Social connections that create a sense of caring, contributing, and community have a range of benefits for health and well-being at all ages and are especially important as we age. In this presentation, Dr. Kim Van Orden will describe reasons why attending to one’s ‘social health’ is important and social connection is a form of medicine! She will discuss evidence-based strategies to increase quantity and quality of social connections. She will share resources for audience members to take home with them, including tip sheets and places to learn more about topics discussed.  Sign up for this class if you plan to access via Zoom only. Dr. Van Orden is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She is the Principal Investigator of the HOPE Lab (Helping Older People Engage) and Co-Director of the Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties and Aging Research. She conducts randomized trials to test programs to promote social engagement and healthy aging. Kim mentors students and fellows, co-directs a research fellowship, and maintains an active clinical practice providing evidence-based psychotherapy to older adults.

Are you looking for a way to begin or develop a meditation practice but don’t know where to start? Maybe you’ve tried a class or attempted to start on your own but are frustrated because nothing has helped calm your “monkey mind”. This class teaches the tried and true method of Metta or Loving Kindness Meditation as a much-needed anchor to free the mind. Learn how to calm the whirling, repetitive or troubling thoughts that plague our days and nights, robbing us of our peacefulness and contentment. Learn this mindfulness practice along with other techniques as remedies for the inevitable pitfalls of a meditation practice. This class is open to all Beginning & Intermediate level seekers. Diane Macchiavelli, L.Ac. is a 40+ year active meditation practitioner, still learning how to find that elusive “peace within." Sign up for one or both sessions!