The Heart of Healing
The human mind and body have an amazing capacity for healing. Extensive research has shown that this capacity can be engaged and enhanced by a range of mindfulness practices. One such practice, mindfulness meditation, has the potential to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, improve immune function, and has proven to be effective in treating a number of chronic physical conditions. Meditation becomes even more powerful in combination with the practice of compassion, which can provide a buffer against negative feelings, enhance health and wellbeing, and is associated with greater life satisfaction.
This retreat will provide training in these two powerful mindfulness practices, as well as guidance in gentle yoga, yogic breathing, approaches to chronic pain, and in the use of imagery for healing.
All levels of experience and practice traditions are welcome. This retreat is open to new meditators and to experienced practitioners alike. Basic mindfulness instructions, walking instructions, guided meditations, along with mindful movement will be offered to help us discover joy and ease in our practice. There will be talks by the instructors, and small group discussions will allow reflection on your experience with the instructors and each other.
Each of our instructors has an extensive personal mindfulness practice and many years of teaching in healthcare settings and retreat experience.
Instructors
Mary Brantley, MA, LMFT
In addition to teaching she has developed and taught a course based on loving-kindness meditation. She is co-author of The Gift of Loving-Kindness: 100 meditations on Compassion, Forgiveness, and Generosity from New Harbinger Publications.
Mary Matthews Brantley has been practicing meditation for over 25 years. She has done many intensive retreats and her teachers have included Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Larry Rosenberg, Rodney Smith, Ruth Denison, Joan Halifax, and Thich Nhat Hanh. She has been an instructor in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program at Duke Integrative Medicine since 2000. She has a master’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine University of California.
Sasha Loring, M.Ed, LCSW
Sasha Loring, M.Ed., LCSW has taught meditation for over 30 years, and has created mindfulness programs for Duke Integrative Medicine including co-creating the Mindfulness Training for Professionals Program and the Changing from Within mindful eating program. She created the Wisdom Path for Changing Your Relationship with Food, and is co-author of The Mindfulness Manual for Bariatric Surgery (a program that has been taught through eMindful internet education). She has also developed programs for and taught at Duke Diet and Fitness Center. She has been interviewed for the Wall Street Journal, Body and Soul Magazine, and for the eMindful internet education website.
