This browser is out of date.
To ensure this website functions properly,
please upgrade your browser
or use a different one.
Chris Smith
Upcoming eventMindfulness Drop-in Session and Author Talk Sept. 22
A long-awaited opportunity to gather again in community! It’s going to be a fun, meaningful, deep evening of mindfulness practice, reflection and conversation. Our beloved colleague and longtime UW Health mindfulness teacher Chris Smith recently published a delightful and beautiful book of personal stories called “Be a Good Story.” We’ve invited Chris to share some of the stories from his book and to guide us through some mindfulness practices in his playful and skillful way. This event is free and open to the public; no registration is required.

Classes and programs

Improving well-being through practice

At UW Health, taking care of you is more than just being there when you are sick. It is partnering with you to offer options for your overall health and wellness. Mindfulness allows you to be in the present moment while teaching you how to deal with your emotions in a healthy way.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention and focusing your mind for relaxation and increased awareness. Mindfulness can have beneficial health effects by decreasing the negative impact of chronic stress on the body and mind. Mindfulness can also support physical and emotional well-being by reducing muscle tension and quieting the mind, reducing anxiety and stress.

Mindfulness classes

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction offers you an introduction to ways of reducing stress and developing greater balance. This course includes guided instruction on meditation practices, gentle stretching, mindful yoga, home assignments and audio recordings.

Register now

Free sessions of guided mindfulness meditation. Tune up your mindfulness practice. Reaffirm your intention to lead a mindful life. No registration is required. Currently taking place online.


View drop-in sessions
Two people sitting in a room, deep in thought

Mindful self-compassion is mindfulness-based compassion training that supports awareness of difficult emotions, recognition of the common humanity in our struggles and acceptance of ourselves with greater kindness. Research indicates that self-compassion is strongly associated with emotional well-being, coping with life challenges, lower levels of anxiety and depression, healthy habits such as diet and exercise and more satisfying relationships. This eight-week course, based on the pioneering research of Dr. Kristen Neff, includes short talks, experiential exercises, meditation, group discussion and home practices. Listen to a guided meditation from the MSC curriculum (mp3)

Register now

Mindfulness en Español explorará cómo mindfulness puede ser un apoyo para ampliar el autoconocimiento. Períodos de movimiento corporal y quietud, instantes de silencio, reflexión y conversación.

Explore moving meditations, inspired by yoga, Qigong and other traditions, which allow you to connect to breath awareness, active relaxation, postural alignment, flexibility and resilience.

Information and registration
A fitness group doing tai chi poses

Explore or deepen mindfulness practice in a community where racialized forms of stress can be discussed.  This class is for those who identify as people of color/multiracial/racial minority.

Register now

Explore how the sense of sight can be a creative, thoughtful path for living a mindful life by helping you pause and notice what is happening around you. Watch video

Register now

This course explores our relationship to the process of aging. Through mindfulness practices, deep listening and gentle movement, you can learn to befriend the changes and lighten your spirit.

Register now
A collection of different colored leaves

This day-long session provides opportunity to deepen or refresh your practice within the support of community. Intended for those who have completed mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Register now
A diverse group of people seated in a yoga studio

This course will help improve your relationship with food, through learning how to eat mindfully, practice mindful meditation, recognize your body’s feedback systems and choose wisely.

Register now

This class is designed for people who tried to quit smoking and have relapsed. Weekly meetings, choosing a “quit” date and training in mindfulness can help you succeed in your goal.

This class is for teens in grades 9-12 who wish to explore mindfulness meditation in a fun and supportive environment, through brief meditations, reflections and group conversations.

Register now

This class is designed for youth in grades 6-8, to help them see their lives with greater clarity, creativity, kindness and compassion through explorations of mindfulness.

Register now
A diverse groupe of teenagers sitting on the floor, laughing

This course for families and children ages 4-7 incorporates relaxation, movement, games, stories and glitter to introduce concepts of mindfulness and skills to weave into daily routines.

Register now
A silhouette of a family outside at dusk

Professional training

UW Health offers options to people who are interested in furthering their MBSR experience or gaining skills for sharing mindfulness with others. We are committed to supporting people of color to have access to training and teacher development. BIPOC scholarships are currently available, made possible through the generous support of program donors, the Mindfulness for All Collective and the Kataly Foundation.

This is an opportunity for graduates of our eight-week mindfulness class to participate in another mindfulness class deepening their own practice while assisting the course teacher. This opportunity is available for free with a commitment to attend and participate in all classes, help with class setup, chart notes and provide a perspective to the teacher. Total time commitment is 33-36 hours.

Request information

The 2023 MBSR Teacher Training Intensive will be held in September–November. Financial assistance and BIPOC scholarships are available for qualified applicants. More information (pdf)

Fall 2023 application (pdf)

Guided meditations

Continue your practice at home with guided meditations.

View the meditations

Locations

Our class locations

Contact us directly:

Meet our team

Helping you be present

Our mindfulness instructors are trained in mindfulness-based practices, including meditation, guided imagery and relaxation techniques. They help participants employ these methods to manage chronic pain, cope with chronic illness, reduce stress and develop greater balance, ease and fuller participation in their lives.

Meet our instructors
A person's legs are shown crossed in a meditation pose on a yoga mat
Subscribe to our newsletter
Learn about new opportunities and be among the first to sign up for classes when you subscribe to Mindfulness Updates from UW Health's Mindfulness Program.
Hands holding up a ball that looks like the earth
Help bring mindfulness to others
When you donate to support the Mindfulness program, you help to make the programs more accessible to all.
Charlene Avery
Patient story
Mindfulness keeps Charlene grounded and grateful

Charlene Avery credits her mindfulness practice with helping her deal with a persistent, undiagnosed health problem over the past four years.