Empowering Change with Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D.

 This isn’t just a mindfulness course on how to meditate—it’s a training in how to live.

🌿 What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing your full attention to the present moment—without judgment and without trying to change what’s happening. It’s not about escaping your thoughts or forcing yourself to “calm down.” It’s about learning to relate to your experiences with awareness, compassion, and choice.

When practiced regularly, mindfulness changes the way the brain functions. It calms the nervous system, strengthens emotional regulation, and helps restore access to the executive part of the brain that governs attention, planning, and decision-making.

Mindfulness is not about becoming someone new. It’s about coming home to yourself—with more presence, clarity, and ease.

💬 What You’ll Get Out of This Course

Mindfulness for Everyday Life is not about learning to meditate—it’s about learning mindfulness techniques that help you stay grounded, aware, and emotionally present in the moments that matter most. It’s for people who want to stop living on autopilot, reacting out of habit, or getting swept up in stress and overthinking. Through simple, accessible practices, you’ll learn how to pause before reacting, focus your attention, and relate to yourself and others with more clarity and compassion. Whether you're at work, in conversation, or navigating daily tasks, mindfulness gives you the tools to respond with intention rather than reactivity—so you can live more fully, right where you are.

Over the course of four weeks, Mindfulness for Everyday Life will guide you through a practical and transformative process of becoming more present, grounded, and emotionally aware in your daily life.

In Week One, we begin by stepping out of autopilot and into conscious awareness. You'll learn what mindfulness truly is (and what it isn't), explore how the brain defaults to distraction, and practice simple techniques to anchor your attention in the here and now. You'll leave with three “mindful moments” to integrate into your everyday routine right away.

Week Two focuses on emotional regulation—how to pause before reacting. You’ll learn how stress hijacks the brain and how mindfulness helps you interrupt reactive patterns before they take over. Through breathwork and emotional awareness exercises, you'll build the capacity to respond calmly and intentionally in high-stress moments.

In Week Three, we dive into the power of observing your thoughts without getting tangled in them. You’ll learn how to recognize inner criticism, worry, and self-doubt, and practice techniques to shift from judgment to compassion. You’ll also receive a simple daily self-check-in to quiet mental noise and stay rooted in clarity.

Finally, in Week Four, we bring it all together by exploring how to carry mindfulness into real life—during conversations, work tasks, relationships, and transitions. You’ll learn how to create your own mindfulness habit plan, based on what truly supports your presence and peace of mind, and leave with tools to continue practicing well beyond the course.

Each session includes live instruction, guided practice, reflective exercises, and time for connection in a small-group setting. This course is about more than meditation—it’s about learning how to live with greater awareness, intention, and ease, right where you are.

Over the 4-week journey, you’ll learn how to:

• Shift out of autopilot and into conscious, moment-to-moment awareness
• Use mindfulness to manage anxiety, stress, and reactivity
• Identify and interrupt habitual thought patterns like self-criticism, rumination, and worry
• Build emotional resilience by developing a kind, observing presence
• Integrate mindfulness into everyday life—while walking, eating, speaking, working, and relating
• Cultivate practices that support long-term well-being, not just quick relief

Each 75-minute mindfulness session includes:

• Live group discussion and guided instruction
• Accessible mindfulness practices and body awareness tools
• Reflection exercises to deepen self-awareness and integration between sessions
• A safe, confidential small-group environment (6–8 participants) for authentic learning and support

🧠 Why Learn Mindfulness with Me?
As a psychotherapist, coach, and leadership expert with over 40 years of experience, I bring a uniquely integrated approach to teaching mindfulness. I am:

• The former founder and director of the Centre for Mindful Therapies in Toronto, where I led hundreds of clients through mindfulness-based clinical programs for depression, anxiety, and stress-related mental health issues
• Certified to teach the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center
• Experienced in combining mindfulness with neuroscience, psychodynamic therapy, CBT, and leadership development
• A long-time practitioner who knows how to translate mindfulness into real-world application—especially for people in helping professions, those struggling with imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and overachieving, or emotionally demanding environments

Whether you’re brand new to mindfulness or looking to deepen your practice, this course will help you access the calm, grounded clarity that already lives inside you—beneath the noise, beneath the stress, and beyond the survival patterns.

📅 Course Details                                                                                       

Course Title: Mindfulness for Everyday Life

Format: Live online via Zoom

Start Date: October 15, 2025, 1:00 pm to 2:15 pm EST  

             or October 17, 2024, 9 am to 10:15 am EST

Duration: 4 weeks (1 session per week)

Cost: $195.00 + HST

Group Size: Limited to 8 participants

Spots are intentionally limited to keep the space personal, reflective, and connected. 

Give your mind the reset it’s been craving—and learn to live more fully in the moment.