaire.
The course tutor will confidentially handle your questionnaire and your answers allow us to ensure the course can benefit you.
Any topics or questions required can be discussed during your personal course orientation. The information you share also allows us to be aware of any issues we need to be sensitive to during the course to support you in the best possible way. -
The course is payable via bank transfer or PayPal (including card payments).
You will receive instructions to pay a £60 deposit. After receiving your deposit, your place in the course is confirmed. The balance (£185) is due at the latest 21 days (3 weeks) before the course starts.
The £60 deposit is non-refundable. If South Coast Mindfulness has to cancel the course due to exceptional circumstances, we will refund all the fees you have paid in full, including the deposit.
If you have paid the full course fee 21 days before the course starts and then need to cancel: If you cancel your booking more than 21 days before the course start date, your course will be refunded minus the £60 deposit.
Unfortunately, to protect our small business from the effects of last-minute cancellations, cancellations within 21 days of the course start date are, unfortunately, non-refundable. Please get in touch with Elisa as soon as possible if you need to cancel.
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Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction course is a structured programme that builds skills gradually, week by week. You are eligible to join the course if you can commit to joining all 8 sessions and the day of meditation practice and make time for the daily home exercises between sessions. You also need to be over 18 years of age.
To most people, joining an MBSR course is a positive, enriching, and sometimes even life-changing experience. However, in some circumstances, it may not be advisable to engage in MBSR training.
The MBSR course has been scientifically shown to be an effective complement to a wide variety of medical and psychological conditions, including psychotherapy. If you are momentarily engaging in any such treatment, please share this in the questionnaire so that we can ensure you will have time and energy to engage in the training.
The MBSR course is not a treatment for specific physical or psychological conditions. If you are experiencing severe problems on these areas (e.g. severe depression, suicidal thoughts, recent trauma) please do not sign up for the course at this point as these will make engaging in mindfulness difficult and can add to distress.
The course is not suitable for participants who are currently experiencing a significant life event (e.g., loss, separation, bereavement). It may also not be ideal if you have high levels of stress, causing exceptional distress. Please get in touch with Elisa to discuss this whenever you are unsure.