Mindfulness Interpreter Prep

Start here · Sat–Sun, Nov 7–8, 2026

This workshop: 溫柔留白・找回內在的優雅

Theme in English: Gentle Pauses, Inner Grace. A free two-day mindfulness self-care workshop at the Garden of Hope Foundation (勵馨基金會) Linkou Center, taught by three MBSR-certified teachers. The poster speaks to women (it uses 妳), and Garden of Hope supports women and girls, including survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Expect a gentle tone and careful, choice-based language.

DateNov 7–8, 2026 (Sat–Sun)民國 115/11/7–8 · participants must attend both days

Time10:00 AM–4:00 PMBoth days

Place勵馨基金會林口中心 1 樓Garden of Hope Foundation, Linkou Center, 1st floor

Dress codeClothes you can move inPants recommended, so expect mindful movement or gentle yoga

Likely flow of the two days

A guess based on typical MBSR-style workshops. Confirm with the teachers before you start.

Welcome and ground rules: confidentiality (保密), and it's okay to sit out any practice.
What mindfulness is; autopilot; a mindful eating exercise such as the raisin.
Body scan and mindful breathing, lying down or seated.
Mindful movement or gentle yoga (that's why the dress code).
Short pause practices: the three-minute breathing space or STOP.
Self-compassion and loving-kindness, often with a hand on the heart.
Sharing in pairs or as a group, and a closing circle.

Gentle, choice-based cues to expect

With this audience, choice language is a safety feature, not filler. Keep every "if you'd like" and "you can".

You can keep your eyes open if you prefer, with your gaze resting on the floor.想睁著眼睛也可以，視線輕輕落在地板上。

Feel free to shift your position anytime.隨時都可以調整姿勢。

If anything feels like too much, you can open your eyes, take a break, or come back to your feet on the floor.如果覺得太多、太強烈，可以睁開眼睛、休息一下，或回到雙腳踩在地上的感覺。

You're always in charge of your own experience.妳永遠可以自己決定要怎麼練習。

You don't have to share anything you don't want to.不想分享的，都不用分享。

Gently placing a hand on your heart, if that feels okay.如果覺得可以，輕輕把手放在心口。

When interpreting into Chinese, follow the host and use 妳 for participants, as the poster does. The theme vocabulary is in the glossary under "This workshop".

Read this first · tone, pace, voice

Voice & delivery

Your voice: slow and gentle

In a guided practice, how you sound matters as much as the words. A calm voice helps the room settle; a rushed one pulls people out.

Go much slower than conversation. Leave a full breath between phrases. If it feels too slow to you, it's probably right.
Speak on the out-breath. Breathe in during the teacher's pauses, then let the words ride out on your exhale.
Let every phrase land softly. End on a gentle falling tone, never a rising one, and don't clip the last word.
A little lower and quieter. Lower your pitch and volume slightly and speak from your chest, not your throat. A slight smile warms the voice.
Short phrase, then pause. Say a phrase, stop, let it settle. Silence is part of the practice.
On a mic, speak softer than you think. Keep it about a fist's width away so your breathing doesn't pop.
If you miss a phrase, let it go. Pick up at the next one. A steady, calm voice matters more than every word.
Settle yourself first. Do a three-minute breathing space before the session starts. Your own calm comes through in your voice.

Practice tonight: read aloud, record on your phone, listen back

Breathing in… (pause) …and breathing out. (pause) Just noticing… the sensations of the breath. (long pause) And whenever you notice the mind has wandered… (pause) gently… bring it back. (long pause)

吸氣…… （停） ……吐氣。（停）只是覺察…… 呼吸的感覺。（長停）每當發現心飄走了…… （停）溫柔地…… 把它帶回來。（長停）

Aim for 3–4 seconds per phrase and a 3–5 second pause. To hear the pace, listen to the first minute of Kabat-Zinn's body scan and match him.

During a guided practice

Use the teacher's pace and lower your voice: slow, even, warm.
Keep the repetition. "Breathing in… breathing out…" repeats on purpose.
Stay a beat behind. Lag is fine; rushing breaks the room's calm.
Short Chinese phrases with no subject work better than full sentences: 「吸氣……覺察腹部的起伏……」

During talk & Q&A

Participants describe body sensations in casual words (麻、痠、悶). Check the "What participants say" group.
Teachers often reply with very short phrases, like 知道了就好 ("just noticing is enough"). Keep them short.
Cite numbers exactly: 8 weeks, 1979, 160+ cohorts, "thousands of papers".
Quotes to have ready: "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." 你無法阻止浪潮，但你可以學會衝浪。

Sounding natural in American English

Always use contractions: "let's", "you're", "it's", "don't".
Talk to the room as "everyone" or "you all". Skip "dear students" and "ladies and gentlemen".
Soften instructions with "go ahead and", "feel free to", "a little" and "kind of".
Use American words and spelling: restroom, cell phone, center, honor.
Kabat-Zinn is American. When you render his lines, keep his own idioms ("falling awake", "nowhere to go, nothing to do").

01 · Background

The teachers' training center

Two of the three teachers (陳群玉 and 吳碧娟) are on the teaching team at 台灣正念工坊 Taiwan Mindfulness Center. The center teaches MBSR (正念減壓, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), the 8-week program created by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn (卡巴金博士). Expect these words in every sentence.

Organization台灣正念工坊Taiwan Mindfulness Center (TMC), founded 2014, Taipei

Founder / CEO陳德中執行長Kabat-Zinn's first Taiwanese student; certified by him as an MBSR teacher

Core programMBSR 8-week course正念減壓八週課程 · 160+ cohorts (梯次) since 2014

Their slogan平靜、清明與專注"calm, clarity and focus", backed by science (科學實證)

What the session will probably include

A talk on what mindfulness is, its history (Kabat-Zinn, 1979, UMass) and the science (brain, stress, pain, sleep).
Guided practices such as breathing, body scan, mindful yoga and loving-kindness. These are the recordings you were sent.
Sharing / inquiry (分享 / 探詢): participants describe what they noticed and the teacher responds. See the "What participants say" glossary group.
Course info: 8-week MBSR, in-person or online, teacher training, corporate training.

Phrases straight from their website

正念不是放空，也不是正向思考: "Mindfulness isn't zoning out, and it isn't positive thinking."
有意識地回到當下、覺察身心狀態的心智訓練: "training your mind to come back to the present, on purpose, and notice what's going on in your body and mind."
知道了就好，就這麼單純: "Just notice it. That's it. It's that simple." (body scan)
盡力但不強求、包容而不控制: "Give it your best, but don't force it. Make room for things instead of trying to control them."
想法只是想法: "Thoughts are just thoughts."

02 · Memorize this

The definition everyone quotes

Speakers almost always quote Kabat-Zinn's definition. Have both language versions ready word for word. The Chinese below is exactly how 台灣正念工坊 renders it.

"Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally."

「有意識且不帶評判地，保持當下留心的覺察」

Kabat-Zinn, 1994 · Wherever You Go, There You Are

"The awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally."

「有意識且不帶評判地專注於當下，所升起的『覺知』」

Version on mindfulnesscenter.tw/mindfulness · longer 2003 form: 「刻意地、當下地、不評判地注意時時展開的經驗所產生的覺察力」 = "…to the unfolding of experience moment by moment"

on purpose有意識地 / 刻意地 in the present moment當下 non-judgmentally不評判地 / 不帶評判 awareness覺知 / 覺察 arises升起 moment by moment時時刻刻

03 · Vocabulary

Glossary & flashcards

Search in either language. To drill yourself, hide one column and tap a grey box to reveal it. ★ marks must-know terms.

04 · Where interpreters slip

Traps & distinctions

These are the places where a word-for-word rendering sounds wrong to people who teach mindfulness.

Sound American, not textbook

American teachers sound warm and casual. Use contractions (let's, you're, that's) and soft openers like "Go ahead and…", "Feel free to…" and "Whenever you're ready…". Avoid British or stiff wording: taster → intro class, toilet → restroom, whilst → while, Kindly… → Please… / Go ahead and…

Let's take a moment to…, not Now we shall…

正念 is not "right thought"

The 正 looks like "correct/positive", but the English is simply mindfulness. The site says so directly: it is 「保持留心的狀態」, not 「正確的念頭」 or 「正向的心念」.

Say mindfulness. Never "positive thinking" or "right mind".

Mindfulness ≠ meditation

正念 is a state of awareness; 冥想 is a training method. Mindfulness practiced as meditation = 正念冥想.

正念 mindfulness · 冥想 meditation · 正念冥想 mindfulness meditation

Reacting vs. responding

A key Kabat-Zinn contrast: automatic stress reaction vs. a conscious, chosen stress response. Keep the two Chinese words apart.

反應 reacting (automatic) · 回應 responding (aware)

放下 · 放空 · 放鬆

Three different things. Teachers often say the body scan is not about relaxing; relaxation is a "common, welcome side effect" (常見且好的副作用).

放下 letting go · 放空 zoning out · 放鬆 relaxing

Acceptance isn't giving up

接納 means acknowledging what is here right now. It does not mean resignation (認命). Non-striving (不用力) does not mean lazy or not trying.

接納 acceptance · 不用力 / 不強求 non-striving

心 is mind and heart

Kabat-Zinn often says that in Asian languages "mind" and "heart" are one word (心), so mindfulness is also "heartfulness". If a speaker plays on 心, keep both senses.

heartfulness · 心 = mind/heart

Guidance is invitation, not command

Kabat-Zinn guides in "-ing" forms and soft invitations ("allowing…", "noticing…", "as best you can"). Don't turn these into orders like 「你要…」「請你必須…」.

Use 可以…、讓自己…、如果願意的話…

Secular, not religious

MBSR comes from Buddhist meditation but is taught with no religion. Prefer neutral words: 練習 practice, 培養 cultivate, 覺察 awareness. Avoid 修行 or "enlightenment" unless the speaker uses them.

practice rather than spiritual cultivation

覺察 vs 覺知 vs 意識

覺察 and 覺知 both become awareness (覺察 often as the verb "notice"). 意識 is consciousness, but 有意識地 in the definition means on purpose.

有意識地 = on purpose, not "consciously"

感覺: sensation, feeling or emotion?

Chinese 感覺 covers three things that English keeps apart. In the body scan it almost always means a physical sensation: tingling, pressure, warmth. Saying "feelings in your toes" sounds off to native ears.

sensation 身體感覺 · feeling 感受 · emotion 情緒

Don't fill the silence

Pauses in a guided practice are part of the practice. Never pad them with explanation, and don't speed up to catch up.

Silence in the source = silence in yours.

05 · The recordings you were sent

The seven guided practices

The titles, channels and lengths below were confirmed on YouTube. YouTube blocked reading the transcripts, so the outline and key lines for each practice come from the standard MBSR versions of these recordings. Listen once and check them.

17:00中文 guideShort body scan

呼吸 + 身體掃描短版 (17 分鐘)：陳德中老師引導

台灣正念工坊 Taiwan Mindfulness Center · in Chinese, so you would most likely interpret it ZH → EN

Breath awareness, then a short body scan led by the founder. TMC's own article gives the body-scan order:

Settle, lying or seated (平躺或坐姿); notice the breath and the belly rising and falling (腹部起伏).
Feet → lower legs → knees → thighs → hips → lower back → belly.
Chest → back → fingers → palms → arms.
Neck → face → top of the head (頭頂); then the whole body.

找到舒適的姿勢go ahead and get comfortable跟自己在一起just be with yourself知道了就好just noticing is enough不需要改變什麼you don't need to change anything回到呼吸come back to the breath

32:06EN guideBody scan

Introduction & Body Scan, Jon Kabat-Zinn

AudioBuddha channel (a re-upload of Kabat-Zinn's MBSR practice CDs)

A brief introduction, then the long lying-down body scan. Attention moves slowly from the toes of the left foot up the leg, across to the right leg, through the torso, arms, neck and face to the crown, then rests in the whole body. In every region the instruction is the same: feel whatever sensations are there. Expect to hear the word dozens of times.

sensations（身體的）感覺whatever sensations are present不管此刻有什麼感覺tuning in to the sensations in…去感受……的感覺the absence of sensation沒有感覺（也可以覺察）breathing into the toes… and out from them吸氣到腳趾……再從腳趾吐氣letting go of this region放下這個部位a practice of falling awake醒過來的練習（不是睡著）as if breathing through the top of the head彷彿從頭頂呼吸experiencing yourself as whole體驗自己本來就完整

3:50EN guideShort practice

The Breathing Space, Jon Kabat-Zinn

AudioBuddha · usually taught as the three-minute breathing space (三分鐘呼吸空間)

A short reset in three steps, often pictured as an hourglass (沙漏): wide, then narrow, then wide again. check against the audio

Awareness 覺察: "What is my experience right now?" Notice thoughts, feelings and body sensations.
Gathering 集中: narrow attention to the breath at the belly.
Expanding 擴展: widen to the whole body, posture and facial expression.

10:38EN guideSitting

Mindfulness of the Breath, Jon Kabat-Zinn

AudioBuddha · sitting meditation

Sitting upright in a dignified posture with attention on the breath. Each time the mind wanders, notice where it went and gently bring it back.

a posture that embodies dignity體現莊嚴（尊嚴）的姿勢riding the waves of the breath乘著呼吸的波浪the in-breath / the out-breath吸氣／吐氣the mind has wandered off心飄走了gently escort it back溫和地帶回來no matter how many times不管多少次

9:48EN guideYoga

Calming Morning Yoga with Jon Kabat-Zinn

MasterClass · you labeled this "mindful yoga"; YouTube's title is "Calming morning yoga"

Gentle movement done with awareness. The point is noticing sensation, not doing the pose perfectly. Expect stretching, breathing with the movement, and pausing to notice how your body feels.

move slowly, with awareness慢慢地、帶著覺察移動honor your body's limits尊重身體的極限explore your limits, but don't push past them停在邊界，不勉強notice how your body feels now感受動作之後的餘韻

10:58EN guideYoga

Mindful Standing Yoga, Jon Kabat-Zinn

AudioBuddha · standing sequence from the MBSR practice set

Standing in mountain pose, then slow arm raises, side stretches, shoulder rolls, gentle neck rolls and shifts of weight, with pauses between to notice the body. Use the "Mindful yoga" glossary group.

feet hip-width apart雙腳與髖同寬knees soft, not locked膝蓋放鬆、不鎖死raising the arms overhead雙臂舉過頭頂reaching up, as if picking fruit向上伸展，像在摘果子returning to stillness回到靜止

47:34EN talk + practiceLoving-kindness

Practice Loving-Kindness with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindful (magazine) · long enough to include talk and Q&A, not only a guided practice

Loving-kindness (慈心) wishes are offered to yourself first, then widen in circles: a loved one, a benefactor, a neutral person, a difficult person, and finally all beings. The wishes repeat, so learn them by heart.

May I be safe願我平安May I be happy願我快樂May I be healthy願我健康May I live with ease願我自在地生活May all beings…願一切眾生……

06 · Proper nouns

Names & institutions

The teachers listed on TMC's team page and the people their site cites. Confirm the English spellings of Taiwanese names with the organizer; the site gives none.

Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn喬．卡巴金博士Founder of MBSR (1979, UMass Medical School). Say "KAH-bat ZIN".

陳德中TMC founder & CEO (執行長／創辦人); MBSR teacher certified and authorized by Kabat-Zinn

溫宗堃老師Certified MBSR teacher and teacher trainer (認證導師與培訓師), certified by Kabat-Zinn

張元祐心理師 · 楊銀庭心理師Counseling psychologists teaching the Nov 2026 MBSR courses (Taichung, Taipei)

劉益宏醫師 · 凌憬峯教授 · 施玟瑄醫師Physician & UCSD Mindful Self-Compassion teacher · NYCU medical professor (chronic pain) · rehab physician

張振興老師Certified teacher of Google's SIY (Search Inside Yourself) leadership program

陳群玉 · Debra Lee · 吳碧娟This workshop's three MBSR-certified teachers. 陳群玉 and 吳碧娟 are on TMC's team (陳群玉 also teaches the UK ".b" youth program; 吳碧娟 co-wrote 《正念奇蹟手札》).

The Garden of Hope Foundation · Linkou Center勵馨基金會林口中心Taiwan nonprofit supporting women and girls, including survivors of domestic and sexual violence. This workshop's host.

Mark Williams馬克．威廉斯Oxford professor; co-founder of MBCT with John Teasdale & Zindel Segal

Philip Kapleau菲力普．凱普羅American Zen teacher whose talk at MIT first drew Kabat-Zinn to meditation

Daniel Siegel · Britta Hölzel · Richard DavidsonUCLA (7 areas of benefit) · Harvard/MGH 8-week gray-matter study · immune & brain studies

UMass Medical Center · Stress Reduction Clinic麻州大學醫學院附設醫院 · 減壓門診Where MBSR began, Sept 1979, with chronic-pain patients

Center for Mindfulness (CFM)正念中心Founded 1995 at UMass Medical School

Healing and the Mind (PBS, 1993) · TIME, Feb 2014The TV special and magazine cover story that took mindfulness mainstream

Clients named on the site廣達 Quanta · 特斯拉 Tesla · ASML · 台北榮總 Taipei Veterans General Hospital · 陽明交大醫學院 NYCU School of Medicine · 台北慈濟 Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital · 醫策會 Joint Commission of Taiwan

BooksFull Catastrophe Living = 《正念療癒力》 (cited on TMC's site) · Wherever You Go, There You Are = 《當下，繁花盛開》 (common Taiwan edition title; confirm)

07 · Read more

Sources