Mindfulness Movement Hopes to Create Big Changes for City of Chicago

Curating Mindfulness holds inaugural meditation event to benefit Lawrence Hall

CHICAGO, IL, November 27, 2017 – Curating Mindfulness is a new organization dedicated to teaching meditation and mindfulness techniques to the masses. By offering free access to large group mediation, the organization aims to spread the life-changing, contentment-boosting effects of mindful living. For the first event, which kicks off on Sunday, December 17, at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport, Curating Mindfulness teamed up with charity partner Lawrence Hall. A $1+ donation to Lawrence Hall is all that is requested for admittance. They are expecting about 500 people to attend.

The burgeoning mindfulness movement is the antidote to an epidemic modern malaise: technology overload. In a world that’s evolving faster than our minds and bodies are designed to keep up with, mental health issues like anxiety are skyrocketing. We’re more connected than ever, yet more disconnected from ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones. Curating Mindfulness founder Vanessa Palmer wants everyone to know that they are invited.

“This isn’t a secret club,” she says, “and you don’t need any prior meditation experience to join us. This is for everyone. Yes, that includes you, too. We’ll have first-time meditators, experienced practitioners, and everyone in between.”

Doors open at 8am, and participants have an hour to browse vendor tables, connect with Chicagoland’s mindful brands, and get settled into their spaces. At 9am, a brief introductory talk will precede the 40-minute guided meditation led by Vanessa and Sarah Palmer. The meditation experience ends with a 15-minute Sound Healing relaxation led by Chad Soderholm, immediately followed by live performance art by Sarvin Harghighi. Attendees can once again connect with mindful brands from 10am – 11am and listen to a panel discussion on mindful living at 10:30am.

“When I had the idea to start these mass meditations, I knew I couldn’t do this alone,” says Palmer. “I reached out to my network to see who would be interested in getting involved. The response was overwhelming. Everyone I spoke to wanted to help out and make it happen.”

Other founding board members of Curating Mindfulness include Sarah Palmer, founder of Rogue Yoga; Chad Soderholm, co-founder of Soderworld Wellness Center; Diane Bronstein, inventor of NAMAseat meditation cushions; Michael Pottern, founder of the Find My Zen app; and Sarvin Harghighi, resident artist at Zhou B Art Center. GT’s Kombucha has come on board as the official drink sponsor of the movement.

“We all know how much meditation and mindfulness have improved our own lives, and we want to share this magic with as many people as possible,” says Vanessa Palmer.

Curating Mindfulness will also be popping up in schools and corporations around town, starting with South Loop Elementary on November 28th. The December 17th experience will be the first in a series of public events in the city of Chicago, including what Curating Mindfulness co-founders hope will be the largest gathering of meditators in one space. “Comiskey Park, Soldier Field, Grant Park, Lakeshore Drive,” suggests Palmer, “the sky’s the limit. Our ultimate goal is to get tens of thousands of people together in one space. We know we’ll get there.”

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About Curating Mindfulness
Change starts from within. Curating Mindfulness is an organization dedicated to enacting large-scale positive change in the city of Chicago and beyond by sharing meditation and mindfulness techniques with as many people as possible.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Vanessa Palmer at (773) 791-9182, or email [email protected]. You may also reach out to PR contact Sarah Palmer at (773) 750-7871, or email [email protected].