Mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR, is
structured mindfulness training offered in a group setting. The 10 weekly sessions will be led
by Robin Bond, assistant dean of the Honors College, and Trymaine Gaither,
special assistant to the provost for inclusive excellence. Both are certified
MBSR teachers.
The classes are offered virtually and
are open to employees and faculty on all campuses, free of charge. Register to
attend via Zoom through Percipio.MBSR “equips individuals with strategies to better
handle anxiety,” Gaither said. “Participants can respond better to life’s
challenges and to triggering situations.”
Added Bond, “it’s a fairly intensive program for
learning to incorporate mindfulness into everyday life.”
Sessions take place from June 3
through July 29, mostly from 2:30–5 p.m. The exceptions are a
slightly shorter first session and a nearly all-day session about
halfway through the series.
That’s a hefty time commitment, but
employees can use work hours to participate, noted Ann Monroe,
WSU director of benefit services and coordinator of the WellCoug program.
Employees are asked to get approval from their supervisors in advance.“Seeing
the high level of support we got for this from university administration speaks
to their commitment; they’re saying, ‘This
is important to us,’” Monroe said.
Enrollment will be capped at
25 people to ensure a high-quality experience for all participants.
Mindfulness helps bring perspective,
both Gaither and Bond say.
“Our minds tend to wander, we spend a
lot of time wrapped up in thoughts of the future or past, and the majority of
those thoughts can be negative,” Bond said. “Mindfulness can help us step back
from our thoughts and see them as something we experience and not something
that defines who we are.”
Said
Gaither, “You’re less reactive and more intentional in your responses. And
that’s key to both professional and personal development.”