HUMANIZING HEALTHCARE

On  Monday March 20, 2023 at 9am pst/12pm est/5pm gmt, Canadian dance artist and physician Sarah Kim will give a workshop titled, “The Daily Dance of the Never Ordinary.” (Learn more about Healing/Arts here.)

During the years of investigation to resolve an internal dissonance of the dancer’s body with the physician’s body, Sarah began to observe the body as an archive holding layer upon layer of multiple, often competing, stories. This session will invite participants to collaboratively witness and construct a score, beginning with the tension of the ordinary and tedious, moving through dreaded routines of the everyday into an experimental sphere of creative possibility and inspiration. This workshop will reference and draw upon the framework used during Sarah’s recent collaboration during the pandemic with frontline healthcare workers, in the piece, “The Choreography of Care.”

No movement experience is necessary for this workshop. Bring a notebook or paper to write reflections or sketch on. This movement lab can be adjusted to any range of motions and spaces. For maximum participation, it is recommended that you have access to a computer a with camera, in order that we can be moved by each other.

Experience “Being Your Best You”, a free online mindfulness education course with Dr. Sarah Kim, recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of these 20 minute sessions focus on a learning theme. The sessions begin with a short meditation, followed by a discussion of the theme topic. The sessions then close with a second short meditation. These meditations are purposely designed to be brief and easily anchored to something you already do in your day. The goal of this program is to learn how to re-frame your habits and choices, increase self-awareness and self-understanding and reduce stress.

Dr. Kim is a medical doctor with a specialization in Sports and Exercise Medicine, Somatic Psychotherapy and systems-based trauma. She was first introduced to meditation as a child and has since trained in a variety of different mindfulness traditions. Dr. Kim is certified with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and is a trained IFS therapist. Her approach to mindfulness education and psychotherapy care sensitively integrates her trauma expertise.

The “Being Your Best You” series was supported by the Unity Health Toronto Joy Fund. This initiative, “Mindful Opportunities in the Ordinary” received funding to provide free mindfulness teaching to all staff at Unity Health Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 22, 2022 10am-1pm

Overview

This two-part workshop explores different aspects of mindfulness and approaches to reflection, well-being and resilience. Each 1. 5 hour session will help learners develop an enhanced understanding of the link between mindfulness and resilience. Practical tools and resources will also be shared. The instructors are Bill Gayner and Sarah Kim, two experienced clinicians and mindfulness practitioners.

Part 1 – Deepening Self-Compassion and Self-empathy

Learn how to deepen self-compassion and self-empathy to better navigate challenging feelings in meditation and life. Activities will include an introductory talk, meditation, journaling and discussing the meditation experience. Newcomers to meditation will learn a gentle, welcoming form of meditation, while more experienced meditators will discover ways to expand and refresh their practice.

Part 2 – Embodied Mindfulness and Narrative Medicine

An introduction to embodied mindfulness techniques as narrative explorations. Examine the way you think about different forms of attention and how this shapes your experience and influences communication, both with yourself and others.

Objectives

Learn about, experientially explore, and be able to describe how self-compassion and self-empathy:

• Are inter-related ingredients for cultivating genuine relationships with self, others and world

• Are well supported through silent, unguided meditation