What is mindfulness and what do these acronyms MBSR and MBLC mean?

How it started.

When Jon Kabat-Zinn learned the techniques of Buddhist meditation, he noticed that it could have a good effect on people with mental illnesses. After numerous studies on the impact of meditation on the quality of life, Jon Kabat-Zinn decided to create a place for people for whom the care system health care turned out to be unreliable. In 1976, he opened a Stress Reduction Clinic in Massachusetts, to which patients who repeatedly returned to the hospital with similar psychosomatic symptoms were to be referred. In his clinic, Jon Kabat-Zinn offered them an 8-week stress reduction course.

The only condition for joining the course was the patient's promise that for 8 weeks, regardless of his attitude or doubts, he would perform the exercises and practices as agreed, and he would assess the impact of the course on his well-being only after the course. The effects were astonishing. The patients' health condition, both mental and physical, improved dramatically. Terminally ill people changed their attitude towards their situation and their tolerance to chronic pain increased significantly. The 8-Week Stress Reduction (MBSR) course is currently the most popular Mindfulness course.

MBLC

The second trend of Mindfulness is the MBLC course – Mindfuless Based Living Course. The program was developed by Rob Nairn and the Mindfulness Association. The course emphasizes the transfer of mindfulness into everyday life, a strong emphasis on developing kindness and accepting ourselves as we are. MBLC is a very universal course, providing a great foundation for further development of mindfulness and kindness.

Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC) is a series of weekly mindfulness meetings. Typically, it covers eight weeks and consists of eight meetings lasting approximately two hours. The whole thing is preceded by an introductory meeting before the start of the course and ends with a summary meeting after eight weeks. A day of Mindfulness practice is usually included between weeks 6 and 7 of the program. The course is intended for beginners, no experience in Mindfulness practice is required.

What will the course look like?

The meetings will have a similar structure:

Entry

We will start with an introduction and tell ourselves what we will do on a given day. A bit of theory, a bit of facts, a bit of poetry, so that a given practice "sinks" into us on many levels.

Then practice

Usually we will sit in meditation, which I will lead for you, i.e. I will tell you where we direct our attention, etc. My voice will guide you through each stage of the practice.

How was it?

Then we will share in smaller groups or on the forum what happened to us during a given practice or exercise, what you felt, what your body felt, what emotions did you experience?

What topics will we cover?

• week 1 – What is mindfulness and why practice it? Start where you are

• week 2 – The body as a place of being present

• week 3 – Introduction of mindfulness support

• week 4 – Working with distraction

• Week 5 – Thought Stream Exploration

• Day of Mindfulness

• week 6 – Observer attitude

• week 7 – Self-acceptance

• week 8 – Living based on mindfulness. Summary – the rest of life

When will I see the results?!

In fact, after the first meeting, you will more often notice how dispersed you are and this in itself is a huge change. But but... Attending a course is one thing, but another is your own practice at home. 15-30 minutes of practice a day will gradually introduce subtle changes in your life, and mindfulness training will make you see and appreciate things that didn't matter before. It may sound enigmatic, but experiencing the benefits of practicing Mindfulness is very individual.

Sign up for your first free class.