Source: jonkabat-zinn.com

Working in a hospital setting at University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Kabat-Zinn was able to witness first-hand the suffering of patients with chronic medical conditions. Talking with physicians, he was surprised to find that they felt they only really helped about 20% of their patients. “What happens to everyone else?” he asked. They replied, “Well some get better on their own and the rest fall into this chronic limbo where we really can’t help them very much”. Having first-hand knowledge of the healing power of the ancient yogic and Buddhist practices he had encountered in his travels, Kabat-Zinn created the protocol that is today known as MBSR.

Word about MBSR spread through Jon’s best-selling book “Full Catastrophe Living”, first published in 1990, and the PBS special, “Healing and the Mind”, which first aired in 1991. The documentary, which follows Bill Moyers and a group of patients at UMASS Medical Center through the eight - week program, informed millions of people about MBSR. 

As Kabat-Zinn witnessed the shift in patient’s attitudes toward their symptoms, he also understood the imperative to study this protocol to create a strong evidence base for the western medical model. In 1982 there were 3 articles in the medical literature on Mindfulness and today there are over 2,000 per year.

The MBSR curriculum is a rigorous training of ancient time - tested practices in a group format. The program involves 2.5-hour group classes held each week for eight weeks and one all-day class held in silence. There are daily home practices assigned each week. The curriculum includes training in formal and informal mindfulness practices.