Registration Closed. Please check back in Winter 2025 for the next retreat.
Join our LACNETS Health & Wellness Virtual Retreat on Saturday, July 27th, 2024, from 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM PST. The theme of the retreat is "Radical Acceptance." Accepting a diagnosis of cancer for yourself or a loved one can be incredibly difficult to cope with. Radical acceptance touches upon the concepts of gaining perspective, inner peace, embracing difficult emotions, and the importance of connection in our relationships and communities. Compassion and mindfulness are key components of the practice.
We will create a safe, empathetic space to focus on the present moment, acknowledge the difficulty of this diagnosis and an occasion for compassionate connection. Together we will take a moment to appreciate the idea of radical acceptance and the calm and strength it may provide. This is an interactive wellness meeting tailored for those living with neuroendocrine cancer and/or their loved ones.
The retreat will take place on Zoom (a two-way stream), meaning everyone will be able to see and interact with one another during the activities. All sessions are designed with a holistic approach addressing all aspects of your well-being.
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Retreat sessions include:
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Guided Meditation with Ruth Q. Wolever, PhD, NBC-HWC
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Chair Yoga with Julie Wolinsky
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Art Therapy with Angie Madama (Art Therapist)
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Reflections, Connections & Sharing facilitated by Lisa Yen, NP, NBC-HWC
This special biannual event* is offered at no charge to neuroendocrine cancer patients and caregivers. *Limited spots are available. First come, first served.
Register below by July 15th, 2024.
MEET THE INSTRUCTORS & FACILITATORS
JULIE WOLINSKY
Registered Yoga Teacher
Julie Wolinsky is an Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher who has taught a variety of in-person and online yoga formats, including Chair Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Yoga with Weights and Cardio, and Yin Yoga, for the past eight years. Passionate about helping others to live their healthiest and happiest lives, Julie has taught yoga to cancer patients, senior citizens, those in wheelchairs, as well as professional athletes and teenagers. She is certified in Reiki Second Degree Natural Healing, and is working toward a certification as a professional coach.
With a MBA from Harvard Business School, her professional background is in international development, business strategy and entrepreneurship, and includes living and working in Spain and Latin America. She loves languages and has taught yoga in Spanish and Farsi.
Julie developed 5M Yoga, a transformational program for anyone with limited mobility. Through Movement, Meditation, Music, Message & Massage, her students receive a powerful work-out and work-in, along with the tender loving attention they need and deserve. She is inspired to motivate, guide, and learn from her students and believes movement and mindfulness are medicine.
ANGIE MADAMA
Art Therapist
Angie Madama was inspired to form "Reach heART" in March 2020, when the pandemic began, to offer art lessons for kids through Zoom that combine her passion for the arts and mindfulness (she prefers to call it "presentfulness"). It was her intention to provide a safe space to create, physically and emotionally, in addition to supporting an outlet for social engagement, as well as to encourage a sense of connectedness--to think of and support others in our community through our art.
Her background stems from a degree in technical Theatre (Costume and Scene Design), the entertainment industry, her love for the arts, yoga, sports (both playing and coaching), and being a parent herself. She has a constant thirst for creativity and learning, particularly in the field of social and emotional development, neuroscience, and the various ways we all can cultivate a practice of BEING present.
RUTH Q WOLEVER
PhD, NBC-HWC (CST)
Guided Meditation Facilitator
Ruth Q. Wolever, PhD, NBC-HWC serves as Interim Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt and the Director of Vanderbilt Health Coaching. She is an Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, with secondary appointments in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Meharry Medical College. Ruth is the Chief Science Officer for eMindful, Inc., is a founding member and was the inaugural President of the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching. A clinical health psychologist and nationally-board certified health and wellness coach (NBC-HWC), Ruth has over 25 years of experience training and mentoring medical and allied health professionals in behavioral medicine, emotional health and coaching. She also has over 25 years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating behavior change programs for medical patients and those at risk for chronic disease.
Internationally recognized for her expertise on mindfulness and health coaching, Ruth studies mindfulness-based approaches to self-regulation and lifestyle change. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NCCAM – now NCCIH, Office of Women’s Health, NHLBI, NIDCD, and NIDDK), the United States Air Force, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, industry, and philanthropy. Ruth is particularly interested in the intersection of mindfulness, behavior change, and inter-professional training.
LISA YEN
NP, NBC-HWC
Director of Programs & Outreach, LACNETS
Lisa Yen was a nurse practitioner hospitalist for over 12 years prior to her husband’s diagnosis with advanced, metastatic pancreatic NET in January 2015. As a medical professional, a caregiver, and a health coach to NET patients, she brings a unique perspective to LACNETS.
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In her role as Director of Programs & Outreach, she works with the team to plan content for the monthly educational meetings and annual patient educational conference as well as developing programs such as NETCONNECT, the LACNETS Health Coaching Program, the weekly virtual NET support group, and the monthly virtual NET caregiver support group. Lisa also co-created NET VITALS with LACNETS founder Giovanna Joyce Imbesi and City of Hope NET expert Dr. Dan Li. Lisa was the recipient of the 2020 Monica Warner Award. Her passion is to help improve the quality of life for those who have been touched by NET.
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Lisa earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois in 1997, a bachelor of science in nursing from Loyola University of Chicago in 1998, a master of science in nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing’s Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program in 2003, and a post-graduate certification in Health Coaching from Vanderbilt University in 2018. She is a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), a credential offered in collaboration with the National Board of Medical Examiners. She has been active in community service and has served in medical missions in Kenya and Haiti. Other than her passion for helping people, she also enjoys traveling, snowboarding, and attending theater.
RELATED RESOURCES
"The Healing Power Radical Acceptance" - Psychology Today
"6 Ways to Reduce Suffering With Radical Acceptance" by McKenna Price, University of Washington
Radical acceptance is a core practice of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a type of therapy developed at the University of Washington by Marsha Linehan, Professor Emeritus of Psychology.
By registering, you agree to let LACNETS know at least 72 hours in advance of the retreat
if you are unable to attend.
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Contact us at events@lacnets.org if you have any questions.