Stress Reduction

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Viloence Education & Prevention

Reducing Stress - Resources at Mizzou

MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Class
The  MBSR class meets for two hours each week. Classes include instruction in formal mindfulness practices (sitting meditation, body scan, mindful yoga, and walking meditation). Group discussions address the experiential component of the classes and didactic components emphasize the application of mindfulness in dealing with stress. Weekly practice assignments to do at home help you develop mindfulness skills and help you take mindfulness into your everyday life. Regular class attendance and a commitment of 30-45 minutes of practice per day for the entire duration of the course are required. CDs of the body scan, sitting meditation, and yoga and weekly handouts will be provided as learning aids. There will be a full-day retreat (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) each Fall and Winter Semester for anyone going through or having completed a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Program.  Permission will be granted to take the course after the student has read the class description and agrees to attend the class and commit to practicing the skills at home.

MBSR for Credit - 1 hr Credit, housed in Educational, School and Counseling Psychology, Fall 2008

MBSR - not for credit - You may also take the MBSR class as extra curricular.

MBSR – Fall Semester  2008
Informational meeting (everyone must attend)
Date: Wednesday September 17  
Time: 5:00pm
Location: S304 Memorial Union
Cost: $40 - includes 3 CDs & manual to support your practice. You may pay cash or student charge.

For questions or information contact Terry Wilson, MBSR instructor at wilsont@health.missouri.edu or 882-4222.
For all mindfulness activities within the University of Missouri, see the Mindfulness Practice Center

Yoga (Classes are FREE, sponsored by your Student Health Fee)
The word “Yoga” means “union” and implies a harnessing together and a unifying of body, mind and spirit. Yoga is a practice of meditation in motion, and when done regularly, is an excellent mind/body practice for people who wish to move towards greater levels of health.

Mindful yoga is about practicing with awareness of physical sensations, breathing, emotions, and thoughts from moment to moment with unconditional acceptance. If yoga is practiced regularly you will notice many benefits to your physical and mental health. Regular practice will increase your musculoskeletal flexibility, strength, and balance, as well as help you to enter states of deep relaxation and awareness. Many people experience greater serenity about life in general after consistent yoga practice.

In this class we will be engaging in simple, gentle yoga postures. We start with a brief centering and then move to warming up different areas of our body in preparation for the main yoga postures. We will always end our practice with deep relaxation.

There are 3 main things to keep in mind when practicing yoga:

• Do your version of the posture. Yoga is not about competition. It is an internal practice. Listen to your body. Go to your edge but not beyond.

• Be present. The key to being present is paying attention moment-to-moment without judgment. Welcoming all sensations just as they are. Being present is a skill you develop over time with practice. Being present allows a deeper understanding of ourselves and we take this understanding off our mats and into our daily lives.

• Breathe. If you did nothing else but sit and breathe through your entire practice, you would gain many benefits. Breathe: slow, steady and deep.  

A few more things to know:

• Wear comfortable clothing that is non-restrictive.
• Remove your shoes at the door. We practice in our bare feet on a “sticky” mat. The sticky mat helps with stability and reduces the risk of injury from accidental slipping. Socks can be worn for warmth for some postures where risk of slipping is not an issue.
  
• Come to yoga practice with an empty stomach. (usually no food 2 hours prior)
• Water is ok during practice to stay hydrated.
  
• If you come to class late, please enter quietly if we are centering at the beginning of class.
  
• A blanket and eye pillow can enhance your deep relaxation experience at the end of practice. You can purchase an eye pillow at any online Yoga website. Another option is to use a washcloth, scarf or even clean a clean sock to achieve the same effect: quieting the mind.
  
• If you have health issues (illness, injury, or medical condition), please notify me before class. Not every pose is appropriate for everyone.
• Be kind and loving to yourself by accepting where you are. It is ok to come out of a pose before the teacher says to.  The body will respond beautifully when you show it kindness, acceptance and love. Rest sometimes. Do what you can, with what you have, with where you are.
  
• No prior experience or flexibility is required. Yoga is for everyone.
  
• If you need to leave early, tell the instructor beforehand and exit before final relaxation.
  
• Finally, within the Yoga tradition most classes end with a gesture and saying “Namaste.” This saying means the peace in my heart honors the peace in your heart. I will invite this gesture and will end with the following statement:  “Peace is within all our hearts.”  The gesture is voluntary and only if you are comfortable with it.
• I hope you join us each week to Relax, Restore, Renew.

With Joy,
Terry, RYT – Registered Yoga Teacher
Terry Wilson is an R.N. with a Masters Degree in Health Promotion Education. She is a certified Integrative Yoga Therapy teacher and has completed advanced training in Integrative Restoration-iRest (Yoga Nidra). 

FALL SEMESTER 2008
Day: Mondays
Time: 4:00 – 5:15 pm
Location: Studio C in the Student Recreation Complex
Cost: Covered by your Student Health Fee in cooperation with the SRC

iRest (Integrative Restoration, Yoga Nidra)

Integrative Restoration (iRest) is a transformative practice that leads to lasting psychological, physical and spiritual healing. It accomplishes this through the release of long-held negative beliefs that give rise to self-destructive patterns. It teaches us how to live a contented life free of conflict, anxiety, fear, and suffering, and how to experience our inherent inter-connection with all of life.

The practice of iRest results in relaxation throughout the body and mind by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation response), incorporating time-tested and well-researched mind/body approaches. Its use dramatically reduces stress, helps overcome insomnia, neutralize and overcome anxiety, fear, anger and depression.

iRest is an easy-to-use tool for anyone seeking to reduce physical, emotional or mental stress. iRest gently guides you through body and breath awareness and an exploration of emotions, thoughts/beliefs, and joy. As iRest teaches awareness of and neutralizes the source of inner stress, it provides tools for achieving an inner calm that we integrate throughout all phases of our life. As inner tensions decrease, self-confidence and
well-being increase, which remains with us as we go about our daily life.

Integrative Restoration is derived from the ancient teachings of Yoga Nidra (yoga=embodying what is timeless + nidra = across all states of consciousness). The practice is (1) integrative in that it heals the various fixations and negative patterns that are present in the body, mind and senses; and (2) restorative in that it aids us in recognizing our inner connectedness with everyone and all of life. iRest accomplishes this through two steps:

1. The embodiment of pure awareness, and
2. The release of negative body sensations, emotions, and beliefs and stress that give rise to self-destructive patterns.

iRest is a non-dogmatic, secular practice, consisting of a series of 30-40 minute training sessions where you learn to guide yourself through meditative sequences. Once learned, iRest is a practice that can easily be integrated into daily routines. The individual components of iRest can be practiced in as short as 3 minutes. The protocol of iRest covers:

1. Body sensitivity training
2. Breath awareness
3. Sensing positive feelings and emotions designed to neutralize negative and traumatic body sensations, stress, emotions, beliefs, images, and memories
4. The experience of well-being
5. The experience of mental and emotional composure amidst the changing circumstances of life
6. The inter-connectedness with all of life

iRest teaches skills that will assist you in experiencing mastery during your most difficult times and will increase your experience of joy and mental composure that will pervade your everyday life.

Integrative Restoration is based on the work of Richard C. Miller, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and is nationally recognized as an Eastern Scholar. To learn more about Integrative Restoration and how iRest is being utilized to help many different populations including our U.S. soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder go to nondual.com

The Integrative Restoration description was written by Richard C. Miller, PhD who granted permission to use on this website.

Terry Wilson is an iRest teacher and has had advanced training with Richard Miller in Integrative Restoration and is in the process of completing her iRest teacher certification.

iRest Class
The iRest class meets 2 hours a week for 8 weeks.  The sessions consist of a short didactic component, Q&A and a 45 minute iRest practice starting with body sensing, and breath awareness. Students bring props (eye pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, pillows) that will provide warmth and comfort during the practice. When the iRest practice ends for the session, students slowly leave when they feel ready.

To experience the full benefits of iRest a daily home practice is vital. Your home practice is supported by 3 CDs that are included in the cost of the class ($40).  Payment is due at the time of enrollment and may be paid in cash or charged to your student account.

Research Component
There is a voluntary research component associated with iRest. In a pilot study Fall Semester 2007, results showed a decrease in anxiety, depression, perceived stress and an increase in awareness of sensations. (article)

You will be invited to participate in the research (completing surveys pre and post 8 week class). You may enroll and participate in the class without being a part of the research.

Testimonials from students who attended iRest Spring 2008

“Thanks to Yoga Nidra, I have learned to use the relaxation when I need a relief from the pressure of all my duties. A brief meditation makes me feel better in few minutes, calmer and steadier. With iRest, somehow, I have started to better understand the stronger and weaker parts of my personality, which helps me in finding how to work and go on with life in the way that is better personally for me.”
~ Irina Avkhimovich, Doctoral student, English Department

"This non-doing, it is great. Non-doing in the sense that you are not doing anything physically, but rather cultivating awareness. Yoga Nidra is a tool to help cultivate awareness. Awareness that can be found not only during practice, but during times of extreme stress and turmoil, whether it be during school, relationships with parents or friends, or wherever you find yourself. This awareness gives you the hindsight of not becoming attached to the thought, emotion, or sensation. In doing so, I find I have become a better brother, friend, student, and classmate. A better me." 
~ Ben Williams, School of Engineering 

iRest Dates – Fall Semester 2008
All classes are on Tuesdays from 4:30 – 6:30 pm

Sept. 16 – Informational
Sept. 23 – class 1
Sept. 30 – class 2
Oct. 7 –    class 3
Oct. 14 –  class 4
Oct. 21 –  class 5
Oct. 28 –  class 6
Nov. 4 –   class 7
Nov. 11 – class 8

Location: S304 Memorial Union

How To Enroll in iRest
If you are interested in enrolling send an email to Terry Wilson
Wilsont@health.missouri.edu stating that you read the information on this web site and that you commit to attending all the sessions including the informational and summary classes and that you will do your best to practice iRest on your own daily. Put iRest in the subject line.

You may also contact Terry at 882-4222

BREATHE (Breathing & Relaxation Experiential Activities to Help Everyone)

Come to BREATHE sessions every
Wednesday from 4:00-4:45 pm in Memorial Union S110 for meditation and yoga.

No experience necessary. Everyone is welcome.
Sponsored by MU Student Health Center
www.studenthealth.missouri.edu

Questions?
Contact Hannah Bush, President hegx88@mizzou.edu

Purpose:
Our purpose is to provide students with an opportunity to learn and experience mind/body practices for stress-management and relaxation.

Aims:
1. To create a comfortable atmosphere where students do not feel obligated to attend, but feel welcome to practice when the opportunity arises.
2. To offer students simple instruction on a variety of mindfulness practices, such as breath and body awareness, sitting meditation, hatha yoga, i-rest (yoga nidra), and others.
3. To teach the practices in a way that is easy to follow for students who have had no experience in mindfulness practices and for those who have practiced for years.
4. To provide a place for students to learn and practice mindfulness-based stress management together, with others who are interested in leading a more balanced and centered life.