In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure world, taking time to pause and care for our well-being is more important than ever. Launched last spring, the Well-Being Lunch and Chat series is a monthly virtual gathering to support individual and collective wellness through meaningful conversation, reflection and connection.

Mark your calendar and plan to join UCOP Learning and Development on April 3 from 12:10 – 12:55 p.m. for the next event in our series, Return to Center, Finding Clarity in Busy Moments.

In the midst of competing priorities and constant demands, it’s easy for our minds to feel cluttered and reactive. Guest Speaker Jen Nguyen will lead this workshop to help us explore how to gently “return to center” by learning how to direct our attention with intention. You’ll discover simple, practical techniques — using your breath, body and senses — to calm your nervous system and regain clarity. You’ll walk away with tools you can use in real time to feel steadier, more focused and more present in busy moments. Register for the April 3 event.

Another wellness opportunity: Mindfulness training through FSAP

This spring, the UCSF/UCOP Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) is once again offering its virtual Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program — an eight-week workshop designed to help you develop more self-awareness through a heart-centered approach. Open to all UCOP staff, this course will help you reduce anxiety and stress, boost your mental resilience and distress tolerance, help curb self-defeating thought patterns and increase your happiness and productivity.

Through the lens of self-compassion, you will:

• Gain greater self-acceptance, control over difficult emotions and self-soothing techniques to navigate moments of inner chaos
• Practice mindful self-compassion to help heal self-defeating patterns, such as self-criticism and blame
• Find pathways to allow the subtler qualities of self-compassion, including wisdom and inner stability, to emerge

Course sessions will incorporate sitting meditation, body awareness and mindful movement.

You must attend a pre-course information session to participate. The info session will take place on Tuesday, March 17, from 12 – 1 p.m. Pre-registration is not needed. Join by Zoom (passcode: 1234).

The course itself will take place on Tuesdays from 3 to 4 p.m. (PT): March 31, April 7, April 14, April 21, April 28, May 5, May 12 and May 19. Learn more about the FSAP training.

Self-paced wellness opportunities

UCOP staff can access on-demand classes and workshops through LinkedIn Learning. Visit the UCOP Work and Wellness collection, which includes courses vetted by our Learning and Development team. (Get started with LinkedIn Learning.)

For questions, contact ucopld@ucop.edu.

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