CNST240

(Formerly INTD240) This course is designed to teach students how to integrate and apply mindfulness in their everyday lives and to the range of challenges arising from medical and psychological conditions and life stresses. Embedded within the context of mind/body medicine, the course focuses on the experiential cultivation of both "formal" and "informal" mindfulness practices as foundation for the cultivation of positive health behaviors and psychological and emotional resilience that can be effectively utilized across the life span. The approach
supports the learning, strengthening and integration of a range of mindfulness-based self-regulatory skills through the development and refinement of inherent internal resources. The course integrates the “minds-on", secular practice of paying attention to the present moment, on purpose and without judgement. The course components:

(1) an experiential approach to self-management through body based mindful practices including body scan, yoga, and meditation
(2) an exploration of the physiology of stress, an exploration of chronic stress-based disease, and the physiological effects of mindfulness practices.
(3) an experiential approach to mindful communications and relationship
(4) an investigation of the cognitive, social, and personal benefits of these practices