Sharon Cohen MFA, RYT
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 mindfulness

calm, compassion, community
weekly groups, classes, retreats, individual sessions





These are especially stressful times for all of us, and practicing mindfulness helps!. Meditation cultivates compassion, resilience and equanimity with the ten thousand joys and sorrows that are part of life.  If you are already practicing or want to learn more about it, contact me, or drop in on a weekly group,  we meet online and in person, in the Methow Valley, WA.  
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 Meditation is more powerful with others!

Meditate with us, in-person, or online.    Everyone is welcome,
we meet on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. 
Each day is a little different, find a  group that works for you.
It's free,  you can listen in, ask a question,
and/or join the discussion. 
Meditation is followed by reflections on
mindfulness, compassion and psychology.


Twisp, Mondays at Cove 2,  5pm - 6:15
Thursdays, 11am via ZOOM
Winthrop, Friday at MV Wellness Center,  4pm - 5:15




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Personal Sessions

We all need tools for stress.  Is mindfulness right for you?
Check out the work with me page, or contact me for more information.  I have been  practicing mindfulness for over 25 years, and privately consulting for 15 years.


Easy online scheduler -  affordable private sessions, $40-60 

 1 (509) 449-2594

 [email protected]
  





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"For me, mindfulness practice with Sharon has been life changing!  I can’t say enough about how it has impacted me and the people around me.  My husband is Sharon’s biggest fan! 
I have learned techniques to understand and manage my mind and emotions that are truly empowering.  Probably the most helpful part of working with Sharon is that when I feel stuck I can schedule a private session to help me get unstuck!  "
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THANK YOU!
To offer a donation
: 
In place of our basket,  donations can be mailed: PO Box 1071,
                             Twisp WA 98856,   
     or    Venmo:  @sharon-cohen-4
Thank you for being part of our group. 




 About mindfulness

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Mindfulness is for everybody, we all have habits that are not helpful.  Are you Impatient? Anxious? In pain? Mindful awareness is a window into how habitual thoughts affect our life and our health.  Neuroscientists say "neurons that fire together wire together".  Our thoughts, for better or worse,  flow through our mind, shape our brain, and influence our perception.  Habitual thoughts become our mental/emotional patterns.   We find ourselves repeating things we don't mean, behaving in ways we regret, chasing the same thoughts, making difficult situations harder.  Practicing mindfulness gives us the tools to be the person we want to be, and to respond intentionally to whatever happens.

about mindfulness-based stress reduction

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)  is the classic introduction to secular mindfulness.  Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered MBSR in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. It proved to be so effective at easing chronic pain that within a year it was made part of the Department of Medicine.  Today it is offered in hundreds of hospitals, and clinics worldwide.  MBSR is supported  by research in medicine,  neuroscience, and psychology, and recommended by the Mayo Clinic, and the National Institute of Health.     Mindfulness is helpful for a wide range of medical symptoms and psychological distress including:

glaucoma
cancer recovery
depression
cardiac health
sleep disorders
inflammation



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anxiety
chronic pain
fibromyalgia
immune functioning
gastrointestinal health

mindfulness in the news

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Coping Strategies for Political Distress a Psychologist Shares with His Clients,  Jeremy P. Shapiro, SF Chronicle, January 2025

Your Motivation is at Rock-Bottom- Here is How NeuroScience Can Help - Thomas Ling, BBC Science

It's No Time To Remain Neutral - Bhikkhu Bodhi, one of Buddhism’s leading activists and scholars, says there are four steps we need to take, Lions Roar Magazine, Nov 7, 2024
If the link does not open for you, read it here as a pdf


Brain Scans Reveal That Mindfulness Meditation For Pain Is Not A Placebo, Science Daily, Sept 2024  

Me vs. Myself, on procrastination and self-sabotage, Eliane Glaser, Aeon, June 2024

Three mindfulness practices for neurodiverse meditators,  inclusive practice techniques  to make mindfulness more accessible,   Sue Hutton, Mindful, 2020

Can mindfulness really make you happy, lower your blood pressure and improve your sleep? Experts reveal all,   YES! short article clarifying common misunderstandings  about how mindfulness helps,  Tracy Ramadan, Guardian

Seven Ways Breathing Can Improve your Life, nice explanations and instructions for different breath practices and patterns, Lucy Pavia, Guardian

Learning to Be Happier  after a series of suicides on campus, a psychology professor developed a course on the science of happiness, Bruce Hood, Aeon

Your Brain Can Reveal Your Politics,  the emerging field of "neuro-politics",   Matt Qvortrup, Coventry University,  March,  2024


How I Rewired My Brain simple, everyday changes to our lives can alter our brains and change how they work. the author put herself into a scanner to find out,  Melissa Hogenboom, BBC

Mindfulness Shows Promise for PTSD in Cardiac Arrest Survivors, Science Daily, Feb 2024

Mindfulness Meditation to Control Pain,  Jon Kabat-Zinn recommends the body scan mindfulness exercise as the best form of mindfulness meditation for pain conditions, Harvard Health, March  2023

highly recommended AUDIO. Mindfulness and Cancer-  interesting information from psycho-social oncology researcher Linda Carlson.  She pioneered the application of mindfulness and contemplative practice for cancer patients,  evidence-based research - please pass it on, Mind & Life Institute,  also available as a podcast, (mind & life app) 

Daily Meditation May Work As Well As A Popular Drug To Calm Anxiety, Study Finds, April Fulton, NPR,   For the first time, scientists compared patients who took mindfulness Based Stress Reduction to patients who took escitalopram, the generic name of the widely-prescribed anxiety drug Lexapro. They found that both interventions worked equally well in reducing debilitating anxiety symptoms.

Find Your Focus: Own Your Attention in 12 Minutes a Day  Neuroscientist Amishi Jha explores mindfulness training  for ther US Department of Defenses in the most high-stress scenarios imaginable. Mindful, 2021

How Much Do Your Genes Shape Your Politics - Thomas B. Edsall -facisinating roundup of research on how genes influence thought  (understanding genetic influence, makes us more tolerant of difference)  NY Times, June 1

Mindfulness Hurts, That's Why it Works, Facing the painful parts of life head-on is the only way to feel at home with yourself, Arthur C. Brooks,  Atlantic,


©2017 Sharon Cohen MFA, RYT, Methow Valley Wellness Center, Winthrop, WA   509-449-2594    [email protected]    
Photo from woodleywonderworks
  • home
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  • work with me
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  • about
  • contact
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  • Choose Compassion