Center for Mindfulness

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mindfulness

The Art of Parenting with Presence: A 6-Week Journey in Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Parents and Children (ages 8-12)

Parenting is a journey filled with joy, and it also brings moments of real emotional challenge. This first-of-its-kind online program is designed for parents and children (ages 8–12) to strengthen connection and build practical skills for meeting stress and difficult emotions with greater awareness, kindness, and resilience.

By integrating core principles of mindfulness and self-compassion, participants learn to create more space in the moment and shift from impulsive reactions to thoughtful responses.

8-Week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an 8-week, evidence-based, experiential program that combines cognitive therapy approaches with mindfulness meditation to cultivate present-moment, non-judgmental awareness. MBCT is designed to build resilience and support relapse prevention for recurring patterns of low mood, stress, anxiety, and depression.

Through weekly experiential sessions, participants learn to recognize unhelpful patterns of thinking, relate differently to difficult emotions, and respond to life’s challenges with greater clarity and choice.

5-Week Guided Meditation iRest Yoga Nidra Program March 2026

Join us online for a 5-week deep dive into guided meditation with iRest Yoga Nidra. iRest is a meditation practice based on the ancient tradition of Yoga Nidra and adapted to suit the conditions of modern life.

This course is designed to help you meet each moment with greater well-being. Through guided meditation and discussion, participants build a personal resource toolbox that can support better sleep, clarity when experiencing difficult sensations or emotions, navigating stress and anxiety, and reconnecting with a sense of joy and balance.

Natalie Bell

First Name
Natalie
Last Name
Bell
Institution Affiliation
UC San Diego
Headshot Image
image
Titles
PT, Certified MSC Teacher
Organizational Roles
Faculty
Short Bio

Natalie is the founder of Mindful Wellness and a senior certified mindfulness and self-compassion teacher who brings practical tools for calm, clarity, and resilience into everyday life. She leads program development for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, teaches with UCLA’s MARC, co-created major self-compassion trainings (including for healthcare professionals), and works globally with individuals and organizations.

Bio

Natalie is the founder of Mindful Wellness, a training and coaching platform to help you build your own source of calm, clarity, and powerful resilience. Her approach brings the benefits of mindfulness, meditation, and compassion training into the practical realm of our daily lives teaching you to discover calm and balance in a common sense, relatable manner.

Natalie is a senior certified teacher and the Director of Program Development for the global Center for Mindful Self-Compassion overseeing programs on Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for the public, healthcare professionals, and Mindful Self-Compassion teachers. She is the co-author, with Dr. Kristin Neff and Dr. Chris Germer, of the “Self-Compassion Training for Healthcare Professionals” program, the only self-compassion training available for healthcare providers. Natalie also supported the development of the NEW Fierce Self-Compassion 8-wk course with Kristin Neff and the Self-Compassion for Shame 8-wk course with Chris Germer. Natalie is also a faculty member of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, MARC, as a certified mindfulness teacher.

As a leading teacher of mindfulness and self-compassion she works globally with individuals and companies. Natalie has been practicing mindfulness and meditation since 1985 and lived in an ashram for a year in 1989 dedicating herself to intensive practice of meditation and self-compassion. After studying neuropsychology she became a Physical Therapist, working for 17 years as a clinician, Director of Rehabilitation, and a clinical specialist for medical devices in rehabilitation.

Natalie has been featured in Today, Travel and Leisure, the LA Times, MSNBC Your Business, and Thrive Global for her passionate embodiment of presence and compassion. She has brought her work to Fortune 500 companies, CEOs and organizations like NBC Universal, the Milken Institute, Getty Foundation, Wharton, and many others. She believes our work is to learn how to become our own best ally so we can thrive is today’s over-busy world. Her programs and retreats allow you to experience deeper fulfillment and happiness, reconnect with your own joy, and feel more calm and connected.

8-Week Self-Compassion for Shame: Returning Home to Yourself

What would happen if, in moments of shame, you could care for yourself instead of going small, attacking yourself, or shutting down?

8-Week Self-Compassion for Shame: Returning Home to Yourself is a groundbreaking online program developed by Dr. Chris Germer, Natalie Bell, and the SC-Shame development team. The course takes a non-pathological look at shame through the lens of mindful self-compassion and explores why self-compassion is an antidote to shame.

Mindfulness for Teens (Ages 13-17)

In today’s world, teens and pre-teens face increasing pressure from technology, academic demands, and major life transitions. These stressors can affect both physical and emotional well-being and make it harder to feel steady, focused, and connected.

This course teaches practical mindfulness skills to help teens navigate change, reduce reactivity, and make healthier choices. Students strengthen attention, emotional regulation, and self-care through guided practice and supportive discussion.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an evidence-based, 8-week program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn that helps participants build mindfulness skills to relate differently to stress, health concerns, and everyday challenges.

Through weekly sessions that include guided meditation, mindful movement, and inquiry, participants learn to cultivate greater awareness, compassion, and steadiness. The program supports developing the ability to respond with more choice rather than reacting on autopilot.

8-Week Deeper Mindfulness

There are moments in everyday life that shape what happens next: how we interpret events, react, and move forward. What if you could recognize those turning points earlier, before stress or reactivity takes over, and use them to return to clarity and calm?

Deeper Mindfulness is an innovative 8-week course that blends mindfulness meditation with neuroscience to explore “feeling tone”: the subtle emotional backdrop that colors experience. Feeling tone can be the tipping point into habitual reactions, and learning to notice it sooner can help you regain balance in a chaotic world.

Helen Hyun-Chung Kim

First Name
Helen
Last Name
Hyun-Chung Kim
Institution Affiliation
UC San Diego
Headshot Image
image
Titles
Certified MBSR Teacher
Certified MBCT Teacher
Organizational Roles
Admin
Instructor
Staff
Short Bio

Helen Hyun-Chung Kim is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and previously worked as a board-certified psychiatrist in Korea for 15 years serving underserved communities. Guided by Dr. Steve Hickman at the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness, she deepened her practice and now shares mindfulness and self-compassion to support others on their own paths of healing and self-discovery.

Bio

Helen Hyun-Chung Kim is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy teacher. In her previous life she was a board certified psychiatrist in Korea for 15 years, working for underserved communities. During this time she witnessed suffering in the lives of her patients and felt a strong pull towards the field of mindfulness and self-compassion as a way to heal and alleviate suffering. 

With the guidance of the founding director, Dr. Steve Hickman, Helen was able to join the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. At the center, Helen learned various Mindfulness-Based programs from many great teachers. In their teachings she discovered a rich, grounding foundation for her life, filled with awareness, acceptance, ease, and compassion. On her journey of self-discovery and healing, she is witnessing, over and over, her growth and transformation as a human being. Helen is committed to sharing what she has learned with others who may be on their own journey of self-discovery and healing. 

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