Introduction To Meditation

Join us on a journey introducing you to the power of meditation and mindfulness. During this course you will learn about the scientific benefits of meditation and mindfulness practice as well as specific techniques to develop your own practice. This course is designed to be personalized to you and comes complete with worksheets, assignments, and videos to led you step by step to the integration of a distinct daily mind-body practice. By the end of this class you should have all the tools that you need to start and maintain a regular meditation and mindfulness practice. This class is a blend of traditional meditation techniques, mindfulness and grounding exercises and homework based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.

What Does Mindfulness Teach You?

Learning how to be mindful allows you to tune into your heart, soul and spirit in the moment of what you are doing and while you are doing it moment to moment.

Who Is This Class For?

• You want to achieve or maintain the best possible overall health and well-being
• You have been told or you feel that you need to learn how to better manage daily stressors
• You are vulnerable to, have risks factors for or have been diagnosed previously with depression
• You are concerned about the effects that your mood may be having on yourself, your family or friends
• You are looking for tools that are not medications to improve your well-being

Who Should Not Take This Class?

If you are currently experiencing an acute depression episode we highly recommend that you seek out the care of a medical professional for evaluation and treatment. This program is better suited to teach mindfulness and meditation tools to prevent depression or support those recovering from recent episodes who have already received treatment.

How Can This Class Help Me?

The beauty in learning these tools is that once they are learned they are always available. No matter where you are, what you are doing or what you are in the middle of you will ALWAYS be able to return to these tools time and time again. Because mindfulness is an "in the moment" skill that you develop once you have learned to shift your thinking you will have the ability to apply this anytime, anywhere and anyplace. Busy workday? Break out a Tea Meditation. Having an anxious moment? Do a quick Body Scan to realign your senses and calm your nerves. You may not believe this now but you actually do have more power within yourself than you think. It's time to step out of your old destructive patterns and start to walk a path that nourishes both your well-being as well as your personal and professional relationships.

How Is The Class Structured?

This class utilizes various tools to teach you how to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into your daily life. There is a mix of traditional lectures as well as videos along with reflections and practice exercises. The beauty of mindfulness and meditation is that once you learn these tools they are always available to shift your attention to your present-moment experience. The class will guide you through a series of 15 lectures that focus not only on learning but also practicing the techniques. The lectures will provide you with important information about how meditation and mindfulness work in the body as well as the differences between types of meditations. You will find that the curriculum is also augmented with mind body exercises and other techniques to help facilitate meditations such as mudras and essential oils. However because you cannot really learn these skills by reading alone you will find multiple practice opportunities throughout the course as well. As each skill build upon the other you will find that the program proceeds in structured format to maximize your benefits. You will find that the beginning part of the class focuses more on developing self awareness within your body before we move on to more abstract concepts including your thoughts and emotions.

The class is structured that you learn from each experience and exercise as you go. Therefore although you are able to proceed through the class at your own pace each lecture must be completed in order. This is to help you build the skill of mindfulness into your daily routine before you move onto more difficult tasks.