Koru
Institute

Koru Mindfulness

Less Stress. Better Sleep. Less Self Judgment.

Graphic for Koru Mindfulness, a four-session mindfulness training program taught by teachers trained and certified by the Center for Koru Mindfulness. Koru is the New Zealand Maori word for the unfurling fern frond.

Koru Mindfulness is a four-session mindfulness training program taught by teachers trained and certified by the Center for Koru Mindfulness. Koru is the New Zealand Maori word for the unfurling fern frond.

Koru program basic structure:    

  • Four, virtual 75-minute classes
  • Classes are small groups of up to 16 participants
  • Each class includes:
    • short opening meditation
    • check-in
    • mind-body skill
    • mindfulness meditation practice

Weekly Skills and Guided Meditations:

Class 1:     

  • Dynamic Breathing
  • Diaphragmatic Breathing
  • Body Scan

Class 2:     

  • Walking Meditation
  • Gatha Meditation

Class 3:

  • Guided Imagery
  • Labeling Thoughts

Class 4:     

  • Eating Meditation
  • Labeling Feelings

Headshot of Dean Paula Fitzpatrick of Assumption UniversityPaula Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., is a certified Koru teacher and has completed the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness Practice Teaching Intensive, the second formal program in Teacher Education for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and is trained to teach the full 8-week MBSR program.  She has experience teaching and conducting research in mindfulness and meditation, positive psychology, and interpersonal synchrony in both typical and atypical populations.  Her research has been funded by NIH and NSF and employs innovative, multi-method research designs and the formation of collaborative research teams with diverse backgrounds that cut across disciplinary expertise—developmental psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, movement science, neuroscience, and education.


Additional Information About Koru

    • Taught in small, diverse groups
    • Requires commitment to attendance and practice
    • Is focused and brief(ish)
    • Instruction in self-calming skills
    • Active teaching with support by Koru app
    • Attendance at all 4 classes
    • Read Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are or Rogers’ Mindful Twenty Somethings
    • 10 minutes of mindfulness practice each day
    • Weekly mindfulness activity
    • Complete meditation and gratitude log in Koru app
    • Course evaluation at the end of program
  • Koru’s randomized, controlled trial results:

    • Participants reported feeling more calm
    • Participants improved their mindfulness
    • Participants felt more rested
    • Participants had greater self-compassion

    Greeson, J.M., Juberg, M., Maytan, M., James, K., & Rogers, H. Journal of American College  Health. 62:4, 222-233, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2014.887571, 2014. 
    Additional Research Studies:

    • Lynch, M., Daun-Barnett, S., & Bailey, K. (2021). Field Educator. 11.1, https://fieldeducator.simmons.edu/
    • Weis, R, Ray, SD, Cohen, TA. Mindfulness as a way to cope with COVID-19-related stress and anxiety. Couns Psychother Res. 2021; 21: 8– 18. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12375
  • “The class discussion was super helpful to understand how others were feeling during the different meditation practices and to see which worked for different people and why.”
    -Koru participant

    “I enjoyed learning all of the different methods of guided meditation and the discussion-based format of the class, which allowed an open space for sharing any challenges or comments on our meditation practice and helped me feel like I wasn’t alone in these challenges.”
    -Koru participant

    “This class has helped me understand how to do this on my own”
    -Koru participant

    “I had a great time learning new ways to bring myself to peace.”
    -Koru participant