The Breath of Life | Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness is the art of paying attention in the present moment,
intentionally without judgement.

Mindfulness is the art of paying attention in the present moment, intentionally without judgement..

The therapeutic and liberating power of this state of mental presence is increasingly the focus of scientific interest and research in psychotherapy, behavioral medicine and education.

What is MBSR? The MBSR program is one that has been one of the frontiers of that area of medical and psychotherapeutic research called integrative medicine or mind-body medicine in the Anglo-Saxon world, which sees body and mind as a unity that demands to be understood without rigid divisions.

A central aspect of the program is learning a “gentle” but effective method that encourages the participant to develop a deep level of research and experimentation in applying mindfulness (nonjudgmental awareness, carried moment to moment) to daily life. Participants are taught how to become more aware of the resources already available in them but unrecognized, to mobilize them in support of their own health and well-being, and to cope differently with conditions of fatigue, stress, and suffering (mental and physical).

The program is a way to discover a way of being and not a technique. It intends to help the participant become more vividly aware of breath, body, mind, and all aspects present in the daily experience of life so that he or she can begin to take more conscious and profound care of himself or herself. This requires on the part of the participant skills of dedication and perseverance for the purpose of sustaining the self-discipline necessary for the daily practice of mindfulness exercises, which is provided for in the program and indeed an essential part of it. In fact, the MBSR program involves about 30 minutes a day of homework between meetings. While this may seem like an onerous commitment, you will probably find that it also results in a daily moment that gives pleasure and energy. And it can instill confidence to know that participants in previous editions have verified that this is possible.

The Origin of MBSR

The MBSR program, is a scientific program, developed in the field of behavioral and participatory medicine by Jon Kabat-Zinn professor at the University of Massachusetts (U.S.A.) Medical School, and his collaborators. Developed more than 30 years ago (1979), it has been completed to date by more than 18,000 people and is offered in more than 400 hospitals in the United States and Europe in the context of integrative medicine. Besides being the recognized pioneering experience of the clinical and psychosocial applications of mindfulness, it is the most studied and validated program in the research literature and the richest in new developments. It has also been included, because of its clinical preventive and rehabilitative potential, in intervention programs in prisons and schools, and in organizations in order to address many of the issues related to stress, i.e., suffering, both physical and psychological. MBSR and other mindfulness-based interventions derived from it, including MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), are also encountering increasing interest in psychotherapy, particularly (but not only) within cognitivist approaches.