The University of Oregon will begin an eight-week course on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for faculty, staff and others on Oct. 7.

The course will run from through Nov. 25, with classes each Monday at 6:30 p.m., in the UO Baker Downtown Center. Participants are being asked to attend a mandatory orientation session Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. and a full-day workshop Nov. 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in addition to the regular Monday evening classes.

Those enrolled are also to maintain a commitment to daily meditation during the eight-week period. Participants will learn several meditative/mindfulness techniques, and are being asked to meditate approximately 45 minutes per day, six days a week.

The course was offered as part of a free pilot program last year. It will be offered at a reduced cost on a fee-based model this year. MBSR courses cost between $400-$600 nationwide, but the UO-subsidized cost for faculty, students and staff is $250. Cost for non-UO participants is $350. The course fee is payable at orientation.

MBSR attempts to teach participants how to harness their own abilities to diminish stress and pain, and improve overall physical and mental health. It was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, and is used in hundreds of schools, hospitals and other institutional facilities worldwide. More than 20,000 people have completed Kabat-Zinn’s eight-week MBSR curriculum since 1979.

Course instructor Lisa Freinkel is a UO literature professor and lay-ordained Zen Buddhist. Freinkel is trained in MBSR and Zen mindfulness meditation techniques, and has taught meditation in prison, hospital and university settings since 2007. She has been at the UO since 1995.

More information and pre-registration is available here.

- by Katherine Cook, UO Office of Strategic Communications intern