Are You Ready to Reduce Stress and Gain Awareness?

Life is full of stress. From balancing work and life challenges to going through health issues or experiencing separation or divorce, it's hard to get away from the stresses of life. Learning how to cope with stress is the greatest challenge of human existence. Join Old St. Patrick's Church as they host an innovative eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, founded by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979. 


This intensive training program is highly respected internationally and has been featured in Bill Moyer's PBS series Healing and The Mind, on NBC's Dateline, ABC's Chronicle programs and the Evening News, as well as on The Oprah Winfrey Show plus in various national print media. This program is also the subject of Dr. Zinn's best selling book, Full Catastrophe Living. Since the founding of this program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, thousands of people have completed the eight-week course and learned how to use their innate resources and abilities to respond more effective to stress, pain, and illness. 


"Mindfulness quiets the mind and integrates Spiritual Practice into daily life. Thirty years of research has shown that developing 'Present Moment Awareness' can lead to greater overall health and well being as well as a deep sense of peace," said Holly Nelson-Johnson, MSN, APN/FNP-BC, RYT, a nurse practitioner and certified yoga teacher who specializes in Primary Care-integrated Medicine. 


Ms. Johnson has trained with Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and maintains an ongoing collaboration with the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts. She will lead the eight-week program at Old St. Pat's Church. She has a background in Theology and Inter-Religious Dialogue that includes an emphasis on the development of Spiritual Practices for over 25 years. 


Those who commit to this intensive eight-week training program are asked to practice mindfulness meditation and yoga daily and will receive 30 hours of instruction, a full-day Mindfulness retreat, a Mindfulness Program Manual complete with meditations, practices, poetry, and resources as well as a set of four Mindfulness practice CD's.


"I've always loved the scriptural line, 'Be Still and know that I am God'. But it took on a whole new meaning after I participated in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Daily practice in meditation helps me experience God's very real presence in my daily life - regardless of what joys, calamities or surprises any day may hold in store for me. I highly recommend this course," said Peg Roth,  a member of Old St. Pat's Church and a client in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. 


Participants will meet every Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. on the following dates: Feb. 17, 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24; April 7, and 14. Plus, a full-day Mindfulness Retreat will be held on Saturday, March 26, 2011. 


The course fee is $475. Attendance is also required at one of the Mindfulness Information Sessions: Thursday, Feb. 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; or Sunday, Feb. 6, from 9 to 11 a.m. or 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. Sessions are held at 711 West Monroe, 2nd Floor, room #25c.


If you'd like to learn more about the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and how to gain a greater sense of peace and balance as you face the challenges of everyday life, then contact Holly Nelson-Johnson at either hnjohnson@mac.com or 847.840.0708 or Tammy Roeder at tammy.roeder@oldstpats.org or 312.798.2350. Class size is limited, and early registration is suggested.