Mindfulness and MBSR: principles, results and why it matters today

The word mindfulness has become familiar: it appears in magazines, in training programmes and in mobile apps. The ease with which it is said, however, risks hiding what sets it apart. Mindfulness is not a passing trend, nor a relaxation technique, nor a motivation programme — it is a practice with more than four decades of research, with clearly defined principles and documented results.

In this article, I propose a journey through three moments: the principles that guide the practice, the main results that research on mindfulness and MBSR documents, and why this practice matters today — for people's health and wellbeing and for the life of organisations.

What mindfulness is

Mindfulness is, at its core, what we do when we pay attention on purpose, to the present moment, without judging. It is the translation of an ancient word that means precisely that: a deliberate attention to what is happening now — within us and around us.

It is not about emptying the mind or switching off from problems. The mind naturally travels to the past and to the future; the practice consists of noticing that movement and returning, without self-criticism, to what is happening: the breath, the sensations of the body, the sounds, the task at hand.

That capacity — noticing that attention has wandered and bringing it back — can be trained. Like a muscle, it grows stronger with repetition; and its effects do not stay in the session: they follow us into decision-making, into listening, and into how we deal with stress and with other people.

The principles behind the practice

Intentional attention is at the centre. The practice is not passive: it is a deliberate exercise of placing attention on an object — the breath, the body, the sounds — and returning it, as many times as needed, whenever it wanders. Every return is a repetition that trains focus.

With attention comes an attitude of non-judgement: observing what is going on — thoughts, emotions, sensations — without labelling it good or bad. From that observation, acceptance is born: seeing things as they are, not as we would like them to be. It is not resignation; it is the honest starting point for any change.

The beginner's mind invites us to look at the familiar as if for the first time, freeing us from automatic responses. Non-striving reminds us that not everything is achieved by force: in practice, we cultivate the conditions and let the process unfold. And learning to let go — ideas, expectations, the stories we tell about ourselves — lightens the weight with which we so often carry the day.

The body is the anchor of all of this. The breath is always in the present moment, and physical sensations are the first signal of what is going on inside us — including stress. Learning to read those signals early is learning to respond instead of reacting.

The MBSR programme

MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) is an 8-week programme created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts to give mindfulness structure and method. It is today one of the most studied programmes in the world, applied in hospitals, schools and companies.

Across 8 sessions of about 50 minutes — individual or in groups, with duration varying according to the mindfulness practitioner's experience level — seated meditation, the body scan, conscious movement and attention applied to daily life are combined. An intensive day of silent practice consolidates the journey.

What sets MBSR apart is not the originality of its exercises, but its framework: a progressive curriculum, with regular practice between sessions, guided by someone with specific training to support the process. It is that structure that turns a one-off experience into a habit with lasting effects.

Main results

Research on mindfulness is extensive today and includes hundreds of clinical trials. A review of 47 studies, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found moderate improvements in anxiety, depression and pain — magnitudes comparable to other reference treatments, with the advantage of a practice each person can keep developing throughout life.

In the prevention of depressive relapse, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduced the risk of relapse by about 31%, in a combined analysis of trials published in JAMA Psychiatry — a result that consolidated mindfulness's place in mental health.

At work, results can also be measured. Workplace programmes documented in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology showed reductions in perceived stress; in the case studied by the insurer Aetna, the practice was associated with 28% less stress, about 20% better sleep quality and 62 minutes of productivity recovered per worker, per week.

Honesty, however, is due, as research itself recommends: effects depend on regular practice and adequate support, and mindfulness does not replace the assessment of and intervention on working conditions. It is an instrument for developing people — not an excuse for not changing what needs to change in the organisation.

Why it matters today

The World Health Organization estimates that around 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, at a cost close to US$ 1 trillion. Attention has never been so sought after — by screens, notifications and deadlines — and never so scarce.

Hybrid work, the fast pace of change and permanent hyper-connection have increased the load on people's capacity for attention and emotional regulation. In this scenario, mindfulness responds to a concrete need: giving people back the ability to be present, to pause and to choose the response instead of reacting on impulse.

For organisations, relevance is equally practical. Including mindfulness in the development and health plan for workers is prevention: it supports the reduction of stress and absenteeism, improves focus and the quality of decisions, and feeds climates of psychological safety — in line with frameworks such as NP 4552, on mental health at work, and NP 4590, on psychosocial risk.

A path within everyone's reach

Mindfulness requires no special conditions: it requires decision and consistency. A body that breathes, a few minutes a day and the willingness to begin again, whenever attention wanders — because starting over is part of the practice.

The mindfulness and MBSR sessions I guide take place at my facilities or at your company, individually or in groups, in sessions of about 50 minutes, with duration varying according to the practitioner's experience level.

If you feel it is worth taking this step — for yourself, for your team or for your organisation —, I am at your disposal to talk.