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How we work

Im2 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We build and deliver mindfulness-based stress reduction for the people the standard format excludes.

The method

MBSR, rebuilt to fit a life

MBSR is the most researched stress reduction program there is, and its format asks 8 weeks, sessions of 2.5 hours, and up to an hour of practice a day. For the people who carry the most stress, that is often out of reach.

We kept the substance and changed the shape.

5 weeks instead of 8. 1 hour instead of 2.5. Practice measured in minutes. The conceptual material moved into self-paced video so the live hour can be spent on practice and on people. Content developed by senior certified MBSR instructors.

What the research shows

MBSR, peer-reviewed

  • Non-inferior to escitalopram, a first-line anxiety drug

    JAMA Psychiatry, 2022

    Randomized clinical trial · Hoge EA, Bui E, Mete M, Dutton MA, Baker AW, Simon NM

  • Health benefits across a range of conditions

    Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2004

    Meta-analysis · Grossman P, Niemann L, Schmidt S, Walach H

  • An established evidence base in chronic pain

    Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2017

    Review · Majeed MH, Ali AA, Sudak DM

What Im2 itself has delivered is a separate question, and it is set out on the funding page.

How it happened

14 years

  1. 2012

    An irregular heartbeat, and a workbook

    A workbook instead of another prescription.

  2. 2015

    The first online MBSR course is written

    The Imagine Mindfulness curriculum, built on 8 week MBSR.

  3. 2016

    The first class runs

    8 week MBSR, delivered live online.

  4. 2017

    The course reaches a phone

    Delivered to a smartphone, for a $50 fee.

  5. 2024

    Imagine Mindfulness becomes a charity

    The IRS letter arrives, 8 years after the first class. Programs go donation based.

  6. 2026

    54 courses on

    54 courses in. 800+ people have finished one.

  7. 2026

    MBSR goes on hold, deliberately

    We stop teaching 8 weeks to build 5.

  8. 2026

    Beginnings opens, and the practices go free

    5 weeks, 1 hour, from $8. 24 practices go free.

  9. 2027

    MBSR returns alongside Beginnings

    Two programs, not one. Options and access for all.

Principles

How we work

We do not dilute the method

Our content is developed by senior certified MBSR instructors. The 5 week format cuts in-class time, not substance, by moving conceptual material into self-paced video so live sessions can be spent on practice and people.

We are education, not treatment

Im2 programs are educational and wellness programs. They are not therapy and not a treatment. Our instructors hold that boundary and refer people to professional care when it is warranted.

We run on contributed time

30+ volunteers contribute their work: instructors, clinicians, designers and engineers. That is what lets us hold the price where we hold it.

Free to use

Practices, free to use

No account, no fee. The full library is free too.

All 24 practices, including body scan, sitting and movement