3/21/2016 0 Comments EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPYco-hosted by Undergraduate Psychology Student Association & Loving Minds at York University Paint the Night Away & Explore the wondrous world of Expressive Arts Therapy. With the exams around the corner, give yourself a couple of hours to relax the mind through the beautiful process of art-making. March 23rd, 2016. 6:00pm-8:00pm York University, Keel Campus, Toronto Not everyone was called to become a professional painter, portrait artist, dancer, singer, or actor but it doesn’t mean that one can’t enjoy indulging in the arts simply because it feels good. EXAT uses all artistic modalities (Dance/Movement, Poetry/Writing, Theatre, Music, and Visual Arts) and allows each participant to dive into their imagination and creativity while gaining an understanding of the struggles we face in our everyday lives. EXAT provides a fun and safe therapeutic outlet for everyone. It can be done by anyone willing to get a little messy, live in the moment, and explore. Alana Perri is a blooming Expressive Art Therapist. She completed her undergraduate studies at Brock University and is now completing her training at the Integrated Arts Therapy Programme in Toronto. Throughout the last two and a half years, Alana has spent her time working with Hospice Toronto; providing expressive arts therapy sessions to those experiencing loss, grief, and/or bereavement. In addition, she has been featured in Brock University Students Union's Wellness Week (2014-2015), providing open Arts Therapy group sessions. Alana provides accessible Arts-Based Therapy to anyone willing to play, share, and explore This event aims to help students meditate before the upcoming exam session. Give yourself a couple of hours with professionals who help meditate and relax the mind. The event is free of charge. UPSA and Loving Minds will offer materials to students. To learn more about our previous Expressive Art Therapy Workshops click here
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1/21/2016 0 Comments CONSCIOUS DANCE PARTYCONSCIOUS DANCY PARTY |
Viktor E. Frankl was born on March 26, 1905 in Vienna. He was a professor of Neurology and Psychiatry. During the second world war he spent 3 years at 4 different Nazi Concentration Camps.During this time his unborn child, his wife, mother and father were murdered and he was dehumanized to a mere number. One of the biggest contribution of Viktor Frankl to the world of psychiatry and psychology was his Logo-therapy also called the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy” An internationally acknowledged and empirically meaning-based approach to psychotherapy. Based on Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis and Alfred Alder’s Individual Psychology, Viktor E. Frankl laid the foundation of a new original approach, which takes under consideration the spiritual dimension of human beings. He started his work on logotherapy before his imprisonment in the Concentration Camps, worked on it during his stay in the camp and finally published it after his release. In 1992 Viktor Frankl Institute was founded in Vienna. Viktor E. Frankl died on September 2, 1997, in Vienna
Logotherapy is a forward-seeking approach in that it identifies current problems for the benefit of improving the future self. The basic tenet of logotherapy is that individuals have free will, and therefore can affect and change their circumstance through the decision making process. "We can't choose our circumstances, but we can choose our attitude"(Frankl, 2006). Frankl's key concept is will to meaning, which is the primary motivational factor in one's life (Frankl, 2006). Within this concept are several subconcepts: the meaning in life, or the path in which we wish our lives to take shape, based on freedom and responsibility; the meaning of suffering, or the role that negative experiences can have on our psyche; the meaning of work, or the satisfaction one obtains from work in relation to one's meaning in life; the meaning of love, or the role of personal emotional bonds;existential frustration, or the effect of boredom and apathy in our lives; and noogenic neuroses, which are spiritual conflicts that may arise from conditions such as existential frustration. On love, Viktor Frankl writes: "Love is the ultimate bestower of meaning". During his stay in Auschwitz, while marching to work site, Frankl had an epiphany which was inspired by thoughts of his wife. During this epiphany, Viktor Frankl experienced the truth of the old cliche "all you need is love" and he writes:
Frankl believed that many neuroses result from discordance with one's overall will to meaning and not necessarily the result of mental illness. Frankl also identified collective neuroses, which are neurotic conditions that are generationally prevalent, presumably resulting from certain living conditions for any specific generation.For instance, Frankl believed that, modern society suffered from "achievement orientation," which belittles those who aren't as "successful and happy" as others. On this matter Frankl wrote:
For Frankl, the role of logotherapy is to fill the vacuum of meaninglessness; while superficial elements such as food and products can fill this vacuum, their effects are temporary; in order to be a fully actualized human being, the different areas of meaning should be satisfied in a non-temporary way: one's life, work and relationships should all be in concordance with the overall will to meaning. Neuroses are healed through an examination of values that determine meaning in one's life: creative values, or the completion of tasks; experiential values, or the nature of relationships and receptivity; and attitudinal values, which determines how we make decisions when faced with conflict and suffering. The specific strategy used to heal neuroses falls into one of two categories, based on the particular neurosis. For hyper-intention (trying too hard to succeed) and hyper reflection (overabundance of self-reflection), dereflection is used to refocus the individual by placing the particular problem in context of the will to meaning. Essentially, this strategy reminds the individual to observe the bigger picture in order to shift the mental focus away from one particular pattern of thoughts that contribute to the neurosis. For instance in Man’s Search For Meaning Frankl talks about an experience while he was a prisoner in the Nazi Concentration Camps. He describes how their excessive malnourishment and exhaustion made them constantly think about food and even dream about food. The prisoners where mentally tourmented by the fact that this became their existence-forced to only think about food. To remove himself from this existential frustration, Frankl imagined speaking in a well-lit lecture hall in confortable chair, about existential analysis. Here Frankl self-applied dereflection and was able by means of self transcendence to add some meaning to the hopeless, mechanical existence of that moment in time. For anxiety, phobias, fears and obsessions, paradoxical intention is a strategy that incorporates humor and asks the individual to perceive themselves from an external, objective state. Doing so ideally helps the individual realize the irrational root of the neurosis.Frankl believes that "the attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living," and more than anything else, can help us to "rise above any situation". Each technique is based on the principle of non-mechanistic nature of humanity. Frankl believes that issues affect us precisely because they take away our humanity from us. Successful logotherapy often takes a Socratic approach in uncovering neuroses and identifying possible solutions, where the therapist will identify key words that may reveal particular triggers by asking a series of increasingly focused questions. Logotherapy presumes that all humans are capable of happiness, and that conflicts arising between conditions and circumstances that interfere with our will to meaning create unhappiness. |
November 13, 2015 · by Eda Mucaj ·in Book Reviews, Therapy
A Glimpse of the EXAT Workshop at Love Fest 2015 @YorkUnversity. Co-hosted by Loving Minds for Frosh Students, this Workshop's objective was to nurture creativity and imagination and to share new ways of coping with the everyday stresses of college life.
To Learn more about Expressive Arts Therapy Workshops at YorkU click here
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Session with Julia Arbuckle and Nayna Trehan
Session with Julia Arbuckle and Nayna Trehan
Bringing harmony and peace through experiential breathing techniques
In today’s demanding, distracting world the mind is stuck in regretting the past or working about the future. But happiness is here and now. This workshop was a possibility for students to discover their unlimited power and freedom, not as a concept, but as a direct experience- and begin to live in the present moment.
These practical and powerful techniques use specific, natural rhythms of the breath to get the mind unstuck and to invigorate the entire physiology.
These practical and powerful techniques use specific, natural rhythms of the breath to get the mind unstuck and to invigorate the entire physiology.
York University students Explored the "Secrets of their Breath" to better manage their emotions and learned key tools to help them get through the year. Gaining dynamism, concentration and focus through a fun filled breath work and meditation sessions with Nayna Trehan and Julia Arbuckle, Art of Living Teachers.
9/1/2015 0 Comments
LOVE FEST 2015
Certified Yoga Teacher
September 11th, 2015
9:30am-10:30am
York University, Keel Campus, Toronto
September 11th, 2015
9:30am-10:30am
York University, Keel Campus, Toronto
Explore Strala Yoga and Unleash Your Inner Rebel.
Strala Yoga is the movement that ignites freedom. Strala focuses on moving softly through simple and challenging moments alike, guiding the attention inward, encouraging fun and playful exploration. During this practice we learn how to make friends with our bodies and respond to what we need. Our mind becomes integrated, elevated and in the flow.
We nurture our capacity to rebalance, repair and restore. Our life gets fun, fearless, fabulous and radiant. Moving gently and exploring where we are instead of forcing ourselves to be somewhere else, in Strala we learn to move with ease through life and find our own flow state. We feel free, creative, intuitive, inspired and connected to the world in and around us.
Kelly Hilton is the Founder of Strala Yoga Toronto, Ambassador for the Three Minute Egg® Canada and the Three Minute Egg® Yoga Guide at the Yoga Conference & Show in Toronto.
Strala Yoga is the movement that ignites freedom. Strala focuses on moving softly through simple and challenging moments alike, guiding the attention inward, encouraging fun and playful exploration. During this practice we learn how to make friends with our bodies and respond to what we need. Our mind becomes integrated, elevated and in the flow.
We nurture our capacity to rebalance, repair and restore. Our life gets fun, fearless, fabulous and radiant. Moving gently and exploring where we are instead of forcing ourselves to be somewhere else, in Strala we learn to move with ease through life and find our own flow state. We feel free, creative, intuitive, inspired and connected to the world in and around us.
Kelly Hilton is the Founder of Strala Yoga Toronto, Ambassador for the Three Minute Egg® Canada and the Three Minute Egg® Yoga Guide at the Yoga Conference & Show in Toronto.
Art of Living Teachers
September 11th, 2015.
9:00pm-1:00am
York University, Keel Campus, Toronto
Explore the "Secrets of your Breath" to better manage your emotions and learn key tools to help you get through the year. Gain dynamism, concentration and focus through a fun filled breath work and meditation sessions.
Julia has been teaching Art of Living and IAHV programs for youth since 2005 across Canada. She teaches workshops for kids, school teachers, and parents that use breathing and relaxation techniques as a tool to promote confidence, well-being and enthusiasm. She is also a certified Sri Sri Yoga teacher.
From a young age, Nayna was intrigued by the ancient practices and wisdom of Yoga and Meditation inspired from her ancestral heritage. She has been teaching empowerment workshops through the Art of Living Foundation to all age groups since the age of 18. Today, she continues to teach meditation and ancient breath work techniques through the foundation to give back to the community, the life skills and inner-strength she has gained on her spiritual path.
Julia has been teaching Art of Living and IAHV programs for youth since 2005 across Canada. She teaches workshops for kids, school teachers, and parents that use breathing and relaxation techniques as a tool to promote confidence, well-being and enthusiasm. She is also a certified Sri Sri Yoga teacher.
From a young age, Nayna was intrigued by the ancient practices and wisdom of Yoga and Meditation inspired from her ancestral heritage. She has been teaching empowerment workshops through the Art of Living Foundation to all age groups since the age of 18. Today, she continues to teach meditation and ancient breath work techniques through the foundation to give back to the community, the life skills and inner-strength she has gained on her spiritual path.
"DANCE THE 5RHYTHMS MOVEMENT MEDITATION PRACTICE WITH LAYAH JANE".
Certified 5Rhythms Teacher
September 11th, 2015
9:00pm-1:00pm
York University, Keel Campus, Toronto
9:00pm-1:00pm
York University, Keel Campus, Toronto
5Rhythms® is a dynamic movement meditation practice ~ a workout for the body and soul. Practiced by tens of thousands worldwide, 5Rhythms is a simple and catalytic map for freeing our bodies, opening our hearts and emptying our minds. Rather than having steps to follow, in this dance we find our own individual spontaneous choreography. We practice the art of being fully alive in the present moment, to all that moves through us, awakening and expressing the full spectrum of our creative, vibrant, unique selves.
Layah first fell for 5Rhythms® in her late teens, and over the last 15 years, has followed her love of the practice across North America, Central America, and Europe. A regular DJ at Toronto's conscious dance hubs, The Move Dance Collective, and Ecstatic Dance Toronto, Layah says: "the musical offerings I make are those that rock my own heart, move my soul, and make me sweat, be it a funky groove, a soulful melody, or a big thumping tribal beat." Passionate about offering dancers sacred space to experience music and motion as medicine, Layah is a certified 5Rhythms teacher, and is accredited with the 5Rhythms Teachers Association.
Layah first fell for 5Rhythms® in her late teens, and over the last 15 years, has followed her love of the practice across North America, Central America, and Europe. A regular DJ at Toronto's conscious dance hubs, The Move Dance Collective, and Ecstatic Dance Toronto, Layah says: "the musical offerings I make are those that rock my own heart, move my soul, and make me sweat, be it a funky groove, a soulful melody, or a big thumping tribal beat." Passionate about offering dancers sacred space to experience music and motion as medicine, Layah is a certified 5Rhythms teacher, and is accredited with the 5Rhythms Teachers Association.
PLAY.SHARE.EXPLORE WITH ALANA PERRI
Expressive Art Therapist
September 11th, 2015.
9:00pm-1:00am
York University, Keel Campus, Toronto
Explore the wondrous world of Expressive Arts Therapy as seen through the eyes of Alana Perri.
Expressive art therapy is an experience. Not everyone was called to become a professional painter, portrait artist, dancer, singer, or actor but it doesn’t mean that one can’t enjoy indulging in the arts simply because it feels good. EXAT uses all artistic modalities (Dance/Movement, Poetry/Writing, Theatre, Music, and Visual Arts) and allows each participant to dive into their imagination and creativity while gaining an understanding of the struggles we face in our everyday lives. EXAT provides a fun and safe therapeutic outlet for everyone. It can be done by anyone willing to get a little messy, live in the moment, and explore.
Alana Perri is a blooming Expressive Art Therapist. She completed her undergraduate studies at Brock University and is now completing her training at the Integrated Arts Therapy Programme in Toronto. Throughout the last two and a half years, Alana has spent her time working with Hospice Toronto; providing expressive arts therapy sessions to those experiencing loss, grief, and/or bereavement. In addition, she has been featured in Brock University Students Union's Wellness Week (2014-2015), providing open Arts Therapy group sessions. Alana provides accessible Arts-Based Therapy to anyone willing to play, share, and explore
Expressive art therapy is an experience. Not everyone was called to become a professional painter, portrait artist, dancer, singer, or actor but it doesn’t mean that one can’t enjoy indulging in the arts simply because it feels good. EXAT uses all artistic modalities (Dance/Movement, Poetry/Writing, Theatre, Music, and Visual Arts) and allows each participant to dive into their imagination and creativity while gaining an understanding of the struggles we face in our everyday lives. EXAT provides a fun and safe therapeutic outlet for everyone. It can be done by anyone willing to get a little messy, live in the moment, and explore.
Alana Perri is a blooming Expressive Art Therapist. She completed her undergraduate studies at Brock University and is now completing her training at the Integrated Arts Therapy Programme in Toronto. Throughout the last two and a half years, Alana has spent her time working with Hospice Toronto; providing expressive arts therapy sessions to those experiencing loss, grief, and/or bereavement. In addition, she has been featured in Brock University Students Union's Wellness Week (2014-2015), providing open Arts Therapy group sessions. Alana provides accessible Arts-Based Therapy to anyone willing to play, share, and explore
Think love and kindness are weak traits?
Think again. Dr. Dacher Keltner reveals another story of human nature.
Think again. Dr. Dacher Keltner reveals another story of human nature.
How can we attain a good life? Does the potential for happiness and a good life follow inevitably from our nature or in spite of it? What are the origins of our capacity for kindness? Questions on human ontology have long circulated in philosophical, religious and scientific systems of thought and yielded a synthesis of theoretical insights from distinguished figures such as Kant, Plato and Freud.
Plato in his Chariot Allegory compared the human soul to a chariot and the intellect as the charioteer. Later, Freud reasoned that humans’ innate qualities were greed, lust and domination driven by self-serving drives toward sex ad aggression and it was society which was needed to suppress these qualities. For ages, emotions have been considered as the origin of immorality and irrationality.
However, recent studies on human emotion argue persuasively for an altered view on human nature, a view which rejects the primacy of self-serving drives toward sex and aggression and associated tendencies to greed, lust and domination. These studies maintain that benevolent affects are rational, functional, evolved part of human nature which are deep-rooted in our neurobiology, and can be cultivated to foster happiness and a good life.
In our society we continuously devalue play, love, gratitude and modesty. Yet, when we feel grateful, or when we feel humble, or compassionate, when we feel these emotions humming in our nervous system and all their chemical effects, we get a sense of a greater purpose and deep well-being. In his book “Born to Be Good”, Dacher Keltner reasons that positive emotions, such as loving kindness, empathy and compassion, are the pathways to the good life.
Plato in his Chariot Allegory compared the human soul to a chariot and the intellect as the charioteer. Later, Freud reasoned that humans’ innate qualities were greed, lust and domination driven by self-serving drives toward sex ad aggression and it was society which was needed to suppress these qualities. For ages, emotions have been considered as the origin of immorality and irrationality.
However, recent studies on human emotion argue persuasively for an altered view on human nature, a view which rejects the primacy of self-serving drives toward sex and aggression and associated tendencies to greed, lust and domination. These studies maintain that benevolent affects are rational, functional, evolved part of human nature which are deep-rooted in our neurobiology, and can be cultivated to foster happiness and a good life.
In our society we continuously devalue play, love, gratitude and modesty. Yet, when we feel grateful, or when we feel humble, or compassionate, when we feel these emotions humming in our nervous system and all their chemical effects, we get a sense of a greater purpose and deep well-being. In his book “Born to Be Good”, Dacher Keltner reasons that positive emotions, such as loving kindness, empathy and compassion, are the pathways to the good life.
Dacher Keltner is a social psychologist and a distinguished researcher who focuses on nonverbal communication including facial expressions and pro-social emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. In Born to Be Good : The Science of a Meaningful Life, (2009) Dacher Keltner explores the biological and evolutionary basis of the positive emotions and their relationship to happiness and the good life. He argues that human beings are inherently good and in order to cultivate the good life, we must simply increase our awareness of this capacity.
According to Keltner , goodness is indicated by emotions such as compassion, love, and kindness that arise in interpersonal interactions and is indexed by jen ratio, a Confucian concept that entails principles of humanity reverence and kindness. The extent to which we balance our attention to the good and bad in life determines the value of our jen ratio. Keltner’s concept of a higher jen ratio and the good life seems to parallel the optimization principle advocated by positive psychology: High positive effect and low negative affect can lead to a greater sense of purpose, mastery and self-acceptance. (Sundararajan,2005)
Keltner’s thesis is that the key to leading a happy and meaningful life rests on our ability to identify and facilitate positive emotion in our everyday experience. He furthers explains how decades of scientific research on human emotion reveal that we have positive emotions hard wired into our nervous systems. Based on Darwin’s principle of serviceable habits, Keltner’s reasons that positive emotions have played an important role in our survival, promoting bonding through social networks, even bridging social divisions; therefore he modifies the phrase “survival of the fittest” to “survival of the kindest” (pp. 52). Darwin himself argued in his book, The Decent Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, that sympathy is our strongest instinct, and it would spread through natural selection, for “the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring.” For quite some time this attribute of human nature was entirely omitted by evolutionary science .
On the preeminence of sympathy toward altruistic behavior, Keltner includes the following statement by Darwin: “ such actions as the above appear to be simple results of the greater strength of the social or maternal instincts that that of any other instinct or motive; for they are performed too instantaneously for reflection, or for pain or pleasure to be felt at the time” (pp. 54-55). Keltner reasons that the display of positive emotions which embody social instincts, have succeeded over time because they confer an evolutionary advantage by inducing cooperation in the human collective. The fragility and dependency of our children argues Keltner, altered human relationships and reorganized our nervous systems, making positive emotions such as loving kindness and compassion essential to our survival. To further support his argument that human are born to be good Keltner explores Paul Ekman’s work on facial action coding system and how each distinct emotion is the subjective presence of different physiological conditions. He states that we can observe our intrinsic tendency to positive emotion in our brain reaction's to pain. Both when we are in pain as well as when we see someone else in pain, the anterior cingulate region of our brain is activated, implying that we have the same pain response to other people’s pain as we do to our own experience of pain. Research seems to show that we are wired for sympathy and altruistic behaviour.
On the preeminence of love and compassion , contrary to their common denigration as “weak” inclinations, Keltner assigns foundational significance to these emotions in preserving morality and social cohesion. He highlights more research that traces manifestations of love and compassion in the nervous system and arrives at vagus nerve and oxytocin, from which sensations of “ spreading , liquid warmth” emanates. (p.228). These research studies show a direct causal relationship between compassion and the vagus nerve activity, the more compassion you feel, the more intense the vagus nerve response. Results of these studies also a positive correlation among vagus nerve activity, positive emotions and stronger relationships. A lot of data suggests that we are wired to care, down to a neurobiological level. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide hormone which plays an essential role in pair bonding and in generating social emotions and behaviours such as trust, cooperation and social attention. It is released through the hypothalamus into the bloodstream when we engage in hugs, kisses and loving relationships it is also relates during childbirth and breastfeeding. Both Vagus nerve and Oxytocin are branches of the neural system that have evolved to facilitate caretaking, trust and cooperation.
In Born To Be Good : The Science of a Meaningful Life,(2009) there is a chapter devoted to each of the positive emotions that give rise to a higher jen ratio, including embarrassment, smile, laughter, tease, touch, love, compassion and awe. Each chapter goes into great detail regarding the science behind the topic of its title.
Keltner’s argument rises powerfully on the shoulders of evolutionary science and neuroscience explaining how we are” wired to be good” (p.269).
Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful life (2009), makes us aware of our capacity to be good to one another and to promote the good in others, leading to happiness and the good life for ourselves and others.
You might want to let go of the common held beliefs about loving kindness and compassion being traits of weakness, or illusions. Feelings of love, kindness and compassion seen to be rather essential to our greatest needs to survive, connect and flourish in life.
By: Eda Mucaj
Feature: Yulia Külahlı on flikr.com
Second: Amazon
Eda MucajCommitted to create a healthy and joyful world. Always inspiring individuals to live to their fullest potential. |