WELLNESS :: 2021 22 Offerings :: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto

2021/22 OISE WELLNESS - LIVING & WORKING LUNCH & LEARN SERIES

In this series of workshops, you'll have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics related to wellness, including mindfulness, yoga, how to increase resiliency and reduce stress, how sustainability affects our happiness, and much more. You’ll be invited to engage in activities and practices to help you learn strategies to help improve your health and well-being.

All sessions will be held 12:10pm -12:50pm on Zoom. Please register for each session and the Zoom details will be sent to you.

Please note: Sessions jointly hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, and sponsored by TDFEF, and are held at 4:00 pm on Wednesdays.

2021/22 SESSIONS

Lorraine Johnson: Reconciling with Nature: Gardening as Kinship and Relationship-Building | hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, and sponsored by TDFEF | Wednesday, September 29, 2021 | 4:00pm

Lisa Nisbet: Exploring the Terrain of Nature-based Learning | hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, and sponsored by TDFEF | Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | 4:00pm | Listen to the recording of this Webinar

Julie Kang, Mary Cortinas, Yu Chen (Alice) Li (Health & Wellness Centre, U of T): 5 Ways to Well Being | Tuesday, October 12, 2021 |12:10pm -12:50pm

Dilafruz Williams: Regenerative Hope: Biocultural Diversity and Learning Gardens | hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, and sponsored by TDFEF | Wednesday, October 20, 2021 | 4:00pm

Dora Chan: Decrease stress by changing how you eat | Tuesday, October 26, 2021 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the session | Read session Transcript

Jennifer Baradi: We All Need Recess & Naps | Tuesday, November 9, 2021 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the session | Read session Transcript

Catherine O'Brien: Sustainable Happiness and Well-Being | Tuesday, November 23, 2021 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the session | Read session Transcript

Shelley Murphy: Mindfulness as a Training Ground for Presence and Resilience in the midst of challenge and change | Tuesday, February 15, 2022 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Register

Naraindra Prashad & Kapil Dev Bist: Too Busy to Be Still? Learn Simple Techniques to Calm Your Distractions | Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | 12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the Recording

TBD | April 2022 | 12:10pm -12:50pm

CO-SPONSORED SESSIONS

OISE Wellness is proud to co-sponsor a 3-part series presented by the University of Toronto's Buddhism, Psychology, & Mental Health Program

Lorraine Johnson: Reconciling with Nature: Gardening as Kinship and Relationship-Building | Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 4pm

Hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, this talk is sponsored by TDFEF

As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report emphasizes, "Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians, from an Aboriginal perspective, also requires reconciliation with the natural world. If human beings resolve problems between themselves but continue to destroy the natural world, then reconciliation remains incomplete." This illustrated talk by author Lorraine Johnson explores many of the ways that native plant gardening and related practices help to restore our relationship with nature and encourage kinship with plants and wildlife.

Lisa Nisbet: Exploring the Terrain of Nature-based Learning | hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, and sponsored by TDFEF | Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | 4:00pm | Listen to the recording of this Webinar

Hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, this talk is sponsored by TDFEF

This webinar encourages educators to explore the terrain of nature-based learning to empower students to contribute to a greener future. Prof. Lisa Nisbet (Trent University) lays the groundwork by sharing research on nature-relatedness and its connections to sustainability behaviours and happiness. Jacob Rodenburg (Camp Kawartha Outdoor Ed Centre) discusses how to bring this to classrooms by offering up hands-on ideas, activities and resources that inspire students to protect, care for and enhance the natural systems that support and nourish communities. Hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, this talk is sponsored by TDFEF.

Julie Kang, Mary Cortinas, Yu Chen (Alice) Li (Health & Wellness Centre, U of T): 5 Ways to Well Being | Tuesday, October 12, 2021 | 12:10pm -12:50pm

Coping with the competing demands of graduate studies, meeting expectations, and navigating complex university systems can be exhausting! Investing in being happy, healthy and well provides a foundation for achieving balance and sustaining success. Learn how to apply five simple, evidence-based actions in a variety of ways to promote positive mental health and wellbeing while practicing physical distancing and managing new stressors related to being a student and COVID-19. This interactive session introduces a cluster of activities that promote resiliency and reduce stress.

Dilafruz Williams: Regenerative Hope: Biocultural Diversity and Learning Gardens | hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, and sponsored by TDFEF | Wednesday, October 20, 2021, 4pm

Hosted by OISE’s Learning Garden & OISE Wellness, this talk is sponsored by TDFEF

Loss of biocultural diversity, climate change urgencies, violence and hate crimes, increasing inequality between the rich and the poor, and most recently the outbreak of COVID-19—these are but a few gloom and doom realities that we have to confront daily in our lives and in our work settings in schools, colleges, and universities. What is there not to despair? Yet, cynicism, hopelessness, and resignation can only paralyze us. Fortunately, despite the ecological, social, economic, and political realities and pressures there are many children, youth, educators, and communities who have heeded feminist poet and essayist Adrienne Rich’s invitation to “stand on the first page of the end of despair.” Join Dr. Dilafruz Williams as she shares stories of schools across the US and Canada where down-to-earth engagement with life’s lessons in the learning gardens brings regenerative possibilities of hope.

Dora Chan: Decrease stress by changing how you eat | Tuesday, October 26, 2021 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the session | Read session Transcript

Food could either help us become more resilient to stress or they could contribute to stress. The types of food we eat matter but the way we eat is just as important. In this presentation, you will learn the role food plays in your body and some simple changes you can make in terms of food choices and eating habits that can help you to strengthen your body, cope better with stress and improve your general health and well-being.

Dora is a former Medical Researcher turned Holistic Stress & Resilience Coach, trained in Holistic Nutrition, Yoga, Integrative Restoration Meditation and Reiki. Having experienced tremendous stress, anxiety and stress-related health conditions most of her life, she found healing through good nutrition and holistic stress management. Realizing that many share the same struggles, Dora is passionate about empowering men and women to move beyond daily stress & anxiety; restore health & energy; and live with purpose, peace and resiliency.

With a multidisciplinary background, Dora has a unique perspective in recognizing and finding solutions to obvious and hidden sources of stress that show up in our lives both physically and psychologically. She lives by the philosophy that true health is the outcome of balance and harmony in all aspects of life. We begin to restore health; increase joy and inner peace; and live life to our fullest potential when we realign mind, body and soul. Dora’s approach is accessible, realistic, yet nurturing, tailoring to each individual’s unique journey to health and well-being.

Jennifer Baradi: We All Need Recess & Naps | Tuesday, November 9, 2021 | 12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the session | Read session Transcript

Let's face it, for many of us, our work day and daily lives have become a little more challenging recently. But we shouldn't underestimate the value of play and rest on our personal health and wellness. During this session, participants will be invited to re-integrate and re-connect with play and rest and learn how to incorporate them into their everyday lives.

Being an educator as well as a yoga practitioner and teacher, Jen has built a life around recess and nap time. She has researched play in her graduate studies and continues to learn about restorative practices in her iRest® training.

Participants are asked to dress comfortably for this session.

Jen Baradi, MAET, M.Ed, OCT, Certified iRest Teacher, 400 RYT Yoga Teacher, is an educator who works with the TDSB and TCDSB. She teaches yoga and meditation in schools, non-profit organizations, public, and private settings. Jen aspires to promote greater well-being and be of service in schools and their communities.

RESOURCES:

🌈iREST®

https://www.irest.org/live-stream-sangha-sessions-richard-and-stephanie

https://www.irest.org/recorded-sangha-sessions-richard-and-stephanie

🌈JEN B YOGI YOUTUBE CHANNEL

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy84oa7ttKyR5BIbSErITBw

Catherine O'Brien: Sustainable Happiness and Well-Being | Tuesday, November 23, 2021 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Watch the session | Read session Transcript

Our happiness and well-being are intertwined with the well-being of other people, other species, and the planet. Understanding how to bring this realization into our daily life is one of the goals of this session, which explores the concept of Sustainable Happiness, which integrates positive psychology with sustainability. Led by educator and author Dr. Catherine O’Brien, this session will inspire educators to discover how they can enhance their happiness and well-being while contributing to well-being for all.

Shelley Murphy: Mindfulness as a Training Ground for Presence and Resilience in the midst of challenge and change | Tuesday, February 15, 2022 |12:10pm -12:50pm | Register

Now more than ever, we need to be intentional about cultivating our capacity to engage with the world more wisely and with more presence and resilience. In this session, you will learn about the science and practice of mindfulness for contributing to individual and collective healing and change.

Shelley Murphy, PhD, is a former classroom teacher and a lecturer and researcher at OISE, University of Toronto. She is certified as a trauma-sensitive mindfulness practitioner and has been a mindfulness teacher and educator for over 20 years. Shelley developed and teaches the Mindfulness in Education course at OISE and is the recipient of A Mindful Society’s 2019 Michele Chaban Spirit of Leadership Award for her work and research in the field. Her book on mindfulness for children in classroom settings and beyond, Fostering Mindfulness, was published by Pembroke in 2019.

Naraindra Prashad & Kapil Dev Bist: Too Busy to Be Still? Learn Simple Techniques to Calm Your Distractions | Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | | Watch the Recording

Join Naraindra and Kapil as they explore the culture of "being busy" while sharing some simple transformative techniques for "being still." Comfortable clothing is recommended as participants will engage in some chair yoga, stretching and breathing exercises as a transformative step to quiet the mind and body and help cope with the distractions of everyday life.

Naraindra is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance of Canada and a Specialist in Mindfulness/Mindfulness Meditation from the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto. Now retired from the University of Toronto, Naraindra dedicates much of his time to teaching yoga, mindfulness and meditation in the GTA.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Naraindra started an online yoga series which has now evolved with a number of members in North America and internationally delivering several yoga sessions throughout the week. As a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA), Naraindra held various management positions at the University of Toronto. In 2019, he travelled to Rishikesh, North India, known to be the ’Yoga Capital of the World’ where he met Kapil Dev Bist, our co-presenter for the session.

Kapil holds a Master’s in Yogic Science from Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar. He is also a graduate in English Literature, Economics and History and has a Masters degree is Social Work from Uttarakhand Open University. In 2008, Kapil started teaching yoga and meditation at yoga schools in India and Europe. Since the outbreak, he’s been teaching virtual yoga/mediation internationally. He is also the Principal and Project Manager for the Khushi Charitable Organization, a school for underprivileged children in Rishikesh.

TBA | April 2022

We are working on finalizing this session in April. Please check back soon for the details for this session.

CO-SPONSORED SESSIONS

OISE Wellness is proud to co-sponsor a 3-part series presented by the University of Toronto's Buddhism, Psychology, & Mental Health Program

This series is free and open to the public, please register below for the link. You are welcome to join for all three sessions, or for any individual sessions.

Description: This series will explore timely questions related to caring for ourselves, our collective human family and the planet. Featuring BIPOC speakers who will share practical approaches to skillfully meet the challenges of our times. They will draw upon their lived experience as Engaged Mindfulness practitioners to investigate how we can name/witness our despair and grief, while simultaneously recognizing, cultivating and celebrating our capacity to heal and transform. These sessions will illuminate what we already have within us to individually and collectively meet challenges such as the climate crisis, systems of oppression, burnout and racial injustice.

Learn more about this series

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