Many of our clients who have started a mindfulness practice as a part of therapy have found it to be a valuable tool in promoting life satisfaction. While initial experiences with mindfulness can have a big impact, mindfulness can be regarded as a “practice” that has its greatest benefits and is best enjoyed as an ongoing activity, much like gardening, bathing, exercising, or playing an instrument.
We’ve put together the following list of resources for people in the Portland area who are interested in help in developing and sustaining a mindfulness practice.*
Secular Organizations
- Pause Meditation is a studio in Portland offering classes on meditation and mindfulness. Their hope is to open doors for people who are interested in exploring, learning and practicing mindful living.
- Breath by Breath: OHSU offers a mindfulness-based stress reduction drop-in class. There is no cost to attend. Classes take place at 11am on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday depending on the week. Contact the team at the Breath by Breath webpage for more information.
- Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinic at Pacific University offers MBSR classes.
- Portland Psychotherapy offers various classes and groups based in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT). The services include guided meditations and coaching in using mindfulness to help pursue greater life satisfaction. The facilitators include licensed psychologists and mental health practitioners.
Buddhist Affiliated Organizations
- Bright Way Zen offers sittings and day long meditation retreats. They are located on the west side.
- Dharma Rain Zen Center offers meditation retreats, sittings, and various Buddhist services.
- KCC Tibetan Buddhist Center offers meditation retreats, sittings, and various Buddhist services.
- No-Rank Zendo offers sittings and Dharma talks.
- Portland Buddhist Priory offers meditation sittings and various Buddhist services.
- Shambhala Meditation Center of Portland offers meditation sittings and various Buddhist services.
- Zen Community of Oregon in conjunction with Great Vow Monastery offers meditation retreats, sittings, and various Buddhist services.
- Portland Insight Meditation Community offers meditation groups, classes, and retreats for a fee. Many of their classes are offered based on a “suggested donation” basis, and no one is turned away due to lack of funds.
Retreat Centers
- Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat & Conference Center offers a variety of workshops and retreats or you can book your own.
- Cloud Mountain offers meditation retreats from various traditions; it is a nonsectarian Buddhist center.
- Northwest Vipassana Center offers Buddhist meditation retreats.
Meetup Groups
- Portland Mindfulness offers secular sittings hosted by a licensed psychologist. Pay according to your means and the value of the service to you (values-based fee).
App and Online Resources
- ACT Companion is an app offering mindfulness recordings and tools for tracking valued action.
- Calm app is designed for sleep, meditation, and relaxation.
- HeadSpace delivers daily guided meditations online or via mobile app.
- The Mindfulness App includes guided meditations focusing on the body (including a special app for pregnant couples) and developing compassion.
- Mindfulness Daily offers daily exercises to help build a practice in just a few minutes a day.
- I-Here-Now is an ACT and mindfulness app for managing stress and increasing wellbeing.
- Insight Timer is an app with over 60,000 free guided meditations designed to target sleep, anxiety, and stress.
- Portland Psychotherapy offers ACT-consistent mindfulness meditation exercises online.
- UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center offers guided mindfulness meditation exercises online.
- Guided meditations from mindfulness guru, Tara Brach.
- Liberate is a meditation app specifically for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community.
Books
- Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
- Evidence Based Self-Help Books on ACT (follow link)
* While community support can be a great way to help cultivate healthy habits, Portland Psychotherapy is not affiliated with these organizations and we do not vouch for their quality. As such, you will need to contact these organizations yourself to determine whether they are a good match for you.