Guest Blog Post: Gianna Vallefuoco, Vallefuoco Contractors
As a tile contractor for almost 24 years, I know the stress under which many members of our industry are living. I know what stress can do to my own mind, body, business, and all my relationships. I know how debilitating stress can be and how hard it is to break free from the cycle of toxic stress. I have hit rock bottom, and I have dug myself out from being buried.
In the process of digging, I found some life altering mindfulness tools. These tools were so powerful for me, I began studying mindfulness and neuroscience. After years of studying, I became a certified neuroscience-based mindfulness meditation teacher. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to teach mindfulness to populations across the globe, including psychologists, law enforcement & first responders, non-profits, public and private schools and universities, trade associations, private companies, and retreat centers.
This April, I finally get to teach to my people – my tile industry colleagues! I’m so excited to be part of The Coverings Lounge at Coverings 2023 in Orlando.
THE COVERINGS LOUNGE
The Coverings Lounge will focus on four key themes of Coverings 2023 – Sustainability, Outdoor Spaces, Timeless Luxury, and – here’s where I come in – Health & Wellness. I’ll be offering mindfulness classes throughout the week, geared to optimizing the mind and body for thinking and feeling well. I will focus heavily on how to navigate daily life stressors, and how to shift from merely surviving to truly thriving.
This will be a judgment free zone, so please don’t assume my trainings are only for those who lead a consistently “healthy” lifestyle. We all prioritize other things over our own wellness when life gets busy, and we get stuck. True wellness is about treating yourself with compassion, and nurturing your mind, body, and soul. I know our culture doesn’t make self-care a priority, but our industry is truly focused on changing that, and bringing wellness to the forefront. My intention for these classes at Coverings 2023 is to demystify the “M” words like mindfulness and meditation, and bring some credibility to how life changing mindfulness tools and practices can be. Since Coverings is a tile and stone event, obviously I want to help make your WORK life better, but inevitably, mindfulness will make your LIFE work better, too.
WORKSHOPS
I will be teaching a series of workshops throughout the week, covering the basic principles of mindfulness as a practice for real life. Using principles from psychology, neuroscience, and some ancient wisdom, you will develop a skill set for navigating life’s daily and deep challenges. You will learn how the brain works, and the tools to navigate those intrusive thoughts and emotions that all humans experience. We will cover how to rewire and create new reflexes in our brains, engage in basic breathwork, and learn to skillfully handle common human experiences like stress, fear, shame, unworthiness, and failure. We will also learn to embrace our own vulnerabilities with self-compassion. We will address how to approach any obstacle with acceptance and move toward resilience. Expect to learn a thing or two about how to love more deeply and authentically, work more skillfully, and live an intentional life without being overwhelmed by stress and emotional pain.
- INTRO TO MINDFULNESS will cover the stress response and how we are wired. We will offer tools to regulate thoughts and emotions, and break unwanted patterns and reflexes. We will do a brief guided meditation.
Tuesday, April 18 at 11:30 AM & Thursday, April 20 at 2:00 PM
- MEDITATION FOR NON-MEDITATORS will address why practicing meditation is so powerful, the reasons we struggle with meditation, and how to meditate if you’re a fidgety, high energy, overthinker (like me). We will include a brief guided meditation in a setting specifically for non-meditators (remember, I was one).
Wednesday, April 19 at 11:30 AM
- FAILURE AS FUEL will be an enlightening approach to embracing our vulnerabilities, setbacks, and our long resumé of failures, and use them as fuel to find motivation. We will do a brief guided meditation.
Tuesday, April 18 at 2:00 PM & Thursday, April 20 at 10:30 AM
- THE POWER OF BREATH will provide basic breath practices specifically to de-escalate and reset our minds when we are smack in the middle of states of stress, crisis, or profound self-judgment. We will weave in a brief guided meditation.
Wednesday, April 19 at 2:00 PM
Please join me at The Coverings Lounge for any (or preferably, all) of the workshops! We also deserve to thrive and live with more self-compassion, less self-judgment, and abundant joy and human connection! Connect with me in person at Coverings! Simply click here to register at no cost and join me in Orlando.
