The Kids Yoga Resource

Bringing Mindfulness into Back-to-School

Who can ever forget the Staples commercial where the mom is joyfully tossing school supplies into the air and catching them in the shopping cart, while the kids drag their feet behind her. All the while the classic Christmas song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” is playing in the background.

It’s a running joke among mothers of school aged children that the summer is so long, in fact some would say, too long and many can’t wait for school to start again. There is some truth to the peace that a consistent schedule provides, for mama and littles alike.  A sense of calm that does not always accompany the spontaneity and chaos of summer. But, for many of us that dreamlike state doesn’t last long as the activities and demands of the school year take  hold and the stress of the household rises.

What can we do to prepare and keep the peace? Believe it or not, there are some things besides early bedtimes and a glass of wine that can balance out even the most intense reactions to this transitional time of year. Mindfulness is a wonderful tool to use within families to help cultivate awareness. There is so much more to being mindful than the idea of sitting still and mediating on a fancy cushion. Starting this school year out with intention may present things in a new and refreshing way. Remembering to JUST BREATHE can help encourage a pause and keep hairy behaviors to a minimum.

Jam-Packed
Schedules in our world these days are overwhelming, at best. Take some time to assess the wants and needs of your family before adding more commitments, sports and clubs to your calendar. Diving into the cultural ideals that children should be getting ahead by being overscheduled only increases the intensity and anxiety inside our homes. With four kids in our home it is just not possible to allow everyone to do everything they want to do in the way of extracurriculars. When we adopted a “say yes” mentality it created more chaos, a constant divide and conquer between my husband and I and increase sibling rivalry. When the family was together it was difficult for everyone to understand their role and work as a team. Saying no more often allowed us to say yes to family bonding while also saving time, money and stress.

Understand
So often the reminder that my children are not little adults creeps into my frame of reference and for that I am grateful. We don’t know what we don’t know and that can make understanding a bit of a challenge. Two of our four children have special needs, specifically in the way of learning disabilities, mental health and behavior challenges. Taking the approach of understanding can make all the difference with the many moving parts that make up this transitional season.

Self-Regulate
This can be described in many different ways by in the most basic sense, self-regulation refers to the ability to control one’s behavior, thoughts and emotions, in the pursuit of a long term goal. If we break it down even more it tends to focus on the ability to manage the disruptive emotions and impulses, and this can refer to both parent and child. Incorporating breathing techniques and some mindful movement as a family can help equip everyone with the skills needed to begin to self-regulate in challenging situations. (thoughts on adding some images here?)

Take Your Time
Have you ever watched your child when they are involved in a task that they love? When we, as parents, are rushing to make the time schedule, our stress level rises and our patience level diminishes. Giving yourself and your family more time then you think you will need allows you move more mindfully and enjoy the journey all that much more.  Making a special time to spend together for focused attention, to really listen and make eye contact. Cutting back on evening activities has allowed this to happen for our family at dinner time. Everyone takes a turn going around the table sharing their “Peaches and Pits.” The peach is the good part of their day, the highlight if you will, and the pit is something that wasn’t so great. We can then take some time reframing the pit to appear a bit more peachy. It can be a time consuming activity but allows for brainstorming, teamwork and the expansion of growth mindsets all around.

Breathwork
Research tells us that taking deep breaths is beneficial for our health and stress management. Deep breathing exercises can calm the parasympathetic nervous system, slow the heart rate and lower or stabilize blood pressure. It allows us to feel calm and therefore, more clearheaded, which is extremely helpful for parents and children alike.  If your kids are anything like mine, they love talking to Alexa, asking her to tell jokes or sing them a song. You can even ask Alexa to take you through a deep breathing exercise. There are so many great resources for kids to learn to control their breath and in term their nervous system. This skill is essential and unfortunately not innate.

Respond vs. React
When we take a moment to pause, take a deep breath, we are much more able to respond to a situation then react to it. The other morning felt like a success as my three girls were already off to middle school and I had plenty of time to get my son ready for the day. I called him upstairs to take his “1^st day of 2^nd grade” photo, only to discover he was covered in red paint, which I initially thought was blood. Needless to say, my breathwork came in handy as I took a pause to assess the situation, promptly assisted in the removal of the paint clothes (complete with the reassurance that we would shout it out to avoid a bigger meltdown since the shark shorts were all he ever wanted to wear) and the retrieval of a new outfit, in a calm and efficient manner. I am confident that the less mindful me would have had a little meltdown myself, resulting in driving to school rather than catching the bus.

Engage
There are many great books, card decks, songs and even aps that can help engage your entire family in the effort to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday. Consider starting a challenge to participate in one mindful activity for an entire week and then find a time to celebrate. Maybe do yoga together or read a book about breathing techniques and try a new one each morning at breakfast. You could spend some time creating a special space in the house that encourages calming down or meditate together with the help of an ap.  Our family made some crafts, such as a mind jars and breathing beads to continue to build the self-regulation tool box.

Awareness
As parents we are always learning; from our children, from books or podcasts and even from others on this same journey. We especially learn from our mistakes; but even more than that, we can’t unlearn what we now know. As you become more and more aware of how your family operates, what stressors trigger your children and what it feels like to take a pause, you will be more inclined to work with that information for the greater good. Being aware allows you to be present and mindful of how to make the most of any situation.

Teachable Moments
Our children are always watching. What we do in certain situations, how we talk to people, where we spend our energy, they are logging it all. If we can teach them how to pause, breath, move with intention and be aware, we are creating teachable moments that serve as models for the world. Bring yourself back to this intention when things get rough.

Hopeful Healing
Taking these steps as a parent and modeling them for your children provides a message of hope and healing. So many of us are carrying around trauma that lives in our bodies and can manifest into negative thought patterns, poor behavior choices and even physical pain. We have the power to stop the cycle and change the next generation through mindful awareness. By allowing our children to understand themselves and their emotions, while encouraging them to be mindful about how those emotions feel in their bodies, we can then equip them with tangible and duplicatable tools for appropriate expression of those feelings.

Everlasting Education
Learning these tools and implementing them does not just affect us and our children. It will have an impact on anyone that comes in contact with your family. Your children will teach breathing techniques or yoga poses to their friends to help them deal with difficult emotions. Your patience in line at the grocery store can change the day for the cashier. The way a crisis is deal with can be modeled and instilled in others. Sharing your experience with  mindfulness can be a ripple of change to other parents struggling to make connections in this high paced, never enough culture.

So when all the plates are in the air and it feels messy and a bit out of hand, remember, you can do hard things. JUST BREATHE, you are a gardener, planting seeds for a beautiful new harvest of humanity.

 

Jennifer Csordas is a military wife and mom of four amazing children. She works full time as a Business Development Manager supporting, training and encouraging entrepreneurs to build a business of their dreams. Jenn teaches yoga and mindfulness to children in the Lehigh Valley, particularly in school settings and at local studios, as it is her heart work to empower them with the tools to be their best selves. Her own entrepreneurial dream is to open a facility where alternative therapies; art, music, writing and creative movement, are provided for children on an outpatient basis. She believes whole-heartedly in the concept that it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.

 

 

 

RELATED LINK:

Yoga Supports Better Sleep For Teens

Coloring in Yoga Class: What is a Mandala?

Ever wondered about the concentric designs your children bring home from camp and occasionally class?

“The word “mandala” is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Loosely translated to mean “circle,” a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself–a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds.” – from What is a Mandala?.

Coloring or creating mandalas or circular patterns is part of quite a few ancient traditions. These circle patterns appear in the Navajo and Aztec traditions, Taoism, Tibetan Buddhism, and  Christianity. Why does it resonate so?

Without fail, our students of all ages love coloring mandalas. The activity is relaxing and focusing, and provides a great opportunity for opening up meaningful discussions with older children (they tend to be less self conscious about participating in a discussion while coloring). This recent article on the Huffington Post talks about the physiological benefits of the practice.

“When coloring, we activate different areas of our two cerebral hemispheres," says psychologist Gloria Martínez Ayala. 

"The action involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. This incorporates the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in vision and fine motor skills [coordination necessary to make small, precise movements]. The relaxation that it provides lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of our brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress."

One of the primary things we are teaching in children’s yoga are tools for students to be able to trigger their own relaxation response and calming and focusing their minds and nervous system. Coloring mandalas is only one age-appropriate way to do that, but it’s also one that’s easy for parents to implement at home. Just try it! And, be sure to join in and note your own state of being as you color away.

Also recommended from our blog:
Experiencing Mindfulness Through Mandalas: A Meditative Activity for Children

Fun Mindfulness and Yoga Activities Help Children for Preparing to Go Back to School (Nature Mandala)

 

Author:

Jennifer Mueller, MA, E-RYT, RCYT, has been teaching yoga students of all ages since 2008 and directs a children's and family yoga program in Washington DC. In addition to being a trainer for ChildLight Yoga® and Yoga 4 Classrooms®, Jen holds a variety of children’s yoga certifications. She is also a prenatal yoga instructor, childbirth educator, a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA, and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Jen completed her adult yoga teacher training at Willow Street Yoga in Takoma Park, MD… read more here.

*The original version of this article published by http://breathingspacedc.co

Halloween Yoga Adventure - a Themed Kid's Yoga Class

 
Celebrating holidays with a themed yoga class is always a hit, and Halloween is no exception.  Whether you'd like to try this in class or at home, the following class plan is quite simple and very engaging for children as it utilizes an adventure story.  Note that the class is not 'scary', but there is still an element of mystery and excitement built in.  Appropriate for ages 3 and up.  Enjoy and let us know how it goes!

Set the stage with the story opening...It's Halloween Night...what are you being this year? (Let the children go around and share)

BOO BREATH - Extended exhale making a "Boooooooo" sound.  Repeat 3 times. 

Let's get our costumes on...Use SHAKE & FREEZE game as warm up.  During 'shake' times, children pretend to get dressed very, very quickly while using body control to freeze when you call it out or stop the music (especially fun with fun halloween CD  playing!)   

Head outside to salute the FULL MOON!:  HALF SUN SALUTE (waving to the moon), followed by HALF MOON POSE.

Let’s go for a walk around our neighborhood and stop at each house to see if they’ll give us a trick or a treat!Perform the WALKING, WALKING SONG sung to the tune of Frere Jaques:

Walking, Walking, Walking Walking - Hop Hop Hop - Hop Hop Hop - Running, Running, Running - Running, Running Running - Now, let's stop - Now, let's stop.

What do we see on our walk?  STARS, TREE

Up in that tree is a BLACK CAT:   CAT/COW ....hisssss…meow!

We keeping walking and come to a BRIDGE – let’s cross!

On the other side of the bridge are four scary-looking creatures! 

The first one is a LION (Lion’s Breath).  Yikes!

The 2nd is a FLYING WICKED WITCH:  WARRIOR III... She's got great balance! 

The 3rd is a SPIDER....That just gave me the creepy crawlies!

And finally, we see a GHOST:  Repeat BOO BREATH from above...I'm not so scared anymore.

The creatures all start giggling and soon you realize that they are actually your friends dressed up their Halloween costumes!  They invite you to come with them to a Halloween party...

Take the CANOE (BOAT) across the river to the party!  (Sing ROW YOUR BOAT to engage the children and keep them in BOAT POSE a little longer.)

Once out of our boats, you come to an old creaky GATE (KNEELING SIDE BEND). You open the gate (raising both arms to the sky)…creaaaaaeeeaaaK and walk through it into a dark yard with lots of viny TREES everywhere. 

 As you and your friends pass through the gate, you walk down a long path lined with big beautiful PUMPKINS: BALL ROLL

Finally, you arrive at the party!  There is a swarm of happy people that come down to greet you when you park your canoe, yelling ‘Happy Halloween!'

Everyone at the party is BOBBING FOR APPLES:  DOWN DOG to UPDOG (repeat several times, moving with the breath).

Play YOGI SAYS to review the poses.

SAVASANA to peaceful music with pleasant visualization of your choice focused on love, contentedness and relaxation (avoid reviewing potentially scary halloween adventure!) 

Rather than giving out junky toys or candy, try temporary Halloween tatoos. 

 Have fun!

~ Lisa Flynn

 
Note: Poses, songs and activities in this lesson can be found in Lisa Flynn's book, Yoga for Children: 200+ Yoga Poses, Breathing Exercises and Meditations for Healthier, Happier, More Resilient Children (Adams Media, 2013), as well as in the ChildLight Yoga Teacher Training, a weekend intensive currently available in 10 states across the country.

 

 

Fun Mindfulness and Yoga Activities Help Prepare Children for Going Back To School

Mindfulness, the practice of developing focused awareness of the present moment without any judgement, has been shown to provide a number of postive benefits to children including improved focus, resilience, and prosocial behavior. Summer's remaining days provide the ideal setting to teach children simple mindfulness practices including child-friendly meditation (focusing) practices, breathing exercises and yoga postures. The ability to turn to these healthy practices as needed helps children ultimately do better at home, at school and in life.

Janine Bibeau, a kindergarten teacher at Portsmouth’s Little Harbour School who is a certified ChildLight Yoga instructor and Yoga 4 Classrooms trainer, suggests the following engaging mindfulness activities to be enjoyed outdoors.  If you are not already familiar with sharing yoga with your children, pick up a portable reference such as Yoga for Children: 200+ Yoga Poses, Breathing Exercises and Meditations for Healthier, Happier, More Resilient Children or the Yoga 4 Classrooms Activity Card Deck, both of which are by Dover, NH based yogi, mother and founder of ChildLight Yoga and Yoga 4 Classrooms, Lisa Flynn.

Nature Mandala: Whether in the woods or at the beach, have kids gather whatever natural objects they find that appeal to them such as small pinecones, shells, rocks, sea glass or flowers. Once they have enough items, encourage them to take the time to consider which ones to choose and where to place them in a circular pattern on a flat spot. The act of mindfully walking in and out of the circle, and placing the objects in a circular pattern helps children to focus into a quiet, relaxed state while they connect with the creative parts of their brains and themselves. They can create a Mandala on their own, with other children or with you. Working together in a group promotes a sense of community and belonging. If a rainy day keeps children inside, they can make a Mandala using colorful household items such as an assortment of dried beans, ribbons, buttons, pieces of colorful paper or strips of fabric.

Camp Fire or Candle Gazing: To help children unwind after an action packed day, have them sit comfortably in front of a battery operated votive candle or a safe distance away from the flickering flames of a camp or beach fire. Encourage them to concentrate only on the flickering flames for 10 to 30 seconds. Watching the flames is mesmerizing and will take them into a deeply relaxed state. With practice, encourage and your children to focus their eyes on the candle or flame for longer periods of time. Feel free to time them - they love the challenge!

Flying Bird Breath: If children need to calm down, ask them to stand up tall and strong with their arms at their sides and feet about hip distance apart in Standing Mountain Pose.  Have them imagine they are a beautiful, strong bird. Ask them to prepare to fly by opening their wings (arms) out to the side, palms facing up while breathing in slowly and then to start to fly by continuing to inhale as they reach up with straight arms to touch their palms together above their head. Ask them to slowly exhale while lowering their wings (arms) down to the sides of their bodies, palms turned down. This up and down flying motion should be repeated several times in a steady fluid motion that is in sync with their breath. Children can close their eyes while “in flight” and imagine seeing all kinds of things while soaring freely in the sky. This is a wonderful transition activitiy as well - if you are a teacher try guiding them down the hallway while practicing Flying Bird Breath.

There are many nature inspired yoga poses that you can teach your kids including the Shark Pose, Tree and Frog. Once they know a handful of them, there are several fun games they can play at the beach, pool or playground or in a field or garden.

Musical Beach Towel Yoga: Each child playing needs to lay their beach towel far enough from the other players’ towels to prevent them from overlapping.  Either place or have the children place a yoga pose card or photocopied yoga pose on each towel. Start playing music at which time the players should start dancing or marching around the area with the towels. When the music stops, the players must do a yoga pose that is on the towel closest to them. Ideally repeat until the players have gotten to do all or most of the yoga poses.

Yogi Says: This game can be played on land or a paddle board. Children select who will be the “Yogi.” The “Yogi” has the other players line up the group across from her about 10 to 20 feet away. The players must do the yoga pose the Yogi tells them to do if she first says, “Yogi says.” If players follow an order that doesn't begin with "Yogi says” they are out.  The game is played until one person is left. He is “Yogi” during the next round.

Red Light Green Light Yoga: Have your kids choose one person to be the "Stoplight." All the other players are "Cars. Mark a starting line. Have the Stoplight stand opposite the starting line some distance away - closer for younger kids, farther for older kids. The Stoplight begins the game by turning around, facing away from the starting line, and calling, "Green light!" This means all cars can move at a walking pace toward the Stoplight in order to tag him. Players should Run when the Stoplight, still facing away from the starting line, calls "Yellow light!”.  When the Stoplight calls "Red light!" and whirls around, all the players have to assume a yoga pose and not move. Children who are caught moving by the Stoplight lose a turn. The person who tags the Stoplight first gets to be the Stoplight during the next game. The Stoplight wins if he gets all the Cars out before they can tag him. Older kids can play this game in a pool using yoga poses that keep their head above water such as Triangle, Tree, Eagle, Chair and Dancer.

If you are interested in learning more about ChildLight Yoga's programs at its brand new studio or upcoming teacher trainings please visit www.childlightyoga.com. To learn how you can further assist your children to do better at school this year via yoga and mindfulness excercises, please visit www.yoga4classrooms.com.

 

Janine Bibeau teaches yoga and mindfulness to her kindergarten and ChildLight Yoga students all year round.          

Philadelphia’s Teacher of the Year Incorporates ChildLight Yoga into His Physical Education and Private Yoga Classes

Christopher Theodore, a physical education teacher and certified ChildLight Yoga instructor, has been teaching yoga to children in Philadelphia public schools for the past 14 years. Recently, he was awarded both the Teacher of the Year and Trailblazer award for the Cardiyogalicious Physical Education (P.E.) class curriculum he created.

“I taught in two West Philly schools before joining the K-8 William Meredith Elementary School. It was while I was teaching in West Philly that I started incorporating yoga into my P.E. classes. I thought it might help my students, particularly those who were dealing with obesity, attention deficit and behavior problems, to better handle the various challenges they were facing,” says Theodore.

Theodore’s experience resulted in his creating Cardiyogalicious, a complete curriculum for his 45 minute P.E. classes that serves to help keep children active, focused and eating healthful foods. The popular class consists of three parts: cardio, yoga and nutrition. Each class starts off with 10 minutes of cardio such as jumping rope or jogging. After the cardio session, everyone gets into a circle to do 10 to 15 minutes of yoga. Each yoga session starts with breathing and moves into poses. Playing the sport of the day follows the yoga session.

“The benefits of yoga for children are astronomical,” says Theodore. “They learn to find their calm, balance their energy, be in the present moment and to work together. Kids who aren’t into traditional sports can also excel at it.”

When not teaching at William Meredith Elementary School, Theodore runs THEOGA, which offers yoga classes to adults and children as well as athletes. Theodore goes to wherever his clients are whether it be their home, a daycare center, school gym, recreation center or summer camp.

It was due to the urging of a friend who sang the praises of Lisa Flynn, founder of ChildLight Yoga, that Theodore attended a ChildLight Yoga Teacher Training and completed certification requirements to become a certified ChildLight Yoga instructor in 2008.

“The ChildLight Yoga training provided me with the tools and knowledge to more effectively teach yoga to children. I incorporate the curriculum into various classes I teach, including my Kindergarten and daycare classes,” says Theodore.

Theodore is looking forward to introducing a new group of Kindergartners to yoga and to continuing to practice it with students he has been working with in the fall at William Meredith Elementary School. He also hopes to present his Cardiyogalicious curriculum to more Health and P.E. professionals. To date he has presented it to over 300 such professionals in the School District of Philadelphia.

To learn more about ChildLight Yoga’s teacher trainings, which are offered in 15 U.S. states and in Canada as well as the many programs for children, parents and adults in general that are held at its new studio in Dover, NH, please visit www.childlightyoga.com. If you are seeking an effective yoga and mindfulness program that results in productive and peaceful learning ready classrooms, please visit www.yoga4classrooms.com, ChildLight Yoga's school focused affiliate. For further insight into Theodore’s THEOGA and Cardiyogalicious curriculum, please visit http://theoga.net/ or http://cardiyogalicious.weebly.com.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Theodore.

 

 

 

Celebrate Earth Day: 10 Steps to Implementing a Service Project with Your Students

Earth Day occurs annually on April 22nd and falls on a Tuesday this year.  This globally recognized event was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 as a way to bring awareness to air, water and soil pollution.  Observing groups of people donning gloves and holding trash bags on the side of the road on this day as a way to show respect to the earth is not an uncommon sight.  Earth Day is also the ideal opportunity to incorporate a Service Learning project!  Service Learning is a strategy which combines community service, instruction, and reflection to enrich a learning experience, teach responsibility, citizenship, and build awareness within a community. 

Earth Day and service learning projects create a natural bridge to discussing the five ethical practices of the Yamas as taught in the ancient writings of the Yoga Sutras, referred to in kids'  yoga as the 'yoga principles'.   As you celebrate Earth Day with you students, here are some questions to ponder:  

•    Practice Peace (Ahimsa-Nonharming):  Are you living in a way that is respectful toward all things living on this earth? What are some ways we can do so?

•    Be Honest (Satya-Truthfulness):  Do you feel that taking care of our environment is important? If so, do your actions reflect that truth?

•    Be Generous (Asteya-Non stealing / Aparigraha-Letting go of desires):  Are you present as you move from one place to another noticing the beauty of the natural world around you and being mindful of the footprint you leave behind?  What opportunities do you have to show appreciation for, and to give back to, the earth that supports and sustains you? Are you able to appreciate the world around with you without needing to own it.  Can you watch a butterfly in flight without needing to capture it?

•    Practice Moderation (Brahmacharya):  Do you only use what you need?  

What is the difference between Community Service and Service Learning? 
Great question!   Community Service participants volunteer for the primary purpose of meeting the needs of others and bettering the community as a whole.  Service Learning involves investigating needs that exist within a community, planning and conducting a project to meet those needs, tying in the educational aspects of the project, and then celebrating the efforts!

Ten Simple Steps to Plan and Implement a Service Project:  

1.    Establish a need-What has captured the need of your students?  

2.    Generate a list of ideas that would address the need-Then choose one!

3.    Catalog available skills-What skills do your students possess?  Are they strong?  Artistic? What resources can they access to use to meet the needs of the project?

4.    Make a plan of action-List the steps.    

5.    Prepare supplies-Gather supplies, set a schedule, etc.

6.    Take action-Carry out the plan and re-evaluate if needed.  

7.    Process the outcome-Is there more to be done in the future?

8.    Introspection-Process thoughts and feelings through discussions, journaling, art, movement, etc.

9.    Inform others-Let other people know of this issue and any future attention it may need.  

10.    Celebrate your efforts-Have a party, you have worked hard!

Feeling a bit stuck on where to begin?  Check out these great ideas to get you started:

•    Create a children's nature garden, labeling plants and trees and scheduling guided tours.

•    Start a recycling center at school.

•    Hold an invention contest with entries made out of recycled goods.

•    Start an Environmental Club

•    Design and paint a community mural

•    Write and produce a play about a current issue

Gather your students and start planning!

How do you celebrate earth day with your children or students? Share with us and each other below!

 Written by Sally Delisle, ChildLight Yoga Trainer and Yoga 4 Classrooms Trainer.

Join Lisa Flynn at the Bridging Hearts and Minds of Youth Conference: Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, Education and Research

 

Happy New Year! It's Lisa Flynn, founder of ChildLight Yoga and Yoga 4 Classrooms and author of "Yoga for Children" and the "Yoga 4 Classrooms Card Deck."

I wanted to share with you about an important conference in hopes you might consider joining me there in a few weeks:

I will be co-presenting the Yoga 4 Classrooms study at the Bridging the Hearts & Minds of Youth Conference with Bethany Butzer on February 7-9, 2014 at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa. In addition to keynotes by Sharon Salzberg, Congressman Tim Ryan, neuropsychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel mindfulness teacher Amy Saltzman and mindfulness in education researcher and expert Mark Greenberg, the lineup includes a full array of breakout sessions, and enlightening research symposia presentations. Morning meditation sessions will be led by Jeffrey Zlotnik of The Meditation Initiative and Elisha Goldstein, the author of The Now Effect: How a Mindful Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life. Plus, join me on the beach on Saturday morning and Jennifer Cohen Harper on Sunday morning for "Yoga on the Bay."

I've just been notified that the EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT has been extended a few days ($50 discount!). I hope you can join us in celebrating and growing the movement to mindfulness learning and living.

Learn more and register here.