Intro to Mindfulness Meditation and Freedom from Worry
Free | Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.
Please join Rich Panico for this introduction to his 4-week course starting on Wednesday, July 14th.
Worry is a common phenomena at this time in our culture. The incidence of clinically significant Generalized Anxiety Disorder (chronic worry) rose from around 2% to 18% during the first part of the current pandemic. Fortunately, this led to the development of resilience in some countries. But as the dust settled, there remained 1 in 4-5 people with enduring patterns of anxiety and/or depression. This appeared to be a global phenomena. In addition, chronic patterns of worry are associated with the development of major depression. There are useful psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic interventions for this problem. Mindfulness has also been shown to be a central positive factor in the psychotherapeutic approach to worry and helps reduce symptoms, diminish the chances of relapse and progression to depression.
Although this four-week course is not intended to be a substitute for psychotherapy, we will learn the fundamentals of mindfulness and develop a mindfulness meditation practice together. We will also provide an introduction towards using mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy together in addressing anxiety in general and worry specifically.
Early bird discount for the four-week series ends July 7th.
Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.
Rich Panico is an artist, yogi and physician known for his humor and clarity in teaching. He has practiced meditation and yoga since 1970 and began teaching mindfulness woven into pottery making classes in the late 70’s.
Rich has taught mindfulness formally in medical, academic and art-related settings for over 20 years. He was a pioneer in the use of mindfulness-based treatment in the adaptation to and treatment of chronic disease. Mindfulness occupied a central therapeutic role in his professional offering as a physician.