"Celebrating Women's Wisdom" Creates Connections, Open Minds

Cynthia Petrakis-Mason is bringing women together for hand drumming, healing and a day of revitalization at a daylong event called “Celebrating Women’s Wisdom” April 9.

Held at the , this is the fourth time Mason of Regent Square has hosted the event in partnership with her co-worker, yoga instructor Diane Feliciani.

“We have been to different workshops and we thought, why don’t we put a day together where women can get together and just have fun and learn something new and maybe add something to their life that they had been curious about and kind of go for it,” Mason said.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and costs $45 with lunch included. Workshops include hand drumming, energy healing, meditation, emotional freedom techniques, “Creating Your Next Chapter,” "Stress Reduction through Mindfulness," Holistic nutrition and belly dancing.

In the past, women who have met during workshops have gone on to work together in classes and other groups.

“We are really happy to say we have seen that happen with two workshops,” Mason said. “One was a writing workshop the last time and it ended up becoming a group of people doing continuous sessions on Saturday and hand drumming became a class.”

Making new friends and connecting to new experiences with an open heart has become a major theme of “Celebrating Women’s Wisdom.”

“No matter what ends up happening, it’s an opportunity for people to open up to something new and the connections with the women are my favorite part,” Mason said. “It happens every time. “

Mason and Feliciani are forming a business called Heartful Path in the hopes of spreading their philosophy of living with attention and purpose. In their own workshop, “Stress Reduction Through Mindfulness,” the pair teaches both theory and practice for women to alleviate stress in their daily lives.

“Mindfulness to me is a way of being and if we can bring this kind of conscious living with an open heart to whatever the groups are, they take that and it feels like a way to spread some calm and peace; paying attention to the world,” Mason said. “That’s my passion and I guess a bit of a mission to be able to bring this way of living so you don’t end up at 70 thinking, 'How did we get here?'”

Mason said she wants every woman to leave the event feeling better than they did when they arrived.

“What I have seen and what I hope for is that people just feel more energized, get a good feeling from connecting, letting go and allowing themselves to have the time for themselves,” Mason said. “It’s a feeling of being revitalized and hopefully they have made some new friends.”

Participants get a choice to take part in three different workshops throughout the day. For more information, to register and make workshop selections, e-mail cpetrakismason@gmail.com.