The Online Workbook is an abridged workbook resource that serves as a reference for students when your printed Workbook PDF is not on hand. 

Table of Contents

• Orientation Message To New Students: Welcome
• Orientation Tasks To Be Completed At Home: Before Your First Class Meeting
• Guidelines For The Weekly Classes: Basic Structure and Expectations
• Orientation Task #1—Read: Technology Requirements for Online Classes
• Orientation Task #2—Read: Preparation and Etiquette for Online Classes
• Orientation Task #3—Read: How To Join A Zoom Meeting 
• Homework Message To Students
• Home Assignment #1—Theme: One Hour for Yourself
• Home Assignment #2—Theme: Body & Breath, Perception & Responding
• Home Assignment #3—Theme: Pleasure & Connection
• Home Assignment #4—Theme: Stress & Reactivity
• Home Assignment #5—Theme: Suffering & Delight
• Home Assignment #6—Theme: Communication
• All-day Retreat Message To Students
• All-day Retreat Task #1—Read: Gathering in the Online Retreat Hall
• All-day Retreat Task #2—Read: Setting up Your Personal Retreat Hall
• All-day Retreat Task #3—Read: What to Bring to Retreat
• All-day Retreat Task #4—Print: Online Live Retreat Schedule
• Home Assignment #7—Theme: Everyday Practice
• Home Assignment #8—Theme: This is it!
• Concluding Message To Students 
  (End.)

Orientation message to new students

New students, we look forward to meeting you!

StressCare’s Online Live 8-Week MBSR is an interactive web-based program—your full attention and participation will be required. Classes are held on Zoom, an online meeting platform.

The Workbook PDF:  View and Print

All instructions for your course are in the Workbook PDF and on the StressCare For Current Students page. The Workbook PDF guides 8-Week MBSR students through the weekly home assignments throughout the course, and includes all worksheets and student messages. 

The Online Workbook

For your convenience, you will also find the home assignments in this Online Workbook. However, the worksheets are not displayed here. Instead, you will find links for individual worksheet PDFs at the bottom of each home assignment page. (Update: PDF feature coming soon!)

Orientation tasks to be completed at home

Before your first class meeting

Complete the following tasks before your first class meeting, the Orientation. These tasks will guide you in setting up your Workbook, computer, and personal space for the online class meetings.

• Print the Workbook PDF (40 pages) before the first online meeting.
  
  
• Familiarize yourself with this Online Workbook. This online resource serves as a reference when you don’t have the printed Workbook on hand.
  
  
• Put your printed Workbook pages in a folder or 3-ring binder. 
  
  
• Plan to use your journal (not included) or loose paper for additional notes.
  
  
• Read: Guidelines for the Weekly Classes: Basic Structure and Expectations
  
  
• Complete: Orientation Tasks #1, #2, & #3:
  Orientation Task #1—Technology Requirements for Online Classes
  Orientation Task #2—Preparation and Etiquette for Online Classes
  Orientation Task #3—How to Join a Zoom Meeting

Guidelines for the Weekly Classes

Read: Basic Structure and Expectations

Complete the exercises in your Workbook PDF week by week, and be prepared to discuss them. Your instructor will assign homework in each class.

• Use your StressCare Workbook PDF for the weekly home assignments. Use a journal or loose paper for additional notes. Refer to this Online Workbook as a convenience when needed. 
  
  
• Use StressCare’s Guided Meditation Audio for the Workbook exercises. Download or stream Guided Meditations on the For Current Students page or the auxiliary student website, StressCare4U.
  
  
• Always bring your printed Workbook pages and a writing instrument to your online class meetings. Bring your journal notes if you have them.
  
  
• Complete the suggested weekly readings in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book, Full Catastrophe Living, 2013 Edition. The book is not included in the course materials. Reading is recommended but not required.

If you must miss a class meeting, contact your instructor, Karin Pfluger at karin@stresscaretraining.org or leave a voicemail at (510) 843-1575.

Orientation Task #1

Read: Technology Requirements for Online Classes

This online course requires internet access. It is the participant’s responsibility to ensure that you have adequate equipment and internet connection.

• Participation will be via your computer (PC or Mac), with interactive audio, video and chat. Tablets and phones may not display all of your classmates on one screen, and are not recommended.
• Classes meet online using Zoom, a web-based video conferencing platform. Participants must download Zoom onto their computer before the first class meeting (see below).

System Requirements

• Internet connection — broadband wired or wireless (WiFi)
• Audio and video  — the built-in speakers, microphone and webcam on your computer are usually sufficient
• Optional — USB plug-in or wireless speakers, microphone, or webcam
• Recommended — headphones or earphones/earbuds to enhance sound quality and reduce feedback noise
• Get all system requirements on the Zoom website (see link below)

Required Preparation

• Download Zoom by clicking on https://zoom.us/download
• Join a Test Meeting on Zoom, at https://zoom.us/test
• Test your camera and microphone at https://zoom.us/test
• Test your headphones/earphones with the computer you will be using

Other Zoom Links
Zoom System Requirements at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-Requirements-for-PC-Mac-and-Linux
Zoom Support Center at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us

Orientation Task #1 PDF (link coming soon)

Orientation Task #2

Read: Preparing for Your Online Class

Follow the steps below before joining your first class meeting.

Give yourself ample time to read and prepare, so you can successfully join the online classes. We look forward to seeing you “there!”

1.  Set up your computer

• Set up your computer, download Zoom, and join a “test meeting.” See Orientation Task #1 to learn more.
• Headphones or earphones/earbuds are recommended.

2.  Set up your space

• Choose a space where you will be undisturbed.
• You will need floor space for the yoga, walking, and lying-down meditations. Space for walking should be at minimum the length of a yoga mat.
• Set up a comfortable seat in front of your device so your face will be visible on screen, and lit from the front, if possible.

3.  Bring the following to each class meeting:

• Yoga mat, camping mat, or thick blanket for the floor
• Light blanket to cover the body
• Pillows for support
• Water (hydration)
• Journal, Workbook, and writing instrument
• Optional: Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn

4.  Be present

• Set aside this time to be fully present for class. Consider leaving your cell phone in another room. Rest inside yourself!

5.  Join the class meeting

• Join the class from your email link, or from the Zoom website using the class Meeting ID – see Orientation Task #3 for more details. 

6.  Etiquette during class

• Classes begin and end promptly. Join the meeting a few minutes early, and remain in the “Waiting Room” until the teacher starts the class and lets you in. It is important to be on time.
• Join with video and audio. Your microphone will be muted upon entry – do not unmute your mic. When you are muted you can still hear everything that is going on.
• Acquaint yourself with the controls: Mute/Unmute, Video On/Off, Raise Hand, Chat, and GalleryView/SpeakerView. 
• Keep your microphone muted and your video on during class.
• Use Gallery View.
• Use the Chat function sparingly. 
• In class discussions, raise your (real) hand to let the teacher know you want to talk. When the teacher calls on you, unmute yourself. When you are done speaking, mute yourself again. 
• If you need to leave your seat for a moment or for a bio-break, leaver your computer in place and your video on.
• Bio-breaks are at your discretion—simply leave and return to your seat with mindfulness.

You are all set for your first class meeting!

Orientation Task #2 PDF (link coming soon!)

Orientation Task #3

Read: How to Join a Zoom Class Meeting

Online classes are held on Zoom.

Follow these easy steps to join an online Zoom class meeting:

• First, set up your computer and download Zoom (see Orientation Task #1)
• Next, read about our protocol for online classes (see Orientation Task #2)
• Then, check your email. You will get an email invite from StressCare, 24 hours before the start of each class, with a clickable link and other meeting info.
• Open the email, and click on the meeting link
• You’ll automatically be taken to the meeting
• Close open programs or browser windows

Alternate method:

• Follow steps 1 through 3 above
• Get the Meeting ID from the email invite
• Go to the Zoom website (at https://zoom.us) – at the top of the home page, click “Join a Meeting”
• Type in the Meeting ID, and click the “Join” button to be taken to the meeting
• Close open programs or browser windows

Orientation Task #3 PDF (link coming soon!)

Homework message to new students

Weekly Home Assignments begin below

Complete the exercises in each week’s home assignment and be prepared to discuss them in the following class. Your instructor will assign homework in each class.

If you encounter resistance along the way, don’t worry—welcome to the club! This is common, and is part of the process. Be kind to yourself, and notice when you’re not. Your effort is best when not too tight and not too loose. Pause and begin anew, moving forward with patience. 

If you have homework difficulties or questions, contact your instructor, Karin Pfluger at karin@stresscaretraining.org.

Home Assignment #1

This Week: To Be Completed for Class #1

Theme: One Hour for Yourself

• Print the Workbook PDF if you haven’t yet done so. Get your journal and, if you wish, your book (Full Catastrophe Living – optional!) ready before the next class meeting. 
  
  
• Download the Guided Meditation Audio—four meditation tracks—to your device(s), and make sure you can play them. Or, test and plan to stream the Audio from the For Current Students page or from StressCare4U.
  
  
• Spend some time considering what brings you to this course. What do you want for yourself? Reflect on the commitment of time and attention being asked of you. How can you keep this, and your own health and well-being, as a priority? Make journal notes.
  
  
• Make one hour for yourself each day this week. Notice when the hour begins, and when it ends. What you do is entirely up to you. Make notes in the One Hour for Yourself worksheet (handout). Make additional journal notes if needed.

Home Assignment #1 PDF (link coming soon)
Handout: One Hour For Yourself PDF (link coming soon)

Home Assignment #2

This Week: To Be Completed for Class #2

Theme: Body & Breath, Perception & Responding

• Do the Body Scan once each day, using the Guided Meditation Audio.
  
  
• Eat one meal mindfully this week.
  
  
• Suggested reading: Full Catastrophe Living, introduction, chapters 1-5 and 10.
  
  
• Do the Nine-Dots Exercise (worksheet): Connect all nine dots (sample below) using only straight lines, and no more than four. Do not lift the point of the pencil while drawing the lines. The lines may cross one another, but do not retrace. Don’t Google it—attend to your own process. Journal notes optional.
  
  

           •                    •                    •

 

           •                    •                    •

 

            •                    •                    •

Home Assignment #2 PDF (link coming soon)
Worksheet: Nine Dots Exercise PDF (link coming soon)

Home Assignment #3

This Week: To Be Completed for Class #3

Theme: Pleasure & Connection

• Do the Body Scan once each day, using the Guided Meditation Audio.
  
  
• Do Sitting Meditation once each day for five minutes, exploring presence on your own.
  
  
• Complete the Pleasant Events Calendar (worksheet).
  
  
• Select one activity that you do every day such as washing your face, brushing your teeth, washing a few dishes, taking out the garbage or walking the dog—and do this activity mindfully each day.
  
  
• Suggested reading: Full Catastrophe Living, chapters 11-16.
  
  
• Optional: make journal notes. 

Home Assignment #3 PDF (link coming soon)
Worksheet: Pleasant Events Calendar PDF (link coming soon)

Home Assignment #6

This Week: To Be Completed for Class #6

All-day Retreat message to students

Gathering in the Online Live Retreat Hall 

In our (required) Online All-day Retreat, you’re invited to create your own “retreat hall” at home. We’ll join each other online, on Zoom, for a day of (mostly) silent practice, guided by your instructor. We’ll do our familiar long practices, short practices, and more. There will be sitting and moving and lying down. Bring your water and tea. We’ll have a mindful lunch. Bring your journal and writing instrument. We’ll have a little bit of conversation, but mostly, we’ll be in silence. You’ll have the chance to share retreat insights and experiences in Class #7.

Get your All-day Retreat info here

Home Assignment #7

This Week: To Be Completed for Class #7

Theme: Everyday Practice

• Do Sitting Meditation every day using the Audio.
  
  
• Do 15 minutes of Yoga every day using the poses and stretches that are most suitable for you, with or without the Audio, or do Walking Meditation.
  
  
• Use the Food Chart (worksheet) to keep track of your food and liquid intake for one entire day. Make note of your physical sensations, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and behavior. Optional: make additional journal notes.
  
  
• Bring to class everything you need to perform a hands-on task such as mending a garment, folding laundry, or polishing shoes.  Be prepared to do this task in class.
  
  
• Suggested reading: Full Catastrophe Living, chapters 9 and 30-32.

Home Assignment #7 PDF (link coming soon)
Worksheet: Food Chart PDF (link coming soon)

Home Assignment #8

This Week: To Be Completed for Class #8

Nothing happens next. This is it.

• Each day this week, do one or more of the formal practices—Body Scan, Yoga, Sitting Meditation, Walking Meditation— experimenting with and without the Audio. Make notes in the Meditation Log (handout).
  
  
• Select some informal mindfulness practices to be done in the midst of everyday activity—do these every day.
  
  
• Bring a gift to our next (and last) class to share, for example, a poem, song, story, object or photograph. 
  
  
• Optional: make journal notes. 
  
  
• Suggested reading: Full Catastrophe Living, chapters 33-36.

Home Assignment #8 PDF (link coming soon)
Worksheet: Meditation Log PDF (link coming soon)

Concluding message to students

Congratulations on completing your 8-Week MBSR Course!

By now you know that this is not an end so much as a beginning. Practice is for a lifetime—nothing short of an embrace of your whole life, the full catastrophe! “Doing” the practice in the spirit of non-doing—more and more the practice unfolds by itself.

The most important thing is that you take care of yourself and others from your deepest stillness, kindness, and generosity. Mindful, we “re-member” ourselves in the present—connecting with the wisdom of our own bodies and minds. We can stop, breathe, listen, feel, and think—responding to the whole situation with attention and heart. 

To keep the practice alive in your life, we have five recommendations for ongoing practice, with StressCare or wherever your exploration may lead:

1. Meditate regularly with others (weekly online meditation)
2. Get regular or occasional teacher guidance (Mindfulness 1-on-1 and ACT 1-on-1)
3. Build retreat practice into your life (Return for an Online All-day)
4. Take a class to connect with others and explore your understanding
5. Read Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, from cover to cover!

Learn more on StressCare’s Ongoing Practice page.

Thank you for your wholehearted participation in our course.

May you enjoy and benefit

End.