SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY AND UCLA HEALTH SYSTEM PRESENT INTRODUCTION TO MINDFUL AWARENESS. - States News Service

SANTA MONICA, CA -- The following information was released by the city of Santa Monica:

Learn the art of paying attention to the present moment with openness and curiosity during Introduction to Mindful Awareness on Thursday, February 16, at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Library's Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

Anyone can learn mindfulness, and repeated practice can greatly improve the way we relate to life's difficulties. Mindfulness has scientific support as a means to reduce stress, improve attention, boost the immune system, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote a general sense of health and wellness. Diana Winston, Director of Mindfulness Education for UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), will share the science behind how mindfulness works on our body and brain, and offer several exercises that teach the basics of mindfulness meditation.

Winston is the co-author of Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. She has practiced mindfulness since 1989, including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma.

This program is co-sponsored by UCLA Health System. Admission is free, and seating is first come, first served. The Santa Monica Public Library is wheelchair-accessible. For special disabled services, call Library Administration at (310) 458-8606 at least one week prior to event. The Main Library is served by Big Blue Bus routes 1, 7 and 10. Ride your bike. Bicycle parking racks are available at the library.

For more information about this and other Library programs, visit www.smpl.org or call the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600.