Neighbor News
Local mindfulness retreat offered in Worcester
The retreat will include a review of mindfulness and its benefits and will introduce participants to practices and techniques.
The practice of mindfulness has done a lot over the years for Tara Healey. She has come to understand the changing nature of things, that thoughts, emotions and body sensations arise, have a life and pass away; that thoughts are just thoughts, not fact, and not to get so caught up in them. Mindfulness has enabled her to engage in life with a more spacious mind and open heart.
“As the saying goes, pain is inevitable, suffering is optional,” said Healey, the program director for mindfulness-based learning at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
Healey will bring her expertise to Worcester when she conducts a mindfulness retreat from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the HeartWell Institute, 1015 Pleasant St.
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The retreat will include a review of mindfulness and its benefits and will introduce participants to practices and techniques, including meditation while sitting and while walking, compassion practice, body scan and mindful listening. The session also will feature a traumasensitive, Kripalu yoga session with David Schouela, a certified instructor at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Mass., and the co-founder of the True North Insight Meditation Center in Quebec.
Healey says that despite the growing popularity of mindfulness there is still misconception about the practice, and she hopes participants leave the retreat with a better understanding of mindfulness and its benefits. “And, that they leave feeling well and refreshed,” she added, “eager to continue exploring mindfulness.”
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The HeartWell Institute is a center offering contemplative practices such as yoga, meditation and tai chi, as well as other programs and presentations intended to cultivate mindfulness, wellness, and cultural and spiritual diversity. The institute was founded by Zayda Vallejo and her husband, Robert Lenhardt in a building that once housed a convent for the Sisters of St. Anne.
“HeartWell offers folks in the community a place that is accessible, friendly and comfortable,” Healey said. “The physical space is beautiful and conducive to practice.”
The cost of the mindfulness retreat is $85, and continuing education credits are available for social workers. Pre-registration is required by June 22.
Visit heartwellinstitute.com/calendar/mindfulness-retreat; email marketing@heartwellinstitute.com; or call 774-243-6800.
