Location
Institute for Neurocognitivism
Av. Tervueren 81
Brussels
Metro: Merode or Montgomery
Inperson 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course
Mondays from 19.00 to 21.30 CET
Course dates: 23, 30 Sept, 7, 14, 21 October, 4, 11, 18 November
Includes: a Mindfulness Practice Day on 9 November (see details below)
with certified Mindfulness Teacher Rainer Arndt
Overcoming stress and burnout
Do you find yourself sometimes wanting to respond to situations with choice rather than reacting automatically? Or perhaps you’d like to learn how to recognise the signs of stress in your body, or more skilfully deal with challenging patterns of emotions and thoughts?
If this sounds like something you can relate to, then this course might be for you!
This eight-week programme has been designed to help you learn how to pay attention to all of your experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant. In paying attention and noticing it’s possible to bring yourself out of auto-pilot and find nourishing ways to include a sense of mindfulness to your daily life.
Developing your capacity to cope
It is important to recognise when you are in overwhelm mode. And you can learn to develop mental resources to help you cope with the challenges you are facing and also restore your energy levels.
Mindfulness offers many tried and trusted tools that can help deal with stress and uncertainty. You can learn to cultivate attitudes that help you to deal with difficult emotions and find more balance independently of what life presents.
Increasing resilience and wellbeing
Imagine you wake up in the morning feeling confident that you can handle whatever the day brings. You might still experience stress, feel annoyed or be anxious at times, but these feelings don’t determine your life so much anymore. You feel calmer, more focused, and you are able to enjoy the good things more.
Practicing mindfulness can bring such a shift towards greater mental and emotional wellbeing.
“Make sure you weave your parachute every day, rather than leave it to the time you have to jump out of the plane.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
How mindfulness can help
An 8-week mindfulness course is not a “quick fix”, nor is it a miracle cure for just about everything. It is a training programme, in which you will learn mental skills and develop new habits and attitudes to deal more skilfully with the challenges of life.
The aim of the programme is to acquire new ways to handle challenging feelings, thoughts, physical sensations, moods or social interactions.
What you learn in an 8-week MBSR programme
- Finding peace amid the turbulences of your life by learning to use your breath as an anchor
- Increasing your bodily awareness: using your body as a sensitive radar instead of an amplifier of stress
- Understanding the stress mechanisms: how automatic thoughts, body sensations and feelings reinforce each other and lead to being stressed out and overwhelmed
- Finding new ways of dealing with difficult thoughts and feelings and learning to shift to a more relaxed mode
- Awareness of your “early warning” stress symptoms
- Learning how to manage your energy better
- Cultivating inner qualities of compassion, gratitude, and care for yourself and others
What are some benefits of a mindfulness course?
The majority of people completing the programme report lasting physical and psychological benefits, including:
- An increased ability to cope more effectively with stressful situations
- Greater energy and enthusiasm for life
- Heightened self-confidence
- New ways to find moments of inner calm
- A greater sense of overall wellbeing
- An improved sleep quality and a better immune system
Here you can read an in-depth testimonial by a course participant.
Features of a mindfulness programme
During this course you may well discover how you unwillingly contribute to your own stress and unhappiness. By putting in some practice, you can learn new and more helpful ways of dealing with difficult situations.
- 8 weekly sessions and a full mindfulness day
- Course led by a certified mindfulness teacher
- Programme based on the scientifically validated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme (MBSR)
- Small group for more interaction with the teacher and each other
- Weekly emails to deepen your learning with insights and reminders
- Access to over 270 guided meditations and podcasts by our teachers
Note: participation in this course fulfils the requirements to participate in our Mindfulness Teacher Training programme.
Overview of course structure
The course comprises the following sessions:
- 1 free intake call of 20 min
- 8 Weekly sessions with a unique theme (2.5 hours each, with a break of 10 mins)
- 1 Mindfulness retreat day (6 hours, 9:30 - 16:00, with a break of 1 hour, Saturday 9 November). This is a moment of sustained practice to deepen your mindfulness skills
The location
The course will take place at MM81, a beautiful and spacious Maison de maître between metro Merode and Montgomery at 81 Avenue de Tervueren in Brussels. It has a lovely quiet garden with a pond where we can do some outdoor practices if the weather allows it. Delicious teas are available in each session.
Mindfulness course practicalities
- The course will be held in English
- Best to wear comfortable clothing if possible
- You will need to bring a yoga mat or a towel for session 2 and 3
- We will meditate on chairs, but if you prefer you can use your own meditation cushion
- You will receive an email after each session with a reminder of the homework and what to bring next time
- A daily time investment of approximately 30 min would be ideal (to develop your own practice)
Meet the Teacher
Mindfulness teacher Rainer Arndt
Rainer is a certified mindfulness teacher and systemic coach with a passion for supporting others on their journey to wellbeing and growth. He has an extensive practice of 20 years in zen meditation and enjoys passing on his calling for meditation to others.
Rate for the mindfulness course
Fee for this course: €499 (incl VAT), €412 excl VAT
The fee includes the following:
- 26 hours of teaching (including a break)
- Comprehensive manual with handouts, worksheets and audio downloads to support your practice
- Weekly emails with insights, reminders and practical tips on how to integrate mindfulness into your life
- Availability of the teacher for any mindfulness-related question throughout the course
- Access to specific guided meditations related to the course and more than 275 guided meditations on our podcast
- A free personal intake call of 20 minutes
- Delicious teas before and after each session
- Availability of the teacher inbetween the sessions for any mindfulness-related question
Financial Considerations
Reimbursement Opportunities
Most Belgian health insurances offer partial reimbursement for this course. If you wish to take advantage of this opportunity, please forward the relevant form to us so that we can complete it towards the conclusion of the course.
Corporate Coverage Assistance
Please do not hesitate to contact us if your employer is assuming responsibility for these expenses, providing us with the precise invoice details. In such circumstances, the applicable fee will be 499€, exclusive of VAT.
Diplomatic Exemption
Kindly inform us of any diplomatic status you may hold, so we can exempt the transaction from VAT.
What participants of previous courses said
"The 8-week course was a real eye opener. I loved the coach as well as the group. Everything was done in an atmosphere of compassion and understanding. I feel like now I have this big toolbox that I can keep developing and digging into when I face stressful situations."
"I highly recommend Brussels Mindfulness! The teachers and approach were the right balance of providing a conceptual understanding, hands-on practice, personal and peer reflections and dialogue to understand and integrate what we learnt into who we are and what we do. The impact has been immediate and keeps on going - it is an investment that positively affects the foundations of self and holistic wellbeing!".
"I am now meditating every day! I found the course a good balance of theory, practical and sharing vs actually meditating."
"High quality teachers and extraordinary communication and pedagogical tools (handbook, to-the-point emails, languages, knowledge..). Extraordinary mindfulness course which should be a must for everyone .... impossible not to like it! Mindfulness attitudes so much needed in hectic times.... and delicious raisins (you will find out why)!"
Read more testimonials here and read a long reflection by one of our participants here.
Questions?
Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions. For all administrative and practical questions, please contact us via info@brusselsmindfulness.be. For questions about our courses and events, have a look at our FAQ.
Many thanks for your registration. We look forward to meeting you soon.
Registration for the mindfulness course
We encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your place.
Please fill out the form below in order to register for the course. This information is important for the teacher to understand your motivation to participate. All information you provide will be treated confidentially and will never be shared with third parties. We will get in touch with you if we have any questions, so please provide the phone number on which we can most easily reach you. Please check our privacy policy here.
If your employer is willing to cover the cost of your course or If you have a diplomatic status, please send us an email so we can issue an invoice.
If you have financial difficulties, but feel that participating to this course would help you, please contact us. We will find a solution together.
Several Belgian health insurances provide partial refunds for mindfulness courses. Please get in touch with your health insurance to find out about the procedure. We will be happy to fill in your form at the end of the course.
Please check our terms & conditions about cancellations and refunds. According to our terms no refund will be issued as of 30 days prior to the start of the course.
Please note: It is important that you are in good physical and mental health in order to start a mindfulness course. Especially if you are suffering from acute depression or burnout or are anticipating major surgery, we recommend postponing the course until you feel better. If you have professional support by a doctor or psychotherapist, you may wish to consult them first and discuss your ability to participate. The trainers of Brussels Mindfulness are happy to discuss this with you on the phone; however, we cannot take any responsibility for your decision to participate in the course or not, nor can we issue a refund after 30 days of registering.
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