Tag: Caregivers

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register here or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Candida DeLuise, LICSW

The holiday season can be stressful and this year’s holiday will be different for all of us, presenting new challenges. Join us in creating a peaceful refuge for each other. Candida will guide us in mindfulness practices to help us slow down and connect to our true hearts.

Suggested Donation: $10

About Candida DeLuise, LICSW

Candida DeLuise

Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy – Reiki, Energy work, Buddhist Psychology

As a contemplative psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience, Candida integrates mindfulness and psycho-spiritual approaches into the therapy process. She has worked with clients on transitions, relationships, trauma, mood disorders, chronic illness and aging issues. Creating a safe and nurturing space, she draws on mind-body awareness and Buddhist psychology. Candida is also a Reiki practitioner and life celebrant, crafting rituals to honor significant events. She is licensed in D.C. to officiate weddings and loves working with couples to create a custom ceremony that highlights their unique relationship. An experienced coach, consultant and Buddhist practitioner, Candida teaches meditation and leads workshops on mindfulness in everyday life. She works with artists in the creative process, and with individuals and groups committed to social change. She believes that as we reconnect to our inherent wisdom, we empower ourselves to live a more full and expansive life. 240-462-9550
candidadeluise@gmail.com

Please click here to register for the program through Eventleaf.

with LUNGevity Staff

LUNGevity

We hope that you’ll join us for a virtual Open House for the lung cancer community on Tuesday, November 17, from 5:30-7:00 PM ET.

Connect with lung cancer survivors, caregivers, advocates, and healthcare professionals and meet the staff of the Smith Center for Healing & the Arts and LUNGevity Foundation. Enjoy a virtual art gallery tour and learn about local and online support resources and programs.

This event is free. Please RSVP by Friday, November 13. Guests will receive a link with instructions to join the virtual event.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Lauren Humphries at lhumphries@lungevity.org or 240-801-5579.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity

LUNGevity is changing outcomes for people with lung cancer through research, education, and support.

We are dedicated to funding scientific research because the link between research spending and improved survival is clear. Our strategic investment in both early detection and therapeutics will help people live better with lung cancer and dramatically improve on the current 19% five-year survival rate.

LUNGevity initiatives position us as thought leaders in the lung cancer advocacy community, providing programs and driving change for those with lung cancer today and in the future. While we fund primary research, we also conduct patient-focused research to better understand their unmet needs and convene multi-stakeholder meetings to streamline the research process and accelerate progress to patients.

LUNGevity seeks to empower patients to be active decision makers in their treatment process through our extensive educational resources, online peer-to-peer support, and in-person survivorship programs.

We provide a community of empowerment, support, and hope as well as more than 80 grassroots awareness and fundraising events held from coast to coast each year.ancer

Please visit https://2unstoppable.org/event/2unstoppable-introductory-belly-dancing-fun/ to register.

In Partnership with 2Unstoppable

Virtual Walk-N-Talk

Join us for a fun way to get moving in our introductory Belly Dancing class!

Farah Abi is an Egyptian style bellydancer. She has been dancing for 20 years and teaching for the last 10. Her style is both retro and theatrical. An actress before becoming a dancer, Farah teaches and coaches dancers to incorporate acting techniques in their dancing. She also teaches Zumba Fitness classes online.
This beginner class will take students through a warm-up and go over basic moves and isolations then we’ll dance it out for the rest of the class!

For more information please contact michelle@2Unstoppable.org. To register, please email info@2unstoppable.org.

NOTE:  If you experience any difficulties signing on to Zoom, please email info@2Unstoppable.org. (please check your Spam folder just in case the Zoom email got delivered there instead of your inbox)

Click here for more information and to register. 

About 2Unstoppable

 2Unstoppable is a non-profit whose mission is to encourage and support exercise among women who have had a cancer diagnosis. Free online fitness buddy matching, oncology fitness resources, and community events at www.2unstoppable.org. Please visit https://2unstoppable.org/events/ for a list of upcoming events.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register here or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Beth Lawrence, RYT500

Looking Beyond 2020: A Peaceful, Joyful Yoga Practice

Overall, this has been a pretty tough year but, as with everything, there have been some bright moments as well. I want to give you a bright moment: one of light, deep relaxation, and joy. Our program will start with a gentle mat practice, we’ll breathe some balancing breaths and finally, we’ll enjoy a supine meditation.

About Beth Lawrence

Beth Lawrence

Beth discovered yoga in early 2002 as a mother of six month old twins. She was looking to get back into shape after their birth. In yoga, she found far more than she anticipated- an age old practice designed to help people relieve stress- both mental and physical. After a few years of regular practice, she knew she wanted to share her positive experiences with others. She has been leading yoga classes in the DC area since 2007 after completing her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Nth Degree Yoga with Martha Rosen. In 2011, she went back to earn her RYT500. Her personal practice is inspired by Integral Yoga and Sivananda Yoga, both of which incorporate body and mind into the practice.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register here or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Nancy Novack and Sangeeta Agarawal, RN, MS

Helpsy Health

 

Nancy's List

Financial stress is the last thing a cancer patient wants or needs in his or her life, whether in treatment or post-treatment. It gets in the way of deep healing. Financial distress can be very powerful.
To help patients who are struggling with this issue, we have identified resources that will provide financial assistance to you and your loved ones. We want you to know what is available to you so that you can find relief and focus on your healing.

About Nancy Novack

Nancy Novack

On the evening of my first meeting with my oncologist, he said to me, “This is a challenging diagnosis. The prognosis is bleak. But I do believe I can help you. I am with you.” Those four words sustained me whenever I was in fear. They directed my understanding of the power of relationship in my healing process. I was able to open my heart and receive the love and generosity of family and friends and oftentimes strangers who were there to hold my hand and my heart.
When people ask, and they often do, “What happened? How did you make it when so many others do not survive stage 4 ovarian cancer?” I don’t have any answers to that mystery. I do know, for certain, that the opening of my heart, the receiving of the blessings and the love, the sense of abundance of good will coming my way changed my being — during my cancer and forever more.

I am the luckiest lady in the world. I truly enjoy defying medical statistics and being the poster child for Stanford’s Cancer Center.

I made a vow to make a difference for people living with cancer, for those who love and care for them, and for the children who have a cancer diagnosis or love someone who has. My simple and profound wish is that no one will ever go through cancer alone. I started Nancy’s List to help my community cope with the epidemic of cancer.

For me, cancer changed everything. It generated my growth. It taught me the essence of gratitude. I adore the generosity of strangers. It defined my calling and refined my purpose as a psychologist. It gave me the opportunity to offer hope to those who have lost theirs. I found my courage and resilience.

Read Nancy’s full story here: https://nancyslist.org/name-nancy-novack/

About Sangeeta Agarawal

Sangeeta Agarawal, RN, MS

Ms. Agarawal is passionate about empowering people to live life to the fullest by making integrative medicine accessible to people where they are. She started her career as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, working for companies including IBM, Motorola/Google. She then developed the world’s first mobile video technology at a startup later acquired by Skype, this invention continues to change the world even today. She then changed her career into integrative medicine by studying, practicing and conducting research in both eastern and western medicine. She spent the next decade as a researcher, oncology nurse and integrative medicine practitioner at institutions including the Mayo Clinic, Stanford Cancer Center, and UCSF Cancer Center.

Her groundbreaking research work on the development of algorithms for clinical impact of integrative medicine was recognized by UCSF and NSF, and she received support from them to start Helpsy, the world’s first Artificial intelligence nurse for holistic symptom management and navigation (San). San can automatically create a personalized care plans and provide dynamic support to patients through integrative technologies, empowering patients and clinicians alike. Helpsy has served tens of thousands of patients from all over the world and the data generated provides insights that have never been captured or understood before.

She is passionate about empowering people in health care to understand and be at the forefront of the technology revolution. She is a nationally recognized speaker and author. She leads innovation initiatives at both SIO and ONS, and serves on the board of NCI PDQ for integrative medicine. She serves on the board of innovation centers and health care startups. She believes women deserve an equal place and is involved in several leadership initiatives to move the needle.

Please email Kiersten at kiersten@smithcenter.org to register.

with Wendy Miller & Larry Kanter

This ongoing healing circle will focus on the unique needs of those experiencing the loss, recently or not, of a spouse or partner. No matter where you find yourself in your journey with grief, this chance to be with others who have lost a spouse or partner can lead to profound learning and healing.

Come join us in our healing circle of collaborative conversations.

What is a Healing Circle?

Healing Circles bring together small numbers of people impacted by a condition or circumstance to share experiences and harvest collective wisdom.  Healing Circles is a peer-led process by which people support each other through deep listening and shared learning. When working at its best, this collaborative conversation model leads to authentic and deep connectivity and can create wisdom and healing for participants.

This Healing Circle meets bi-monthly on Thursdays from 4:30pm – 6:00pm.

Upcoming sessions:

  • December 3 & 17
  • January 7 & 21
  • February 4 & 18
  • March 4 & 18

About Wendy Lynn Miller, Ph.D.

Moving here many years ago from the SF Bay Area, my relationship with Commonweal led me to Barbara Smith Coleman. I am proud to have been part of an early group of people with Shanti Norris who met with Barbara to envision the cancer retreats, a healing center, and gallery for Smith Center. Years later when my late husband Gene Cohen was facing metastatic prostate cancer, he went to Commonweal for his cancer retreat. The gift of community support, reflection, and care guided the choices we made through the many years of living with cancer in our family body. I became a widow in 2009.

Wendy Miller is an expressive arts therapist, artist, and writer living in Kensington, MD. In 2016, she published the book, Sky Above Clouds: Finding our way through creativity, aging, and illness, about her life and work with her late husband. It is a spiritual treatise on love and creativity during life’s major transitions.

About Larry Kanter

My late wife, Alex Todorovich, passed away in 2009 from breast cancer. My work with the Smith Center began in 2007 when Alex and I attended the Center’s week-long retreat, which marked a turning point in our understanding of what it means to really live, to love life, and to live in the embrace of a healing community. After Alex’s passing the Center’s Hisaoaka Gallery mounted a show of Alex’s art entitled “How to Leave a Well-Traveled Road” which documented her life, her fears, her loves and the path she chose at its end.

Larry Kanter is a graphic designer living in Washington, DC and is a Smith Center friend and an ardent supporter of the Center’s work.

Please contact Kiersten at kiersten@smithcenter.org to register.

with Wendy Miller & Larry Kanter

This ongoing healing circle will focus on the unique needs of those experiencing the loss, recently or not, of a spouse or partner. No matter where you find yourself in your journey with grief, a chance to be with others who have lost a spouse or partner can lead to profound learning and healing.

Come join us in our healing circle of collaborative conversations.

What is a Healing Circle?

Healing Circles bring together small numbers of people impacted by a condition or circumstance to share experiences and harvest collective wisdom.  Healing Circles is a peer-led process by which people support each other through deep listening and shared learning. When working at its best, this collaborative conversation model leads to authentic and deep connectivity and can create wisdom and healing for participants.

This Healing Circle meets bi-monthly on Thursdays from 4:30pm – 6:00pm.

Upcoming sessions:

  • December 3 & 17

About Wendy Lynn Miller, Ph.D.

Moving here many years ago from the SF Bay Area, my relationship with Commonweal led me to Barbara Smith Coleman. I am proud to have been part of an early group of people with Shanti Norris who met with Barbara to envision the cancer retreats, a healing center, and gallery for Smith Center. Years later when my late husband Gene Cohen was facing metastatic prostate cancer, he went to Commonweal for his cancer retreat. The gift of community support, reflection, and care guided the choices we made through the many years of living with cancer in our family body. I became a widow in 2009.

Wendy Miller is an expressive arts therapist, artist, and writer living in Kensington, MD. In 2016, she published the book, Sky Above Clouds: Finding our way through creativity, aging, and illness, about her life and work with her late husband. It is a spiritual treatise on love and creativity during life’s major transitions.

About Larry Kanter

My late wife, Alex Todorovich, passed away in 2009 from breast cancer. My work with the Smith Center began in 2007 when Alex and I attended the Center’s week-long retreat, which marked a turning point in our understanding of what it means to really live, to love life, and to live in the embrace of a healing community. After Alex’s passing the Center’s Hisaoaka Gallery mounted a show of Alex’s art entitled “How to Leave a Well-Traveled Road” which documented her life, her fears, her loves and the path she chose at its end.

Larry Kanter is a graphic designer living in Washington, DC and is a Smith Center friend and an ardent supporter of the Center’s work.

Please contact Kiersten at kiersten@smithcenter.org to register.

with Wendy Miller & Larry Kanter

This ongoing healing circle will focus on the unique needs of those experiencing the loss, recently or not, of a spouse or partner. No matter where you find yourself in your journey with grief, a chance to be with others who have lost a spouse or partner can lead to profound learning and healing.

Come join us in our healing circle of collaborative conversations.

What is a Healing Circle?

Healing Circles bring together small numbers of people impacted by a condition or circumstance to share experiences and harvest collective wisdom.  Healing Circles is a peer-led process by which people support each other through deep listening and shared learning. When working at its best, this collaborative conversation model leads to authentic and deep connectivity and can create wisdom and healing for participants.

This Healing Circle meets bi-monthly on Thursdays from 4:30pm – 6:00pm.

Upcoming sessions:

  • November 19
  • December 3 & 17

About Wendy Lynn Miller, Ph.D.

Moving here many years ago from the SF Bay Area, my relationship with Commonweal led me to Barbara Smith Coleman. I am proud to have been part of an early group of people with Shanti Norris who met with Barbara to envision the cancer retreats, a healing center, and gallery for Smith Center. Years later when my late husband Gene Cohen was facing metastatic prostate cancer, he went to Commonweal for his cancer retreat. The gift of community support, reflection, and care guided the choices we made through the many years of living with cancer in our family body. I became a widow in 2009.

Wendy Miller is an expressive arts therapist, artist, and writer living in Kensington, MD. In 2016, she published the book, Sky Above Clouds: Finding our way through creativity, aging, and illness, about her life and work with her late husband. It is a spiritual treatise on love and creativity during life’s major transitions.

About Larry Kanter

My late wife, Alex Todorovich, passed away in 2009 from breast cancer. My work with the Smith Center began in 2007 when Alex and I attended the Center’s week-long retreat, which marked a turning point in our understanding of what it means to really live, to love life, and to live in the embrace of a healing community. After Alex’s passing the Center’s Hisaoaka Gallery mounted a show of Alex’s art entitled “How to Leave a Well-Traveled Road” which documented her life, her fears, her loves and the path she chose at its end.

Larry Kanter is a graphic designer living in Washington, DC and is a Smith Center friend and an ardent supporter of the Center’s work.

Please contact Kiersten at kiersten@smithcenter.org to register.

with Wendy Miller & Larry Kanter

This ongoing healing circle will focus on the unique needs of those experiencing the loss, recently or not, of a spouse or partner. No matter where you find yourself in your journey with grief, a chance to be with others who have lost a spouse or partner can lead to profound learning and healing.

Come join us in our healing circle of collaborative conversations.

What is a Healing Circle?

Healing Circles bring together small numbers of people impacted by a condition or circumstance to share experiences and harvest collective wisdom.  Healing Circles is a peer-led process by which people support each other through deep listening and shared learning. When working at its best, this collaborative conversation model leads to authentic and deep connectivity and can create wisdom and healing for participants.

This Healing Circle meets bi-monthly on Thursdays from 4:30pm – 6:00pm.

Upcoming sessions:

  • November 5 & 19
  • December 3 & 17

About Wendy Lynn Miller, Ph.D.

Moving here many years ago from the SF Bay Area, my relationship with Commonweal led me to Barbara Smith Coleman. I am proud to have been part of an early group of people with Shanti Norris who met with Barbara to envision the cancer retreats, a healing center, and gallery for Smith Center. Years later when my late husband Gene Cohen was facing metastatic prostate cancer, he went to Commonweal for his cancer retreat. The gift of community support, reflection, and care guided the choices we made through the many years of living with cancer in our family body. I became a widow in 2009.

Wendy Miller is an expressive arts therapist, artist, and writer living in Kensington, MD. In 2016, she published the book, Sky Above Clouds: Finding our way through creativity, aging, and illness, about her life and work with her late husband. It is a spiritual treatise on love and creativity during life’s major transitions.

About Larry Kanter

My late wife, Alex Todorovich, passed away in 2009 from breast cancer. My work with the Smith Center began in 2007 when Alex and I attended the Center’s week-long retreat, which marked a turning point in our understanding of what it means to really live, to love life, and to live in the embrace of a healing community. After Alex’s passing the Center’s Hisaoaka Gallery mounted a show of Alex’s art entitled “How to Leave a Well-Traveled Road” which documented her life, her fears, her loves and the path she chose at its end.

Larry Kanter is a graphic designer living in Washington, DC and is a Smith Center friend and an ardent supporter of the Center’s work.

Please email instruction@knitwell.org to schedule an Individual Knitting Instruction appointment.

with Project Knitwell

Knitwell in the Cloud

During these stressful times, we need the wellness benefits of knitting now more than ever.

Project Knitwill invites you to join Knitwell in the Cloud, a new program offering private, one-on-one knitting lessons via Zoom. It’s a safe, effective way to knit and learn.

Who is this for?  Beginner knitters and those who already know how to knit but need help with a project.

How long are the sessions? 45-60 minutes. You will have up to 4 lessons with your instructor.

What equipment do I need to participate? A smartphone or tablet (iPad, etc.)  and the free Zoom app downloaded on the device you will use.

Do I need to get my own supplies?  No — Project Knitwell will provide you with what you need.

Knitwell in the Cloud is an ongoing program with rolling registration. Please email instruction@knitwell.org  or call 703-249-9112 and mention that you heard about the program through Smith Center.

About Project Knitwell

Project Knitwell

Project Knitwell offers knitting as a tool to promote wellness and help people cope with stressful situations at more than a dozen hospital and community settings.

All of Project Knitwell’s programming is provided by volunteers, and services and supplies are provided free of charge to the people we serve.

About the Project Knitwell Volunteers

About Ilene Gast

Ilene Gast

I have been knitting since childhood, learning when I received a knitting kit as a gift.  Knitting allows me to combine color and texture, transforming long strings of yarn into aesthetically pleasing, functional items.  I knit all manner of objects, but my favorites are wild colored socks and unusually shaped shawls.

Although finishing a knitted object is satisfying, it is secondary to the process of knitting. The rhythm of knitting is relaxing; it never fails to relieve stress.  At the end of graduate school, I not only completed a degree, but also created a series of “dissertation sweaters.”  Knitting also lets me take leave of myself.  When I am knitting for someone else, which is often, I can virtually spend time with that person.  Or, if I use yarn acquired in a special place, I am transported back in time and space.  Add portability to these benefits—I can take it with me!

However, most of all, I enjoy sharing the art and craft of knitting with others. I am fortunate to have discovered Project Knitwell, an organization dedicated to bringing the benefits of knitting to people in stressful situations.  I am doubly grateful to be part of the Schar ISC Artist in Residence program.