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Mindfulness Training for Stress Reduction

09/15/2014 @ 06:00 pm - 08:00 pm
RSY Chandra Room

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Attendance to every class is recommended to gain the full benefits of the Mindfulness Training course. In order to keep up with the course, in the event that you cannot attend a group make up class, you may request a private session to catch yourself up. Private sessions are offered at a reduced rate while you are attending the 8-week course. Further information about attendance will be detailed on the first day of class.

Class 1

An Introduction to Stress

Our bodies react to psychological stress by igniting our stress response system. Chronic stress causes our body harm and decreases its ability to rest and heal. This introductory class is designed to provide the participant with an understanding of what stress actually is, how we stress and its impact on our overall wellbeing. This will include reviewing the latest research studies and scientific evidence about stress and the effects chronic stress has on human beings. Following will be an exploration of our mind/body connectedness and how it is affected by stress. Each participant will learn how to recognize their own personal stress and what triggers it. Finally, participants will be taught stress reduction tools they may put into practice immediately.

Class 2

Body Awareness and Stress

This class will examine how mental stress creates tension in the body and the implications of this stress on concentration, focus, creativity, productivity and overall energy. Participants will learn to recognize when and how they are being negatively affected by their own personal stress. They will be taught stress reduction tools that will allow them to cultivate awareness of their own physical stressors and work to reduce the negative effects these stressors have on their overall wellbeing.

Class 3

Our Emotional Intelligence and Stress Reduction

The level of our own Emotional Intelligence has been proven to have a direct effect on our work, relationships and our over-all health and wellbeing. We will examine the correlations between our own Emotional Intelligence and stress. Participants will learn how to recognize their own emotions and will be taught to examine these emotions in an effort to gain further insight into how and why they stress. This knowledge and experience will allow the participant to develop more tools and strategies for reducing their stress.

Class 4

Formal and Informal Applications for Stress Reduction

This class will introduce students to additional applications for stress reduction. Participants will be guided through a series of both formal and informal mindfulness training practices to further develop strategies to reduce stress effectively.

Class 5

Mindfulness in Motion

Our inner pace and sense of balance has a direct effect on our experience with the world around us. We will examine what "drives" us and how to bring awareness to our own impulses. We will further examine the relationship between stress and it’s impact on our body function. Students will be guided through a series of exercises that will help them recognize when they are trapped in tension and apply strategies for living “at ease”.

Class 6

Self-Talk and Stress

How we speak to and about ourselves has a direct effect on our emotional wellbeing. Here we take a further look inward at how our inner “self-talk” has a direct effect on our outward experiences. We will recognize what role our internal self-talk has on our work and personal relationships. This will allow students to gain awareness and insight into who they are, when stressed and when “at ease”.

Class 7

Between Us – Mindful Communication

Skillful communication is essential to any healthy relationship, whether it’s between spouses, family members, friends, or co-workers. Mindfulness, the practice of nonjudgmental awareness, can help us communicate more effectively and meaningfully with others in our personal and professional lives. This class will identify communication patterns and habits, uncover hidden fears that often sabotage communication and allow students the opportunity to examine how mindful communication can help them to become more truthful, compassionate and flexible in personal and work relationships.

Class 8

A Mindful Life

This class will review the formal and informal practices taught in the previous classes. We will focus on additional applications for reducing stress and maintaining a sense of ease in this fast paced world. Participants will be guided through a series of formal and informal mindfulness training techniques aimed at developing a sustainable practice which will allow them to continue to reduce stress effectively.

Maria Kahn
Photo of Maria Kahn

Maria earned her degree in Philosophy from Buffalo State College with an emphasis in Eastern Philosophy and its practical applications and continues her studies in Applied Mindfulness at The University of Toronto. Her experience includes 20 years of Mindfulness training and practice under the guidance of Dr. George Hole (Distinguished Professor, Philosophical Counselor, Mentor), retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh (internationally renowned teacher, monk, author and peace activist) and meditation instruction with experts in China, Japan, Vietnam, India and Burma.

In January 2014, Maria created, coordinated and implemented the first Mindfulness Program for the Institute for Shipboard Education, Semester at Sea, leading over 100 students, faculty and staff through an 8-Week Mindfulness Training for Stress Reduction Course. She counseled faculty and staff in developing coping strategies for students experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression, facilitated daily stress reduction group meetings and led guided Mindfulness Meditation practice in Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Burma, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, and Morocco.

Maria has taught Mindfulness for Stress Reduction at Univera Health, Independent Health, Seneca Niagara, NCCC, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo State University, Sacred Heart Academy and to a variety of groups and individual clients throughout Western New York and abroad. Over twenty years of training and practice has led her to teach Mindfulness as way of reducing stress and unleashing the innate potential we all have to live our lives with greater calm, clarity and stability. Maria’s clientele come from multiple disciplines and all walks of life including business owners and healthcare professionals, attorneys, students, artists, educators and parents.

While incorporating a patient and compassionate approach, Maria offers a unique skill set that allows students to access the root cause of their actual stressors, while learning to manage them effectively from within. She offers courses in the classroom setting as well as private instruction and has helped people overcome their struggles with a variety of issues and conditions including stress (work related, financial, family/relationship or health), sleeping disorders, anxiety, high blood pressure, chronic pain, fatigue, headaches and other problems inhibiting one’s quality of life.

She can be reached by phone at 716.440.8682 or email at mkahn711@gmail.com.