Thanks to Covid-19 and its economic and emotional aftermath, we are facing challenges never experienced before, individually and as a society. By strengthening our natural capacity for compassion, empathy and kindness—for ourselves and others—we can become more resilient and better able to cope with the uncertainties of life during a pandemic.
Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT™) is an eight-week course developed over a decade ago by a team of contemplative scholars, clinical psychologists, and researchers at Stanford University. Many who have taken the course say that it has given them a sense of balance and allowed them to live with greater joy and intention. When we become more aware, open, and curious about the world and the people around us, we can tap into the compassion inside of us to connect with others and be gentler on ourselves. Practicing compassion can alleviate our worries and fears so we can become powerful forces for good — in our relationships, families, workplaces, and communities.
Classes will be held weekly on Thursdays via Zoom (6:30 pm to 8:30 pm) from July 9 through August 27th. Each class builds upon the previous but if you have to miss a class one week, that’s okay. Each week includes:
In-class guided meditations and online recordings for use at home
Group discussions and in-class exercises relevant to each week’s theme
Optional readings, videos, and practices for outside the classroom to enhance learning and support a daily meditation and compassion practice
Cost of course: $325 before June 25th, and $375 after June 25th. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE SMITH CENTER FOR HEALING AND THE ARTS. To request that the course fee be reduced or waived due to financial hardship, kindly email Brandel France de Bravo and let her know what amount is comfortable for you to pay. Write to: bravofrance@gmail.com
About Brandel France de Bravo
Brandel France de Bravo holds a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University and is a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. She has two decades of experience researching and designing health interventions in the U.S. and abroad. She has run an HIV prevention program in Africa, designed harm reduction strategies for intravenous drug users in Central Asia, and developed materials to help cancer patients in the U.S. make informed decisions about their treatment. She is co-author of a parenting book influenced by the RIE philosophy of infant-toddler care and is a published poet and essayist. She studied Compassion Cultivation Training with founding faculty while a fellow at Stanford University and is honored to be a certified teacher of CCT.
Thanks to Covid-19 and its economic and emotional aftermath, we are facing challenges never experienced before, individually and as a society. By strengthening our natural capacity for compassion, empathy and kindness—for ourselves and others—we can become more resilient and better able to cope with the uncertainties of life during a pandemic.
Classes will be held weekly on Thursdays via Zoom (6:30 pm to 8:30 pm) from July 9 through August 27th. Each class builds upon the previous but if you have to miss a class one week, that’s okay. Each week includes:
In-class guided meditations and online recordings for use at home
Group discussions and in-class exercises relevant to each week’s theme
Optional readings, videos, and practices for outside the classroom to enhance learning and support a daily meditation and compassion practice
Cost of course: $325 before July 1st. Beginning July 1st, regular tuition of $375 applies. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE SMITH CENTER FOR HEALING AND THE ARTS. To request that the course fee be reduced or waived due to financial hardship, kindly email Brandel France de Bravo and let her know what amount is comfortable for you to pay. Write to: bravofrance@gmail.com
About Brandel France de Bravo
Brandel France de Bravo holds a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University and is a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. She has two decades of experience researching and designing health interventions in the U.S. and abroad. She has run an HIV prevention program in Africa, designed harm reduction strategies for intravenous drug users in Central Asia, and developed materials to help cancer patients in the U.S. make informed decisions about their treatment. She is co-author of a parenting book influenced by the RIE philosophy of infant-toddler care and is a published poet and essayist. She studied Compassion Cultivation Training with founding faculty while a fellow at Stanford University and is honored to be a certified teacher of CCT.
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 Sylvia Sturm, EEM-CLP, RM/T
In order to give care, we must remember to take care. Using the Eden Method, this class is designed to introduce caregivers to simple tools for self-care. It will focus on harmonizing and rebalancing the body’s subtle energy systems thrown awry by the challenges of caregiving.
Anxiety, anger, fear, overwhelm, sleeplessness, exhaustion, depression, lack of concentration and health problems are some of the many symptoms brought about by the stress of caregiving and the resulting energy imbalances. Eden Method Techniques to address these imbalances and introduce harmony back into the body’s energy systems are the focus of the class. The techniques are simple tools anyone can use practically anywhere, anytime.
The class is interactive with tools being introduced and then practiced by participants. Dress comfortably!
About Sylvia Sturm, EEM-CLP, RM/T
Sylvia Sturm, EEM-CLP, RM/T, heads our Energy Balancing volunteer team. Sylvia is a Certified Eden Energy Medicine Clinical Practitioner and a Reiki Master Teacher. For many years she has managed a Reiki Volunteer group at a seniors’ residence and has served for 6 years as a Reiki volunteer in GWU Hospital. She is delighted to now work with a dedicated and wonderful team to address the balancing of one’s subtle energies in order to allow the body to completely relax. She has an independent practice in Kensington, MD. To learn more about Sylvia and subtle energies, please visit her website www.sylviasturm.com.
with Sylvia Sturm and Connie Custer
Anyone can learn and use Reiki. This gentle hands-on modality utilizes the power of universal life force energy to harmonize the energies of the body. It is a gift anyone can use daily to instill deep relaxation. When deeply relaxed, the body can begin to use its own inner resources to reduce stress and anxiety and to find a sense of inner peace. As the healing power of energy medicine has become more and more recognized, Reiki has become an important contribution to Integrative Medicine. It has been well researched and is used in hospitals and healing settings throughout the world.
A two-part class in this gentle energy balancing modality with a special emphasis on self-treatment. Students will learn the history of Reiki, identify hand positions for treating self and others, receive attunements to the Reiki energy and practice hands-on sessions. Those attending both classes will receive Reiki 1 certification.
Dates:
January 5
January 26
There is a $150 fee to participate in this 2-part Reiki 1 Certification program. Participants will graduate the program with a Reiki 1 Certification.
About Sylvia Sturm
Sylvia Sturm, EEM-CLP, RM/T, heads our Energy Balancing volunteer team. Sylvia is a Certified Eden Energy Medicine Clinical Practitioner and a Reiki Master Teacher. For many years she has managed a Reiki Volunteer group at a seniors’ residence and has served for 6 years as a Reiki volunteer in GWU Hospital. She is delighted to now work with a dedicated and wonderful team to address the balancing of one’s subtle energies in order to allow the body to completely relax. She has an independent practice in Kensington, MD. To learn more about Sylvia and subtle energies, please visit her website www.sylviasturm.com.
About Connie Custer
Connie has practiced Reiki since 1998, and received her Reiki Master/Teacher credentials from GW Hospital’s Center for Integrative Medicine. She has been a Reiki volunteer at Life With Cancer and Capital Caring Hospice, and has a certificate in animal Reiki. As part of her energy work, she also practices qigong, and is certified to teach walking qigong.
with Sylvia Sturm and Connie Custer
Anyone can learn and use Reiki. This gentle hands-on modality utilizes the power of universal life force energy to harmonize the energies of the body. It is a gift anyone can use daily to instill deep relaxation. When deeply relaxed, the body can begin to use its own inner resources to reduce stress and anxiety and to find a sense of inner peace. As the healing power of energy medicine has become more and more recognized, Reiki has become an important contribution to Integrative Medicine. It has been well researched and is used in hospitals and healing settings throughout the world.
A two-part class in this gentle energy balancing modality with a special emphasis on self-treatment. Students will learn the history of Reiki, identify hand positions for treating self and others, receive attunements to the Reiki energy and practice hands-on sessions. Those attending both classes will receive Reiki 1 certification.
Dates:
January 5
January 26
There is a $150 fee to participate in this 2-part Reiki 1 Certification program. Participants will graduate the program with a Reiki 1 Certification.
About Sylvia Sturm
Sylvia Sturm, EEM-CLP, RM/T, heads our Energy Balancing volunteer team. Sylvia is a Certified Eden Energy Medicine Clinical Practitioner and a Reiki Master Teacher. For many years she has managed a Reiki Volunteer group at a seniors’ residence and has served for 6 years as a Reiki volunteer in GWU Hospital. She is delighted to now work with a dedicated and wonderful team to address the balancing of one’s subtle energies in order to allow the body to completely relax. She has an independent practice in Kensington, MD. To learn more about Sylvia and subtle energies, please visit her website www.sylviasturm.com.
About Connie Custer
Connie has practiced Reiki since 1998, and received her Reiki Master/Teacher credentials from GW Hospital’s Center for Integrative Medicine. She has been a Reiki volunteer at Life With Cancer and Capital Caring Hospice, and has a certificate in animal Reiki. As part of her energy work, she also practices qigong, and is certified to teach walking qigong.
with Cheryl Hughes, LICSW, OSW-C
Learn more about the benefits of mindfulness and mediation for cancer and cancer related side-effects.
More about Cheryl Hughes
Cheryl Ann Hughes, LICSW creates a safe and supportive environment from which individuals can define their goals, as well as the means by which they can be achieved. Cheryl tailors each treatment plan using a variety of modalities including EMDR, strengths-based and solution-focused techniques, and with recognition of– and a deep respect for — the strong connection between mind and body. Cheryl infuses her work with mindfulness-based techniques to assist her clients in recognizing their own ability to create a reality that will lead to a satisfying and fulfilling life. Cheryl received her master’s degree in social work, with an emphasis on clinical and medical social work, from Catholic University. She works with cancer patients and their families as they deal with the increased stressors caused by cancer and its treatment.
Breathing in Wellness: A 4-part Mindfulness & Meditation Educational Series
developed by Matthew Grossman
Developing mindfulness skills can help combat stress, anxiety, and uncertainty in everyday life. This series explores meditation & mindfulness skills and explores four core meditation practices.
Session topics include:
Session 1: Sitting Meditation is one of the core practices of Mindfulness Meditation. It combines aspects of physical body positioning, calming breathing practices, and directing the mind’s awareness in order to achieve a balanced and natural sense of relaxation.
Session 2: Body Scan involves focused and nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance to specific parts of the body in sequential order (head, neck, chest, abdomen, etc.). This promotes awareness of both positive and negative sensations in the body while keeping the Sitting Meditation component of awareness of thoughts.
Session 3: Visual Meditation/Guided Imagery is a practice which involves imagining yourself in a relaxing, healing, stimulating place. This practice can be used to relax the body and mind, improve daily functioning, and facilitate healing through the use of attention and imagination.
Session 4: Loving-kindness Meditation begins with generating a feeling of love and acceptance towards yourself and emanates outward to others around you with whom you have positive or negative feelings towards, and even to those whom you do not know. Through the use of a mantra, this practice softens the mind and the heart and builds empathy and wellness.
This workshop presents evidence-based meditation techniques to help us focus and be more fully present. We will learn several mindfulness and meditation practices to deepen our relationship with ourselves and our world.
With Erin Price, LGSW
Developing mindfulness skills can help combat stress, anxiety, and uncertainty in everyday life. Join us for regular sessions to help you better understand and transform your mind. All experience levels welcome to attend!
Location: GW Cancer Center, 2150 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 1st Floor in the Katzen Board Room
Erin’s meditation classes take place on Fridays at GW Cancer Center. Upcoming sessions:
Erin serves as Smith Center’s Director of Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Programs. She is trained in Integrative Patient Navigation, a Project LEAD graduate, and holds a Masters in Social Work. A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Erin is passionate about providing support and community to other cancer survivors, especially young adults. She works with Smith Center’s DC Young Adult Cancer Community and is also actively involved in the cancer community through Young Survival Coalition, Critical Mass, the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the DC Cancer Action Partnership.
With Erin Price, LGSW
Developing mindfulness skills can help combat stress, anxiety, and uncertainty in everyday life. Join us for regular sessions to help you better understand and transform your mind. All experience levels welcome to attend!
Location: GW Cancer Center, 2150 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 1st Floor in the Katzen Board Room
Erin’s meditation classes take place on Fridays at GW Cancer Center. Upcoming sessions:
About Erin Price
Erin serves as Smith Center’s Director of Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Programs. She is trained in Integrative Patient Navigation, a Project LEAD graduate, and holds a Masters in Social Work. A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Erin is passionate about providing support and community to other cancer survivors, especially young adults. She works with Smith Center’s DC Young Adult Cancer Community and is also actively involved in the cancer community through Young Survival Coalition, Critical Mass, the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the DC Cancer Action Partnership.
