A Place of Healing & Mutual Respect
Welcome to East Coast Mindfulness
The mission of East Coast Mindfulness (ECM) is simple: to provide excellent online mindfulness programs for living authentic, healthy, happy lives.
When the Center for Mindfulness (CFM) at University of Massachusetts Medical School closed in July 2019 after almost 40 years, CFM Teacher Trainers Rebecca Eldridge & Margaret Fletcher formed East Coast Mindfulness (ECM) to continue offering programs globally.
Always online. Your space. Your time zone. Your life.
"East Coast Mindfulness provides expert online MBSR teaching and high level training for others to teach the MBSR course with high integrity and depth.”
East Coast Mindfulness is proud to be listed as one of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Connections for MBSR Training.
In addition to offering online mindfulness programs through ECM, our teachers have provided mindfulness programs to organizations small and large, including corporations, medical schools and health systems, non-profits, and more.
Ongoing Programs
Take an MBSR Course Online
This course requires a commitment, but the experience can forever alter the way you experience yourself and your life. Most people who participate fully in an MBSR course report decreases in physical and psychological symptoms, an increased ability to relax, reduction in pain levels, an enhanced ability to cope with chronic pain, greater energy and enthusiasm for life, improved self-esteem, and an ability to cope more effectively with stressful situations.
Join the Mindfulness Grad Online Community
The Mindfulness Grad Online Community (MGOC) gathers monthly under the guidance of MBSR Teacher and Teacher Trainer Rebecca Eldridge for continued learning, practice, and community.
The MGOC is open to graduates of any organization's 8-week Mindfulness-Based course (such as MBSR, MBCT, MSC, and so on) that was held live either in person or online. Sessions are held on the second Sunday of each month. Join as few or as many monthly sessions as you'd like.
During each session, we will explore various mindfulness topics through teachings, practice, silent reflection, and speaking & listening.
All graduates are welcome!
Join the Global MBSR Teachers' Meeting
The East Coast Mindfulness Global MBSR Teachers’ Meeting (MBSR-TM) will gather monthly for learning, professional development, and community building.
Held on the second Sunday of each month, the MBSR-TM is open to MBSR teachers of all experience levels who want to learn, grow, and be in community with other MBSR Teachers and with MBSR Teacher Trainer Rebecca Eldridge. No matter when you initially trained to teach MBSR, or through which organization you trained (or maybe you’re still in the process of training), hopefully you never want to stop learning—about teaching MBSR and about yourself as a human and as an MBSR teacher.
During sessions, we will explore topics related to MBSR and teaching MBSR. These may include assumptions about what MBSR is and what it is not; what “good teaching” of MBSR is and what it may not be; what it means to practice mindfulness and MBSR; the underpinnings of MBSR curricula; best practices of teaching MBSR; your personal and professional experience of teaching MBSR; your questions and wonderings; your own meditation practice; and more.
How to Start a Mindfulness Meditation Practice
"When you dwell in stillness, the judging mind can come through like a foghorn...Imagine how it might feel to suspend all your judging and instead to let each moment be just as it is, without attempting to evaluate it as 'good' or 'bad.' This would be a true stillness, a true liberation. Meditation means cultivating a non-judging attitude toward what comes up in the mind, come what may.”
Free Online Intro to Mindfulness
Whether you’re new to mindfulness or exploring further, please join us for an hour of free mindfulness.
During this live online opportunity, you will—
- Learn about mindfulness
- Experience short practices to try out in your everyday life
- Learn about practice opportunities within an active online worldwide community
Free Worldwide Online Sit
This offering is open to all who have completed an MBSR, MBCT or MSC course, or have learned about mindfulness from some other source.
The session is held every Thursday, 12:15 - 12:45PM US Eastern Time. Once you register for this free offering, you will be emailed a Zoom link to use again and again. We’d love to have you participate every Thursday you’re able to be with us.
Graduate Offerings
East Coast Mindfulness is happy to offer ongoing opportunities for students to connect with a community of mindfulness practitioners and teachers.
Along with our free, weekly Worldwide Online Sit and our online retreats, we provide specialized programs for MBSR and MBCT graduates who wish to continue their learning and development in mindfulness.
Train to Teach MBSR
Train to Teach MBSR Online
“East Coast Mindfulness is offering an online course to train MBSR teachers to teach the MBSR curriculum online. I have every confidence that this valuable professional training can amplify and deepen your skillset and personal practice as an MBSR teacher, as well as the technical support necessary to extend your reach through the internet.”
We also offer a 3-day Introduction to Teaching MBSR Live Online course, to help new MBSR teachers identify what is essential in each class of an MBSR course, and gain practical experience in expressing the essence of those classes through the online format.
Mindfulness Training for Your Organization
Read more about organizations we've served.
Online One-to-One Mindfulness Sessions
Special Programs
Mindfulness in the Kitchen:Cooking as Practice
The 3rd Saturday of each month, starting April 26, 2025 with Laura Smallwood
Join Laura Smallwood for a unique monthly exploration of how we can bring mindfulness to the procurement, preparation, and conservation of food for the good of our bodies and for the good of the earth.
Laura Smallwood is a certified MBSR teacher (for teaching in-person and online) and is a member of the East Coast Mindfulness faculty.
Laura’s interest in cooking began in childhood under the guidance of her mother. One of her favorite childhood memories is her mother helping her make tiny jam-filled turnovers from leftover pie dough—perhaps her first introduction to not letting food go to waste. When she was 13, Laura took on the responsibility of making dinner one night a week for her family. Her favorite memory from that stage of her cooking career is when she found a recipe for Polynesian Pineapple and Ham Flambé in the Sunset Holiday Cookbook and her mom not only allowed her to make it but helped her light it on fire. Laura went on to become a veterinarian and not a chef, but cooking remains one of her greatest joys—alongside her family and the natural world.
The Caring Heart:Mindfulness for Caregivers
Sunday, May 4, 2025 with Toni Reiss
Join Toni Reiss to explore what is at the heart of caregiving, cultivating an awareness of our caring hearts and exploring how we bring this to life in our unique situations. Participants will discover ways a mindfulness-based approach can enhance the experience of caregiving for both the caregiver and the person receiving the care. This workshop is for all caregivers (which probably means all people).
Toni Reiss is a dance/movement therapist, MBSR instructor and yoga and meditation teacher. Toni is married and has two daughters. One of her daughters has a severe seizure disorder, multiple profound developmental disabilities and metastatic EAML kidney cancer. Her role as parent and caregiver for an adult child has been transformational. Toni’s mindfulness practices have been essential in finding the grace and clarity necessary in the caregiver role. Toni hopes to provide support and a space for mindful inquiry and dialogue for others who find themselves in similar roles.
The Virtues & Challenges of Lying Down Meditation
With Jon Kabat-Zinn and Rebecca Eldridge
In this workshop, we will focus on the unique virtues of lying down meditations and how such practices can be seamlessly integrated into our daily lives.
Join Jon Kabat-Zinn and Rebecca Eldridge as they discuss the virtues, challenges, and opportunities of lying down meditation. Jon will also guide a brief period of lying down practice, and engage in dialogue with the participants about their experiences. This is an excellent opportunity to explore inwardly and outwardly what lying down meditation practices might hold for you.
Missed the live sessions? The recordings are now available on Jon Kabat-Zinn's website!
Photo credit: © Joshua Simpson