On June 28th 2013, I had a wonderful experience teaching meditation, mindfulness and relaxation practices to clinicians at Willingway Hospital, a treatment facility for alcoholism and addiction in Statesboro, Georgia. The training was also open to addiction councelors from other nearby facilities.
This amazing group, most of whom were new to meditaion and mindfulness practice, participated fully in this interactive and multidimentional training. We had an incredible day of experimenting with short meditation practices and contemplative exercises as well as restorative yoga practice in the afternoon. Everyone took this opportunity to “stretch” their comfort level inorder to gain new ways of working with the mind, training the mind and relaxing the mind and body. Here are statements from two of the participants;
” I attended the training with Evie on June 28th at Willingway. When I think of meditation, I think of sitting on the floor with my legs crossed saying a mantra. But when I got to the training, it was something totally different. It opened my mind up to different types of meditation that I can use as a Recreation Therapist with the patients that I work with. The different types of meditation will allow me the opportunity to show the patients that there are healthy ways to deal with stress without looking for an instant gratification from alcohol and drugs. I will also apply the different techniques to my personal life as well.”
-LaShawn Napier, CTRS
“I’ve always thought that meditation was about ‘checking-out’ mentally. One of the things that Evie taught me is that it is actually more about getting in touch with myself, with my thoughts and feelings, and embracing them. My group was asked to participate in a 10 minute meditation and my initial thought was, “there is no way I will be able to do this!” To my surprise, 10 minutes passed and felt like only a few. WOW! Unbelievable! I am grateful for Evie’s training; I have been able to practice it on a daily basis and show those that I work with new techniques for relaxation. Thank you, Evie!”
-Eleanor Dunn