BRINGING MINDFULNESS INTO OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES
August 4, 2022
A Moment with Stephanie
Mindfulness is sometimes thought of as what we do when we sit on a cushion and meditate. But actually, it’s a skill we build through paying attention to whatever we’re doing in the present moment with curiosity and non-judgment. This can be taking a moment to notice what is going on in our minds and bodies—a quick check-in—or it can be going about our everyday activities more consciously.
Too often we are trying to do multiple things at the same time: preparing dinner and listening to the news, eating lunch while catching up on emails or social media posts. Personally, I find that constant multitasking drains my energy. I, therefore, look for ways to bring my mindfulness practice into my daily activities. This could be taking the first 3 to 4 bites of my lunch with full attention, mindfully, just really tasting and appreciating my food. Other times, I will just sit for a moment and notice how I am and where I am.
Building these mindful moments into our days is a great way to support our regular meditation practices and pick our mindfulness muscle up off the cushion. It also interrupts the feeling of being in a daily grind, bringing joy.
In our online community this month, we will explore the wide variety of practices that help us bring mindfulness into our daily living. This will include making space to just sit for 5 minutes and to notice our breathing. Or how to incorporate mindfulness into washing the dishes or the car, preparing a meal, mowing the lawn, or commuting to work. This month, we will expand our repertoire of practices and ability to fully integrate mindfulness most naturally into what we are already doing.
You can find more about this in Mindful Connections for Community where Brian (one of our amazing volunteers) and I recorded a conversation just about this topic! Join that exploration by clicking below.
From the journey,
Stephanie
We Welcome You to Join Our Upcoming Offerings!
Mindfulness Meditation (in-person and online)
Awaken Pittsburgh offers three monthly guided meditations open to anyone. This is a chance to practice mindfulness in community together.
Each session follows the same format: introductions, a period of guided meditation, and then a chance to support one another, discuss how our meditations are going at home, and ask any questions we have about practice.
Our in-person venues require us to provide a list ahead of time, so please register via the links provided! Pre-registration helps us to prepare and ensure that we have room for everyone.
Our schedule is as follows:
- 1st Tuesday of each month, beginning the first week of August, 1:00-2:00 PM – South Hills Jewish Community Center (JCC)
https://tinyurl.com/1stTuesdayMeditation - 2nd Saturday of each month, August 13, 8:30-9:30 AM – Squirrel Hill JCC
https://tinyurl.com/2ndSatMeditation - 3rd Monday of each month, starting Aug. 15, 7:00-8:00 PM – Squirrel Hill JCC
https://tinyurl.com/3rdMonMeditation
Our in-person venues require us to provide a list ahead of time so please register! Also, you will need to show that you are fully vaccinated to enter. Please arrive early with your vaccination card to register on your way in.
There is no charge for attending, but donations to support our work are appreciated.
We hope to see you there!
Mindful Connections for Helping Professionals
Mindful Connections is Awaken Pittsburgh’s proprietary program designed to help you create a space for mindfulness and meditation in your own life. You will learn tools to help you stay focused and grounded and, in turn, positively impact your relationships with others. This course is designed especially for those who work in service to others or those whose profession comes with high levels of stress or burnout.
Meets for nine classes from 1:00-2:30, beginning August 9, 2022 via Zoom online video conferencing.
CEUs – This program is offered for 16 CE hours of social work continuing education through co-sponsorship of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, a Council on Social Work Education accredited school and therefore a PA pre-approved provider of social work continuing education. These credit hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LMFT, and LPC biennial license renewal. For information on social work continuing education, please visit socialwork.pitt.edu/
Mindful Connections for Wellness
Mindful Connections is Awaken Pittsburgh’s proprietary program designed to help you create a space for mindfulness and meditation in your own life. We are adapting it here to provide tools to deal with the stress and uncertainty during this unprecedented time of physical distancing. You will learn tools to help you stay focused and grounded and, in turn, positively impact your relationships with others.
This class meets for 9 Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 pm beginning September 22, 2022 via Zoom online video conferencing.
Mindful Connections for TQLGB+ Wellness
Mindful Connections™ for Wellness can support your mental health and wellbeing through mindfulness and meditation. This particular cohort is specifically reserved for people who identify as TQLBG+!
It will meet for 9 Wednesdays 6:30pm-8:00pm, September 20 – November 15 via Zoom online video conferencing.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT OUR WORK?
Do you make purchases through Amazon.com? If you shop through smile.amazon.com and choose Awaken Pittsburgh as your charity, Amazon Smile will donate to us! It costs you nothing and helps to support our work. But you have to choose us! Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser. From your desktop, go to “Your Account” and select the option to “Change your Charity.” Or, from your mobile browser, select “Change your Charity” from the options at the bottom of the page.
Donations of any amount are always much needed to continue to bring mindfulness practices to folks who cannot afford them. Did you know that you can make recurring monthly donations to support mindfulness coming to more folks in our community who can’t afford it? Check out how to do it here.
