The end of summer always sneaks up on us too quickly. It seems that one minute we are enjoying quality times with our family and friends and the next minute we are getting ready to jump back into one of the busiest times of the year. While “end of summer” might sound depressing, I have found that with it often come new beginnings, fresh purpose and direction.
As we gear up for another busy fall season, I want to take this opportunity to let you know about a new upcoming Mindfulness Stress Reduction program that I will be starting with my colleague, psychiatrist Neil Levitsky.
Many of the mindfulness courses we know of are all held in Toronto’s downtown core or in North York. Few are offered in the evenings. We think that an evening Mindfulness program offered in in Thornhill will be attractive to the busy 9 to 5 er.
The following information is about the new mindfulness meditation program. Please feel free to pass along the flyer, contact either of us for more information or to enroll.
What: MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) – an 8 week program with weekly 3 hour sessions devoted to learning to be more mindful – living more in the present moment.
How: We will be focusing mainly on meditation and gentle yoga. There will be about an hour a day of homework: daily practice of the meditation and/or yoga at home, with some reading.
When: The program will start on Wed. Oct. 12th, and run to Dec. 7th. We will meet every Wednesday from 7-10 pm, and there will also be a day-long session on Sunday Nov. 20th from 10 am to 4 pm.
Where: The meetings will be held at 1118 Centre Street (between Bathurst and Dufferin), in Thornhill, at the new JACS offices (although this group is not part of their programs).
Who: Meetings are co-facilitated by Dr. Neil Levitsky and Larry Borins, MSW, RSW.
Fees: Low introductory rate of $350.00 (includes all materials – handouts, and CDs). Extended health insurance may cover some or all of this cost.
To Register Please call: Dr. Neil Levitsky (416) 515-7741 www.cognitivetoronto.com
Details:
- This program is open to anyone who would like to learn to be more mindful, to be more focused on the present moment, in order to savour the positive things in life and also to be calmer and less reactive to the negatives.
- This can be beneficial for dealing with anxiety, depression, chronic pain or illness, life stresses, unhealthy habits, etc. Almost anyone could benefit from it!
- You can not do this program if you are currently abusing alcohol or drugs.
- Dr. Neil Levitsky will meet with everyone for an assessment first to determine program suitability.
- The size will be a maximum of 20 participants, so you will need to pay the $350 fee in full in advance to reserve a spot
- Don’t worry about your ability to do yoga! We will be doing gentle stretching, which can be modified easily to accommodate any physical restrictions or limitations
- This is open to people with no experience of meditating, and also to those who have done a meditation course or program in the past.
