Mindfulness for Relationships in the Time of Corona
A Six-Week Mindfulness Meditation Class for Beginners
How are you doing?
How are you really doing?
During this intense time of uncertainty many are feeling a loss of control, overwhelm, anxiety, and fear. Relationship with self and relationships with others are strained due to either close proximity or inability to connect with others physically.
With my own personal challenges navigating work, homeschooling, my personal practices and studies, along with attempts to maintain relationships, woooo - it can feel like a lot to manage at times!
And we are so very humbled and grateful for our health and safety.
For almost the past two years, I have been studying to become a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, and will receive a certificate from Sounds True, the Awareness Training Institute, and the University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center when I graduate.
I have benefited from mindfulness meditation in every area of my life for the past seven years, so I can wholeheartedly sing from the mountain tops how grateful I am for these tools and practices. They have literally saved my life!
Why practice Mindfulness Meditation?
Meditation can reduce anxiety, help with insomnia, and improve longevity.
Research suggests that mindfulness meditation positively changes our brains. It helps us tune out distractions, improves our memory and attention skills. It also improves our ability to recall information, regulate emotions, and studies have shown that mindfulness practice can reduce the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It also increases relationship satisfaction. I’m a bit of a neuroscience geek - so I’ll be quoting a lot of research! Studies suggest mindfulness training makes couples more satisfied with their relationship, makes each partner feel more optimistic and relaxed, and makes them feel more accepting of and closer to one another.
Parents who practice mindfulness report being happier with their parenting skills and their relationship with their kids and their kids were found to have better social skills.
A mindfulness practice fosters compassion and altruism: Research suggests mindfulness training makes us more likely to help someone in need and increases activity in neural networks involved in understanding the suffering of others and regulating emotions. Evidence suggests it might boost self-compassion as well, and we can all use a bit more of that these days can’t we?
Session just completed. Stay tuned for the next course!
Sliding scale exchange: $120 - $197
To register and secure your space in the group:
Please send payment through Venmo
@Leah-Diamond
Please feel free to share this offering with anyone who might be interested. I appreciate your support.
With love, warmth, and compassion to you and yours.
“The “Mindfulness for Relationships in the Time of Corona” series was exactly what my heart and soul needed at this time. My pre-COVID lifestyle was uprooted and the framework I created to achieve a healthy work/life balance, prioritize my health and wellness, and spend physical time with my loved ones was shattered so my mind and body was in chaos. If that wasn’t enough to bear, I also experienced the loss of a dear colleague, plunging me into grief, while at the same time, protests nationwide for racial equality have made me more introspective about my values and actions as a human being and ultimately how I want to continue navigating through this world. Via the weekly sessions that were artfully, intentionally, and lovingly guided by the beautiful Leah Diamond, I developed new tools to manage and take care of myself - of my being, during this hectic and unpredictable time. She truly is a source of light and you will feel safe and heard in her presence. Thank you!”
“Leah’s voice is so soothing, clear, and it’s easy to follow the instructions. This was a wonderful refresher on mindfulness meditation along with some extra wonderful practices that I have been able to easily integrate into my daily life. I loved seeing the diversity in the class in terms of age, range, gender. As a BIPOC it made me feel welcomed, safe, and included.”
As You Are: A Gathering for Women’s Discovery, Connection and Empowerment -
Rescheduling - Join my mailing list for updates!
February 2019 ~ As You Are
Are you taking the time to prioritize and commit to a better quality of life for yourself? Do you consider how you show up for and treat those around you? Are you recognizing the preciousness of this dear life? Are you craving connection?
Come take part in a co-creative experience in a safe space to show up and be welcomed - As You Are. Be seen, heard, felt, acknowledged, and appreciated. Practice self-compassion, release shame, and build resilience.
Ground into deep present awareness practices and embody authenticity while improving emotional intelligence. Build confidence, practice self-acceptance, cultivate and strengthen empathy and compassion. Gain self-awareness allowing for more choice and freedom. Experience depth and meaningful connection, while you bask and resource in the “happy love chemicals” oxytocin and dopamine which reduce fear, depression and stress.
Let’s create a circle of loving sisterhood - allow and open yourself up to go on a journey for an afternoon, expand, shed and release.
Practice the Art of:
• Intentional presence
• Listening
• Allowing yourself to receive
• Pausing
• Felt sense, tuning into your emotions & internal guidance system
• Being with what you’re feeling in the moment without judgment
• Gratitude
Leave feeling present, connected, a renewed sense of loving self-compassion and expanded awareness.
Participants are saying
"Perfectly, what I needed! I feel so much more refreshed and ready to go back into my life." ~ Marcia Rayene
"I felt like I was on vacation!" ~ Sara Schumacher
"I felt refreshed, nourished, inspired, centered, reminded of the important pieces in my life. I am grateful for Leah's authentic leadership, guidance, playfulness, and genuine passion to support people to live an inspired joyful life." ~ Tori King
Sliding scale exchange. Please pay at the level you can afford so that those who need support can join us: $47 - $77
LOCATION: Street parking. All one level, easy accessibility. North Berkeley Bart Station is 0.6 miles, 13 minute walk.
SIGN UP: Limited space. Please RSVP to sign up, pay & secure your place.
*Feel free to share, invite your friends to join you, anyone who may find benefit.*
May 2019
Another amazing group of women! Grateful and honored.
Re-Awakening Playfulness - Contact me to schedule this workshop for your group!
Challenged with creative blocks? Experiencing frustration or feeling reactive? Play is essential to our overall health and wellbeing. Join a six-week journey through a safe experiential space to fulfill your biological need for play and allow yourself to fall subject to spontaneity and tap into your inner joy and expansiveness.
Allow your radiant nature to expand while practicing mindfulness meditation, energy work, playing without agenda, and building community.
Benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation and playing:
* Reduce anxiety, depression, and stress.
* Improve memory, learning, and perception while having fun.
* Help navigate complex social groups.
* Boost creativity and innovation.
* Increase imagination opening up to a new realm of possibility.
No experience necessary. This class is for those who desire more freedom of self-expression, authenticity, flow, creativity, laughter, and connection.
Practice and embody authentic presence while improving emotional intelligence. Build confidence, practice self-acceptance, cultivate empathy and compassion while letting out your inner child through improvisation and acting techniques. Gain self-awareness of your human-ness – judgment autopilot, giving you more choice and freedom with negative self-talk. Experience pure presence and connection through embodiment exercises and exploration.
Are you ready for the freedom of self-expression?