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.