The Mindfulness Institute

MBSR Home Practice Page

Participants in the MBSR class receive a participant handouts that lists all of the weekly practices and assignments. The list below reiterates those assignments and includes links to the documents that are included in the handouts in case you need additional copies. All documents are in pdf format.

If you have any technical difficulties with this page, or need to contact the instructors between classes, please don't hesitate to contact Angie at parrish26@gmail.com (727-748-2789) or Stephanie at stephanie4peace@gmail.com (813-406-5396).

Home Practice after Class #1

• Complete the MBSR Commitment Form 
  (for your own use)
• Complete 'Day to Day Experiences' (in Practice Manual also)
• Body Scan at least 6 times this week (35-minute Body Scan)
• 9 Dots Exercise
• Eat one meal mindfully
• Read 'Upstream/Downstream' by Donald Ardell (in Practice Manual)
  
  

Home Practice after Class #2

• Body Scan (30-minute Body Scan) at least 6 times this week
• Pleasant Events Calendar
• Sitting Meditation 10-15 minutes per day (15-minute Guided Sitting Meditation)
• Practice informal mindfulness in routine activities: washing dishes, shopping, eating, brushing teeth, etc.
  
  

Home Practice after Class #3

• Alternate Body Scan (15-minute Body Scan) with Yoga daily (37-minute Sitting Yoga, 36-minute Sitting/Standing Yoga) (please note that both videos have some alternate chair poses)
• Sitting Meditation 10-15 minutes per day (15-minute Guided Sitting Meditation)
• Walking Meditation
• Unpleasant Events Calendar
• Mindfulness of going on “automatic pilot” and under what circumstances it occurs
  
  

Home Practice after Class #4

• Alternate Body Scan (15-minute Body Scan) with Yoga daily (37-minute Sitting Yoga, 36-minute Sitting/Standing Yoga)
• Sitting Meditation 20 minutes per day (20-minute Guided Awareness of Breath and Sensations)
• Become aware of feeling stuck, blocking, numbing, shutting off to the moment when it happens.
• Review 'Coping with Stress'
  
  

Home Practice after Class #5

• Alternate Sitting Meditation (30-minute Guided Open Awareness Sitting Meditation) with Yoga or Body Scan daily
• Complete Midway Assessment
• Review Difficult Communications Calendar, recording one event daily. Begin to bring mindfulness into communication with others
• Bring awareness to moments of reacting and explore options for responding with mindfulness, spaciousness and creativity, in formal meditation practice and in everyday life. Begin to slow down and make more conscious choices.
  
  

Home Practice after Class #6

• Alternate Sitting Meditation with Yoga or Body Scan
• Awareness of the relationship between eating and mindfulness
• Practice with Reflections for Cultivating Openness
• Prepare for all-day silent retreat (bring a vegetarian sack lunch)
  
  

Home Practice after Class #7

• Work without the guided audio this week, practicing formal sitting, yoga, walking and/or body scan on your own daily for 45 minutes
• Review Introduction to Mindful Consumption and complete the Mindful Consumption Log
• Concentrate on integrating informal mindfulness practice.
  
  

Home Practice after Class #8

• Complete 'Day to Day Experiences'
• Make the practice your own in whatever form it might take.