Awaken Pittsburgh

04/03/2026

For those who already have a mindfulness practice, this is an opportunity to go deeper.

Mindful Connections™ for Trauma Sensitive Practices is designed for individuals who want to better understand how mindfulness intersects with trauma and how to hold space in ways that support healing.

This program explores how to create safety, understand emotional regulation, and approach mindfulness with greater awareness and care, especially when working with others.

Whether you guide others or simply want to deepen your own understanding, this experience offers a thoughtful and responsible next step.

Program begins May 2. Registration closes May 1.

awakenpittsburgh.org/events

04/02/2026

If life has felt fast, overwhelming, or just a little disconnected lately, this is your invitation to pause.

Mindful Connections™ for Wellness is a 9-week guided experience designed to help you bring mindfulness into your everyday life. Not just during practice, but in your relationships, your work, and the moments that matter most.

You will learn how to manage stress, stay grounded, and build a more consistent sense of wellbeing through simple, practical tools you can use right away.

This is not about doing more. It is about learning how to be more present with what already is.

Join us beginning April 20.

awakenpittsburgh.org/events

02/26/2026

Today, we celebrate the graduates of Trauma Resiliency Protocol (TRP) Cohort 2.

Trauma does not just live in the past. It lives in our bodies and in our neighborhoods. And healing does not have to mean reliving painful experiences.

Through a powerful partnership between Awaken, Tactical Resiliency USA, and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, this cohort engaged a gentle, fast-acting protocol designed to help the nervous system recognize safety again

TRP offers:
• No re-traumatization
• Rapid relief, often within 1–3 sessions
• A pathway to breaking cycles that impact families and communities
• Flexible in-person or virtual access

Cohort 2, your courage matters. Your healing matters. When individuals reclaim their peace, entire communities grow stronger.

If this resonates with you or someone you serve, visit awakenpittsburgh.org to explore next steps in trauma healing.

02/25/2026

Big News! We’re Joining SEED SPOT’s Mental & Behavioral Health Impact Accelerator Cohort!

We’re beyond excited to announce that Awaken has been selected to join the SEED SPOT 2026 Cohort!

SEED SPOT is a nationally recognized social impact incubator that empowers entrepreneurs to tackle pressing social and environmental challenges. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be collaborating with an inspiring group of founders, mentors, and experts as we refine our business model, grow our impact, and prepare to scale.

This opportunity means the world to us, not only as validation of our mission, but as a powerful step forward in our journey to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace and at home.

Huge thanks to the SEED SPOT team for believing in our vision. We’re ready to learn, grow, and make meaningful changes together.

Let’s do this!

02/25/2026

In a world that feels loud, divided, and fast-paced, what would it look like to intentionally soften the edges of your day?

In our latest episode of The Ripple Effect of Wellbeing in Work and Life, Awaken Program Deliverer Shannon Jenkins guides us through the practice of Loving-Kindness, or Metta. This simple yet powerful meditation invites us to cultivate an open heart without forcing emotion or pretending everything is fine. We begin with those who are easy to love and gently expand outward, planting seeds of well-wishing and care at our own pace.

This practice is not about changing other people. It is about shifting our own hearts and minds toward kindness, even in a chaotic world.

Take a few minutes to pause, breathe, and practice with us. The ripple begins within you.

🎧 Listen now and let kindness lead the way.

02/10/2026

🎧 New Episode of The Ripple Effect Podcast

What does it really mean to find ease in your body, your identity, and the world around you?

In our latest episode, Dr. Stephanie Romero sits down with Lawrence Schuessler (he/him) for a grounded, compassionate conversation about mindfulness, embodiment, and showing up with heart in uncertain times. They explore Nature Dharma, the healing power of reconnecting with the body, deep listening, and why personal practice and collective liberation are deeply intertwined.

✨ This episode is an invitation to slow down, breathe, and remember: permission matters, identities evolve, and wherever you are on the path, you are already enough.

🎙️ Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

01/27/2026

In this week’s episode of The Ripple Effect Podcast, Dr. Stephanie Romero invites listeners into a compassionate exploration of forgiveness as a powerful mindfulness practice and an act of self-care. Moving beyond the common myths that forgiveness means forgetting or excusing harm, the episode reframes it as the process of releasing the emotional charge that keeps past pain alive in the present. Through reflection and a gentle, guided meditation, listeners are supported in extending compassion toward themselves and others, creating space for emotional resilience, reduced stress, and renewed inner peace. Whether you are carrying a small resentment or a deeper wound, this episode offers a calm, safe container to begin softening, letting go, and reclaiming a sense of ease.

12/02/2025

Awaken Pittsburgh invites you to join us in celebrating Giving Tuesday by supporting Mindful Moments: The Ripple Effect of Presence—our end-of-year campaign dedicated to making mindfulness accessible in schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods throughout the region.

Your Giving Tuesday gift helps sustain the practices that allow people to meet stress with clarity, navigate challenges with compassion, and build deeper connections with one another. When you give today, you help ensure these life-changing tools reach those who need them most.

There are three meaningful ways you can give right now:

· Give directly at www.awakenpittsburgh.org/support

· Support us through GiveBig Pittsburgh: https://www.givebigpittsburgh.com/organizations/awaken-pittsburgh

· See if your employer will double your impact through a matching gift: https://awakenpittsburgh.org/support/matching-gift/

We also invite you to share your own “mindful moment” from this year on this platform. Your story may spark someone else’s journey toward greater presence.

Thank you for supporting Awaken Pittsburgh this Giving Tuesday. Your kindness today creates the ripples that reshape tomorrow.

11/07/2025

✨ We’re honored to see Dr. Stephanie Romero featured by AMA Pittsburgh! ✨
In their latest blog, “Mindfulness & Presence,” Dr. Romero shares how cultivating mindful awareness helps leaders reconnect with purpose, creativity, and focus in an age of constant distraction.

Take a moment to read her inspiring insights on how mindfulness can transform the way we work and lead:
https://amapittsburgh.org/blog/mindfulness-presence/

In a world of constant distraction, Dr. Stephanie Romero shared how marketers can reclaim focus, align with purpose, and lead with clarity using mindfulness and emotional awareness as tools for more intentional, impactful work.

11/02/2025

We’re delighted to welcome Irma (Ñeca) Rodríguez to Awaken Pittsburgh! A Mexico City educator and consultant, she uses dialogue and collaboration to spark personal and social transformation.

11/01/2025

We’re honored to welcome Sylvia London to Awaken Pittsburgh! An educator and consultant from Mexico City, she fosters collaboration and dialogue across cultures.

10/31/2025

We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Ken Thompson to Awaken Pittsburgh! A visionary psychiatrist and leader in social medicine, health equity, and community healing.