Mindfulness among healthy living sessions set at Kennedy Center

VOORHEES Linda Townshend, a service specialist for Kennedy Health System, believes that Americans multitask too often nowadays. So she began teaching mindfulness courses at the Kennedy Center at Voorhees over the winter.

"The mind wants us to live in the past and future, and we end up missing a lot of the present," she said.

Townshend will host two weekly mindfulness classes this summer, one on Wednesdays and one on Thursdays, at the center, 1099 White Horse Rd., Voorhees.

A small number of seats remain, but only for the Thursday session, which will run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for eight weeks beginning May 1. The session is capped at 25 students, and registration will close once classes begin. Students pay a fee of $50 for the entire program.

During the lessons, Townshend will teach students proper meditation techniques before moving on to lessons about being mindful in one's waking life, including driving and eating mindfully.

"We are not just sitting on cushions," she said.

The session is one of Kennedy's Wellness Classes, a series of seminars and workshops designed to help area individuals live healthier lifestyles. Kennedy will also host seminars on improving one's sleep and traveling with diabetes on May 6 and 8.

To sign up for the mindfulness lessons, visit kennedyhealth.org or call 856-566-5303.

- Jerry Iannelli