Who Can Benefit From
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
MBSR has benefitted people reporting a variety of conditions and concerns. For example:
Stress – pressures related to work, school, family, finances, illness, aging, grief, uncertainty about the future, and just feeling “out of control.”
Medical Conditions – including chronic illness or pain, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, cancer, heart disease, asthma, GI distress, skin disorders, and many other conditions.
Psychological Distress – including anxiety, panic, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbances.
Prevention and Wellness – including health enhancement, wellness focused on prevention, learning the “how” of taking good care of yourself, and feeling a greater sense of balance.
This Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course is offered as part of the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare wellness program. The course is open to all Methodist network associates, their adult family members, and any adult who is a patient of a network hospital, clinic, or physician group.
What to Expect
Participating in the Stress Reduction Program requires an ongoing commitment to yourself. You will be asked to attend all classes, including the one-day weekend retreat, and to practice home assignments for 30 minutes a day.
The program consists of eight weekly, 2 ¼-hour classes and a one-day retreat (on a Sunday) between sessions six and seven. This highly participatory, supportive and structured program will provide you with:
Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices
Gentle stretching and mindful yoga
Group dialogue and mindful communication exercises to enhance awareness in everyday life
Individually-tailored instruction
Daily home assignments
Home practice materials including guided mindfulness practice MP3s
MBSR is both challenging and life-affirming. Our instructor is accomplished and skilled at creating a safe, supportive, and deeply engaging experiential learning environment. He will assist you in learning methods, provide group and individualized instructions, and coach you on how to learn, practice, and integrate mindfulness into your everyday life.
MORE ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR →
How to Begin
Just choose a starting date that is most convenient for you from the schedule below and click the link to sign up.
All class participants are required to attend a pre-program orientation session before participating in the eight-week MBSR class. This session is free of charge and gives you a firsthand taste of mindfulness. It’s an opportunity to meet the instructor and to better understand the course and explore whether the program is right for you.
Course Schedule
Registration is open for a course starting in July 2024.
If you would like to be notified when
about future courses, please send an email to
michael.burnham@mindfulinmephis.org
July 18 – September 5, 2024 (Thursdays)
6:30 – 8:45PM
All-day Sunday Retreat August 18
9:30AM – 4:00PM
Orientation
July 11 6:30 - 7:45 PM
START HERE, NOW →
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About the Instructor
Michael Burnham has practiced mindful meditation for fifty years. As he closed a successful business career, he began training with the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness, and was credentialed to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in 2015. Michael maintains an active daily mindfulness practice and regularly attends weeklong silent retreats.
His business resume includes being co-founder, CEO of My Next Phase a non-financial retirement planning company. Partner in PlumTree Ventures, a private equity group. CEO of Lewis Supply Company, which grew from a single office to having 22 branches and two international subsidiaries. Partner with Premium Products Sales Corporation, a strategic planning marketing consulting firm where he helped launch the likes of Perrier, Chipwich, NAPA Naturals, and an assortment of other domestic and international brands.
A C.P.A., Michael earned his Masters of Science in Accounting at the Northeastern University Graduate School of Professional Accounting, after earning a BA from Sarah Lawrence.
He is also an active volunteer, serving on the Board of Directors for Young Israel of Memphis and serving as an advisor to Give Good and Madraigos. He was also the first executive director of The Mussar Institute. Michael loves his two adult sons and wife of thirty years.