Mindfulness and Living with Happiness with Sangeeta Bansal, Ph.D.

Register by January 20

Ever get that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach? Like an unspoken yearning or longing or an emptiness in the core of your being as if something was missing from your life? As though a key ingredient had been forgotten and missed out from your favorite recipe?

As human beings we perpetually explore (in the course of our lives) various ways to fill that void, to quell that desire, to satisfy that yearning – and this journey can be referred to as our pursuit of happiness. We would like to be in a state of peace, joy, contentment and serenity and also stay away from things that make us suffer. But how do we get here? How do we stay there? And how does having a mindfulness and meditation practice help in the pursuit of happiness?

In this course, each week you will learn meditation practices and how to apply mindful techniques relating to each topic of discussion.  These skills can be learned and incorporated in your daily life to improve focus, concentration, memory and mental agility. It also benefits those struggling with sleep or eating disorders, stress, anxiety, depression or addiction. Regular practice enhances the experience of happiness in our daily lives.  Appropriate for all age groups.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1 (Jan 24): What is suffering?
Before we speak of happiness, we ask ourselves, what is suffering? What are the things that make us unhappy? Learn meditation techniques to help you to start settling your mind and body.

 Week 2 (Jan 31): Working on Reactivity
Is happiness seeing everything through rose-colored lenses? Or suppressing the difficult moments? NO! Achieving a lasting state of happiness requires changing your relationship to things. This is where mindfulness teachings can help.

Week 3 (Feb 7): What are Positive Emotions?
Are you getting your daily dose? How can we increase your daily supply of positive emotions in our lives?

Week 4 (Feb 14): Love and Meaning in Our Lives
What is your understanding of love? And what gives your life meaning and as sense of purpose?

Week 5 (Feb 21): Cultivating Compassion
How can enhancing compassion increase your levels of happiness?

Sangeeta Bansal Ph.D, is the founder of Rooted Minds, an organization dedicated to bringing enhanced levels of self-awareness within the educational and business community through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. She has taught for the last three years at various institutions such as Hong Kong International School and Princeton University, and is a Guest Speaker at Columbia Business School. In 2016 she is scheduled to offer workshops at the Stern School of Business and Rye Country Day School. She volunteers her time teaching mindfulness to an under-privileged charter school in Stamford, CT, in addition to teaching several private groups and individuals with specific needs. Sangeeta is certified as a Mindfulness Teacher from .b in Oxford (UK) and KORU, offered through the University of California in San Diego (School of Medicine). In addition, Sangeeta has completed courses and workshops in the Mindfulness in Education Program at Omega Institute, (Rhinebeck, NY), the Mind-fulness for Health Professionals in Hong Kong offered by Thich Nhat Hanh, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) offered through University of Massachusetts, and the Search Inside Yourself Program, a mindfulness based program created by Google for leadership development