Caring for oneself is not a luxury, it's a necessity.
When we don't take care of our physical and emotional needs, we can burnout. When we burnout, we have nothing left to give to others, let alone to ourselves We can avoid burnout if we notice the signs and learn ways of caring for ourselves as we care for the ones we love
Often, our answers lie within, and all we need from the outside is some help uncovering them.
When you pause, turn inward and listen, you tap into a deep wisdom that is both liberating & empowering.
Who is this for?
These practices are new to you.
You're curious and want to get a taste of what they're like and how you might use them in your day to day life.
Workshop
Mindfulness for caregivers: Caring for yourself as you care for the one you love
As your loved one ages and/or becomes increasingly infirm, your relationship with them may change. While these changes are often inevitable, we are seldom prepared for the transition and neither are they. Whether it is a sudden crisis or slow deterioration, you may feel responsible for their well-being and become increasingly active in their lives. As our concern and involvement escalates, we often have less time and energy for ourselves and may feel depleted. Meanwhile, they have their own views about their independence and our level of involvement. The result can be painful, taking a toll on intimacy and connection just when both sides are wanting it most. This four hour, interactive workshop offers a buffet of practices designed for people who are dealing with the joys and challenges of caring for loved ones.
This workshop will help you:
Better understand what your loved one wants/needs
Engage in ways that feel more supportive to them
Take better care of yourself throughout the process
Goals for participants:
experience three awareness-based practices (mindfulness, inner relationship focusing, and vagus nerve calming)
learn portable skills that can be used throughout your busy day
identify the practices that work for you
learn ways to continue practicing with others through existing virtual communities where drop-in practitioners are welcome
After this workshop, you may be drawn to developing a mindfulness or focusing practice and wish to do so in the company of other caregivers. Our introductory classes are designed for that purpose. Scroll down to learn more.
Classes for Caregivers
Introduction to Mindfulness: building your practice as you care for your loved ones
If you want to practice mindfulness and don't know how to start, this class is for you! During this five week course, you’ll explore mindfulness within a supportive community of caregivers who have similar aspirations and challenges. You’ll learn different ways to meditate and start training your mind to be present for what arises with compassion and without judgment. When we’re present, we have more capacity to be kind to ourselves and to others - even when life gets challenging.
Creating space to practice mindfulness can be difficult for caregivers, so the course is designed to help you learn “just in time” tools that can be used throughout your day, either alone or with the person for whom you care.
Mindfulness is easier to practice when we are supported by a trusted community. Throughout the class, you’ll be introduced to some virtual mindfulness communities, including the Caregivers Cafe (HYPERLINK), that you can visit as the class progresses. In this way, you'll have an opportunity to find a group that feels right before the class ends, so that you can continue to practice in community longterm.
Class Details:
2 hours per week for five weeks.
Begins with a guided meditation and check in, when you can share about your experience using the practice over the previous week.
Teaching followed by Q&A.
Short break
Final guided meditation and discussion
Closing circle
Who is this for?
You want to learn how to practice mindfulness.
You'd like to learn mindfulness practices, integrate them into your life and reflect on your experience with within a supportive community of caregivers
Classes for Caregivers
Learning to listen to the wisdom of your body: Focusing Level 1
Do you feel disconnected from your body or stuck in patterns that are counterproductive? In this introduction to Focusing, you will learn a practical, step-by-step process that helps you shift toward well-being and, at the same time, better help the one you care for. Inner Relationship Focusing, or Focusing, is a mind-body awareness practice in which we listen to our present-moment emotional reactions. Throughout most of our lives, our attention is directed outwards and we apply our minds - our critical thinking skills - to our problems. As caregivers who feel responsible for the medical, physical and emotional wellbeing of a loved one, it can be hard to stop our busy minds.
In Focusing, we turn inward and invite all aspects of ourselves to be held in awareness and with acceptance. This allows new insights to emerge and encourages healing to happen. Focusing is a simple, everyday tool that can help you tap into the positive energy within you and free you from old narratives and emotional patterns.
Each class begins with a centering practice and check in. Next comes a teaching and demonstration of the skills taught, followed by Q&A. We'll then have a guided exercise where you experience what was taught, followed by a short break. We'll come back and have a practice session in a breakout room, where you'll practice these skills with an assigned partner. We'll then return to the main room to expore your experience, ask questions and close the circle.
Later in the week, you and your partner will meet again, at a mutually agreed time, to practice a carefully structured, half-hour exercise. These brief practice sessions help you to build skills and gain confidence. Often, these partnerships are so beneficial to the participants, that they continue long after the class has ended. Readings for the program come from The Focusing Student’s and Companion’s Manual, which is provided as part of the course. Note: This class is Part 1 of a four part program.
Course Details:
2 hours per week for 6 weeks -
60-minute 1:1 virtual session with Marie prior to class, to experience expert guidance through the Focusing process before you learn to guide yourself)
6 classes (2 hours each)
Includes Workbook and exercise sheets
Six separate practice sessions with a partner (online)
Who is this for?
You'd like to access the wisdom of your body by practicing Focusing.
You want to learn some Focusing practices, experiment with using them in daily life, and reflect on your experience with other caregivers.