Wellness Mini-Sessions

Need a quick break? Join a 20-minute Wellness Mini-Session to learn about and practice a wellness strategy designed for education settings. These monthly sessions will feature wellness experts from throughout California sharing a variety of ideas that you can use and share to promote stress management. Sessions will occur on the second Wednesday of each month. Recordings will be posted to the Resources page.

Register for Wellness Mini-Sessions

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November Session

The Mindfulness Map: A Journey of Connection

November 12, 2025, 2:00-2:20 p.m.

Together we will engage in a practice, process, and plan model to build confidence in leading mindfulness lessons, support self and student care through parallel processes, and set up for success in sustaining mindfulness practices across the school day and year. Participants will have the opportunity to explore social emotional learning aligned Mindfulness lessons through experiential learning.

Resources will be provided.

Facilitator:

Meade Williams is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California specializing in mindfulness-based practices and is currently the Mindfulness Coordinator with Tulare County Office of Education’s Project AWARE. Meade is passionate about supporting youth through their unique journey while strengthening the communities that serve them. In addition to her work with Tulare COE, Meade maintains a private consultation practice— Garden House Therapy.

 

December Session

Mindfulness for a Busy Mind

December 10, 2025, 10:00-10:20 a.m.

Our minds are constantly working—planning, worrying, and solving problems. This can lead to stress and feeling overwhelmed. Mindfulness isn’t about stopping these thoughts; it’s about changing our relationship with them.

Mindful Breathing is your personal “reset button.” When your mind is racing, focusing on the simple sensation of your breath gives you a break from mental chatter. It helps calm your nervous system and improves your focus.

Mindful Listening trains your mind to be fully present by using sound as an anchor, rather than being carried away or distracted by sound.

Together, these practices help you create small pockets of peace and clarity, not by emptying your mind, but by learning to direct it.

Facilitator:

Angelo Monsalve joined the Mindful Life Project (MLP) in 2018 as an instructor, serving low-income youth and providing daily mindfulness programming in schools. Promoted to Director of Partnerships in 2021, he now connects with schools nationwide to expand MLP’s programs. A certified yoga instructor, Angelo previously worked for the Prison Yoga Project at San Quentin State Prison, introducing yoga and wellness practices to incarcerated individuals.

 

January Session

Improve Your Stress Response

January 14, 2026 2:00-2:20 p.m.

Learn practical, evidence-based techniques to increase vagal tone and support nervous system regulation. Engage in simple, daily practices that activate the vagus nerve promote calm, resilience, and improved stress response. In a school setting, enhancing vagal tone is especially valuable, as it fosters focus, emotional balance, and healthier connections for both staff and students.

Facilitator:

Kat Satterly serves as Program Specialist for Staff Well-Being at the Orange County Department of Education, where she leads the Thriving Schools Initiative. In this role, she supports schools in advancing whole-child health with a focused priority on cultivating staff wellness. Kat has presented nationally on educator well-being and social-emotional learning and champions the belief that staff well-being is foundational to student success.

 

Need to find a strategy now? Check out the BeWell website to find quick and easy practices to chill out, refocus, or maintain well-being.