Cure Burnout With MBSR

My extreme burnout led me to 8 Monday nights in a tiny yoga studio that changed me forever.

Image by the author using Canva.

Now, more than ever, I need the strength that comes from being still. COVID times are drawing out, and we are coming up on yet another anniversary of the world changing forever. I am thinking about re-taking an MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) course. It’s hard to not want to revisit the best thing I ever did for myself.

“I see you! I see you there,”

was something my MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) teacher had passed on to us from her instructor when she became certified to guide groups. Our leader encouraged us, a rag-tag group of 7 total randos, to acknowledge our thoughts and feelings and sit with them. Be still. This wasn’t my style and still doesn’t feel like my go-to state. I have liked to chew on worry, anxiety, and future narratives racing through my mind like a canker sore. It seemed like just maybe I liked it too much.

It was before COVID-19 times. I was in a session with a sleep CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapist) addressing my lifelong insomnia (I can remember padding around the house in the middle of the night as young as five) when he suggested meditation.

“Hard pass,” I said. “I already do…