MBSR was one of the earliest, and is now the most widespread, mindfulness or meditation programs to make its way into the mainstream American medical community. It was pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, and colleagues in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. In 1993, Bill Moyers featured Jon Kabat-Zinn's Stress Reduction Clinic in his series Healing and the Mind. Since 1979, over 20,000 people have completed the program at UMASS, and it has spread to hundreds of hospitals across the country and around the world.
Jim French is the son of Bill and Tari French who have been very active in Ashby Village for several years. Jim began meditating in 1969, has a Master’s Degree in Counseling, and has completed the training practicum required to teach MBSR. For his day-job, he is a Principal Geotechnical Engineer, recently completing work on the California Memorial Stadium and the UCSF Medical Center, and is now working on the California High Speed Rail in Fresno.