The Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center will begin a four week workshop with a focus on Mindfulness For Caretakers, starting Friday, September 11 –– October 2, 1:00-3:00pm, at the Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center, 103 Roxbury Street, in Keene. The workshop will be conducted in a hybrid format, with in-person or zoom as an option, to accommodate those whose caretaking role requires them to remain at home.

When a family member or friend requires intense hours of care, help, and support to maintain daily functions and quality of life, much attention and concern is directed at meeting those demanding needs. Less attention is offered to the person or people who step up to make sure those needs are met. The relationship between the person with needs and their caretaker is profound and multi-layered –– often changing in unanticipated ways. The commitment required can involve a long haul or a brief but intense involvement. This workshop will direct the focus to the caregiver, with Mindfulness Practice as a tool for coping with some of the physical and emotional stress that can sap caregivers of their own wellbeing, as well as their capacity to offer the best care possible.

One of the foundations of Mindfulness Practice is compassion. To be a caregiver is to draw on deep wells of empathy and skill to ensure another person’s safety and quality of life. Our focus will be directing that same kindness to the caregiver with respect for the depth of effort and heart that go into each day in that role.

The workshop will be led by two facilitators on the Board at the Center. Aylene Wozmak has been practicing meditation for over 30 years. She recently retired as a Hospice Nurse with over 25 years experience. She is the current Chairperson of the Board as well as a facilitator at the Center. She has received training in Mind/Body Medicine through Harvard Medical School Dept. of Continuing Medical Education. Ginnie Gavrin is a retired massage therapist with 30 years of meditation practice as a foundation for her role as facilitator at the Center. She recently served as caretaker for her husband in the late stages of his Parkinson’s disease.

Suggested donation for the workshop is $75. All proceeds go to support the ongoing life of the Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds.

For information or to register, call: 603-355-7255, or 603-876-9318.