We invite you to join us for online or in person every first Thursday of the month to enjoy meditation and conversation for anyone involved in caregiving.
Joining in person? Just show up at 3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015 (the door next to Circle Yoga).
Joining online? Click here for latest Zoom link to join
Mindful Caregiving
These mindful caregiving sessions are open to all who identify as caregivers. The topics and discussions of this group will be rooted in mindfulness practice and will aim to support those in a parental role, caretaking for an elder, or experiencing another type of caregiving situation by creating a compassionate, reflective space to come together.
The facilitator for this group is Jenny Medvene Collins. Jenny began practicing mindfulness in 2011 and was part of a 6-day mindfulness retreat for educators led by Thich Nhat Han in 2013. She then received the Five Mindfulness Trainings and became one of the first facilitators for the Opening Heart Mindfulness Community. Jenny completed multiple trainings with Mindful Schools, attended the Courageous Schools workshop hosted by the Mindfulness in Education Network, and has taught elementary school for years. She writes mindfulness and social emotional learning curriculum for both elementary and middle schools. She has co-led the DC Teen/Children/Families Mindfulness Teachers group and she is married with a small child and is also a caregiver to an aging parent.
No prior experience with mindfulness is necessary—all are welcome. There are no restrictions to join. While there is no fee, we invite participants to offer dana (a practice of generosity) to help sustain the gathering. If you have questions or would like a brief introduction to the practice, please arrive 10 minutes early.
Format: 7:00 am-7:25 am meditation period and 7:25-8:00 am dharma sharing.
For questions about the Mindful Caregivers group, please email us at info@openingheartmindfulness.org or contact facilitator Jenny Medvene-Collins.
Monthly Topic
Jenny shares:
I recently came upon this quote from the writer John Roedel: “When I’m caught between a rock and a hard place ~ let me be water. Let me be water. Let me be water.” I then read it again, and again. It reminds me of Thich Nhat Hahn’s teaching of flowing like a river, and the power and beauty of seeing ourselves as the whole river, rather than a single isolated drop that can evaporate at any time. To me, flowing like a river feels reassuring. If we are the river, we can travel, bend, and stretch in many directions. We can shift and change with our current circumstances, without losing any part of ourselves. We can remain whole as we travel onwards, encountering obstacles and meeting them with our water state of being, without avoiding, attaching, or getting stuck. As the river, we are forever moving with our circumstances, not against. As the river, we embody peace and harmony.
I think about how we can be rivers in our everyday lives. How can we embrace this kind of flow day to day, whether we feel peaceful or overwhelmed? How might it feel in our bodies? I think about what it would look like to flow like a river through a day of caregiving, and how many obstacles can arise within a single day – emotions felt, negotiations entered, challenging conversations had or complex decisions made. Often, my first reaction to such obstacles is to bump right into them, feeling stuck with the weight of an emotion or wrestling back and forth with a decision I don’t want to make. I wonder if instead, my first reaction was to visualize myself as the river – if I could soften, flow with or change direction – how much more peaceful could I feel in the midst of my circumstances?
As we share our own experiences related to this topic or anything else that is on our hearts, I encourage us all to consider this question: When we feel stuck or reach an obstacle, how can we become water?
New to sangha? Click here for our Newcomers page.
No previous mindfulness or meditation experience is necessary.
No fees, donations are always welcome.