Barbara Burggraaff
Dr. Barbara Burggraaff is the co-founder of the Southern Mindfulness Institute, and the co-founder and board member of the non profit Compassionate Carolina. She is board certified both in Otolaryngology, and in Sleep Medicine. She is a mindfulness facilitator certified through the Engaged Mindfulness Institute. Her interests include: Integrating mindfulness further into the realm of medicine, compassion and outreach, interpersonal relationships, mindfulness in recovery and addiction, and treatment of insomnia and anxiety. Barbara’s passion is to make accessible the practice of mindfulness and compassion to a diverse population including at risk individuals. Barbara has dedicated her adult life to the practice of medicine. However, in many respects, she does not feel like she become a true “healer” until she started practicing Mindfulness and meditation intensively. She has become dedicated to the study of Energy Medicine and is currently doing a 2 year Shamanic apprenticeship. She believes that wellness includes the integration of body, mind, and spirit.
Mindfulness: What happens to your brain when you meditate?
We can actually change the structure and function of our brains for the better using mindfulness practices. Find out how and why mindful meditation creates new pathways in the brain that result in more happiness, compassion and resiliency and peace. In this lively interaction Dr. Barbara Burggraaff and Sheila Garrick share their passion for mindfulness, happiness, neuroscience and their wish for a healthier more compassionate world. “We live in a largely skeptical, fear based, us vs. them society. As we understand the science of how the brain works, how we got here, we can learn to open our minds and our hearts to one another. We are not nearly as civilized as we like to think. Mindful awareness, presence, compassion, self-compassion; these are skills. Through honing these skills and connection we move forward better able to thrive.” –Sheila Garrick