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Speakers for Awaken’17

Fathima Khader

Founder EvolveED, Mindfulness Educator & Parent Consultant

Topic: Listening with Intent and presence

Fathima brings with her close to 15 years of experience in the education sector working extensively with children, teachers and parents in areas of life skills training, personal development and child behavior management. Her passions lies in conducting workshops on Personal safety, Body awareness, Human Sexuality, CSA awareness and has extensively worked with adolescents on responsible behaviors. A teacher trainer and a certified parent coach who now works with families to create a happy fulfilling environment at home and classroom. Believes that relationships are connected by soul and Interpersonal challenges are dealt with both the mind & the heart. She has also conducted training programs outside India and trained teachers and parents in the Middle East. She launched Mindfulness based “Life Skills” Programme in 2016 that aims to create safe - compassionate spaces for children to learn, connect and thrive. The programme is designed to instil the 3 R’s ( Build connected relationship, Reflections & Resilience) and 1 C ( Compassion based social skills) in education.

Workshop Summary

When we practice compassion based listening with students, we foster a sense of belonging, inclusion, and learning in the classroom. This session focuses on teaching simple tools to use attention & full presence during conversations. Paying full attention creates safety, builds focus in classrooms and leaves children with the feeling of “feeling felt”. These tools when practiced with intention helps young adults build inclusive social spaces in which everyone feels invited and heard. Such resonant environments not only foster respect and acceptance, they also integrate emotional and cognitive control, enabling them to think with equanimity.

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Jayashree Ashok

Principal and Co-founder of ‘The Creative School’ and Pragya Living Wisdom Centre

Topic: “Pause - Bringing in Mindfulness with Children"

Jayashree Ashok is the Founder of Pragya Living Wisdom Centre and Creative School in North Bengaluru. She has over 17 years of experience in the areas of healing and transformation using mindfulness, breathing and other in depth approaches. Jayashree teaches mindfulness and breathing as two essential practices for empowered living and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, careers and relationships. Education, Parenting and Children are closest to her heart and she has developed several training programs to bring in conscious parenting and teaching.Creative school is a pioneer in strong holistic, integrated curriculum for children that teaches emotional intelligence, mindfulness and self-care. Children imbibe simple practices that help them stay connected to themselves and work through their challenges.

Workshop Summary

Jayashree will teach two simple approaches to increasing mindfulness in children using Conscious Connected Breathing and Awareness built using aspects of Non-violent Communication (NVC). When we learn to pause and utilize these quick and easy to use methods we help children keep their focus inwards, develop emotional intelligence and become more receptive and strong.

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Dilip P Patel, Certified Zentangle Teacher

Certified Zentangle Trainer, Corporate Trainer, Engineer

Topic: “Zentangle® way to mindfulness”

Dilip Patel is an engineer by education, was an entrepreneur by profession, a counsellor by heart and a trainer/learning facilitator by passion.As a trainer/facilitator, he has been creating new learning processes and experiences for over 20 years. Being associated with Initiatives of Change, an International organisation, he gets to train senior management cadres from the corporate sector, as well as senior Govt officers including IAS/IPS officers. He has created very effective self-exploration processes called ‘Life Balance Sheet’ and ‘JOG with the POT’.He believes that the hall mark of a good facilitator is his ability to learn new things. He became India’s first Certified Zentangle Teacher, and has been teaching this new meditative art form to various segments of the society since over five years. He is here to unravel the prowess of this art form in creating mindful schools.

Workshop Summary

The education system very badly needs an overhaul to bring back creativity, attention, mindfulness. The need of the hour is to drastically improve the attention span of the children, and provide very effective tools to the teaching members to enhance their own patience, presence of mind and ability to help deserving children with compassion and understanding. Meditation, they say, is an effective tool to achieve the above objectives. However, practicing meditation offers too many hurdles, and frustrates many a meditator in attaining a real meditative state of mind.The mini workshop will attempt to make the participants experience glimpses of mindfulness/meditative state of mind through the fun filled process of creating unique, abstract ‘Zentangle art’ pieces, while making them understand the mechanism of the method. Proof of the pudding, they say, is in eating. The participants will have this exciting experience, and would come out of the workshop hungry for more!

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Shamira Pujani

Consultant at EvolveED, Psychologist, Nutritionist, Mindfulness Educator, CSA Expert

Topic: “Mind - Body - Soul - Food - Paying attention to oneself”

Shamira works in the field of education with parents, teachers and students; creating awareness on life-skills, personal safety and child sexual abuse.A vocal and passionate proponent of the philosophy that mindful living is the key to a happy and healthy life, Shamira trains people from various walks of life to incorporate mindfulness in daily living.Keeping EQ, work-life balance and mindfulness as the underpinning, she works with the corporate sector training, facilitating them to be effective leaders in today’s volatile and complex world. Organizations where Shamira has trained at are Canadian International School (Bangalore), Indus International School (Bangalore), Bethany High School (Bangalore), Baldwins School and college (Bangalore), Genpact, Bekaert India, Anirban Digital Technologies, Volkswagen, Dana India, KPMG, Reliance General Insurance, ITC, HSBC, AXA, John Deere, Siemens, BMC, TATA Motors and Amdocs.

Workshop Summary

Our body is the instrument through which we experience everything, the world around and the world within.Unfortunately like most other relationships in today’s world our relationship with our bodies has also become a superficial one. We’ve lost our connection with our bodies. Our bodies constantly communicate with us. Nudging us, guiding us, rebelling, revolting and finally breaking down when we don't pay heed to what its trying to tell us. We teach the same to our children. To tune out, instead of tuning in.In this age of distraction paying attention to our body and what it needs, what nurtures it is as important as paying attention to other relationships. Just like other relationships we need patience, attention and consistency to build a strong bond with our body.‘Anna He Poorna Brahma’ – Food is Brahma (the creator of the universe) that gives life to its living force.One of the primary means to connect and communicate with our bodies is food. Changing the way we eat can change the way we live. Being aware of the way we eat can bring in awareness in other areas of our lives, building attention in our attention deficit world.

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Baijesh A.R.

Clinical Psychologist, Mindfulness guide, Trainer, Wellness consultant, Researcher

Topic: Emotional Competence through Mindfulness 

Mr. Baijesh A. R. is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Dept. of Psychology, Central University of Karnataka. As a consultant clinical psychologist he has a regular clinical practice where clients with various psychological- interpersonal problems seek psychological assessments and psychotherapy. He is a Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) practioner , accredited tariner by Association for Solution Focused Practices- India (ASFP-I) and member of European Brief Therapy Association (EBTA). As a specialist in Mindfulness Based Practices he has extensive clinical and research experience in professionally using mindfulness for better living. He is a visiting faculty for different universities and consultant to different organizations. Apart from clinical practice, he is also involved in teaching, training, conducting workshops, independent research and supervision. He has published scientific articles and has written chapters in books. He has contributed in contextualizing Solution Focused Interventions and Mindfulness Based Interventions to Indian context, especially applications in treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.

Workshop Summary

Childhood is considered as a period of both great opportunity and vulnerability. Research evidences has demonstrated the strong link between young children’s social-emotional competence and their cognitive development, language skills, mental health and school success. The evolution of social-emotional competence depends on the quality of nurturing attachment and stimulation that a child experiences. Mindfulness based interventions and training at schools may significantly contribute in improving emotion regulation and overall well-being among the children. The workshop aims at understanding emotional competence from a social-constructivist perspective and developing emotional competence among children by introducing mindfulness based practices contextualized to the school setting.