UMW Mindfulness Week

MA week

Have you noticed the references to ‘Mindfulness’ popping up in unexpected places and wondered “Just what is mindfulness?”  Often described as open, non-judging awareness of the present moment, mindfulness has been shown to be beneficial in recognizing and resolving habitual patterns, managing stress, and improving academic, artistic and athletic performance.  Participate in the talks and discussions, the film viewings and the guided mindfulness practices during UMW Mindfulness Week and experience the practice and benefits of mindfulness.

Monday, Sept. 30:

No Mud, No Lotus: An Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation

Leader:                  Dr. David Ambuel, Dr. Angela Pitts

Date/Time:           Monday, Sept. 30, 7:00-8:15 pm

Location:               Ridderhof-Martin Gallery

                               Description:          This brief workshop provides a basic introduction to the concept of Mindfulness, its relationship to the Buddhist understanding of the Four Noble Truths, and some basic practices that can serve to expand awareness of how one is relating to one’s mental, emotional and physical experiences.  Mindfulness exercises that involve pausing, paying attention, and becoming aware of present realities, practiced over time, help to produce calmer and more stable states of mind.

Bio:       Dr. David Ambuel is a Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion and the Kurt F. Leidecker Chair of Asian Studies.  He is the author of numerous works, including Image and Paradigm in Plato’s Sophist.   He teaches courses on Contemplative Practices, Buddhism, Sanskrit and Ancient Greek Philosophy. 

Dr. Angela Pitts is an Associate Professor of Classics in the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion who has experience in mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices. She teaches courses on Contemplative Practices, Ancient Greek language and culture, Latin and Classical Civilization.

 Tuesday, Oct. 1:

Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practice

Leader:                  Bill Brooks

Date/Time:           Tues. October 1, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Location:               Monroe 115 

Description:          Take a pause from your busy routine — give yourself the gift of silence. This Mindfulness Week activity will help you touch your natural ability to meditate. You will receive instruction on the nature of meditation and how to practice, be lead through a guided meditation, and have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss your experience meditating. This event is suitable for beginning and experienced meditaters.

Bio:                         Bill Brooks has been practicing meditation for a decade and has been teaching meditation in the Fredericksburg area since 2006. He received his certification as a meditation teacher through the Meditation Teacher Training Institute. He teaches at the Insight Meditation Community of Fredericksburg and offers a 6-week Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course for persons new or returning to meditation. Bill is also an experienced yoga teacher (certified RYT 200), who joined the Campus Recreation Group Exercise Staff as a yoga instructor in 2012.

 Lecture and Guided Meditation: Mindfulness and Personal Performance

Leader:                  Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky

Date/Time:           Tues. October 1, 7:00-8:15 pm

Location:               Lee 411

Description:          Recent studies have demonstrated that mindfulness meditation can enhance performance in creative, cognitive, and athletic activities that require sustained attention and skill, including performing in the arts, athletic competitions, and while taking tests. This talk will offer some of these ideas on how the practice of mindfulness can help develop and support personal performance. There will also be an opportunity to experience some of the effects of mindfulness during a brief guided meditation that focuses on cultivating awareness of the breath.

Bio:         Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion.  Her research areas are in the philosophy of art and ethics. She teaches courses in ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, and feminist theory.                          

 

Wednesday, Oct. 2:

Mindful Eating

Leader:                  Dr. Nikki Surething

Date/Time:           Wed. Oct. 2, Noon-12:45,

Location:              Red Room of Woodard Campus Center

Description:          Do you want to learn how to apply mindfulness to your eating behaviors? Mindful eating will teach you to become aware of your responses to food and accept them without judgment. We will practice how to choose and eat food by using your senses of exploring, savoring and tasting. Please bring a boxed lunch either by getting a “to go” box through the dining hall or bring your own prepared lunch. Space is limited so please arrive on time.

Bio:        Dr. Nicole Surething, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Director of the UMW Counseling and Psychological Services.  Her professional interests include anxiety management, eating disorder and body image concerns, interpersonal violence and trauma.

 Once Dumb, Twice Crazy, Third Time Wise: A Tale of Buddhist Pilgrimage:  Viewing of a Documentary Film by David and Patinya Ambuel

Leader:                  Dr. David Ambuel

Date/Time:           Wed. 2 October, 3:30-5:30 pm

Location:               Lee 411

Description:         The film follows a group of Thai pilgrims, made up of monks and lay followers, on a pilgrimage to the sites of Buddhism’s roots in India and Nepal. It observes their practices and examines their goals and aspirations in undertaking the pilgrimage, as they retrace the Buddha’s life from his birthplace in Lumbini, to the place of enlightenment at Bodhgaya, his first teaching at Sarnath, and his death at Kushinagar, while staying at local temples along the way.  Discussion of film led by Dr. Ambuel, one of the film’s director.s

Bio:                         Dr. David Ambuel is a Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion and the Kurt F. Leidecker Chair of Asian Studies.  He is the author of numerous works, including Image and Paradigm in Plato’s Sophist.   He teaches courses on Contemplative Practices, Buddhism, Sanskrit and Ancient Greek Philosophy. 

 Keynote Address: Mindfulness and Stress Management – The Practice and the Science, by Dr. Hugh Byrne

Leader:                  Dr. Hugh Byrne

Date/Time:           Wed. 2 October, 7:30-9:00 pm

Location:               Monroe 116 (Reception to follow sponsored by the Leidecker Center for Asian Studies)

Description:          Recent scientific studies have shown the benefits of mindfulness meditation in lessening stress and anxiety, improving cognitive functioning, lowering blood pressure, increasing empathy and compassion, strengthening the immune system, and bringing about beneficial physical changes to the brain. This talk will discuss the practice of mindfulness and the evidence-based benefits for stress management. An opportunity to experience the effects of mindfulness will be provided as Dr. Byrne leads a guided meditation to cultivate peace and well-being.

Bio:                         Hugh Byrne, Ph. D. is a senior teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). He completed a four-year teacher training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society led by Jack Kornfield. Hugh is also trained in and teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and has completed training in Somatic Experiencing, a mind-body approach to healing trauma. He has been on IMCW’s Board of Directors and a member of the Teachers Council since 2003. He teaches three weekly classes in Washington, DC, and leads retreats and workshops nationally and abroad. Hugh is a co-founder of the Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowship.

 Thursday, Oct. 3:

Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practice

Leader:                  Bill Brooks

Date/Time:           Thurs. October 3, 3:30-4:30 pm

Location:               Monroe 211 

Description:          Take a pause from your busy routine — give yourself the gift of silence. This Mindfulness Week activity will help you touch your natural ability to meditate. You will receive instruction on the nature of meditation and how to practice, be lead through a guided meditation, and have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss your experience meditating. This event is suitable for beginning and experienced meditaters.

Bio:                         Bill Brooks has been practicing meditation for a decade and has been teaching meditation in the Fredericksburg area since 2006. He received his certification as a meditation teacher through the Meditation Teacher Training Institute. He teaches at the Insight Meditation Community of Fredericksburg and offers a 6-week Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course for persons new or returning to meditation. Bill is also an experienced yoga teacher (certified RYT 200), who joined the Campus Recreation Group Exercise Staff as a yoga instructor in 2012.

 

Viewing and Discussion of Lifeless, a Short Film by Zakaria Kronemer 

Leader:                  Zakaria Kronemer

Date/Time:           Thurs., October 3, 5:00-6:00 pm

Location:               Monroe 116

Description:         Zakaria will host a viewing and discussion of his film-short, Lifeless, a film which was inspired by Mindfulness practices, and he will discuss his experience studying meditation and T’ai Chi at the Shengshou Temple in the mountains of eastern China this summer after receiving a scholarship from the Woodenfish Project, an organization aimed at educating emerging scholars on Chinese Buddhism.

Bio:              Zakaria Kronemer is a rising Junior at UMW who practices Vipassana Meditation and T’ai Chi. Read more about Zakaria’s story          

 Public Lecture: Mindfulness and the Brain

Leader:                  Dr. Christopher Lillis

Date/Time:           Thurs. October 3, 7:00-8:15 pm

Location:               Lee 412

Description:          Mindfulness and meditation are practices that have been a part of human society for centuries, but only in the last few decades have we begun to understand the science of mindfulness.  Mindfulness has a direct impact on our physiology and neural plasticity that is measurable with modern day medical science. We continue to learn about the benefits of mindfulness in clinical outcomes, with a wide variety of beneficial health effects.  This talk will explore the science of meditation and the brain.

Bio:                         Christopher Lillis graduated from the Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Lillis is a full-time, private-practice Internist in Fredericksburg, and is a monthly columnist at the Free Lance Star Newspaper in Fredericksburg. He is a blogger for Doctors for America, as well as a member of its Board of Directors. He works on various committees at Mary Washington Hospital to update information technology infrastructure in the medical community. Recently, he joined the Board of Directors of Empowerhouse, a local non-profit that serves the community to reduce domestic violence and care for survivors.

 Friday, Oct. 4:

Open T’ai Chi Class:  All Welcome

Leader:                  Patinya Ambuel

Date/Time:           Fri., October 4, 12:00-2:00 pm

Location:               Woodward Great Hall

Description:         T’ai Chi (meaning “supreme”) and related Chi Gong exercises (“manipulation of chi”) are forms of moving meditation rooted in the Chinese martial arts tradition. Chi is the Chinese concept of the life energy that pervades all things, and is also the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine. T’ai Chi places emphasis on mental awareness and mindfulness. The flow of continuous movement led by a calm and harmonious mind not only tones muscles and improves balance, but also increases the flow of chi and mindful awareness.

Bio:          Patinya Sritanyarath Ambuel grew up in Ubonratchatani, Thailand, where she first learned T’ai Chi Chuan as a young child, accompanying her father early mornings to the park for T’ai Chi practice. She completed studies in International Relations and Public Policy at Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok, the University of Strasbourg in France, and George Mason University. She has taught T’ai Chi for many years, including in Fredericksburg and in Falls Church, Virginia.  

             

 

 

Mindfulness Week Events Sponsored by the Office for Student Affairs, Department of Campus Recreation, UMW Wellness Team, James Farmer Multicultural Center, the Office of Student Activities and Engagement, Counseling and Psychological Services, University Health Center, Leidecker Center for Asian Studies and Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion.