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Managing Stress and Accessing Well-Being

Offerings

with Laura Liss

Mindfulness Courses

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Winter 2025

Orientation: Wednesday February 5 at 6pm

The Course: Saturdays 10am-12:30pm

Feb 8 – March 29

Events and Workshops

Working with Difficult Emotions Half Day Workshop

Crows End, 2430 Squire Court

Date and time

to be announced

Mindfulness Sessions

Individual, Couple and Group Sessions

Develop or deepen a mindfulness practice with personalized support and guidance.

Free initial consultation. Call to schedule

On Being

From the Beginning

We humans are complex and miraculous creatures of habit. As we experience life through our senses we touch the precious, the mundane and everything in between. While we essentially navigate contemporary life with brains that evolved millions of years ago, basing our actions on what we think to be true can sometimes lead to inner conflict and interpersonal challenges. To complicate matters our reactions to stress (fight, flight or freeze) are also part of a primitive survival system such that being stuck in traffic can create the same physiological experience as being chased by a tiger.                                                                   

Today

Our stressors are different from those of prehistoric times and our responses to them can be adapted to embody health and wholeness. Our culture has developed paradoxical advancements, that in some moments appear to make life easier and foster the feeling of connectedness and in other moments leave us feeling overwhelmed, alone and uncertain. 

A Closer Look

When we slow down enough to explore our hearts and minds with a kind curiosity, we can become aware of how our thoughts and perceptions direct our behavior. We all have the desire to be happy and content, however, many of us have mind habits that keep this happiness at a distance. Our thoughts can sometimes lock us into regrets about the past or keep us worrying about the future. Preoccupation with thinking, “If only things were a little different or quite different than they are now,” “If only I could go back and change the past,” or “Once I get the job, married, the house, the car, retire, … then I will be happy,” can deplete our ability to be awake and present. This disconnection from the moment keeps us from inhabiting the only place we can truly live – Here and Now.

Developing Clarity

Fortunately, there are skillful ways to be in our lives that promote health, well-being and contentedness. Mindful living begins with the cultivation of a deeper understanding of the truth of our human experience including a healthy awareness of how we care for ourselves and interact with people and our surroundings.

As we practice being in the moments of our lives with acceptance, kindness and compassion rather than caught up in worries of the past and concerns about the future, we slowly build a deep reservoir of well-being that we can rely on. 

                                                                               

Laura Liss, MA, MSW

Since 2018, Laura has offered Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses, sitting meditation instruction and yoga classes in San Luis Obispo. She is deeply devoted to serving participants through these practices as she has experienced the life changing benefits of actively living in the moments of life.

Laura encourages gentle self-inquiry into what is noticed during practices to help with the uncovering of a deeper knowing and expanded awareness. Through exploration of perception and the boxes we put ourselves in as we attach to certain roles and habits of behavior, she guides participants to get curious about widening the lens of experience. Nurturing the ability to turn toward challenging emotions and experiences with kindness, compassion and inclusion is a focus in her classes and sessions.

With current mindfulness research and findings from neuroscience, Laura invites participants to explore new relationships with their primitive nervous system, family members, stress, anxiety, depression and chronic pain, to name a few.

Education and Training

MA Psychology, New York University; MSW, University of Pennsylvania; Psychotherapy practice; Clinical Social Work; 500 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher; MBSR teaching practicum and internship at Jefferson University’s Mindful Institute; 7 day MBSR professional training through The Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts; participation in 7-9 day silent residential retreats; leadership training at White Heron Sangha in San Luis Obispo, CA; mentorship, advanced training, and MBSR teaching certification through University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute; and graduate of Mindfulness Mentor Training Program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield.

Places

Conveniently located in San Luis Obispo.

Crows End Retreat

A beautiful, secluded 6-acre property in the quiet hills of Squire Canyon, adjacent to Avila Valley. The MBSR courses and Mindful Workshops take place here.

6430 Squire Court, San Luis Obispo, CA

White Heron Sangha
Meditation Center

Located in Avila Village.

Meditation classes and Daylong Retreats take place here.

6615 Bay Laurel Place, Avila Beach, CA

Testimonials

Contact

Please feel free to message me here with any questions.