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PLEASE NOTE – OPEN DOOR THIS SUMMER:   MBSR registration comes with an All-Class, Workshop & Series Pass for a full learning experience this summer.

My traditional MBSR course, the one I have taught here for the past 12 years, has been adapted to the unique challenges and advantages of this staying-at-home era.  It was devised for ease of access and relevance, availability and diversity of class-learning beyond the weekly MBSR sessions and support of long-term learning.  Please know that this course has far less of the drudgery of typical online classes and more attentive guided personal mindfulness practices which are far less stressful than most online learning.

Below are the details of this training, MBSR-SH.  Use the Contact Form to advise Brant of your interests and ask questions.

 

Program Structure:

• After reviewing the details of the course below complete the online MBSR Application .  With the advice of your instructor complete the written application if you are unable to completed online.  Then. . .
• Complete a brief conversation with Brant at some prearranged time. Reach out to him to arrange this.
• This course will be many hours of class time (1-1.5 hours one day per week) for 8 weeks. Plus. . .
• As part of your learning you are welcome to attend one of Brant’s relevant-level mindful yoga classes or sessions each week, the Shared Meditation Evenings, and  Brant’s workshops.  These all come with your registration and are additional, optional ways of practicing and learning making this a comprehensive learning experience.  Generous depth and breadth of learning is the intention with this offering.  Details will be available after your registration.
• There will be a free MBSR Orientation on Saturday June 26th; 2pm for those interested in the course.  Then the course begins on Saturday, July 10th.
• For the course we will be meeting each Thursday, 6 until about 8pm.
• The sixth class will be and extended up to 3 hour mini-silent-retreat class; 6 until as late as 9pm
• Please make a commitment to do home practice each day you are not in class during the Program; up to 45 minutes.  Home practice is at the heart of learning in this course
• Tuition is $250 for those who have applied by the Orientation day.  After that tuition is $320.
• Also, you will be Brant’s guest at a subsequent All-Day MBSR Retreat once we are able to resume in-person classes.
• Payment plans and partial scholarships can be arranged for those with limited means.  Especially during this difficult time of corona virus, layoffs, and society change I will always find a way to admit you to class if you know this is, without-a-doubt, the right time. Contact Brant for details.
• There will be classroom learning and practice of: Gentle, adaptive mindful movement, Body scan meditation, Sitting meditation, Walking meditation, Mindful breathing practice, Group dialogue, Interpersonal learning
• If you are currently in active treatment with an acute condition consult with your doctor, therapist or psychotherapist to provide the MBSR instructor their written or emailed recommendation/referral for MBSR prior to the beginning of the course.   You may be asked to give your doctor or psychotherapist permission to talk with your MBSR instructor in order to support you appropriately if you and your healthcare provider believe it would be helpful.  Participants often do this to better include their healthcare providers as partners in the learning process.
• The MBSR training is held online this term.  You will be provided a Zoom link for the full 8-week course once you have completed booking the course.

To enter the MBSR program you must  1) complete a brief conversation with the instructor 2) Complete an online MBSR Application   3) after these you can arrange with the instructor for booking your reservation and payment of tuition.

Questions about MBSR? Learn more or contact Brant.  MBSR Orientations are helpful though not required.

 

Dear Folks;  I am so very glad to invite you to this summer’s transformation.  In so very many ways we are transitioning life from the lockdowns and diverse difficulties of the past year and a half.  While, I think, all of us long for things to be back to ‘normal’ I am quite sure that the new normal will be very different than our past ways of living.

With the changes in health status, employment, relationships, and so much more we’ll rely on inward stability, an inner stance that softens our tendency to react and invites appropriate response.

This can come with the practices and learning we have shared here over nearly two decades; Mindfulness-Based Yoga classes, workshops focussing on well-being (breathing, balance, gratitude, grieving, adaptive yoga, etc.), custom-tailored trainings (police officers, firefighters, corporations, universities, governments, etc.), contemplative practice (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Shared Meditation Evenings, etc.).

You were kind enough to share your experience of this over many years here in this recent post about what we long for.

This summer there will be much more to share and learn in new ways.  While there will be many of our usual weekly online classes, we will practice together in-person in nature frequently with mindfulness-based yoga and meditation & contemplation sessions.  There will be some workshops and series  you’ve requested alongside some new ones:  Being a Force of Nature series,  Workin/Workout series and the Progressive Relaxation series.   We’ll also make time for a gathering outdoors this summer for an all-student gathering/picnic with time share with one another nourishment, play, and conversation.

Another benefit I have added to your passes and membership booking is to give you access to a growing library of yoga teaching videos like the ones that we use in our line sessions.  You’ll see the list once you’d booked for the term.

Keep up-to-date with all of this by visiting the Schedule and Calendar pages.  They list everything.  

PLEASE NOTE:  This summer I will ask that you register for each and every class of your weekly course or workshop via the Booking Page.  That way the diversity of these summer courses can be managed directly by you and I will not need to try to manage such a diverse selection of offerings.

I look forward to working and sharing with you all this summer!  —  Brant

Dear Folks;  If you or someone you know/love is facing the consequences of COVID Long Haul difficulties  I am holding spaces for a few folks to attend my spring MBSR course as my guests, tuition-free.

Today on NPR’s Science Friday I heard the very poignant stories of folks who are suffering the mysterious and often very difficult neurological symptoms that linger for long periods after a COVID inflection.  I even have family members and students who describe these experiences themselves.  One of the elements of the story was a physician and researcher who noted that stress is often a trigger for these. symptoms.

Note the word cloud above that is from comments of folks who completed the winter MBSR course here.  Perhaps those words will offer a path forward.

My hope is that an MBSR course will help those coping with this stress-trigger.  If you or someone you know sense that this would be helpful I am glad to offer a place in my spring MBSR course starting on Thursday, April 15th.

Reach out if you have questions.

Kindest Regards. —  Brant

Dear Folks;  Tailored for after dinner and the end of the day, let’s settle into some deep relaxation and restoration.  Even learning this skill to carry your forward as we meet life’s challenges with a greater capacity to recuperate.

This is an evening to practice and learn more about methods of deep relaxation you can embody at home to support your health and well-being.

Modes of restorative practice such as progressive relaxation, body scan, visualization, and mindful pause will be included.

Book Here

We tend to divide our attention for health and well-being into the need to ‘work out’ in some way or in some way offer ourselves an inward practice of yoga, meditation or contemplation.  Let’s bring all that together in a simple practice that you could weave easily into daily life encouraging your fullness of strength, flexibility, clarity, and breath.  We’ll bring together the experience of presence; heart, mind and body.  Perhaps a bit of joy will glimmer as you practice.  Perhaps that will grow to influence your personal experience of daily life in some positive way.

What we will share was inspired by Dr. Zach Bush’s 4-minute Workout and perhaps the more validating research on short-interval trainings like this though this course will be more pointed toward weaving such body work with mindfulness/attentive presence, breathing practice, and biomechanics more diverse than that research or Dr. Bush’s sequence.

Here is a brief video invitation to such a practice.

Let’s weave these together in a natural way that can be incorporated into our work day or busy schedule.  We will learn about the positive consequences of this simple, at-home or at-office practice and then practice together.

You will be provided a link to the custom-made video of this 9-minute practice for your further practice.  With Brant on Thursday, April 1st; 5:30-7pm.

Book Here.

Dear Folks;  Just an encouragement for you as spring arrives and we are saying goodbye to the harsher edges of 2020.

The full spring schedule is now in place and you can now book your classes as you wish.  We begin on March 29th.

Here is the video I just completed this morning to encourage you as you meet spring and lean forward.

Kindest Regards —   Brant

Dear Folks;  Our spring MBSR-SH course begins on Thursday April 15 at 6pm with an Orientation the week before.  Note above the word cloud of comments offered by spring MBSR-SH graduates.

“I walk away from this course profoundly changed in how I see and
deal with everyday stresses.”  MBSR-SH graduate, March ’21

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an extremely effective way of learning to care for ourselves by moderating the those sharp edges of stress. It has a large library of research proving its effectiveness.  This online version MBSR-SH  preserves that effectiveness using todays tools appropriately.

“I found the group so nourishing and affirming.
The practice was simple but exponentially richer as we progressed.”  
– MBSR-SH graduate, March ’21

Come to the free online MBSR Orientation on Thursday, April 8th at 6pm.  Book Now.

If you have been thinking about the MBSR course there is still room this spring as folks begin registering online. Set aside concerns about tuition if you have been laid off, impacted by illness, or having trouble with funding. Just reach out to me and we’ll make this work for you; scholarships, payments over time, discounts.

“I’ve have been able to live day-to-day and enjoy many moments
without worrying about the unknown..”  
– MBSR-SH graduate, March ’21

With your registration you’ll be included in online yoga class of your choice: See Schedule as well as the Shared Meditation Evenings at 9pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Reach out with questions  —  Brant

Dear Folks;  What a joy it has been to read your feedback and to shape the classes for spring just as the flowers bloom and the sun becomes warmer.

I listened to your comments and desires for classes and have assembled a host of workshops, series and modified our weekly. class schedule.  Here is the overview:  Link to Spring Schedule.

Here is what you all provided:

While most of the booking memberships and passes you book online are the same,  look for these new elements when you book your classes:

1. There is an All Class Pass for spring which used to be the 30-class pass and now it’s the pass for everything; classes, workshops, shared meditation session, course series.  Just sign up for one or all!
2. Because so many of you attend together on one Zoom session/screen I’ve created the One-Screen Add-On Membership: For family members and friends so you can attend together more economically.  Your added dear ones pay less than half the tuition.
3. This has always been the case but I want to say it here to make sure you know.  I will always work with you to modify tuition if there is economic hardship; payments, reductions, scholarships, etc.  Often dear students offer a complementary pass that I pass on and I, likewise, do so.  Let’s just work together!

Here are special some classes, series, and workshops for spring that you asked for!

• Shared Meditation Evenings continue on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays at 9pm.  Learn more.
• Mindful Yoga in Nature is back!  Various times depending on weather.
• Workin & Workout.  A new, brief, proven and practical way to weave together aerobic, strength, balance, mind/body connection, and ease into your day inviting vitality to shine more fully.  Tuesday April 1st (no fooling!); 5:30 – 7pm.
• Progressive Relaxation Evening on Saturday, April 3rd; 6:30pm
• The Breathing Series on Mondays, April  12 & 19th; 5:30-7pm.
• Aging with Grace on Saturday May 8th; 3-4:30pm
• Mindful Yoga for Core Stability on Saturday May22nd; 3-4:30pm

Much Love. —  Brant

Let’s meet outdoors and practice meeting the open air, outdoor sounds, open sky, and perhaps let our feet feel the earth’s surface for a change.  Help plan what, when and how for these sessions by completing this Planning Questionnaire.

These sessions are with no tuition offered to those who can bring a yoga mat and necessary props to be safe and well aligned on the lawn in an open setting. You may contribute something via the booking system if you wish; a class pass or membership of some sort. Nothing required.  Just show up and share as you wish!  Please book so you are registered so I can anticipate the size of our group.

All levels of practice are welcome though you must (you must!) modify your
movements to be safe for your physical situation.

The size of our practices will be guided by county and parks guidelines that are in flux and I ask that everyone stay 10 feet from their neighbor.  Use a mask, and practice social distancing according to state health guidelines at the time of class in any way you can as you travel and arrive for our informal session.

These will be periodic depending on weather and my schedule and usually at a local park like Bagley Park.  I will send out a noticed at least three days before class.

Book here once an announcement for a class is made via email to students

 

Dear Folks;  I recently sent out a brief survey asking us to offer three words that describe the experience of class and practice here.  Nearly 300 words showed up and they are summarized in a word cloud above.  The largest words were the most commonly offered in the survey.  I think we all long for the experience of many of those words.

Also, I asked folks in the survey if they wanted to say anything else.  I was utterly surprised at how many responses there were and how encouraging and informative for us.  Here they are:

• “You have control over this moment, this choice, this breath”– The Brant Shoulder Angel reminds me every time I’m tempted to push some hard choice or goal to a mythical future day when I’m stronger or less busy. 
• Accepting life as it is right now. Not constantly judging. 
• An awareness of how mind and body link together.  Learning to listen to feedback and have confidence to adjust.
• Consistent care, kindness, encouragement to be kind to self and those I love.
• Being able to slow my mind helps immensely with focus and keeping anxiety away.
• Classes were amazing. 
• I’ll preface my submission by saying that have not attended many of your sessions or trainings over the years for reasons not of your doing.  That said, I always found comfort just knowing you exist and that you were busy providing your services, wisdom, and help to those who took part.  I love your manner and the world-views I knew of yours.  
• Cares about my physical constraints and adjusts poses as needed
• Enjoy the class and community. 
• Even on days when enthusiasm wanes for everything ( grieving?, pandemic?, other?), the pull of commitment and community brings me back and never disappoints. 
• For sixteen years I learned yoga at this studio.  Brant shared his expertise with grace and kindness.  I am sure I am currently pain free because of my work here. 
• Gave me peace about myself and the world at large.   Everyone should take your Mindfulness class
• Helps me establish centeredness and calm for a little while ! Thank you!
• The Stress Reduction Clinic there in Hillsboro offers a safe haven for people to witness the awesome powers of being. Even though I was unable to fully complete your workshop, I continue to “just do the work” and my life is everything ic could ever imagine.
• How to breathe and get perspective. How to tune in to what is important and how to let go.
• I am grateful to Brant
  and to Laurie Bass for encouraging me to teach yoga… right about when I said I was going to let go of it. Thank you both, and to Yoga Hillsboro for the beautiful space, and loving community.
• I appreciate all of the courses from their gentle and loving kindness approach.
• I feel at peace and a sense of self caring that I never experienced before yoga. I value my time in your classes so much and they continue on outside of the classroom. 
• I feel encouraged to accept this aging body, some of the  limitations, with grace. I work today with what there is, and stay out of the “shoulds”. I have become much more limber, more aware, and more curious about my physical abilities! 
• I get much value from the opportunity to improve my meditation practice.  To relax slow down and be in the moment.  And share with others to open my mind to other people’s experiences.  
• I greatly appreciate your classes because even though I don’t have a traditional “yoga body”, I am always made to feel comfortable and welcome and encouraged to work at a level that is appropriate for me.
• I have incorporated yoga into my life and it sustains me and is evolving.  It’s how I’ve gotten to know my body over time.
• I have learned to better care for myself and to listen to my inner voice to guide me.  It’s so encouraging to come together with others in our weekly practice (even if only via zoom)  to share an encouraging word or funny story. Such a wonderful feeling of community and support. Thanks you, for all the loving support you offer to us. 
• I learned that anyone can exercise regardless how bad their disabilities are and that kindness gets people to appreciate what they have. 
• I learned to meet people where they ARE in the moment. It was so refreshing to just be there for yoga and not worry about how I looked/how much I weigh. Accessibility is so important. That its ok to adjust the poses so its easier on you, without shame. I’ll probably never go to another yoga studio, I can’t imagine feeling comfortable in another environment. 
• I love how you encourage everyone to do their practice for their own body and not try to achieve a “perfect form”.  
• I love the focus not just on the movement in yoga, but the spirit of the practice, how to link mind and body, both in yoga and the medication classes.
• I loved the MBSR course I took with you, such a special time shared by my entire family. Be Well 
• I met someone very special who I never would have met otherwise. Thank you.
• Thank you for being a wonderful foundation stone in my life.  Love from Melbourne, 
• I really value this course and the support that Brant provides in and outside of the weekly classes.
• I remember the life struggles of my fellow students most, how hard life can be and yet how they carried on, seeking a more tranquil existence.  That has been lasting inspiration for me.
• I sometimes have to force myself to get started, but I’ve never regretted it and have always finished feeling better than when I started.
• I took your MBSR course over ten years ago. It was more useful to me than years spent with a therapist: acceptance, presence, true compassion. I also treasure the diverse people I met in that class; it helps remind me, often daily, that despite our sometimes deeply partisan differences, we are all basically seeking the same things in life… I thank you for offering that class. It stays with me. 
• I value practicing being in the moment and remembering to breathe.
• I very much needed to connect with my body after months of Covid.
• I’ve come a long way in having the wisdom to know the difference between changing the things I am able to and accepting the things I cannot change. Thank you
• I’ve learned how to appreciate and cultivate calm and quiet. And movement in class has invited me to reconsider my relationship with my body ~ it helps me practice more kindness and curiosity than only pushing or challenging. 
• In person or remotely, Brant and his commitment to and compassionate support of students is a healthy and safe haven. He cultivates a sense of community and care that is above and beyond any other on-line course.
• It has been such a comfort at a time where I have felt so alone to come together with others and practice yoga and mindfulness. 
• It has really helped to learn and understand mindfulness. I still need to get better at it, but at least I can recognize it when I’m successful!
• It is supportive to witness someone doing something out of love and
• Dedication. Thank you for shining that example for so many years.
• Learning in a community of supportive peers with inspirational leadership
• Learning to listen to everything
• Learning to process and listen tuning out extra noise.
• Learning to quiet my mind, focus on my breathing, and let go of what isn’t useful help me everyday.
• Loved both your workshops and classes. Thank you 
• MBSR changed my life and Yoga is taking things a little further everyday. You have created a safe, nurturing environment to learn and share our little thoughts and it has given me a sense of community during these challenging times – Thank You, Brant – Sundar.
• MBSR course has helped me and stayed with me since I took the course in 2011.  I try to keep recalling the concepts and use them in my everyday life.  
• Meditation is something I’ve wanted for  myself for a long time and I’m go glad I found you and your course. It was one of the first and nicest thing I’ve done for myself. 
• Most organized  and challenging classes I have taken.  I really like that.
• My practices with you have helped me cultivate a greater appreciation for this life and this body – to find deeper compassion for myself and others. 
• Participating in the sessions improved my subsequent life experience though I’ve never understood or been aware of any connection. Maybe mysterious but result is good. 
• Possibility: I become aware of the many options there are for how I relate to my experiences, and I am gently reminded that it is possible to align ones thoughts and behaviors with ones highest values.  That is what Brant does.  Never talks about it, just does it.
• Setting time aside as a practice is still clunky for me but the more I do it the more valuable it becomes.  I am forever grateful for both your yoga instruction and meditation groups.
• Since 2007, I’ve attended gentle, beginning, and intermediate yoga classes; along with numerous workshops, MBSR and MBSR alumni nights. I continue to return to Yoga Hillsboro to remind me to meet things as they are. Life is always changing as well as my practice – and so are the offerings from Yoga Hillsboro. Currently, the virtual meditation group (created as a result of COVID-19) has been one of the most enriching ways to regularly connect with the community I missed after moving further away. Our meditation group has allowed me to maintain and expand the much needed group practice even through this very abnormal chain of events in 2020 and now 2021. 
• Strategies that have helped with PTSD and asthma. Experiences that I hope to get back to, but try to replicate in my life now. 
• Stress relief…. would not survive my hectic work life without your classes. 
• Taking time out, a pause, to notice and not react, to stretch, to breathe, to move in safe, careful, and unusual ways; to realign, recalibrate, refresh, and move forward
• There Is too much to say.  During this incredibly difficult time it has been very comforting and a great support to have you guiding the meditation group and bringing us to be connected to the others in the group.   
• Truly a transformative place of peace and joy.  I felt completely at home and encouraged to be my authentic self.
• Well, I, like everyone else, misses the togetherness of the on-site classes, but things change!  I’m so very glad you have gone on-line, Zoom is my friend!  I like the acceptance of all kinds of body types/issues, and find that these gentle stretches are my go-to if I’m feeling rough physically.  The meditations have helped, though I’m not utilizing the skill as much as I probably need to in this stressful year.  I also like your open-mindedness, and willingness to share with us other approaches and techniques you’ve learned elsewhere.  (I’m trying to keep up w/ the balance exercises especially as hiking season dawns!)  Thank you for your KIND SPIRIT and acceptance of everyone.
• When offended by someone, think about what might be going on in their life before getting mad/upset at them. That usually gives me enough time to calm down. Good advice.
• You are a remarkable person and valuable resource through good and bad times in life.  I value your offerings and will continue with you as long as you are available in my own way.  Thank you. 
• You create a safe space for people to open up. Thanks!
• You’ve taught me that I know the right answers oftentimes. I need to listen to my inner wisdom and speak it with kindness to others. 
• Your “teaching” modeled the curiosity, non-judgement, and constant re-realization that you inspired in me and that I sometimes now invite my friends to try