Program
8 weeks
All levels
The 8-Week Mindfulness Course
Eight weeks of guided practice, built on the most studied mindfulness methods in modern psychology.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. Over four decades it has accumulated the strongest evidence base in the consumer mindfulness category, with effects measured across anxiety, depression, chronic pain, sleep, and immune markers in randomized controlled trials.
The original curriculum runs eight weeks, with a daily home practice of about forty-five minutes and a weekly group session. Stillee carries the eight-week arc and adapts the format for daily life on a phone: three short guided sessions a week, a two-minute reading, and one journal prompt per week that builds on the practice. Twenty-four sessions in all, in order, each layer resting on the last.
It opens with a two-part Start Here — what stress actually is, and why training attention changes it — so you know why it works before the course asks for eight weeks of your life.
Week by week
What the 8 weeks ask of you.
-
Arriving
Beyond autopilot. The body scan and breath awareness are introduced, and one daily routine is done with full attention. The journal asks what you noticed.
-
Thinking Mind
Another way of knowing. The difference between feeling the breath and thinking about the breath. Awareness of pleasant moments, before the commentary crowds them out.
-
Body & Movement
What the body knows. A deeper body scan, mindful walking, and the practice of sensing held tension and breathing it open.
-
Stress & Reactivity
The second arrow. The classical distinction between automatic reactivity and considered response — with the STOP practice and the three-minute breathing space as pocket-sized tools.
-
Allowing Difficulty
Working directly with what is hard rather than around it. A compassionate body scan, the RAIN meditation, and sitting with difficulty with curiosity instead of resistance.
-
Thoughts Not Facts
Meeting the inner critic with kindness, listening as open attention, and noting practice — the space between you and a thought you did not have to believe.
-
Self-Care
The care you actually need. A short daily anchor, a gratitude reflection, and a full loving-kindness practice. The journal maps what fills you and what drains you.
-
Continuation
The rest of your life. A closing body scan that carries the eight weeks forward, a letter to your future self, and open awareness as an ongoing way of being.
A prompt from inside
Pick one routine activity this week — brushing your teeth, the first sip of coffee, walking from your car to the door. Do that one thing with full attention. Then write what you noticed.
Journal prompts in Stillee are short on purpose. Three sentences is usually enough. Five is plenty. The point is the look, not the essay.
Evidence base
The sources this program draws on.
- [1] MBSR original program. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness.
- [2] Meta-analysis of MBSR for anxiety and depression. Goyal, M., et al. (2014). Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine.
- [3] MBSR and chronic pain. Hilton, L., et al. (2017). Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
- [4] MBSR for sleep quality. Black, D. S., et al. (2015). Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances.
FAQ
The questions people ask before starting.
How long does each session take?
Sessions are short on purpose — built to fit inside a real day, not to replicate the forty-five-minute home practice of the original course. Three guided sessions a week, a two-minute reading, and a journal prompt that takes a few minutes. The practice is the coming back, not the clock.
Is this the full in-person MBSR?
No, and it does not pretend to be. The original is a live eight-week course with a weekly group session and about forty-five minutes of daily home practice; the trial evidence is strongest there. Stillee keeps the eight-week arc, the order of the practices, and the weekly readings and journal, and adapts the time commitment for a phone and a real life. Built on the curriculum — not a certification of it.
Can I move at my own pace?
The eight weeks are a suggested rhythm. The practices build on each other, so taking the order in sequence matters. Stretching a week into two is fine. Stillee will not pressure you back.
Do I need to know how to meditate?
No. The course is designed for people who have not meditated before. It is also useful for experienced practitioners who want a structured return to the fundamentals.
What happens after week eight?
Week eight is called Continuation for a reason: it closes with a letter to your future self and a plan for what carries forward. After that, the rest of the catalog is open — the daily practices, the sleep library, and the other programs.
Open the program inside the app.
