“the awareness that arises by paying attention on purpose,
in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living, 1990/2013
Mindfulness is knowing what we are experiencing while we are experiencing it. Not getting caught up in ruminative thinking or stories we tell ourselves, but paying attention to things as they actually are in any given moment, however they are, rather than as we want them to be.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a group-based program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn over 40 years ago at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (UMASS). It is founded on ancient Eastern philosophies but is taught in a secular, or non-religious way. Since 1979, over 25,000 people have completed the UMASS program working with their own internal resources and abilities to respond more effectively to chronic and acute stress, pain, and illness. The systematic program teaches mindfulness through formal and informal meditation practices, gentle and simple movement practices, and group discussions. MBSR has been adopted around the world, being taught in many languages, and is the basis of much of the research on meditation as it relates to health and wellbeing.
Emerging research supports a number of health related benefits associated with practicing mindfulness exercises: improved focus/attention, body awareness, pain modulation, changes in perspective, emotional regulation and structural brain changes.
Group classes are held once per week for approximately 2.5 hours to learn and explore mindfulness concepts and share experiences from practicing during the week. Participants are provided with audio recordings and homework activities to practice daily on their own. An All Day Retreat is typically held after the 5th or 6th week.
New MBSR Class starting in January 2025 live and in person at Sky Creek Dharma Center in Chico, CA!
Email MBSRinEnglish@gmail.com for questions and to sign up for limited seats.
Course includes 1 Orientation, 8 weekly 2.5-hour sessions, and a 7.5-hour All-Day session.
Classes will be held Saturday mornings. Specific dates to TBD.
Tuition: Suggested $200 donation to Sky Creek Dharma Center. We encourage you to pay as much as you can afford; no one will be turned away. All proceeds go to the non-profit center and teachers are not paid.
Marianne holds introductory community meditations and can be available for individual sessions.
If you are interested in finding out more about the next 8-week MBSR course or want to know more about how Mindfulness exercises might benefit you, please contact me:
Email: MBSRinEnglish@gmail.com
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Marianne Pilgrim is an Occupational Therapist working for the Chico VA and has worked with the US military and veteran community for over 18 years, incorporating mindfulness in treatment sessions. Marianne is on the path to becoming a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher by training with the Mindful Academy in Solterreno, Spain and the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. Marianne has completed the Veterans Affairs CALM training program, an adapted MBSR program that includes a variety of mindfulness practices and is shown to improve physical and mental well-being. Marianne teaches a Beginner Mindfulness Workshop at a local meditation center and has been providing guided meditations to an online audience for several years.
Marianne is thrilled to teach others the practice of mindfulness meditation and how it can awaken one to the present moment of their own lives.
