Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain and Stress Management

In-Person only. Mindfulness helps identify stress patterns so you can respond with calm instead of reactivity. With practice, it becomes a powerful tool for easing anxiety and building lasting well-being. This course follows elements of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at UMass Medical Center.

Understanding Chronic Pain and Stress Through the Lens of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction

The Buddhist Teaching of the Second Arrow

• "Pain is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional"
• Physical, Mental, and Emotional aspects of Pain

Working with Chronic Pain:

• Identifying maladaptive coping mechanisms
• Working with denial, rumination, and fear

Mindfulness Practices for Pain Management:

• Breath awareness and sitting meditation
• Body scan and awareness of body
• Walking meditation and mindful movement
• Loving-Kindness “Metta” Practice

Daily-life Mindfulness Skills to Manage Pain and Stress

Ajit Vaidya has been a student of mindfulness meditation since taking his first Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course in 1997. He found that he benefited so much from the MBSR program for stress management that he chose to deepen his spiritual practice and began practicing at the Chicago Zen Center (CZC) in the Zen Buddhist tradition of Roshi Philip Kapleau. He spent 15 years studying at CZC under the guidance of Sensei Sevan Ross and Sensei Yusan Graham, where he sat numerous silent meditation retreats, or sesshin. In 2008, Ajit attended a one-week MBSR training intensive with Jon Kabat-Zinn himself, along with Saki Santorelli, at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. Following that intensive, Ajit began teaching 6-week mindfulness programs in the Chicago area, adapted from the MBSR program, specifically for people wishing to learn stress management practices. He has also participated in extended Vipassana retreat training in the S.N. Goenka tradition. After moving to the Sacramento area in 2014, Ajit became a regular member of Family Sangha at the Sacramento Dharma Center, and he co-hosted the Family Sangha program with Helen Hobart of SBMG from 2022-2024.

We are offering this class for $25 or a sliding scale set at whatever's affordable to you. SBMG turns away no one for lack of funds.

Contact the instructor with questions, by email: [email protected]; by phone: 916-850-5942.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Marie Ramos and Martine Shelley