The Daniels Faculty is pleased to continue our partnership with the University of Toronto's Health & Wellness and Multi-Faith Centre to bring you Mindful Moments every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m. starting on January 11, 2022, until March 22, 2022. Open to faculty, staff and students.

Please note: there won’t be a class on Tuesday, February 22, 2021 during Reading Week.

Your Instructor

Facilitator and Forestry PhD student Niamh Wall has been practicing yoga and mindfulness for over 10 years and is passionate about incorporating nature into her mindfulness sessions. Niamh has trained in the Vipassana technique and is a certified yoga teacher. All are welcome, late arrivals and early departures accommodated.  There will be time for Q&A.

The Schedule

Weeks 1- 4: Introduction to Mindfulness (January 11, 18, 25, February 1)
What is mindfulness? What are mindful practices, and how can we incorporate them into daily life? This four-part introduction will start with a short introduction to mindfulness and then introduce breath meditation, body scans, and mindful movement. Join any or all sessions.

Practices of Compassion and Loving-Kindness (February 8)
How can we use mindfulness to cultivate self-compassion and gratitude? This week will explore Loving-Kindness meditation with an introduction to the practice, a meditation, and time for reflection and questions.

Practices of Self-Compassion (February 15)
This week we explore mindful practices for self-compassion. We will start with an introduction on practices that can promote self-compassion, followed by a 20-minute meditation called “Affectionate Breathing” (Kristin Neff practice) https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/ 

NO CLASS Reading Week (February 22)

Mindful movement (March 1)
Gentle stretching, and a mindful movement practices for a mid-day break

Mindful meditation and the Self-Compassion Break (March 8)
This week will start with a brief discussion on how we can take proper breaks when we are busy and under pressure. The meditation practices will include a Protective Self-Compassion Break (Kristin Neff) and a mindful check-in strategy.

Body Scan Meditation (March 15)
Body scan practices offer us an opportunity to check in with how we are feeling in our bodies. This 20-minute practice will invite you to systematically focus your attention on different parts of the body. Research on body scans has suggested these practices can help lower stress and improve well-being.

Meditation on the Breath (March 22)
Drawing from the Vipassana, or Insight Meditation tradition, this practice will include a short 5-minute meditation followed by a 15 minute practice with a break in between for questions and reflections.

Registration Information

No registration required for the first week (drop-in).
After week one, log into CLNx and look under workshops/ Multi-Faith Centre.

Zoom link is above for all sessions.