Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Delaney and Jess Place.
Patrick and Jess, please share your story with us.
We are high school teachers who have been teaching together for 11 years in Cumming, Georgia, a suburb north of Atlanta. Patrick is a special education teacher who co-teaches in my English class. We both have our PhD’s in education: I had mine in Curriculum and Instruction and Patrick has his in Special Education. Both of us came to Mindfulness because we share the common characteristic of social anxiety, which leads to depression.
When Patrick was working on his PhD in 2008, he was becoming more and more frustrated with his anxiety; the voice in his head would never shut up and was incredibly negative and judgmental. During his research for his dissertation, he came across Mindfulness and it peaked his interest. That is when he started reading about it, practicing it, and experiencing the benefits. When I saw how Patrick was so much more relaxed and happy, I became curious and he gave me some books to read on Mindfulness. Then we both took the 8 week MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) class created by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the Mindfulness guru. While Patrick taught Mindfulness techniques to high school sports teams such as football, lacrosse, and basketball, we both taught a Mindfulness course to fellow teachers and they loved it. That is when we decided to take our knowledge of Mindfulness and Meditation and create a small startup.
We began teaching a weekly course at Montessori at Vickery to parents and teachers of the school and gave them tools to find peace and calm within the chaos of raising/teaching small children. After two 8 week sessions, we decided to spread our wings and made contact with Mike Reis, the owner of DecisionPoint Wellness Center in Johns Creek. He immediately took us on board to teach Mindfulness classes on Saturdays at his facility. Our classes are open to the public. Since we don’t have a place of our own, we travel to other businesses and gear our lessons to fit their specific needs.
Has it been a smooth road?
One obstacles is we never know how many people will show up to a class. Sometimes our class is full, and sometimes we only have one or two people attend. It is also tough to explain exactly what we “do”; Mindfulness can be a rather vague concept when talking to people who have never heard of it. Even though “Mindfulness” is a buzz word right now, there is a misinterpretation of what it really is. Explaining that to people has been a struggle.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
What sets up apart from others is we are the only Mindfulness business in North Georgia. Even though we charge for each class, we have a sliding scale that makes taking classes more accessible to everyone. Our goal is to spread Mindfulness to as many people as we can. We are not focused on becoming rich; we find joy in making people’s lives easier and happier.
North Georgia Mindfulness Project believes we are each a work in progress; we are projects that will never be completed but Mindfulness and meditation can make a significant positive change in one’s life.
We teach a rotating series of Mindfulness classes that focus on topics such as Mindful Communication, Mindfulness and Stress, Anxiety and Depression, among many other themes… Our classes introduce various meditation techniques and we facilitate group discussion related to the challenges we all face in our day to day lives.
When we are called out by companies, sports teams, and other various groups, we modify our curriculum to best meet their particular needs.
We are most proud of the positive feedback we receive from our participants after each class. That is why we do what we do.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
North Georgia Mindfulness Project does not have a brick and mortar location; we go where we are needed. This makes it easier for people who want to learn Mindfulness to call us and bring us in to their communities or businesses.
One aspect of our region is many people in North Georgia tend to be hesitant to learn meditation and Mindfulness because they fear there is a religious connotation attached. However, NGMP is secular; our Mindfulness classes don’t focus on any religion, only science and research.
Pricing:
- $250 for all 8 classes
- After taking 8 classes, a $10 drop in fee
- $31.25 per class
- Or by Dana/donation (For people who do not have the financial means to pay the full amount for our classes. Dana is not a payment for goods and services rendered; it is given from the heart. It is a gift that supports the teachers and the Mindfulness practice).
Contact Info:
- Address: 4860 Fieldstone View Circle
Cumming, GA . 30028 - Website: www.themindfultoolbox.com
- Phone: 678-629-7155
- Email: mindfultool@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthGAMindfulness/
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