Press release submitted by the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden
The following programs are offered by the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden, 145 Bolton Road, Harvard, MA
The Healing Garden provides a community of support, therapeutic services and education to facilitate healing for those experiencing cancer.
All programs require pre-registration: Please call 978-456-3532.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Free, require pre-registration
- METASTATIC CANCER – meets 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 3–4:30 p.m.
- METASTATIC BREAST CANCER – meets 1st and 3rd Fridays, 1:30–3 p.m.
- POST TREATMENT – meets 2nd Thursdays, 1–2:30 p.m.
- IN TREATMENT – meets 1st and 3rd Mondays, 1–2:30 p.m.
- YOUNG WOMEN – meets 1st Mondays, 9–10:30 a.m.
- JOURNALING – meets 1st Wednesdays, 11–12:30 p.m.
- SPIRITUAL COMPANIONING – meets 3rd Thursdays, 10:45–12:15 p.m.
TAPPING/EFT
Open to the Community!
Tuesday, December 15, 1–2:30 p.m. Cost: $10
Tuesday, January 19, 1–3:30 p.m. Cost: $10
Tuesday, February 16, 1–2:30 p.m. Cost: $10
In this 90 minute class you will learn and practice EFT. The goal is to have you experience the incredible benefits of “tapping away” anything and everything that has you in a state of overwhelm. You will leave feeling calmer, more able to enjoy your busy, crazy life and the ability to apply EFT to yourself during times of feeling overwhelmed.
NUTRITION: TRUTHS AND MYTHS
Open to the Community!
Monday, January 4, 2:45–3:45 p.m. Cost: $10
Robyn will take folks through the atest trends in the myths and truths of nutrition for best health. We will discuss how to eat beyond all the fads.
EVENING RESTORATIVE YOGA
Open to the Community!
Tuesdays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Cost: $30 Sign up for a series of three
Meets 12/15, 12/22
Tuesdays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Cost: $30 Sign up for a series of three
Meets 1/5, 1/12, 1/19
Tuesdays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Cost: $30 Sign up for a series of four
Meets 2/2, 2/9, 2/16, 2/23
Restorative Yoga centers on your breath and body-alligning the physical and mental by practicing stillness or gentle movement for extended periods of time. Props are used to help you to hold certain poses and postures longer without effort or straining. Restorative Yoga calms and heals the body and mind.
REIKI SHARE
Open to the Community!
Tuesday, January 5, 1–2:30 p.m. FREE. Donations are accepted to benefit the Healing Garden.
Experience a deep sense of calm and wellbeing with our beginning Reiki practitioners that are also clients of the Healing Garden. The practitioners will be providing 20 minute sessions.
MAT PILATES FOR BUILDING STRENGTH
Open to the Community!
Wednesdays, 3:45–4:45 p.m. Six week class for $60
Meets 1/6, 1/13, 1/20, 1/27, 2/3, 2/10
Pilates is a system of controlled exercises that engage the mind and condition the total body. The blend of strngth and flexibility improves posture and reduces stress.
CREATING YOUR PERSONAL MANDALA
Open to the Community!
Wednesdays, 1–3 p.m. Cost: $40 sign up for the series of four classes
Meets 1/6, 1/13, 1/20, 1/27
Mandalas are an ancient, meditative art form used by many cultures to reach the inner self. Using simple techniques and interesting mediums, we’ll explore several ways to use this art form to help us slow down, release tension, and nurture our body’s innate healing powers.
WRITING FOR WELLNESS
Open to the Community!
Thursdays, 1–2:30 p.m.
Meets 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28 Cost: $40 sign up for the series of four classes
Thursdays, 1–2:30 p.m.
Meets 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25 Cost: $40 sign up for the series of four classes
For those on a healing or spiritual path, writing can be soul soothing. In each workshop series, we’ll explore and express our emotions by writing in response to inspirational prompts. Bring a notebook and pen.
MUSIC, IMAGERY AND ART
Open to the Community!
Thursdays, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. $40 for each series of four classes
Meets 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25
Come find relaxation, peace and connection by immersing yourself in music and art. Kara is an expressive arts therapist who will lead the group through guided relaxation and into a programmed music listening experience coupled with an organic art activity.
INSURANCE AND FINANCE: POST CANCER DIAGNOSIS
Open to the Community!
Monday, January 11, 6–7 p.m. FREE, Donations are accepted to benefit the Healing Garden
FInd out about insurance, long term care and financial planning for your family post cancer diagnosis. If you can, email marcia@healinggarden.net with your questions in advance so Cynthia can be best prepared to help you.
MINDFUL HEALTHY LUNCHES
Open to the Community!
Wednesday, January 13, 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Cost to be determined by meal ingredients
Join friends and Healing Garden staff for a healthy lunch! Provided by the Healing Garden and presented with recipes and healthy tips. The price of each lunch will be determined by the cost of meal ingredients
SKIN CARE AND CANCER
Open to the Community!
Wednesday, December 16, 9:30–11 p.m. Cost: $10
Monday, January 18, 2:30–4 p.m. Cost: $10
Monday, February 8, 12:30–2 p.m. Cost: $10
Learn how to help your skin survive and thrive through cancer treatment. Minimize side effects from treatment and improve your quality of life. Holly and her team will be available to provide individual sessions
SEXUALITY AND CANCER: Date change!
Open to the Community!
Wednesday, January 27, 5:30–6:30 p.m. FREE, Donations are accepted to benefit the Healing Garden
Hester Hill Schnipper has over 25 years experience in the field of oncology social work. She has a daily blog “Living with Cancer” where she blogs about the emotional and physical world of cancer treatment. She will present some of the common issues related to intimacy during and after cancer. She will bring in exercises and activities that will nelp reestablish intimacy between couples who are living with cancer and it’s aftermath. If you can, please email marcia@healinggarden.net with your questions and concerns so Hester can be prepared to address them
EXPRESS YOURSELF THROUGH STAMPING
Open to the Community!
Mondays, 3:30–5:30 p.m. Cost: $20 sign up for the series of two classes
Meets 2/1, 2/8
During this two session workshop you will learn how to make your own unique stamps and explore the creative possibilities of designing your own handmade prints, notecards and more. All materials are provided.
FELTING: USING FELTING AS A PATH TO SELF
Open to the Community!
Wednesdays, 1–3 p.m. Please sign up for the series of three classes
Feb 3: The Wandering Line
Feb 10: The Golden Ratio
Feb 17: Exploring sexuality through felting
Drawing is a path, a collection of wandering lines. In this series we will be giving color and life to different kinds of paths, structures, chaotic and familiar through the art of felting.
Q AND A WITH AN ONCOLOGY SOCIAL WORKER
Open to the Community!
Tuesday, February 9, 5:30–6:30 p.m. FREE, Donations are accepted to benefit the Healing Garden
Hester Hill Schnipper has over 25 years experience in the field of oncology social work. She has a daily blog “Living with Cancer” where she blogs about the emotional and physical world of cancer treatment. She will help you understand how your oncology socail worker can help you navigate your own cancer journey. If you can, please email marcia@healinggarden.net with your questions in advance so Hester can be best prepared to help you.
DREAMS AND HEALING: A MONTHLY WORKSHOP
Open to the Community! Cost: $10; a series of 3 for $30
Wednesday, December 16, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Group Dreamwork Process: Dream Incubation
Wednesday, January 13, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Experiential exploration through arts media and play
Wednesday, February 10, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Making a Dream Mandala for Healing
This monthly class offers a safe place to explore the meaning and healing nature of your nightly dreams. For those traveling through the unknowns of a healing crisis, dreams guide and support the drive toward deeper connection with self, life and meaning that arises in such turning points.
WISDOM IN THE WOODS: NATURE WALKS WITH A THEME
Open to the Community!
Wednesday, January 13, 10–11:30 a.m. Tracking: Nnoticing our inner and outer patterns Cost: $10
Wednesday, February 10, 10–11:30 a.m. Cost: $10
Healing Garden nature walks designed to integrate mindfulness with a nature immersion. Led by Penny Dickson
ONENESS BLESSING
Open to the Community!
Sunday, December 13, 3–5 p.m. Cost: $10
Sunday, January 24, 3–5 p.m. Cost: $10
Sunday, February 21, 3p–5 p.m. Cost: $10
At this Oneness Blessing event you will receive a transformative blessing preceded by a meditation. Also known as Deeksha, a transformative blessing is a direct transfer of energy “which causes the heart to flower and the mind to quiet.” This brings a shift in perception and the realization that the sense of separate self is an illusion bringing the experience of oneness.
MORE WRITING YOUR WAY TOWARDS WHOLENESS
Open to the Community!
Tuesday, February 23, 12–2 p.m. Cost: $10
In living with cancer or other health crises, those who journal report having an enhanced understanding of themselves, are more in touch with their needs and are better able to cope. This session will explore themes of compassion and forgiveness through the practice of journal writing. Attendees are invited to bring in written prompts and/or visual images that will kindle group members’ journaling and the meaning of these themes in their lives.
HEALING WITH NATURE: FOREST BATHING
Open to the Community!
Wednesday, January 20, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Cost: $10
Wednesday, February 24, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Cost: $10
Experience relaxing mindfulness exercises in the beautiful gardens of the Healing Garden. Engage all your senses using inspiration from nature to bring you to the present moment. We’ll finish with a tea ceremony and snacks in the gardens gazebo
DROP-IN MEDITATION: MINDFUL MONDAYS WITH MARCIA
Open to the Community!
Mondays, 12:30–1 p.m. FREE: Drop in
Sit in the beautiful Garden Room and practice Mindful Mondays with Marcia Lewin-Berlin, LICSW. She will provide guidance with a twenty-minute meditation CD.
QIGONG: FINDING THE FORCE WITHIN
Open to the Community!
Tuesdays, 10:30–11:30 a.m. Cost: $10 $40 for each series of four classes
Meets 12/1, 12/8, 12/15, 12/22, 1/5, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/2, 2/9, 2/16, 2/23
Combining the vehicles of Tai Chi and Qigong, this practice incorporates ancient healing art practices to promote living mindfully. This is done through balanced movement, breathing exercises, meditation and posture strengthening.
EVENING RESTORATIVE YOGA
Open to the Community!
Tuesdays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Cost: $30 Sign up for a series of three
Meets 12/1, 12/8, 12/15, 12/22
Tuesdays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Cost: $30 Sign up for a series of three
Meets 1/5, 1/12, 1/19
Tuesdays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Cost: $40 sign up for a series of 4
Meets 2/2, 2/9, 2/16, 2/23
Restorative Yoga centers on your breath and body-alligning the physical and mental by practicing stillness or gentle movement for extended periods of time. Props are used to help you to hold certain poses and postures longer without effort or straining. Restorative Yoga calms and heals the body and mind.
YOGA FOR SELF CARE
Open to the Community!
Thursdays, 9:30–10:45 a.m. Cost: Series of 3 for $30
Meets 12/3, 12/10, 12/17, 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25
This series of yoga classes is designed to help you increase your awareness of your body, breath and energy flow. Each class includes warm-ups, traditional yoga postures, yoga breathing techniques, restorative poses, guided relaxation and meditation.
MIND-BODY MUSIC AND SOUND: CREATE AN OASIS OF CALM AND HEALING
Open to the Community!
Mondays, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Cost: $10
Meets 12/7, 12/14, 12/21, 1/11, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/22
This weekly workshop is designed to help you relax, unwind and bring your attention to the music as a meditative tool. As a musician for over 30 years and a certified energy practitioner, Bernadette intuitively blends the fusion of music, group singing, chanting, with sound and energy medicine techniques to create a musically calming oasis that relaxes the mind and helps promote the body’s own natural ability to balance itself. When the mind relaxes, the body follows.
