Hike Leader: Kazi | Distance: Choice of 3 mi or 6 mi | Difficulty: Beginners | Fee: FREE | Age: Adults and Youths able to walk the distance (Youths 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult)
Walk, meet new friends, talk, listen, smell, look, touch. Upon reaching the park, we will practice nature therapy, mindful movement, and walking meditation. We’ll also enjoy a bag lunch while there.
We will meet at Newark Penn Station between 9:30-9:50am at the ground-level entrance to Track 1-Path Train. We will depart at 10:00am riding the Path to Hoboken. Our Hike will then begin at Hoboken Station and take us to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, where we will turn around for the return leg of the hike.
This Beginner’s Hike is 3 miles in each direction for a total of 6 miles. For the shorter journey, those who wish can take the Light Rail back to Hoboken Terminal to connect to the PATH.
Registration Required. We ask that you kindly cancel if your schedule changes.
A free program of Newark Center for Meditative Culture, a New Jersey 501(c)(3) non-profit organization delivering transformative programs to the Greater Newark Area and beyond.
Workshop 1: Intro to Reiki and Healing Experience | Sat. Nov. 13th | 1:30 to 2:30pm EST | Participants will learn what Reiki is, its benefits, and receive a Reiki healing experience. Reiki is an energetic healing technique that promotes overall well-being and peace.
Workshop 2: History of Reiki and Healing Experience | Sat. Dec. 18th | 1:30 to 2:30pm EST | Participants will learn the history of Reiki, current research on Reiki’s efficacy, and receive a Reiki healing experience. Learn about those who developed the system of Reiki we practice today, and about the research being done to support Reiki’s effectiveness as an integrative therapy that supports mind-body-spirit wellness.
While some students might be seated for the experience, most prefer to lie down. Note that there will be no direct contact or closeness during the experience in order to maintain our social distancing. Dress comfortably and in layers for sitting and a little mindful movement. If you wish, bring/prepare a yoga mat, blanket, and water. Feel free to have paper and pen available to document your experience. If attending in-person, yoga mats and blankets will be provided.
These are stand-alone workshops so you can choose to attend just one or both.
Covid Protocols For IN-PERSON attendance, Covid-19 Vaccination Card or proof of a current negative Covid-19 Test is required to enter each workshop. Masks are required and sanitizing of hands at entry. Limit 10 students seated a range of 4 to 6 feet apart. An Air Purifier will be turned on before and during class. | For ONLINE attendance: There are no restrictions.
Facility Concerns: The Center is on the second floor unfortunately with no elevator or wheelchair access.
Veronica Guevara-Lovgren is a Jivamukti yoga instructor and Level II Reiki practitioner. She has also received training in Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra through Ohana Rising Yoga School. Although Veronica always had an interest in yoga and Reiki, she did not always have the means to access the practice. This led Veronica to create Tres Ositos Yoga as a way to share healing modalities with those interested at no cost or by donation to fundraise for local nonprofits and organizations supporting human and non-human communities. Veronica is also the Assistant Dean of Arts and Humanities at Ocean County College.
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A donation-based program of Newark Center for Meditative Culture, a New Jersey 501c3 non-profit organization.
August is Wellness Month and we’ve put together an overview of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness.
Consider designing your own wellness program for August with good planning and a goal to sustain and build on it!
We’ve also provided a fillable Wellness Month Calendar that you can print out to use and we created a month of daily suggestions to inspire you. There’s other tools described available for your use that might help too.
What are a few of the dimensions below that you might like to work on? How can you apply changes successfully on a daily or weekly basis in order to make a habit of them?
1. PHYSICAL WELLNESS
Move more and eat better.
Tips and suggestions:
• Exercise daily.
• Control your meal portions.
• Eat healthy foods/avoid processed and junk foods.
• Get adequate rest.
• Protect yourself against injuries.
• Learn to recognize early signs of illness.
• Use alcohol in moderation or not at all.
• Stop smoking and protect yourself from second-hand smoke.
Without physical health, it is more difficult to be mentally and emotionally healthy, so the two key components are to exercise and eat well. Improving physical wellness involves personal responsibility and often leads to the psychological benefits of enhanced self-esteem, self-control, determination, and a sense of purpose.
Another important element — we think very important in your wellness practice — is to use mindfulness to manage your compulsions and obsessions that drive bad habits. In fact, if you can’t necessarily add good behaviors during Wellness Month, start by mindfully trying to remove bad behaviors.
2. EMOTIONAL WELLNESS
Develop mindfulness and optimism skills.
Tips and suggestions:
• Tune-in to your thoughts and feelings.
• Cultivate an optimistic attitude.
• Seek and provide support.
• Learn time management skills.
• Learn meditation and mindfulness techniques.
• Learn stress management techniques.
• Deal with anger constructively.
• Accept and forgive yourself.
Emotional wellness is by nature a dynamic state that fluctuates along with your other six dimensions of wellness. It is important to develop a positive outlook on life and surround ourselves with positive people. Uniquely, time management is an important factor of emotional wellness, allowing time for ourselves and minimizing stress-induced situations.
Practicing mindfulness helps to really be present in the moment so you don’t jump onto the wrong emotional train. Expressing your feelings of love, gratitude, and other positive feelings can help alleviate alienation. During Wellness Month you might pick just a few negative habits to weaken, using your own daily prayers to reinforce your efforts.
3. INTELLECTUAL WELLNESS
Stimulate and inspire your brain.
Tips and suggestions:
• Take a course or workshop.
• Teach others.
• Learn or perfect a foreign language.
• Seek out people who challenge you intellectually.
• Read books and watch more educational programs.
• Attend museums, exhibits, and theater.
• Travel and explore other cultures.
The intellectual dimension encourages learning, growth, and creativity. An active and open mind leads to a life filled with curiosity, passion, and purpose. Just as our bodies need motivation and exercise, so too our minds. If we are not intellectually stimulated, life can be mundane and this can lead to depression and resentment.
Tied to our emotional wellness, it is easy to compare and judge ourselves if we don’t feel intellectually competent or aren’t comfortable with and made peace with our own capacity. To ensure our personal maximum intellectual wellness we can take advantages of available resources to find new hobbies, read, take a course — simply keep learning!
4. SOCIAL WELLNESS
Cultivate friendships and contribute to community.
Tips and suggestions:
• Cultivate healthy relationships.
• Contact old friends and make new friends.
• Get involved.
• Contribute to your community.
• Share your talents and skills.
• Communicate your thoughts, feelings and ideas.
Personal connections contribute to a long and fulfilling life — whether they are family, friends, community groups, or even global connections. When you nurture relationships you create healthy support networks, contribute to the greater good, and builds a sense of belonging.
This means practicing good communication skills and developing intimacy with others. Social wellness also includes showing respect for others as well as yourself. An active social life can be incredibly stimulating and conducive to positive changes in all seven dimensions of wellness.
5. SPIRITUAL WELLNESS
Nourish your soul and open your heart.
Tips and suggestions:
• Explore your spiritual core.
• Spend time alone to reflect.
• Meditate regularly.
• Take pauses to pay attention to your breath.
• Be inquisitive and curious.
• Try to be fully present in all you do.
• Listen with your heart and live by your principles.
• Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be who they are.
• See opportunities for growth in the challenges life brings you.
When we develop a set of guiding beliefs and principles it gives a sense of meaning and purpose to our life. Keeping an open mind in a spirit-centered life may bring up thoughts of despair, fear, and doubt as we grow, but out of it can come joy, happiness, and wisdom.
It is important to spend quiet time each day, reflecting or meditating, or simply pausing to take a few minutes to breathe properly. Spiritual wellness includes developing a deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of life and natural forces of the universe.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL WELLNESS
Love and care for the planet.
Tips and suggestions:
• Stop your junk mail.
• Conserve water and other resources.
• Minimize chemical use.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle.
• Rethink your living space.
To be environmentally well we need to be aware of the delicate state of the earth and the effects our daily habits have on the physical world. When we help to take responsibility for the health of the planet we can bring a sense of accomplishment and well-being into our own life.
It is also important to be aware of our home environment — how the materials and objects we choose to surround us have an effect on environmental wellness. The more we get out into nature mindfully the more we will understand this. We need to remember that we are an integral part of the environment and that caring for the environment is self-care.
7. VOCATIONAL WELLNESS
Use and give your skills.
Tips and suggestions:
• Explore a variety of vocation options.
• Create a vision for your future.
• Choose a career that suits your personality, interests and talents.
• Be open to change and learn new skills.
• Balance work with life.
• Learn to budget your lifestyle with your vocation compensation.
• Use unemployment or retirement to hone your skills or develop new ones.
• Volunteer your vocational skills if you aren’t fulfilled at work.
This dimension of wellness focuses on enriching your life and that of others by sharing your special gifts, skills, and talents. Our job may not fulfill us, we may be unemployed or retired, but there are always ways to use our skills, knowledge, and passion in other meaningful ways to serve our family and society, and to enhance our self-esteem.
Vocational wellness also involves preparing, planning, and creating a positive attitude to reshape your personal goals at work. Whether through work, parenting, or volunteering, you can make a strong impact and reap the health benefits of adding purpose to your life.
Are you inspired yet? Ready to fill out your Wellness Calendar? Let’s get started together!
If these tools, tips, and teachings we’ve compiled are helpful to you, would you consider making a small donation to Newark Center for Meditative Culture? We are a New Jersey 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your tax-deductible donations make it possible for us to continue delivering life-changing programs to the Greater Newark community and beyond.
Visiting Teacher Shaka Georges (See bio at registration site.) Limited Space Up to 12 students. Dates Wednesdays, March 25 to April 29 (3/25,4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29) Time 6:30pm to 7:45pm Level Beginning to Intermediate Course Fee $60 paid in advance online. (Refund up to 4/28) Location NCMC, 2 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102
Description Tai Chi is known as “meditation in motion.” The practice of Tai Chi emphasizes the awareness of our body, mind, and the world around us, as well as the interaction of the three systems. Tai Chi teaches you to pay attention to your movements and the transition of your movements. This allows you to remain cognizant and engaged as you carry on your day to day activities. You are therefore more likely to avoid dysfunctional habits such as poor posture and movements that may lead to falls or painful muscles. Additionally, studies have shown that this focus improves your mental health. The thinking, mindfulness, or awareness required and bolstered by Tai Chi has been shown to improve your cognitive ability and actually make your brain grow!
Objective To help develop an active lifestyle in order to improve health and wellness.
Curriculum
Week 1Breath and Posture: Practice of deep breathing and walking meditation. Week 2Relaxation and Movement: Standing meditation and Wave Hands Like Cloud. Week 3Qigong Exercise: Practice of the 8 Pieces of Brocade and the Muscle/Tendon Changing. Week 4Opening of Tai Chi: Breakdown of the Tai Chi form into individual postures. Week 5Tai Chi Short Form: The practice of the 37-Movement Short Form. Week 6Putting It all Together:
In-depth performance of the Short Form.
August is Wellness Month and we’ve put together an overview of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness.
Vocational wellness also involves preparing, planning, and creating a positive attitude to reshape your personal goals at work. Whether through work, parenting, or volunteering, you can make a strong impact and reap the health benefits of adding purpose to your life.