Get Mindful in May (2020)

Get Mindful in May
Fridays, May 1-29 | 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM | 5-Part Webinar Series

Presented by: Denina Bautti-Cascio, Founder & Owner, Sage Action Consulting

Offered in Partnership with: Sage Action Consulting

May is both National Meditation Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. Coincidence? Maybe. Or…maybe not. There’s a strong connection between meditation – or mindfulness – and emotional health and well-being. Mindfulness impacts the brain’s ability to create new connections, also called neuroplasticity. You can consider it a mental muscle. Every time you practice mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment without judgment) your brain is being rewired for calm and awareness, which leads to lower levels of stress and anxiety and improved well-being. Essentially, you work your “mindfulness” muscle.

Get Mindful in May is an opportunity to take a one-month dive into mindfulness. It’s ideal for those who have never meditated as well as those who already practice. Five 30-minute sessions include lecture and guided meditation to provide participants with the opportunity to experience mindfulness. Each week focuses on a different “word” and theme to facilitate the practice. Toward the end of each session, participants will engage in the practices directly for their own unique experience – moving past the “book” learning and into some guided practice. Tips and resources related to the word of the week are shared each week for continued learning and practice. 

In order to fully experience the benefits and essence of this series, participants must register for all five sessions. If you cannot be there for one or more of the scheduled sessions, recordings will be available for you to catch up on what you miss.  Want to learn a little about mindfulness and “put your toes in the water” before you dive all the way in? Check out Ch-Ch-Changes: How Mindfulness Changes the Brain in Awesome Ways, a one-hour webinar on April 22.

Please note: Each session includes guided meditation led by the facilitator followed by a short period of independent practice. If your worksite does not allow a space for you to eliminate distractions (e.g., close your door), you may want to plan to participate in the recorded sessions.

Agenda:

Session 1 | May 1 – Presence: Being Here, Now

Mindfulness is about paying attention to the present, but we’re often pulled into the past or drawn into the future, ignoring the richness of our present moment experience. Breath is a tool that’s always with us to anchor our awareness in the present. This session focuses on using our breath as a gateway to presence and includes a breath/body/mind awareness meditation.

Session 2 | May 8 – Stillness: Finding Quiet in the Storm

Stillness is not the absence of sound or movement, but the intentional practice of doing nothing to quiet the mind and experience peace. This session focuses on finding our center, which is calm and peaceful, and includes a grounding tree visualization meditation.

Session 3 | May 15 – Change: Embracing the Opportunity to Grow

Let’s face it. Change is hard and can upset our lives in many ways. But it’s also an opportunity for growth if we accept it. This session focuses on embracing change as the only constant in life and includes a “triangle” breathing meditation.

Session 4 | May 22 – Rhythm: Tuning into Your Flow

We are beings of rhythm and all living things have their own resonance, rhythm, and flow. But we get stuck planning and preparing, trying to control every outcome instead of trusting the rhythmic ups and downs as simply movement. This session focuses on tuning in to the natural flow of life and includes a listening meditation.

Session 5 | May 29 – Connection: Reaching In, Reaching Out

Connection is more than texting or messaging or having a lot of contacts on social media. It’s relating to ourselves and others in the most authentic way we can in the world because connection is essential to life. This session focuses on reaching “in” to our wise inner self so that we can reach “out” to truly connect, and includes a mantra/positive affirmation meditation.

Single Login Cost:
$75 for PANO Members | $165 for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
Your purchase entitles you to a single login; multiple accesses to the Zoom webinar are not permitted. Please do not share the login information with others, as it may interfere with your ability to join. Feel free to gather up to two other individuals around your conference phone or workstation to listen and view the program together – if you and two others would like to view the webinar together, please purchase ONE ticket and we will send you one registration link. If each individual would like to view the webinar separately, please purchase separate tickets for each person or consider a group screening (below).

Group Screening Cost:
$250 for PANO Members | $555 for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
If you have multiple individuals interested in viewing the webinar, please have one person register selecting the group screening rate, then send a list of all individuals viewing the webinar (including names and email addresses) to christina@pano.org.

Materials & Login/Call-In Instructions:
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with instructions on how to login and call-in, will be emailed to attendees a few days prior to the date of the webinar. PANO uses Zoom as our webinar platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.

Can’t attend? All webinar registrants will receive a recording of each session following the live presentation!

What People are Saying about Similar Programs:
“I think this series was really great! I am always an on-the-go type of person and to just sit back and have that quality meditation time really energized me.” – 2018 Participant, Get Mindful in May Web Series

“This gave us new ways to view being mindful and show us how easy it is to take a few minutes during the day to just get centered.” – 2018 Participant, Get Mindful in May Web Series

“My favorite session was ‘Finding the Calm Amidst the Chaos’. I felt like it related so well to the nonprofit world and really how busy things can actually be.” –  2018 Participant, Get Mindful in May Web Series

“Gave me the time to just slow down. It felt like the world just stopped moving around me and it was so great to experience that throughout each session.” – 2018 Participant, Get Mindful in May Web Series

“As a result of these webinars, our team has decided they want to continue with the weekly meditation, so we are starting our guided meditation practice next week. Some of the team are taking the meditation and breathing information to the families they visit with.” – 2018 Participant, Get Mindful in May Web Series

“I think a lot of people don’t know how important it is to take some time just to relax. I plan on sharing this newfound knowledge with others that may feel some of the same overwhelmed feelings that I do.” – 2018 Participant, Get Mindful in May Web Series

“I found the information very useful and easy to put into play immediately.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“I really enjoyed this series. Denina was an exceptional presenter and her authenticity and rich experience was really evident. It was great to take a break out of the week to focus on de-stressing and being mindful.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“I found that was I was really looking forward to the sessions each week. It was almost a craving by the third session!” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“I really appreciated all the resources that were included. I even downloaded one of the apps and have used it a couple of times when I started to feel stressed about something.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“I am now more appreciative of the work and suggestions of others. I have also allowed myself to be open to all ideas, good or not so good.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“The information seemed to directly apply to the volunteer work that we do, especially in leadership positions…I learned to breathe my way through stressful times.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“Personally, I am now trying to increase my mindfulness across the spectrum and put some meditation into each day. From a professional standpoint, I am encouraging mindfulness and time for self-care.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

“Denina is a lovely and centered facilitator. This series was an excellent foray into meditation/mindfulness. I appreciate you understanding the importance of this practice and bringing it to PANO members.” – 2019 Participant, Get Mindful for the Holidays Web Series

About the Facilitator:

Denina has spent most of her career working with individuals and teams in the nonprofit and government sectors. She’s been a skilled trainer, facilitator, and practitioner of mindfulness-based activities for nearly 20 years. She has studied with professionals engaged in trauma-sensitive approaches and helped to implement these approaches. Denina brings warmth and energy to her interactions with others, which makes mindfulness, self-care, and trauma-sensitivity accessible to everyone.

Denina received a Master of Public Administration from the Graduate School of Public Administration (GSPIA) at the University of Pittsburgh, with a specialization in Public Management and Policy. She graduated cum laude from John Carroll University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a minor in French, and concentrations in International Studies, and Public Administration and Policy Studies. Denina is a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200), certified Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator, Family Group Decision Making facilitator, and certified in Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid. Denina has expanded her formal education with extensive study of mindfulness-based practices and trauma-sensitive approaches.

Learn more about Denina’s background and experience