Mindful Self-Compassion training teaches us how to develop the warm-hearted, connected presence we need during moments of difficulty. Self-compassion provides the emotional strength and resilience needed to offer ourselves the same kindness and understanding we would offer a good friend. With self-compassion we can motivate ourselves with encouragement, forgive ourselves when needed, face and befriend our shortcomings, care for others while caring for self, and live more authentically. Research shows that self-compassion is strongly associated with greater emotional well-being, lower levels of anxiety and depression, healthy habits such as diet and exercise, and more satisfying personal relationships.
In this course, you will:
This program is an intensive skills-training program. It is a condensed version of the eight-week, empirically-supported Mindful Self-Compassion training developed by Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff. MSC is an experiential journey—an adventure in self-discovery and self-kindness—offering periods of instruction, periods of practice (meditations, exercises, and written reflections), and periods of group sharing. This is not a silent retreat. Participants can expect to meet for two sessions a day, three hours each, with plenty of breaks and spaciousness for rest, reflection, connecting with community, or enjoying time in nature. Self-compassion can be learned by anyone, even those of us who did not learn these skills as children.
No previous experience with mindfulness or meditation is required. The program fulfills a prerequisite for becoming a MSC teacher.