Online: A Buddhist Guide to Living with Chronic Pain and Illness
with Toni Bernhard
Sunday, February 16th, 2025 | 5:30pm – 7:30pm ET
In-Person Location: New York Insight at 115 West 29th Street, 12th Floor
It’s no fun to get sick, have little stamina, or experience chronic physical pain. Aside from reminding us that life is uncertain, unpredictable, and often does not conform to our wishes, these challenges can provide a measure of peace if we know how to respond skillfully.
Join Toni Bernhard, acclaimed author of How to Be Sick, for a two-hour evening program about living with, and getting curious about, chronic pain and illness. She’ll use the Buddha’s teachings to learn about some inevitable life experiences: aging, illness, pain, sorrow, loss, and unmet desires, and discover some profound insights and practices to help us respond to health challenges with grace.
In addition, she will talk about mindfulness—how, when we live in the present moment, we are freed from stressful narratives, usually about the future. Finally, Toni will introduce two Brahma Viharas: self-compassion and equanimity.
Everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of experience with meditation or Buddhism.
Online Registration:
Please register below. If you are able, registering at the “Supporter” level enables others to attend at the “Subsidized” level. Thank you for your generosity! (Please note that the registration price includes a base level of teacher support, and you will have the opportunity to donate more after the program.)
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Volunteering
All of our programs rely on volunteers to support our teachers and staff with various tasks and responsibilities. Volunteering allows you to participate in our programs at no cost. To inquire about volunteering opportunities, please fill out our inquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Teacher(s)
Toni Bernhard
Toni Bernhard has been studying and practicing Buddhism for 32 years. She has written four books, three on chronic pain and illness, and one that is an introduction to Buddhism. She practices in the Theravadin tradition but draws on Zen and Tibetan Buddhism in her writing. The books are How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers (2nd Ed. 2018, also available in a pocket-sized edition, written in 2020); How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness (2015); and How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow. Her blog “Turning Straw Into Gold” is hosted by Psychology Today online. Before becoming ill in 2001, she was a law professor at UC Davis, serving six years as the dean of students. Today, she is an accomplished fabric artist. Her website is tonibernhard.com.