Thriving Together — Cultivating Joy: Releasing stories of blame and fear and activating a kinder, more loving and joyful heart
June 2 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Overview
Join us for the Providers Thriving Together series, part of the Thriving Project initiative. These free virtual drop-in sessions provide a facilitated space to experience camaraderie and peer support in the service of activating our collective resilience. At the sessions, presenters – usually rural peers from around the province—will share practices, frameworks or ideas they’ve found useful. Sessions will prioritize time for exploring these themes in both small and large groups.
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Description:
Mindfulness practice helps build in us a sense of peace and calm, out of which happiness and true joy can thrive. Both neuroplasticity research and my own personal experience have shown that certain intentional practices can awaken us to joy.
Eligibility:
Dr. Lisa Vasil – As a family physician, I believe that medicine must have a holistic approach if it is to be successful. Our health is shaped by the stories we tell, the relationships we nurture, the food we eat and the ways we care for our minds and bodies. That belief has carried me through my 25 years of practicing rural medicine and guides my work as a mindfulness meditation teacher.
Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec to parents of Greek and French heritage, I was raised with the belief that a good life is rooted in good health, shared meals and open conversations. From an early age, I was drawn to exploring our connections with the natural world and our place in it. I was fascinated by how plants, ecosystems and people flourish and obtained an honours degree in biology from McGill, focused on ecology and women’s studies. I carried this curiosity into my medical training, which I completed at McGill in 2000.
My journey into mindfulness began my early twenties, when I began to explore Buddhism and Yoga. Trying to find time for a yoga and meditation practice as a doctor and mother of three has not always been easy! But in 2023, I completed my 200-hour Yoga teacher training and in February 2025, I completed a two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Program (MMTCP) with Tara Brach PhD and Jack Kornfield PhD. This was an incredibly enriching program and has further deepened my understanding of mindfulness and the positive impacts it can have on health and healing. Today, I share mindfulness meditation workshops with my patients and the general public. My intention is to offer a space where people can reconnect with themselves and find more joy and happiness in their lives.
Dr. Dani Pichie is a dedicated family physician and the Chief of Staff at Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton, BC. In her role, Dr. Pichie has significantly reformed both primary and acute care environments, leading to improvements in the healthcare of residents in Hazelton and the surrounding Gitxsan communities.
A fervent advocate for medical education, Dr. Pichie supports the training of residents and medical students in Hazelton, offering them a unique experience in full-scope rural medicine. She works with a team that is commited to culturally safe care, aiming to meet the needs of Indigenous patients in a low-resource setting.
Registration
To register for the Providers Thriving Together session please complete the registration form below. We’ll send you a calendar invite, along with monthly reminders of session dates.
Contact
Email Alison James at [email protected] for more information about the session.
