We help communities around the world develop the tools they need to heal population-wide trauma.
10/23/2025
Ready to take the next step in your mind-body medicine journey?
Registration is now open for our December Online Advanced Training Program (ATP). ATP builds on the skills taught in our Professional Training Program (PTP), including how to use our mind-body medicine techniques with individuals, families, and in classrooms. You'll master our signature Mind-Body Skills Groups, complete with a detailed manual describing each session and discussing solutions to common challenges that arise in groups.
*This training is only open to those who have successfully completed our PTP. Sorry, no exceptions!
10/21/2025
In September, CMBM Israel held two Oganim “Anchors” Workshops—sanctuaries of safety, healing, connection, and renewal amid a landscape of ongoing pain and tension.
The first, offered in collaboration with the Mishkenot Sha’ananim Center for Culture and Spirit and the Nova Tribe Community Association, brought together residents of the Gaza Envelope and survivors of the Nova Festival massacre. For three days, they practiced mind-body skills, breathed, shared, and began to heal—discovering strength in community and in one another. One participant captured the essence of the 3 days: “There’s something special between us, a bond born from pain but filled with hope.”
Later in the month, CMBM-Israel and Mishkenot Sha’ananim welcomed IDF reservists returning from months of service. Away from the demands of duty and daily life, they found space to practice soft-belly breathing and experience several days of reflection, safety, and reconnection. Despite coming from different parts of the country and differences in their backgrounds, they shared a common need: to pause and to listen to their minds and bodies.
Across both gatherings, each mindful breath, each story shared, and each moment of quiet courage became part of a collective movement toward healing and resilience.
We are deeply grateful to our facilitators, coordinators, partners, and participants in Israel—for your courage, openness, and support in creating these spaces for healing and a path forward.
Visit the link in our bio to learn more about our work in Israel.
10/20/2025
Wishing all who celebrate a happy Diwali!
During this Festival of Lights, may the light within each of us shine brightly, spreading peace, resilience, and connection.
10/17/2025
Our 8-week Children’s Intensive Training in Gaza is underway. It is designed to strengthen the capacity of our deeply skilled local facilitators who are supporting the growing number of children and adolescents coping with profound stress and trauma after two years of violence, displacement, and loss.
Led by CMBM Clinical Director Lynda Richtsmeier Cyr, PhD, Associate Clinical Director Toni Bankston, LCSW, and faculty Dr. Kathy Farah and Lilita Matison, here in the US, and through sessions with their colleagues on the ground in Gaza, more than 50 CMBM Gaza facilitators are coming together weekly for these two-hour virtual sessions focused on mind-body skills for young people.
Participants are learning evidence-based tools to help children restore calm, connection, and resilience — even amid unimaginable circumstances. These gatherings are not only a space for learning, but also for mutual care and support between our two teams — a reminder that healing happens in community.
We extend our deepest gratitude to our lead funder, Islamic Relief USA, and to Lifting Hands International, for their generous support of this training and connection to our mission, and to the unwavering dedication of our Gaza team for continuing this vital work.
Yesterday we wrapped our October Professional Training Program (PTP). Congratulations to the graduates!
They’ve completed an important step in their mind-body medicine journey. Join us in celebrating this incredible achievement.
Ready to take the next step? Our Advanced Training Program (ATP) begins this December for those who have completed PTP. Deepen your skills and learn to apply mind-body medicine techniques to your work with individuals, families, and classrooms.
Join us for this month’s Open Practice, facilitated by our experienced Faculty who will be sharing some of their favorite restorative mind-body skills.
You’ll be guided through practices designed to calm the body, quiet the mind, and help you reset.
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we celebrate the strength and resilience of Indigenous communities across North, Central, and South America.
Since 2008, we’ve worked alongside Indigenous communities across the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Southwest, Alaska, and Central America. Guided by our Elders, we have supported the integration of mind-body medicine into broader community efforts while honoring Indigenous healing traditions.
Today and every day, we acknowledge the Indigenous wisdom and traditions that continue to inform and inspire our model.
Happy Birthday to our Founder & CEO, James Gordon, MD!
Thirty-four years ago, Dr. Gordon planted a powerful seed — the vision that self-awareness, self-care, and group support should be central to all healthcare, empowering people everywhere to heal themselves and their communities.
From that vision, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine was born.
Since then, he and our remarkable Faculty and Staff have trained thousands of educators, healthcare providers, first responders, and community leaders who, in turn, have helped millions around the world reduce stress, recover from trauma, and rediscover resilience.
Today, Dr. Gordon’s work continues to ripple outward — from classrooms to clinics, from conflict zones to communities in need — reminding us all that healing begins within.
Please join us in celebrating his birthday by sharing your wishes below.
…and if you’d like to honor his legacy of hope and healing, consider supporting our mission today: https://cmbm.org/donate/
10/10/2025
Today on , let’s all take a moment for self-care and to connect with ourselves and others.
We see everyday how simple, evidence-based tools can help people move from stress and trauma toward calm, hope, and resilience.
Try these three mind-body practices to quiet your mind and care for your mental health:
✨ Soft Belly Breathing
✨ Shaking & Dancing
✨ Gratitude practice
Together, we can build a world where self-care and mutual support are the foundation of mental health.
We’re excited to share that CMBM Founder and CEO James Gordon, MD will be featured in the Anxiety Recovery & Deep Rest Super Conference, a free, seven-day virtual event hosted by Conscious Life His talk, “Transforming Trauma: The Path to Hope and Healing,” includes the definition of trauma, the biological and psychological disturbances it creates, and how to use mind-body skills to transform a chaotic and troubled time into an opportunity for psychological and spiritual growth.
The conference runs from October 20 - 26, with Dr. Gordon’s talk airing on October 25. We hope you’ll join us to gain new insight and tools for your healing journey.
Today is the start of our four-day October Professional Training Program (PTP)! If you’re attending this training, tag us in your social media posts for a chance to be featured in our stories.
10/08/2025
Eight years ago, the Tubbs Fire swept through Northern California, destroying homes, uprooting lives, and claiming 22 lives.
In the aftermath, we joined local partners to help communities heal and rebuild. We’re proud to have supported the Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative, which has trained hundreds of community members in our model of self-care and group support to reach thousands of children and adults.
This collaboration built lasting capacity for resilience, empowering people with practical tools for healing, strengthening social connections, and preventing deeper impacts of stress and trauma.
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Contact The Practice
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The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) was founded in 1991 by James S. Gordon, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and family medicine at Georgetown University Medical School and former chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy, under Presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush.
In the 25 years since then, CMBM has become a worldwide leader in making self-care, group support, and community-building central to all healthcare, the training of health professionals, and the education of children. CMBM has focused on providing innovative solutions to some of the world’s most intractable and complex psychological and physical problems.
CMBM’s international faculty of 160 experts have trained over 5,000 health professionals, educators, and community leaders in our pioneering mind-body medicine model of self-care, self-awareness, and group support; they in turn integrate our model into their communities and use it with the populations they serve, allowing us to benefit millions of people.
Our Ground-Breaking Trauma Relief Programs
The largest, most effective programs for healing population-wide psychological trauma. In Gaza, more than 150,000 children and adults served.
A parallel program in Israel; CMBM is the only organization that works with large-scale psychological trauma in both Gaza and Israel.
A nationwide program of mind-body medicine in post-war Kosovo.
Programs for healing U.S. veterans’ PTSD at 30 military bases and VAs.
Ongoing work with Haiti’s most disadvantaged people: orphaned children, homeless youth, disabled people, and prisoners.
The first ‘wellness hospital’ at Eskenazi, the largest health provider in Indiana.
A program of trauma healing and su***de prevention, combining mind-body medicine and traditional Lakota ceremony on Pine Ridge Reservation, where 20 children have killed themselves in the last year.
Evidence-Based Mind-Body Training & Certification
Our trainings focus on practical techniques for self-care and mutual support. Learn the science and skills of meditation, guided imagery, biofeedback, and self-expression in words, drawings, and movement in classroom sessions and supportive, small group experiences.
