This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Cathrine Nelson
Lying on a yoga mat with blankets for support, or sitting comfortably in a chair, you are invited to rest while being guided into a state of deep relaxation, the aim of which is to quiet the mind, relieve mental and physical stress, and to guide you to come home to yourself.
Yoga Nidra is offered Monthly on Wednesdays from 4:45-5:30pm.
Upcoming sessions:
- October 26 (CANCELLED)
- November 16
- December 21
Suggested Donation: $10
Our programs are also open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.
About Cathrine Nelson
Cathrine is a 200 hour Hatha Yoga teacher. Further training in Yoga for trauma has led her to offer Yoga and Yoga Nidra to patients with PTSD and cancer in a hospital setting. Daily she sees how the power of Yoga Nidra brings peace and tranquility to herself and to others.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Kathleen O’Toole
Writing Through the Seasons
Spirit & Shadow in Autumn
We can experience mixed feelings about the turn of year that begins November 1: the presence of the spirit world in the Celtic Feast of Samhaim (our Halloween), the coming dark days of winter in evidence around us, the final harvest and bounty of autumn that we celebrate at Thanksgiving.
For those of us with seasonal melancholy tuned to the late fall and winter, it can be even harder to harvest (and harness) shards of beauty in the natural world around us.
So, in this session we’ll tune in to the changed and changing colors and light of late autumn, notice the wonder of migratory birds, perhaps the shifts in our imagination and dreams to the “thin places” and presence of deceased friends and ancestors. We’ll play with some free-writing using the Japanese “haibun” form (a mix of prose with a haiku leap), to capture some whimsy or wisps of unconscious creativity.
Bring a notebook, sketchbook and any autumn memories that you cherish.
Kathleen O’Toole is a poet whose work with haiku and other short poetic forms is deeply rooted in attention to the natural world. These three workshops will guide participants through poetry forms and writing practices that invite us to explore the ways season changes bring special opportunities for healing and creativity. The ancient Celts celebrated cross-quarter days as moments of magic and openings to spirit and ritual; we’ll mark our own seasonal awareness.
Writing Through the Seasons: The Healing Power of Nature will be offered as a program series, spread over the seasons.
Program Dates:
- Saturday, November 19th (rescheduled date)
Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series
About Kathleen O’Toole
Takoma Park Poet Laureate Kathleen O’Toole is the author of 4 books of poetry (find her at https://kathleenotoolepoetry.com). She has taught writing at Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Institute College of Art. As evident in her longer work, she often seeks inspiration and consolation in nature. For more than thirty years she has been writing haiku as a spiritual practice of attention, and to deepen her experience of the natural world.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing olivia@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Linda Seabright
Mindfulness is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as it was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.
Dr. Kabat-Zinn and his program were featured prominently in the award-winning PBS television series Healing and the Mind. The profound effects of this work have begun to be strongly supported by a large body of scientific research.
Specifically, mindfulness helps you access the ability to be non-judgmental, compassionate, patient, present and aware. You wouldn’t have come this far if these qualities did not exist in you somewhere. Possible benefits may be a greater sense of peace and well-being.
We will take a few moments to check into how we’re feeling in the beginning of the meditation and afterward. We’ll sit or lie comfortably and go through a slightly different guided meditation each week. No experience needed.
Being Together Mindfulness meets weekly on Fridays from 12:00pm – 12:30pm ET.
Suggested Donation: $5/session
About Linda Seabright
Linda Seabright has been teaching Mindfulness and Meditation since she completed her training in MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine in 2016. Linda is a life-long practitioner of yoga, a cancer survivor, and has studied expressive art therapy since 2010. Her passion for artistic and musical expression have inspired her to bring the same dedication to her meditation teachings, bringing a wide array of experience to her practice. She also teaches trauma-based meditation to nonprofits and has developed a series of meditations to help bring peace and balance into people’s lives. More information at www.jazzmeditation.com.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing olivia@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Linda Seabright
Mindfulness is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as it was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.
Dr. Kabat-Zinn and his program were featured prominently in the award-winning PBS television series Healing and the Mind. The profound effects of this work have begun to be strongly supported by a large body of scientific research.
Specifically, mindfulness helps you access the ability to be non-judgmental, compassionate, patient, present and aware. You wouldn’t have come this far if these qualities did not exist in you somewhere. Possible benefits may be a greater sense of peace and well-being.
We will take a few moments to check into how we’re feeling in the beginning of the meditation and afterward. We’ll sit or lie comfortably and go through a slightly different guided meditation each week. No experience needed.
Being Together Mindfulness meets weekly on Fridays from 12:00pm – 12:30pm ET.
Suggested Donation: $5/session
About Linda Seabright
Linda Seabright has been teaching Mindfulness and Meditation since she completed her training in MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine in 2016. Linda is a life-long practitioner of yoga, a cancer survivor, and has studied expressive art therapy since 2010. Her passion for artistic and musical expression have inspired her to bring the same dedication to her meditation teachings, bringing a wide array of experience to her practice. She also teaches trauma-based meditation to nonprofits and has developed a series of meditations to help bring peace and balance into people’s lives. More information at www.jazzmeditation.com.
