Karen S. Newton, MPH, RDN
Wellbeing Integrator, Certified MIEA Mindfulness Teacher
Meets for 5 weeks -
Thursdays 10 AM - 11:30 AM
January 29, February 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2026
OR
Tuesdays 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
February 3, 10, 17 , 24, and Mar 3 *Please note adjusted start date due to inclement weather on Jan 27.
$175 Regular Price, $160 Early Bird (through 1/1/2026)
Contact us to inquire about need-based scholarships.
Class Description
If you frequently feel anxious, uncertain, distressed, lonely or disconnected, you’re not alone. The suffering is real and feeling vibrantly alive is possible. Mindfulness and meditation practices can support us to get beyond just coping to a renewed sense of connection and purpose, especially when we study and practice together, grounded with a sense of community. We can find our way home by sharing the experience of interbeing. We call this course “Mindfulness for Real Life” because our focus is engagement with the tools of practice in the nitty-gritty reality of life. Whether you are a new or experienced meditator, you will learn the rationale for mindfulness and meditation, receive skillful mentoring, and experience how to cultivate your practice and keep it accessible in your daily life.
Mindfulness meditation practice expands your resilience capacity by affecting changes throughout your neurobiology systems. Therefore, it has positive effects on anxiety, depression, focus, emotional intelligence, implicit bias, memory, creativity, listening, sleep quality, and compassion for self and others. Karen, your teacher, has a trauma-responsive lens and is committed to creating a supportive and brave learning container. If you are seeking greater well-being for yourself and those around you, here is a very accessible place to start.
Mindfulness meditation is a powerful step toward gaining the bodymind stability required to show up for what is ours to do in this complicated and wonderful world of possibility. This practical five-week course provides a basic introduction to practicing mindfulness meditation. It is based on Part One of the MIEA Mindfulness program developed at Duke University and it is open to all ages from high school and up to elders. This course shines the light of awareness on the neurobiology of stress and resilience and invites you to learn ten+ practices for living in the state we call “mindfulness.”
This course is for beginners as well as those with previous meditation instruction looking to refresh their practice. It can serve as a bridge to our other courses for experienced meditators.
The course includes FREE access to a Mindfulness app with tutorials and guided practice narrations (optional.) You are encouraged to purchase the recommended books, available at local bookstores (with ESC discount) or online. Details sent with registration confirmation.