Workshops/Courses

Fall 2026 Courses

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course

Center for Contemplative Practices is pleased to offer an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course to staff, faculty, students, and administrators. Developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. based on clinical research and his own experiences, MBSR is the most studied mindfulness program in the U.S. Research has shown that with consistent practice, MBSR can relieve stress in personal and professional settings and increase overall well-being.

The course takes place over eight Wednesday sessions and one Saturday session:

Class 1: Wednesday, September 2, 5:30–8:30 p.m. (slightly longer session)
Class 2: Wednesday, September 9, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Class 3: Wednesday, September 23, 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Class 4: Wednesday, September 30, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Class 5: Wednesday, October 7, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Class 6: Wednesday, October 14, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
All-day retreat: Saturday, October 17, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Class 7: Wednesday, October 21, 5:30–8:00 p.m.
Class 8: Wednesday, October 28, 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Location SBSB 4117

As you consider MBSR, please be aware of the following:

It is important to attend all sessions of the course and the all-day retreat.
A personal commitment to home practice of 45–60 minutes daily at least six days per week for the next eight weeks is essential (“formal practice”). It is the home practice of mindfulness that gives you the best chance to fully realize the benefits MBSR can offer.
A personal commitment to practice mindfulness in daily living (“informal practice”) can enhance the benefits of the MBSR program. We can bring mindfulness to eating, walking, driving, and interpersonal relationships, anytime throughout the day.
In addition to mindfulness practice in class and at home, you will have occasional additional assignments to complete between sessions.

This highly participatory, practical course includes:

Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices
Gentle movement and mindful yoga
Practicing in community
Group dialogue & inquiry
Home practice (with guided audio and a home packet to support your practice)

Staff, faculty, students, and administrators are all welcome to participate. No prior mindfulness experience is necessary. We anticipate that the 15 seats will fill up quickly.

Considering taking an MBSR course is in itself practicing mindfulness—pausing to check in about whether this is the right time for you to participate.

If you have questions, please contact Ranjeeta Basu (rbasu@csusm.edu).

Fall 2026 Workshops

Sober Collective in Collaboration with Student Health and Counseling Services

Second Tuesday of each month from 12pm to 12:50pm in SBSB 3219

The Sober Collective is a supportive space for anyone in our community who is sober or in recovery or would like to engage in sober living. Join us to build community through mindfulness, personal growth and connection.

Mindfulness Practices for Better Time Management

Monday, September 21st 5:30pm to 7pm

This will be a hands-on workshop on using mindfulness practices to manage our time, our intentions and our attention better. None of us have unlimited time. We need to start by accepting that we can’t do everything. We cannot change time but we can prioritize and set intentions and then align our attention to our intentions so we can make the most of the time we do have. We also need to accept that there will be setbacks and challenges along the way and managing our emotions when those happen can allow us to negotiate these challenges with grace and kindness. In other words, time does not have to be a source of stress if we learn to manage our intentions, manage our attention and manage our emotions.

Procrastination Workshop

Tuesday, October 20th 5:30pm to 7pm

Studies have shown that procrastination is a pervasive problem among students and among other adults (Steel, 2007; Harriott & Ferrari, 1996) which can lead to several negative outcomes such as stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor health and financial outcomes, and poor academic performance (Howell et al., 2006). The interest in mindfulness and other contemplative practices has spurred a great deal of research and discussion in recent years. Several studies (Gautam et al., 2019; Flett et al., 2016) have found that mindfulness practices reduce procrastination directly and indirectly by reducing anxiety. Join us for a 2-hour workshop on reducing procrastination with mindfulness. In this workshop, we discuss a variety of evidence-based contemplative practices such as breath practices, mindfulness of emotions, self-compassion, and intention-setting practices designed to help reduce procrastination and anxiety.

Mindful Preparation for Interviews and Presentations

Wednesday, November 18th from 9:30am to 12pm

Feeling stressed and anxious about an upcoming interview? Please join us for a 45-minute session on how to use evidence-based mindfulness practices designed specifically to prepare you for interviews and presentations.

Silent Saturday

Saturday, December 5th from 9:30am to 12pm

This half-day retreat is an opportunity to pause, to reflect, to notice and to develop deep awareness. Our daily lives are so busy that we often forget to pay attention to our inner selves, to our environment and to each other. This retreat provides guided meditations, movement, art and other ways to connect deeply with ourselves and the world around us.

Workshops on Request

We also offer a variety of customized workshops, courses, retreats on a range of topics which include:

Introduction to Mindfulness
Contemplative pedagogy for faculty
Mindfulness and Inclusive excellence
Mindful Communication
Mindfulness for finding Joy
Mindfulness for Resilience and Uncertainty
Mindfulness for Morale Building
Mindfulness for Stress Reduction
Mindful Leadership
Mindful compassion for caregivers and social workers
Mindfulness for Community Healing
Mindfulness for Diversity and Inclusion
Mindfulness for Teachers
Mindfulness for Health related fields
Mindfulness for Business

These workshops and courses range from semester long courses to 4 to 6 week offerings to half day sessions to 2 hour sessions. If you don't see one offered that you would like to see us offer please reach out to us and we will be happy to design one for you or for your unit or organization. To explore further please contact Ranjeeta Basu at rbasu@csusm.edu

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