MINDFUL SELF-COMPASSION
- Do you find yourself ruminating over negative things, finding faults in you, and not enjoying the moment?
- Do you have a critical voice installed in you that does not quiet down?
- Do you find yourself afraid of failing and not taking risks even when you know they would take you closer to what you want?
- Do you find yourself wanting to be special that nothing feels right if you are not?
- Do you find yourself putting others ahead of you and not always feeling good about it?
- Do you want to be ready for failure and success with resilience to bounce back to the next step?
If answer to any of these questions is YES, our workshop is right for you.
“Ready for Everything?”
Workshop by Swati Desai, Ph.D., LCSW at Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine
Eight Wednesdays From 7 to 9 pm
Starting on March 9th through April 27th, 2016
Fee: $497, reduced Early Bird price of $398 if registering in February!
“The best way to get ready for the ten thousand joys and ten thousand pains of life is to make best friends with yourself.”
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is an empirically-supported, 8-week, training program designed to cultivate the skill of self-compassion. Based on the groundbreaking research of Kristin Neff and the clinical expertise of Christopher Germer, MSC teaches core principles and practices that enable participants to respond to difficult moments in their lives with kindness, care and understanding. MSC is shown to increase both resilience and motivation.
The three key components of self-compassion are self-kindness, a sense of common humanity, and balanced, mindful awareness. Kindness opens our hearts to suffering, so we can give ourselves what we need. Common humanity opens us to our essential interrelatedness, so that we know we aren’t alone. Mindfulness opens us to the present moment, so we can accept our experience with greater ease. Together they comprise a state of warm-hearted, connected presence.
Self-compassion can be learned by anyone, even those who didn’t receive enough affection in childhood or who feel uncomfortable when they are good to themselves. It’s a courageous attitude that stands up to harm, including the harm that we unwittingly inflict on ourselves through self-criticism, self-isolation, or self-absorption. Self-compassion provides emotional strength and resilience, allowing us to admit our shortcomings, motivate ourselves with kindness, forgive ourselves when needed, relate wholeheartedly to others, and be more authentically ourselves.
Rapidly expanding research demonstrates that self-compassion is strongly associated with emotional wellbeing, less anxiety, depression and stress, maintenance of healthy habits such as diet and exercise, and satisfying personal relationships. And it’s easier than you think.
After participating in this workshop, you’ll be able to:
- Practice self-compassion in daily life
- Understand the empirically-supported benefits of self-compassion
- Motivate yourself with kindness rather than criticism
- Handle difficult emotions with greater ease
- Transform challenging relationships, old and new
- Manage caregiver fatigue
- Practice the art of savoring and self-appreciation
- Learn to take success and failures in their stride
What To Expect
Program activities include meditation, short talks, experiential exercises, group discussion, and home practices. MSC is a workshop rather than a retreat. The goal is for participants to directly experience self-compassion and learn practices that evoke self-compassion in daily life.
MSC is primarily a compassion training program rather than mindfulness training like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), although mindfulness is the foundation of self-compassion. MSC is also not psychotherapy insofar as the emphasis of MSC is on building emotional resources rather than addressing old wounds. Positive change occurs naturally as we develop the capacity to be with ourselves in a kinder, more compassionate way.
It is said that “love reveals everything unlike itself.” While some difficult emotions may arise when practicing self-compassion, MSC teachers are committed to providing a safe, supportive environment for this process to unfold, and to making the journey interesting and enjoyable for everyone.
MSC includes 8 weekly sessions of 3 hours each, in addition to a 4-hour retreat (date will be announced). Prior to registering, participants should plan to attend every session and practice mindfulness and self-compassion at least 30 minutes per day throughout the program.
Prerequisites
No previous experience with mindfulness or meditation is required to attend MSC. To insure safety, participants are asked to provide background information when they register for the program.
It is recommended that participants read one or both of following books before or during the program:
- Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, by Kristin Neff
- The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, by Christopher Germer
This program fulfills one of the prerequisites for becoming a MSC teacher. For more information on MSC and MSC Teacher Training, please visit www.CenterForMSC.org.
Registration
For information and registration, please call Akasha Center front desk at (310) 451 8880 or email Dr. Swati directly at meditate@swatidesai.com.
