LYNNFIELD — If you are feeling stressed out and increased anxiety, then A Healthy Lynnfield’s (AHL) new Mindfulness class may be just your ticket.
The course, which begins Oct. 22, will be taught by Lynnfield High School Science Department Head, Scott Gordon and is for Lynnfield adults only (18 and up). Its aim is to help people learn how they can help themselves in eliminating or reducing stress from their daily lives. Registration for the program closes Friday, Oct. 16.
“I will teach you the foundation you need to start a regular meditation practice that is simple to learn and do on your own,” said Gordon. “Through this program, you will learn and practice Mindfulness techniques that you can do on your own immediately.”
For those who might not be familiar with Mindfulness, Gordon offers a simple tutorial.
“It is really about paying attention to what is going on in the present moment. We live in such a world of distraction where we constantly have our minds on the next thing, that we forget to focus on where we are and what we are actually doing,” Gordon said. “Mindfulness simply brings us back to using our senses to observe the present moment without feeling the need to control it and avoid being lost in thoughts about the future or past. It brings alertness and clarity, but also ease and a sense of acceptance. A practice in mindfulness can be life-changing in a very subtle, very powerful way.”
The program is free. Classes run on Thursdays starting at 5 p.m. and will cover the following topics: Introduction to Meditation (Oct. 22); Breathing (Oct. 29); Mindful Listening (Nov. 5); The Heart (Nov. 12); Energy Meditation (Nov. 19), and Introduction to Reiki (Dec. 3).
Gordon said, simply put, Reiki is a personal meditation and healing method.
“It is a Japanese, hands-on healing method that allows one to enter very deep states of relaxation,” Gordon said. “It is only when we have removed the tension and stress from our bodies that we can truly begin to heal deeply-rooted, underlying issues. Reiki works on a foundational level, not on simply treating symptoms.”
Gordon, who has also taught chemistry, environmental science and meditation, currently offers a Mindfulness class at Lynnfield High. The owner of Rising Earth Reiki LLC, a company based in Dover, N.H., Gordon is also a Reiki Master Teacher and Practitioner. Through his company, Gordon helps clients heal from a variety of conditions and also trains and certifies Reiki practitioners. Gordon, who has been the head of the science department at Lynnfield HIgh for 15 years, hopes to have at least 20 participants but “would welcome as many as we can find.”
AHL Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Peg Sallade said that as children integrate back to school, there are a series of new “stressors” that have been introduced into the daily lives of parents that affect their ability to cope with job demands or unemployment and increased demands from children caused by home learning
“We wanted to be able to offer families a program where they can walk away with a skill set they can use to help themselves,” Sallade said. “The program is adults only as we feel that it’s harder for parents to deal with family stress if they are not taking care of themselves, first. The hope is that by the end of the session, parents will have developed the skill sets to allow themselves to practice Mindfulness on their own with successful results.”
Gordon said there is no better time than now to learn how to meditate.
“With the increase in anxiety and stress many have been feeling throughout the pandemic, this is the perfect time to begin a daily meditation practice,” Gordon said.
The program is designed for beginners and no experience is necessary.
“I am really excited to share basic mindfulness meditation with parents and other Lynnfield community members. I’m hoping to have many people who have never meditated before as I really like working with people who are new to this in addition to working with more experienced meditators.”
To register for the class, go to https://ahealthylynnfield.org/news-%26-events. Those who register will receive a Zoom link to participate.
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
