Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme
(MBSR)



8 weeks to a Stress Free Life

8 SESSIONS + a retreat day

Do you experience any of these symptoms?

  • stress makes you often feel powerless, you lack motivation to do things
  • you are overwhelmed by a pile of everyday tasks and you find it difficult to take care of yourself and your needs
  • you tend to be distracted, it’s hard for you to stay focused on a simple task and to complete what you start
  • you often feel anxiety caused by the fear about the future, it’s hard for you to look beyond that and trust that things will unfold in the right way
  • you feel guilty that due to stress you neglect your relationship with kids and your spouse as, instead of being fully present with them, you are lost in thoughts
  • you are often in a hurry, always after something missing the present moment
  • when something stressful happens, you feel flooded with emotions, and you don’t know how to cope with them
  • you often feel tension in your body, headaches are a frequent visitor
  • because of stress you give in to temptations such as overeating, drinking more alcohol, smoking one after another, watching more TV, ...this way wasting your time, energy, and health
  • you don’t feel like going out into the world and trying new things since you are afraid that it means more stress; it’s safer to stay in your comfort zone
  • you have problems with insomnia and even when you try to rest, you don’t feel a relief
  • you find it hard to keep the work-life balance

Imagine that the overpowering stress and constant tension disappear from your life.
What starts to be possible? How do you feel?

You feel lighter and have bigger hunger for life. You take more pleasure and joy in being with your kids, your close ones. Your head is free from migraines and your body feels more relaxed and at ease as it is free from ever present tensions. Your mind is like after a double espresso – more focused, creative and productive. Thanks to that, your work becomes more effortless and you bring every commenced task to an end. You use stress as an incentive for action, yet stress doesn’t use you up and your energy anymore.

Are you ready for such a shift in your life?

What changes are possible thanks to
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme?

Granting your commitment in the whole process: taking part in the weekly sessions and having your own daily practice...

  • you will get out of the survival mode and you’ll learn how to cater for your needs
  • you will be more focused and it’ll be easier to concentrate on work, you will make less mistakes
  • important tasks will be completed by you, you'll become more efficient at work
  • you will learn how to manage your emotions, it'll be easier to achieve and maintain your inner balance
  • you will become calmer and your body will feel more relaxed

… and your brain will change, literally! The changes in gray matter after this 8-week programme are proved by many researchers, for example Dr Sara Lazar who presents the results of her studies in her TED talk.

  • you will feel less under pressure and less in a hurry because you'll learn how to slow down and you'll have more awareness of what your priorities are
  • you will be more present in relationship with your kids, spouse, people close to your heart
  • there will be more self-confidence in you as your self-awareness will increase
  • you will learn how to meditate and you’ll build a habit of daily mindfulness practice
  • you will realize that you can live more slowly and with more ease

… and your brain will change, literally! The changes in gray matter after this 8-week programme are proved by many researchers, for example Dr Sara Lazar who presents the results of her studies in her TED talk.

The brain scans and blood tests of people
who meditate regularly show:

  • more grey matter in the regions of brain responsible for concentration, decision taking, planning, memory, empathy
  • less grey matter in the brain regions that are reactive to stressful situations and which strengthen the fear response
  • slower aging of the brain
  • lower cortisol levels
  • higher levels of serotonin, endorphins and DHEA – the hormone of youth
  • a regulated release of melatonin – the hormone of good night’s sleep

Based on publications by:

Dr Sara Lazar
Prof. Wendy Suzuki

Hi! 

My name is Maria Opidowicz
I teach how not to let life pass you by due to stress and everyday haste.  I chose this path because among many skills that education system equipped me with, one important was missing – the skill of being in charge of my own attention. Thanks to mindfulness, I learned how to stay focused, additionally, gaining the ability to cope with the overwhelming amount of thoughts in my head and conflicting emotions which often made my life difficult.

I work with everyone who feels that the remote control of their own life is not in their hands any more and they want to get it back. I show how to regain that power through training your own mind in concentration, as what you focus on, is what you have more of.

I want to show you how much meditation, this simple practice, can change your life – you will feel more inner peace and you’ll build distance towards everyday challenges, at the same time living more fully and passionately.

I have been meditating for 13 years, 5 years ago, after becoming a qualified mindfulness trainer by Mindful Academy and Yoga Alliance Professionals in UK, I set up MindHarmony and I started to teach meditation and mindfulness.
I run mindfulness programmes, meditation sessions for groups and one on one sessions. This is going to be the 16th edition of MBSR Programme run by me.
I also provide mindfulness courses and workshops in companies to boost the productivity and concentration of their employees and to create more harmonious relationships within it.

I come from Poland but have lived in Spain, UK and now I live in Stockholm, Sweden. Before I fully devoted myself to teaching mindfulness, I taught English at Jagiellonian University in Kraków and at language schools in UK and Spain. I love hiking and running out in nature, I am into psychology and exploring human nature, I dance 5 Rythms and read non-fiction. I live my life on my terms.

I cannot wait to guide you in discovering and exploring a more mindful and lighter life!

What is the programme about and what’s the topic of each session?

The MBSR program was created in the 70’s by a professor of medicine, a psychiatrist Jon Kabat Zinn.
After years of research on his patients and the effect of mindfulness practice had on them, Kabat Zinn noticed a considerable difference in the well-being of those suffering from chronic physical pain and ongoing stress. Not only did their mental state improve, but also their physical condition.

Each week's session has a different topic:

Session 1. What is Mindfulness?

Session 2. Perception and responding: How we perceive the world influences
the way we feel.

Session 3. Mindful movement: getting in
touch with the body

Session 4. What is stress: Discovering
patterns of reactivity to stress

Session 5. Suffering is a choice: Dealing
with our thoughts

Session 6. Mindful communication and
making emotions your friend.

Session 7. Self-compassion: How can I be
kind to myself?

Session 8. A mindful life: Keeping your mindfulness alive after the programme

The core of the programme are mindfulness practices such as:

body scan

sitting meditation

mindful movement

mindful

communication

mindful eating

What does the 8 week MBSR programme include?

  • 8 weekly sessions, each 2.5hr
  • "Retreat Day" a 5-6 hours meeting during a weekend day in a form of meditation retreat
  • 7 mp3 recordings with meditations for individual practice
  • participants workbook: additional information related to the content of every session, self-reflection exercises
  • the support of the trainer during the entire programme

What do weekly sessions look like?

  • we meet up every week for 2.5 hours
  • mindfulness practice constitutes min. 50% of every session
  • every week we explore a different topic, the trainer introduces it and opens up a group discussion
  • every week we share experience of individual practice

How much does the programme cost?

 (incl.moms)

This is how much you invest in yourself and your well-being!

  • if you sign up before ......, an advance of *1000sek is needed to make sure your spot is booked
  • after ............, you book a spot paying **the entire sum (5500sek) of the programme

*the advance payment is non refundable

**if you resign after signing up, 50% of the full payment is refunded


THE SPOTS IN THE PROGRAMME ARE LIMITED!

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Sign up for a FREE SESSION: INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS during which:

  • you’ll get to know what mindfulness is
  • you’ll experience a mindfulness practice
  • you’ll be able to ask questions about the MBSR Programme
  • you’ll have a chance to get to know me and decide whether I’m a good mindfulness teacher for you 🙂

THE INTRODUCTION SESSION will happen on

Have a look at what some of my clients said about the programme:

I didn’t believe that meditation works but a friend of mine, who I would never even think that meditates, said that after the MBSR Programme she had never had a depression relapse. I sign up for the Programme with Maria as I felt my life was out of balance. Thanks to the programme, I learned to listen to my body and my emotions. It turns out that they can tell a lot but I couldn’t/ didn’t want to hear them out. I feel I got on a new life path where I can create my future more intentionally, in harmony with who I am and not with whom I thought I wanted to be.

Tadek 

I am  finishing this program grateful for everything I received during this time – the support of the group and the trainer – a huge dose of knowledge, kindness, and understanding I got from you.

My life has become less stressful, and I am more present in it. In situations of similar magnitude that occurred before the program, I used to behave in a more reactive way, on autopilot. Now I am able to notice these automatic reactions, name them and change them into more mindful response.

From you as the facilitator, I received a sense of safety, I felt that you are confident of what you’re doing and you convey all the information in a clear and organized manner. You are very mindful and there’s a lot of kindness and warmth in what you do.  What was also important to me was the individual approach and guidance for each person in the group. I found it very helpful that you shared your own story  with us – it gave me the spark of motivation to invest time and resources in meditation because in your example I could see it brings tangible results.

The programme was very comprehensive and complete. I feel I got more than I expected!


Joanna Michalska

I am finishing the program with the thought
and a conviction that I am important and valuable, that everything starts with
me. I became aware that I have my own needs, feelings, and now I am more open
to  changes. After the program, my approach to life is constantly shifting
and processing. In difficult situations, I return to my breath, I also began to
notice my body’s reactions to various emotions, I know how to listen to my body.
I started to be more focused on the here and now and not let my thoughts wander
to other places and events. If that happens, I return to my breath. It’s my
grounding place. And I meditate! I haven’t formed a habit of doing it every day
yet, but I am trying to because then the day is better, and I am a different person.

From you, the trainer, I received
knowledge, a sense of security,  your
full attention to what I was saying, doing, and what I needed. I felt heard,
important, and cared for.

Justyna

I loved the course so much! Maria is a great trainer. She shared her experience with us and her soothing and calm voice guided us through different mindfulness practices. Having built the habit of regular mindfulness practice, I got to know a lot about meditation and how powerful it is! I definitely  recommend this course!

Maria McCabe

This 8-week course was a truly amazing experience as it developed in its own time, which helped me to discover what mindfulness really is. All the meditation apps do not really give a guarantee of building a regular habit, plus they don’t give you a chance to connect with other people who are in the same process as you, an this programme provides that. That’s why investing time in this course is a much better choice.  After this course, I definitely noticed that I started to think differently about many things – I started to label my emotions which helped me to cope with emotions way better than before – in the past I didn’t  want to feel them at all.  I’m sure I will deepen my mindfulness practice to see how this technique can help me in becoming a better version of myself. 

Adam Różałowski

This course teaches  you the most important skills in life, which makes you feel that it’s you who have control over your life and you start to derive much more pleasure from your own life. Maria is a very professional trainer and a great person. I am truly grateful to her for delivering this programme to us in this way.

Iryna

This programme helped me build the habit of being mindful. Before, I was convinced that you cannot attain it through exercises and that this skill is just for the chosen ones. Every day I see how mindfulness starts to be present in more and more areas of my life and I am becoming more calm, balanced and I know how to be in here and now.    

Agata

Frequently Asked Questions

The author of MBSR Jon Kabat Zinn established 8 weeks as an appropriate time of the programme since the research showed that after this time there are visible changes in the brains of the meditators and the participants can reap the greatest benefits from it. Additionally, one of the goals of MBSR is that every participant builds a habit of regular mindfulness practice and this becomes much easier when you do that with a support of the group for two months in a row.

Yes, in order to make the most of this time, it is good to mediate every day – these are the recommendations and this is when the programme makes sense. Obviously, if you skip the practice once or twice a week, nothing happens, yet you should remember that regularity is crucial in mindfulness practice.

Many people taking part in this programme are highly impatient, which, to a large extend, contributes to the stress they experience. The mindfulness practice teaches you patience in a very pleasant and digestible way. The impatient people often say that 30mins in meditation feels like 10mins because thanks to the training, they know how to calm their restless mind.

Yes! In mindfulness, meditation is treated as a training of the mind. Mindfulness is fully deprived of any religious or philosophical elements. The subject of the course is the mind – the way it works and how it influences our lives.

It’s ok to skip a session. If it happens, I will brief you on what we did during the session, what practices we had and what the weekly home practice is. You will be able to read about the session’s topic in participants handbook. There is also a possibility to come to this particular session during future MBSR Programmes I will be guiding either in person or online.
It is recommended not to miss more than 2 sessions during the whole programme !

The maximum number of people is 6-8. I work with small groups as I believe that only then every participant can make the most of the programme and is not overwhelmed by a large number of people.

The date of the retreat day will be agreed upon with the entire group. It will happen between session 6 and 8 and it will be a weekend day. Thr group will decide if that will be an in person event or an online one.

 

"We don't meditate to get better at meditating, we meditate to get better at life.”

Sharon Salzberg

If you are considering joining the programme and you'd like to arrange a 15mins call/video call, leave a note - I'll write back asap !

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