Enhancing Lives

Through the study and practice of mindfulness, yoga, and writing, Rita and Allie (Mother/Daughter) have explored and developed methods to enhance lives through self-care practices. Their hope is to help others navigate their own personal mindful journey.

Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness?

“The awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”

--- Jon Kabat Zinn

What do you need to do to practice mindfulness?

Show up.

Take up your position.

Find your anchor.

Practice.

Mindfulness can:

Reduce stress,

Improve sleep patterns,

Decrease emotional reactivity,

Improve focus,

Enhance self-awareness.

Who We Are

Rita Woodard (mother) and Allie Thomas (daughter) share a passion for helping others. Rita spent most of her career as a senior manager in a large financial institution and saw firsthand how stress can impact the lives of adults. Allie is a pediatric occupational therapist and has seen children experience various life issues that can cause them difficulties at both home and school. This mother and daughter are combining their knowledge and experience to help others on their journey towards a more productive and happy life.

Rita

Rita’s work focuses on helping individuals reduce stress. She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Development and a Certificate in Executive Coaching from Queens University of Charlotte. Rita’s Capstone for her Master’s Degree focused on Critical Reflection which is a process that utilizes writing to help individuals better understand and learn from their personal behaviors and experiences. She began teaching those concepts to individuals and groups as a tool for self-improvement and self-care. This experience, and a little push from her daughter Allie, caused Rita to begin exploring mindfulness, meditation, and yoga for personal self-care. This initial interest has expanded and Rita has taken Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training, attended retreats, and is pursuing her Mindfulness teaching certification from The Mindfulness Center at Brown University.

Allie

Allie strives to help children who struggle with issues that impact their daily lives. She is, by profession, a pediatric occupational therapist for a local school system and acquired her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from East Carolina University. She is also a certified children’s yoga instructor through Twist Kids Yoga and has completed the Mindful Schools Educator’s certification. Allie has worked with children in and outside of the school system and has seen many of them struggle with social/emotional and focus/attention issues that impact their daily occupations (school work, hobbies, inter/intrapersonal relationships). Her experiences and interests caused her to dive deeper into beneficial avenues to address these issues, which she does through teaching, modeling, and practicing yoga/mindfulness/meditation.

Our Workshops

Introduction to Mindfulness

Mindfulness practice is a useful and practical tool that increases self-awareness and can improve our health and well-being. This class explores the definition and benefits of Mindfulness. Through practice and discussion, you will better understand what Mindfulness is and isn’t and how to use the techniques in your daily life.

Writing and Reflection Workshop

Have you ever found yourself wondering why your interactions and communications don’t turn out the way you had hoped? Through writing and reflection we explore ways to better handle these situations. Reviewing specific situations, outcomes and becoming aware of our reactions, helps us to adapt our responses in the future for more success. This class enables us to use mindfulness and critical reflection techniques to explore options.

Mindfulness and Meditation Workshop

This class offers adults and teenagers an opportunity to become familiar with Mindfulness and Meditation. Through practice and discussion, participants learn how to use mindfulness practices such as sitting meditation, walking meditation, and yoga stretches to bring more balance and happiness into their lives. No experience is necessary as the teacher tailors the class to meet the needs and experience levels of the students. Send an email to themindfulatlas@gmail.com for additional information and class schedule.

Yoga + Mindfulness for Kids

This class provides children with an opportunity to learn and develop mindfulness and yoga practices to foster a healthy lifestyle, develop emotional regulation, and have fun! No experience is necessary as the teacher tailors the class to meet the needs and experience levels of each student.

Mindfulness at Work

Work can be so stressful and cause us to say or behave in ways that can be detrimental to relationships and/or our career. Utilizing mindfulness techniques, this class is designed to enable participants to take their learning into their workplace. The class will consist of mindfulness practice and then a discussion of how to apply the learning to stressful workplace situations.

Stress Reduction Workshop

This workshop explores stress and it’s effect on our physical and mental well-being. Through discussion and practice we will provide opportunities for participants to develop routines that will help them to reduce stress and its impact in one’s life.

Self-Care Workshop

At The Mindful Atlas we believe that everyone should have a map or plan to help them with their self-care. We know that the only “one” that has been with each of us from the beginning of our life to the end is our OWN body. Therefore through this workshop we will explore self-care practices, to aid in developing or refining personal self-care routines, and to encourage ongoing practice for self-care.