Thursday, August 29, 2013

Gratitude. Or, Thankful on a Thursday.

I am grateful. so grateful.  I just am.

I'm grateful for the man, patiently waiting for me.

I'm grateful for love.  For the many paths and ways the universe opens for me to share, support, hold, cherish, nourish, cultivate and experience love.

I'm grateful for rainy cool days.  I'm grateful for a summer of sun.

I'm grateful for the art of others.

I'm grateful for my own, sadly neglected, art.

I'm grateful for teaching.  So so grateful for teaching.  Grateful to be able to give the world what is sitting in my heart and longing to be shared.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Introducing "Frontline Wellness: a Yoga Workshop for Care Providers"

I am excited to announce the dates for the pilot series of my new workshop "Frontline Wellness: A Yoga Workshop for Care Providers"!!!

This seven week workshop will be held at HeartStream Yoga and Wellness, off of Airport Road.  It will be held on Sunday afternoons from 2-4 pm beginning September 29th to November 24th.  Due to scheduling conflicts in the studio space, there will be two "break" weeks.  I invite you to utilize these "break" weeks as a time to integrate the practices into your daily life and as a time for reflection on how these practices are serving you.  Perhaps you will choose to come to one of my regularly scheduled yoga classes on Wednesday or Thursday evening to help support you in this process.

Please see the "Frontline Wellness" tab above for more information.

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Dear Provider,

You care about the people you serve.  You are passionate about helping others to live a better life.  You are committed to your work, your career, and to caring for the people of this world we share.  Imagine holding yourself with the same compassionate, unconditional regard that you offer the people you work with.

I am honored to invite you join me in the pilot series of "Frontline Wellness: A Yoga Workshop for Care Providers."  This seven week, evidence-based transformative workshop is designed specifically for front line care providers who face burn-out, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. These are three silent killers that go mostly un-recognized in our personal lives and under-reported in our workplaces.

  • Do you find yourself so drained at the end of the day that engaging with your family, cooking dinner, or spending time on a hobby seems like an impossible demand? 
  • Do you feel like no matter how much you give, or how hard you work, you are still not doing enough?
  • Do you find it difficult to focus, listen, and care about the daily concerns of your family and friends?  Do they seem almost trivial compared to the issues you face at work?
  • Do you question whether what you're doing is worthwhile?  If it’s even making a difference?
  • Are you always tired?  Do you have trouble relaxing even when you have time to?
  • Have you watched colleagues suffer burnout and quit their job?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this workshop is for you.  Yoga teaches the skills to build resiliency and to cultivate capacity.

I worked for years as a victim's advocate, and yoga allowed me to rejuvenate my mind, my body, and my emotions when I faced burnout.  Yoga kept me resilient and able to be fully present with each person I served.  My friends and family definitely noticed a difference between when I was practicing regularly and when I skipped my practice.  I designed this workshop in order to share some of the life skills that yoga taught me. 

Each workshop session is two hours long.  The first hour will be a complete Kripalu yoga class, including asana (postures), breathwork and meditation.  The yoga component is suitable for beginners; each week will build on the week before to provide you with a foundational practice you can return to in your daily life or as introduction for other yoga classes.  The second hour of the session will be focused on a single topic designed to provide you with a discrete practice or approach to cultivating resilient wellness.  Topics include meditation, conscious communication, gratitude practice and yoga nidra.  Each session will provide time for integration and skillful relaxation.

The series will be held on Sunday afternoons from 2-4 pm at HeartStream Yoga.  The first class will be on September 29th, and the last class on November 24th.

For more information please visit my website (jjohnsonkennedy.blogspot.com) and click on the "Frontline Wellness" tab.  Feel free to email me (jjohnsonkennedy@gmail.com) with any questions.  I hope to see you this fall.

May your inner light shine brightly,
Jai Baghwan,

Jasmine Johnson-Kennedy
RYT-200 Kripalu Yoga Teacher