A new year of mindfulness
If you’re a Tulane University staff or faculty member looking to start the new year off with a more peaceful, stress-free approach to life, Tulane’s Mindful Collaborative just might be able to help.
On Thursday, Jan. 12, the Mindful Collaborative, a program of The Well for Health Promotion (The Well), will host an all-day retreat on mindfulness – a practice that offers opportunities to stay in the present moment with openness, non-judgment, curiosity and acceptance.
The retreat will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Diboll Studio and include meditation exercises and other strategies designed to enhance one’s sense of well-being, increase ability to manage anxiety and stress and provide a greater sense of ease and pleasure in daily life.
“The more mindful our faculty and staff are, the more they can bring presence to their student interactions role modeling mindfulness.”
Lindsey Greeson, The Well
The training will be conducted by four members of the Mindful Collaborative – Aaron Armelie, Maeghan Livacarri, Tamar Stark and Lindsey Greeson – under the supervision of Dr. Jose Calderon-Abbo of Mindful Psychiatry of New Orleans.
“The more mindful our faculty and staff are, the more they can bring presence to their student interactions role modeling mindfulness,” said Greeson, a certified health education specialist and director of The Well.
“From there, we hope they also choose to join the collaborative to gain more skills on how to facilitate and help students with these practices.”
The retreat will include a talk by Calderon on the research and science of mindfulness along with such activities as Mindful Movement, Observing Thoughts and Loving-kindness Meditation.
The Mindful Collaborative has been offering retreats for faculty and staff since 2014, but growing awareness of the benefits of mindfulness has led to an increase in participation. So far, 40 people are signed up for this year’s retreat, with room for about 10 more, Greeson said.
Classes are also available for students, staff and faculty, both in the form of drop-in sessions and four- and six-week introductory courses. To sign up for the faculty and staff retreat, click here.
