Mindful Mondays for Wellbeing w/ Susan Lopez Monday, May 20th, 7-9pm. (every 3rd Monday of the month)
at Self Help Graphics & Art: 1300 E. 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033
$15 presale / $20 at door.
Introduction to Mindfulness and Grounding in the Body: This session will focus on reviewing the history of Mindfulness from different cultures and traditions as well as growing support for some of its benefits. We will then engage in different practices for connecting to our body, bringing more awareness to how we relate to it, and how we can use our connection to our body to access presence and find ease.
More Info: Mindfulness is a quality of attention and receptivity to our present moment experience. With the break neck speed of modern day life, it's so easy for so many of us to be caught up racing from one thing to the next, carrying ever growing to-do lists, dealing with stress, and living in complete disconnection from our bodies, It's no wonder we feel crazy and it's no wonder we are expert "do-ers". What we often have more trouble with is learning to just "be", and while it may seem counterintuitive, it's precisely this learning to "be" with life that can help us to "do" more skillfully and in a ways that is more connected to ourselves.
Topics and Practices Include:
-Understanding the fight or flight response in your body and how to regulate it
-Learning how traumatic triggers are stored in the body and how to work with them intentionally
-The importance of understanding and taking care of your nervous system as part of your physical and mental health.
-Understanding the relationship between your emotions and your body and how to work with emotions in the body skillfully.
-Exploring how we carry both inter-generational trauma and resilience in our genes
-Deconstructing some of the stories or narratives we are carrying about our bodies and what it means to intentionally re-author stories about our bodies.
-Exploring mindful movement.
-How to listen better to our bodies and tap into body-based wisdom
-Self-compassion practices for honoring and connecting to our bodies
-Recommendations and resources for work moving forward in releasing trauma from the body and understanding the social context in which trauma occurs
Consistent mindfulness practice has been linked to many benefits including:
-Greater calm and ease
-Reduced stress and anxiety
-Increased focus and concentration
-Boosted Immunity
-Greater presence and connection to self
ABOUT SUSAN LOPEZ: Susan Lopez is a psychotherapist, attorney, and mindfulness teacher. She is interested in the intersections of social justice advocacy, spirituality, and healing. She has practiced secular mindfulness and Vipassana (Buddhist insight meditation) for six years, spending as long as 30 days on silent retreats, and she is certified to teach Mindfulness through the UCLA Semel Neuroscience Mindfulness Awareness Research Center. When she's not meditating her passions include, art, herbalism, and nature. For more information you can visit her website at www.susanlopezwellness.com.
