Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn to tour South Africa in 2008

Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, internationally renowned for his work as a scientist, writer and meditation teacher.

He is being hosted by the Institute for Mindfulness South Africa and the UCT Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB).

Dr Kabat-Zinn's tour will feature public lectures and seminars as well as two retreats – one designed for health professionals, coaches and educators, and the other for corporate and thought leaders in South Africa.

Dr Simon Whitesman, Director of the Institute for Mindfulness South Africa, said the Institute felt privileged to be hosting someone of Dr Kabat-Zinn's stature in the global scientific and medical community, and added that mindfulness has particular relevance in South Africa.

“Practising mindfulness is about working skilfully and compassionately, moment by moment with what we are experiencing in our lives. The kinds of issues we all struggle with in South Africa – such as illness, crime and social change – can all affect people deeply on a day-to-day level in life.

“Being mindful though is not about controlling the world. It is essentially about the quality of awareness that you bring to each moment; it's a human and humane capacity that cultivates a deep sense of calmness and stability,” he said.

Whitesman added that mindfulness practice has its feet firmly in scientific research, which has been led by Dr Kabat-Zinn over the past three decades.

A Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Dr Kabat-Zinn is held in the highest regard both in Medicine and beyond for his breakthrough work developing and teaching mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), while his clinical and neurobiological research has been extensively published in peer-reviewed journals over the last 25 years.

He was founding Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health
Care and Society, and founder (in 1979) and former director of its world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts. The clinic has to date assisted over 17 000 medical patients with a wide range of diagnoses, conditions and disorders. MBSR is now also offered at some two hundred medical facilities worldwide.

As a writer he has also achieved widespread acclaim - he is the bestselling author of several books including Wherever You Go, There You Are and Full Catastrophe Living. He was featured on Oprah and has received numerous prestigious awards during his distinguished career.

Dr Kabat-Zinn leads workshops on stress reduction and mindfulness for health professionals and lay audiences worldwide and has trained groups of judges, business and thought leaders, lawyers, clergy and Olympic athletes. In addition, he is Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Mind and Life Institute which organises dialogues between the Dalai Lama and western scientists and scholars that probe the fundamental nature of the mind, emotions and reality.

The tour to South Africa includes: A Three-day Retreat for Health Professionals, Coaches and Educators from 01 May – 04 May at Goudini Spa in Worcester; Public Lectures and Book Signings (Cape Town on 08 May and Johannesburg on 13 May); a Full Day Public Seminar (Cape Town on 09 May and Johannesburg on 14 May); and a Two-day UCT GSB Retreat for Business and Thought Leaders from 10 May – 11 May (Cape Town).

For information of Jon Kabat-Zinn's tour and to book, go to www.mindfulness.org.za or contact Karin on +27 (0)83 270 9219 or jkztourinfo@kd-assoc.co.za. For details on the UCT GSB retreat, contact +27 (021) 406 1323 or abrahams@gsb.uct.ac.za.

To arrange an interview with Dr Simon Whitesman or for further information, please contact Michael Morgan or Melanie Blythe on 021 465 9568 or email info@rothko.co.za or melanie@rothko.co.za.