Registration

Sign up to deepen your well of caregiving support and strengthen your relationships!

Enroll on this Google Form https://forms.gle/H7CGPPKk8PCqDiRW8. Space is limited to 15 in-person and 15 online participants.

Course Details

  • Dates

    Sundays, Sept. 13 - Nov. 15, 2026

  • Time

    4:00 - 7:00 pm, except 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Sunday, October 25

  • Location

    Bellingham Queer Collective, 310 W Champion St. Bellingham, WA 98230 and online via Zoom.

  • Cost

    Free community Offering!

Course Description and Goals

A prism divides light into the rainbow, a symbol often used to describe the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Prismatic parents, caregivers, and educators are themselves 2SLGBTQ+ and/or have 2SLGBTQ+ children in their care. Mindful relationships with youth reduce hyperactive, depressive, and aggressive behaviors without requiring them to change at all. When caregivers practice mindfulness, research suggests that youth behavior improves, and adults get benefits such as improved communication with youth, higher relational satisfaction, less stress and anxiety, and the feeling that parenting / caregiving is less work. Participants in this course will be introduced to mindfulness in the caregiving relationship and will experience both automatic and aware parenting / caregiving. In addition, mindfulness home practices and resources to support them will be explored.

  • Define mindfulness, mindful caretaking, minority stress, and adultism

  • Identify the impact of the way participants were parented on their parenting, caregiving, or educating style

  • Understand how adults practicing mindfulness can reduce caregiver stress and improve both the adult-youth relationship and youth behavior

  • Experience and practice mindful lying down, sitting, and movement

  • Identify mindfulness resources to support ongoing learning and practice

Course curriculum

    1. Zoom Link MPPCE Orientation

    2. Orientation Part 1: Introduction to Mindfulness

    3. Introduction to Anchors Meditation

    1. Zoom Link MPPCE Session 1

    2. Session 1 Slide Show

    3. Session 1 Home Practice

    4. Session 1 Handout

    5. Session 1 Practice Record

    6. Body Scan Meditation

    1. Zoom Link MPPCE Session 2

    2. Session 2 Slide Show

    3. Session 2 Home Practice

    4. Session 2 Handout

    5. Session 2 Practice Record Sheet

    6. Session 2 Savoring Pleasant Moments Calendar

    1. Zoom Link MPPCE Session 3

    2. Session 3 Handout

    3. Session 3 Slide Show

    4. Session 3 Home Practice

    5. Session 3 Practice Record Sheet

    6. Lying Down Yoga Sequence

    7. Lying Down Yoga Audio Recording

    8. Session 3 Stressful Moments Calendar

    9. Sitting Meditation: Awareness of Breath and Body Sensations

    1. Zoom Link MPPCE Session 4

    2. Session 4 Home Practice

    3. Session 4 Handout

    4. Session 4 Practice Record Sheet

    5. Standing Yoga Sequence

    6. Standing Yoga Audio Recording

    7. Session 4 Parenting Stress Calendar: 3-min Breathing Space

    1. Zoom Link MPPCE Session 5

About this course

  • Free
  • 36 lessons
  • 0.5 hours of video content

Instructor(s)

Facilitator Jill Stansbury

Jill Stansbury is a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction facilitator qualified by the Brown University Center for Mindfulness and a Health and Wellbeing Coach certified by Duke University that has been running parenting and meditation groups for fifteen years. She has been a co-parent, extended family member caretaker, and classroom educator / school administrator for almost thirty years. Meditation has been a daily part of her life for over twenty-five years, and she looks forward to practicing with you. Her goal has always been to guide people to look at their strengths and learn additional tools to increase wellness. This course is part of her vision to share that approach with as many individuals, educators and parents as possible so that the world becomes a place that welcomes and cares for us all.