This 4-week introductory course will focus on each pillar that makes up the foundation of Mindfulness: awareness of the body, emotions and mind. Each session will be taught as a hands-on investigation to explore the true nature of awareness. Though each week can be taken as a stand-alone workshop, participants are highly encouraged to attend all four sessions to get the most out of the course.

March 6th: Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation

Many of us feel disconnected or like something important is missing. Whether it’s because we are caught in the virtual reality of our thoughts or whether it is the constant busyness that keeps us from being fully present… This session will explore how bringing intentional awareness to each moment can help reconnect us to the sense of belonging to our own lives. Participants will:

· engage in a guided activity to directly experience the qualities of Mindfulness

· investigate what gets in the way of awareness and how to increase its availability

· understand how meditation strengthens the attention and leads to more choice

· explore various techniques to soothe the nervous system and to train the attention

· learn how to setup a successful meditation practice at home

March 13th: Using Awareness of the Body to Promote Well-being

The body is an extension of the nervous system. It continuously picks up information through our senses and reacts in real time. Bringing awareness to the body physically connects us to the present moment and can serve as a reliable source of intelligence to help us understand what is actually happening. In this session, participants will:

· learn standing and walking meditation as a way to bring more embodiment into day to day activities

· use awareness of body sensations as a way to relax and to settle the mind

· track muscle contraction and relaxation as a feedback mechanism in response to varying scenarios

· recognize the sensations and locations of emotions in the body to help identify and be with feelings

March 20th: Bringing Awareness into our Emotional Life

Emotions bring meaning and color to our life. They give us important information about our wants, or how our needs are being or not being met. Emotions also have the capacity to overpower us. They can cause us to act quickly in ways that only become conscious in hindsight. Developing awareness of our feelings, and learning how to be with them skillfully, is at the core of our well-being. In this session, participants will:

· practice expanding vocabulary for emotions as a way to increase awareness of feelings

· understand the value and function of negative emotions such as anger, fear, grief and anxiety

· learn how to reduce emotional intensity or stress by redirecting the attention

· use heart practices such as gratitude and loving kindness as a way to counteract the negativity bias of the brain

March 27th: Using Mindfulness to Learn about the Tendencies of the Mind

A stable unreactive mind can observe and learn about itself! As meditation practice develops, we start to notice the habits of the mind and how they influence our actions, behaviors and interactions with others. Witnessing these tendencies allow us to question whether our default mode is in alignment with our core values. Mindfulness of our mental conditioning gives us the choice to create new habits that better contribute to our well-being. In this session, participants will:

· deconstruct thoughts as images and self-talk that we attach meaning to

· notice how the mind creates stories from sensory input, and how stories can become core beliefs

·  see how wanting or not wanting our experiences can lead to avoiding, numbing, clinging, craving, and other unhealthy behavioral patterns