IDRPP Offers Mindfulness Training to Community at Large

The Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice offers two mindfulness courses for anyone who wishes to improve their life balance and reduce anxiety. The signup deadline is Sept. 8.

Mindfulness Foundations is a 12-week introductory training that lays the groundwork for starting a mindfulness practice. The training will explore mindfulness through four pillars: body, mind, emotion and connection. You have the flexibility to choose between in-person or online participation. Classes are every Wednesday noon, starting Sept. 11 and ending Dec. 4.

Embodied Mindfulness is a new, 12-week course to help you develop interoceptive awareness (the ability to sense and evaluate bodily cues) and deepen your mindfulness practice through the body. This training is offered exclusively in person. Classes are every Wednesday at 4 p.m. (Mountain Time), starting Sept. 11 and ending Dec. 4.

Both trainings are available on a sliding scale, starting at $60 for the entire 12-week program. Scholarships are available.

Instructor Joana Franco is a Certified Mindfulness Teacher and received her Ph.D. from USU in 2020.

“We have more than 35 years of research and evidence for mindfulness,” Franco said. “What we already found in research is that it helps reduce stress considerably.

“There's a lot of developing kindness toward oneself, toward others. Mindfulness is basically being present with an attitude of openness, of curiosity, rather than judgment, to your situation, or to people, or to yourself.”

Franco’s research focused on the design of an online course to introduce mindfulness to students in higher education settings. She is also a registered yoga teacher who incorporates mindful movement in all the work she does. She has also been trained in mindful communication and mindful leadership to help bring applied mindfulness into the workplace.