West End Yoga Studio is offering an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course from September 9 through November 12, 2023, taught by Jess Okanya Patel, MA, qualified through Brown University. An all-day session after the sixth week is a full retreat day. This evidence-based, intensive exploration of the practice of mindfulness is intended to relieve stress of all kinds, including emotional and physical pain, and establish a regular practice of mindfulness. No experience is necessary and all levels are welcome.

West End owner Jessica Rodriguez says, “Each session starts with a mindfulness exercise that the participants have learned during the previous session. The main exercises of the MBSR program are the body scan, gentle mindful movement and sitting meditation. Through the course of the program, participants will practice one of these exercises every day. Topics included in an MBSR course are mindful communication, working with difficult emotions and how perception influences our relationship to stressful events.”