Mindfulness/ MBSR in English | B.mindful

mindfulness

An 8- weeks course

based on MBSR

(Mindfulness - Based Stress Reduction)

incl. a daylong retreat

with Bee Cohen

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness (sati in Pali) has its roots in Buddhism and is the quality of the mind to be aware and intentionally pay attention to what is happening in the present moment without judgment or rejection, but with curiosity and kindness. It means being with what is happening in the very moment without the desire to have it differently or change it. This helps create inner space and calmness and then allows to respond (not automatically react) and make appropriate and wholesome decisions in how to deal with a situation. Regular practice may lead to improvement in health, inner freedom, emotional balance, confidence and peace of mind.

What is MBSR?

MBSR - Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction - is an 8-weeks training program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachussetts Medical Center in 1979. It practices mindfulness meditation, body awareness and yoga according to a protocol aiming to learn and practice how to deal with stress, pain and anxiety.

What is stress?

Stress means experiencing a situation (physically, emotionally, mentally) as disturbing and even as a threat to our well-being and as one that we are not willing to accept, nor that we are open to deal with in the present moment. Instead of being with what is and responding in a wise and wholesome way, we are busy struggling and putting all our effort into rejecting and trying to avoid it - often by experiencing restlesness and unease, feeling stuck, "in a loop", helpless and overwhelmed and by (automatically) reacting with anger, fear, avoiding or shutting down. Not seldom physical symptoms (e.g. head-, stomach-, or back pain, as well as sleeping disorders) can be experienced as a consequence.

Why practice mindfulness?

Mindfulness training can show the effects and benefits of:

greater (self-)awareness, understanding and accepting oneself better,
higher resilience by understanding, accepting and recovering from difficult emotions more quickly,
better focus,
improved memory,
more patience,
greater self-acceptance, self-compassion,
greater ability to recognize recurring negative thoughts and to let them go - stepping out of loops,
more stable self-esteem,
better stress management,
coping with (chronic) pain,
recognizing and changing unwholesome habits,
more confident decision making,
more inner balance, the ability to resist reacting on impulses,
increased compassion towards oneself and others,
better communication with others,
"taking a step back" that enables more objectivity instead of taking things personally and reacting in defense/ attack,
accepting and being with what life has to offer in the very moment instead of "wasting" energies in resisting, fighting against and avoinding what is already happening,
reduced risk of high blood pressure,
reduced risk of depressions,
better sleep,
less anxiety,
help to overcome/ deal with and reduced risk of addictive behavior,
more vitality and happiness, greater well-being.

... So why practice?

To live a rich, healthy and happy life in awareness and with an open heart.

What will we be doing in this course?

Mindfulness is a quality of awareness that is an experience. Just like the skill of playing an instrument or any physical skill (sport, yoga, relaxation) can't be acquired and experienced (and enjoyed) by only reading and intellectually learning about it, mindfulness as a quality of the mind is learned by doing. Of course intellectual background information is important but not enough on its own.

Similar to learning and training for a sport, we need a safe and calm environment to practice the skills of mindfulness so that we will become more confident at them and can integrate them into our daily life. This practice is called MEDITATION. During this course we will learn and practice several different kinds and skills of meditation.

While sitting, lying, walking and/or moving mindfully we will practice:

to be aware and pay attention to and allow being with what is happening in the present moment with curiosity and interest,

shifting our attention intentionally,
seeing "the whole picture",
noticing when our attention wanders and gently but determined bring it back to our intended object of attention (concentration and focus),

to be aware, recognize, connect with and allow any sensations in our body (body awareness),
to recognize thoughts and emotions as such, and how to let them go,
noticing and understanding how thoughts and emotions correlate with the body,
to recognize our habits, automatic patterns and impulsive reactions - and how to let them go if they are outdated or unwholesome,
to recognize in which situations we tend to lose our balance and feel stressed - and what we can do to connect to our inner quiet and stability to bounce back into a state of more balance,
to recognize when feeling stable, confident and in balance and how to nourish and strengthen this quality,
to recognize what nourishes our well-being and how to integrate this more into our lives.
to feel and create more inner spaceousness,
speaking mindfully by staying in the present moment while speaking,
listening mindfully and noticing when we are rather busy with our own thoughts - and letting them go,

to notice our inner critic, our judging of ourselves and others - and to kindly let it go.
to let our heart relax and trust and develop an attitude of kindness and openness towards ourselves and others,
approaching the world and ourselves with kind eyes.

Additionally, we will learn some theoretical supportive background knowledge about mindfulness, stress and discomfort and how mindfulness practice has an influence on the brain and vice versa.

What does this course include?

This course consists of 8 sessions of 2.5 hours with a 15 minute break and a 6 hours long practice day in silence (mini-retreat) . The lunch break on this day is part of the practice.

You will receive a summary after each session and instructions for home practice throughout the week. Formal practice will be supported by recorded guided meditations.

After having reached half of the course, I will invite you to a personal mindful check-in of about 20 minutes (in form of a conversation on the phone or a zoom meeting). This is an oppurtunity to share and ask questions in a personal one-on-one setting.

You are welcome to contact me anytime during the week for personal support and for any questions you might have concerning your practice.

Topics of each session

Session 1:

1/5/24
18:30 - 21:30

Session 2:

8/5/24
18:30 - 21:00

Session 3:

15/5/24
18:30 - 21:00

Session 4:

22/5/24
18:30 - 21:00

Session 5:

29/5/24
18:30 - 21:00

Session 6:

5/6/24
18:30 - 21:00

Daylong Retreat

7/6/24
10:00 - 16:00

Session 7:

19/6/24
18:30 - 21:00

Session 8:

26/6/24
18:30 - 21:30

What is Mindfulness?
When We Are Not Mindful - Being on Automatic Pilot

The challenges of staying present
Mindfulness of the Breath and the Body Moving

Letting Things Be - Being with the Unpleasant
Mindful Attitudes

What is Stress and Our Reaction to It?

Letting Be and Letting Go - Managing Stress

Thoughts and Emotions Are Just Mental Events

10:00 - 16:00 in the Spiritual Center of Neve Shalom

Taking Good Care of Ourselves with Kindness

Welcoming Change
How to Take Care of Ourselves by Living Mindfully

Last but not least: "What you practice gets stronger".

As explained above, practice is crucial when wanting to learn the skills of mindfulness, and the qualities of determination, perseverence, curiosity, patience and kindness are the ones that are essential and are needed to be recruited, encouraged, strengthened - and enjoyed.

Mindfulness can be practiced in two ways: informally (in daily life) and formally ("on the cushion", in meditation practice). Daily practice is the first step towards a more mindful way of life. Just like we find time for all sorts of daily routined habits (having a coffee, being on the phone, checking social media etc.), meditation practice should become a new regular in our daily schedule if we want to enjoy its effects.

As part of the course, we will meet for a daylong retreat of 6 hours. During this retreat we will RETREAT from the daily routine and worldly race that we are running and take a PAUSE and re-treat ourselves. We will have the privilege to be 100% available only for ourselves, 6 hours of quality time with ourselves.

No phone. No mails. No decisions to be made. No attending to anyone else but ourselves. No communication with others - meditative silence. We will spend the day in the present moment, from moment to moment and will practice all the skills we have learned and practiced during this course until then.

- Sounds a bit scary? That is a totally natural reaction, because it is something we hardly ever do. But actually: it is a date with ourselves. A date with someone that we are with 24/7. And it is a date with the present moment, just as it is in that very moment. Raw and real. Mindfulness means being with what is.

When and where will we meet?

Where?

Tel Aviv, area of Maze/ Rothshild

(course sessions)

Spiritual Center Neve Shalom (daylong retreat)

When?

Wednesdays,
1/5/24- 26/6/24,
18:30 - 21:00*
* (the first and the last session is until 21:30)

Daylong retreat:
Friday,
7/6/24
10:00 - 16:00

Registration Fee:

300 NIS

When deciding to take part and register in this course, you are actively taking part in enabling us to embark on this journey.

Thank you for being part in this, for allowing this course to happen.

By paying the registration fee, your spot is saved.

Course Fee:

- possible in installments

(incl. registration fee)

The spots in this course are limited.

Kindly note:

The course fee is for the participation in the course as a whole.

The complete fee is please to be paid before the course starts, if possible.

The option of paying in installments is given to prior personal agreement.

The registration fee is not refunded (unless the course itself is cancelled).

In case the course should have to be cancelled, any amount you have paid before the course has started will surely be fully refunded.

Are you interested in participating in this course or in further information?

Please fill out the form below and I will be happy to get back to you as soon as possible.

A bit about myself:

Bee (Sibille) Cohen

Originally coming from Germany and having lived in the US for a few years, I found myself feeling at home in Israel when I finally moved here to stay in 2009. Today I speak Hebrew fluently, live in a little and beautiful place in the Judean Foothills, surrounded by the quiet of fields, hills and forests together with my dog Kali and am self-employed as an English tutor and mindfulness/ MBSR teacher.

The "mindful spark" in my personal journey was ignited by experiences while travelling in the Far East (especially Thailand and India) that started enriching my life in the early 90's until today. What started as a spark is today a way of living. Getting the possibility of sharing and passing on this spark is a great gift for me.

What personal and professional background are my mindfulness teaching skills based on?

Practicing Hatha Yoga since 1998,
Practicing mindfulness and meditation as an integrated part of my daily life,
Regularly taking time off for practice on longer retreats,
Continuous professional, practical and spiritual studies with long-term experienced, outstanding and inspiring teachers,
More than 20 years experience as a dedicated (English-) teacher, mentor and group tutor (elementary, junior high and high school),
Integrating mindfulness skills in English tutoring classes (such as support in mastering the challenges of ADHD, stress and test anxiety),
Guiding and leading mindfulness groups for teenagers and adolescents with the focus on coping with stress,
Teaching mindfulness/ MBSR in groups and workshops and as individual programs/ sessions (courses in Hebrew and in English),
A second degree - MA of education (M.Ed),
Annual mindfulness in-depth course at Reichman University (IDC) in Herzelia's Muda Institute for Mindfulness, Science and Society, Israel,
Annual MBSR teacher training at Reichman University (IDC) in Herzelia's Muda Institute for Mindfulness, Science and Society, Israel,
Annual training course for Mindfulness for Children and Teenagers in Mindbody Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, with Nimrod Sheiman,
Annual training course for Sfat Hakeshev - Mindfulness Skills for Children and Adolescents with Simi Levi.

sibille.b.mindful@gmail.com 054-6409351