Mind Body Skills Groups
Mind Body Skills Groups are a proven format developed by the Center for Mind Body Medicine. Learn more below!
Trustworthy format
A Mind Body Skills Group can meet in person or online. A group of six to ten people meets together for weekly two-hour sessions over an eight week span (if necessary the timing can be spaced differently to meet an organization’s needs, and the group curriculum can also accommodate ten sessions instead of eight). Each session offers a calming, restorative, and confidential space where participants learn about and then practice a Mind Body Skill. The group format is itself supportive, as a sense of cohort develops through the sharing of group participants.
Skills for everyday life
The skills you will learn are ones you can practice on your own in daily life after the group concludes. We will practice together so that you gain comfort and confidence with the skills! The most basic and consistent of our skills is a form of breathing that shifts our nervous systems into a more calm and creative state. We also practice forms of journaling, movement, drawing, and meditation. No specific background is needed to participate in the groups.
Learn more about the skills in the words of the Center for Mind Body Medicine. You can also learn about the skills in video and audio format from CMBM founder, Dr. James Gordon.
Effective
These groups have been shown again and again to improve physical and emotional outcomes. In high stress work environments, they have made a tremendous difference in staff wellbeing. In communities that have experienced trauma, they have been a key part of a path towards healing. Read impact stories from the Center for Mind Body Medicine’s groups around the world here.
Let’s get started!
Your organization or workplace can strengthen the health of its team by offering Mind Body Skills Groups for staff, volunteers, or clients. Anna Mercedes can facilitate Mind Body Skills Groups for you virtually or onsite, on a sliding scale for organizations. The usual format is ten participants per group for eight to ten sessions that are each two hours in length. Alternatively, Anna can bring Mind Body Skills to your group in a workshop format. This allows people to sample the skills before experiencing the longer traditional group.
If you are individual interested in a group, you can watch for groups offered online by other CMBM facilitators, or you can email Supple Community to express interest in the next freestanding virtual group facilitated by Anna. Individual cost for groups with Anna is a sliding scale of $250-$325 for the eight week course, which works out to about $30-$40 for each two hour session. If you have access to professional development or continuing education funds, this is a great way to direct those funds for your wellbeing!