Designer Offers "Seven Days to Sanctuary" Online Course to Rejuvenate Body and Spirit in Turbulent Times
NAPLES, Fla., Feb. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning interior designer Lisa Kahn offers a restorative path to peace of mind, creativity, and joy with her online course, "Seven Days to Sanctuary," which launches at the end of February. With a goal of nurturing both body and spirit, the curriculum teaches participants how to create their own personal sanctuaries where the toxic effects of stress and worry can be reversed through a joyful rejuvenation of spirit that's evoked by the physical space itself.
Her timing could not be better. Each morning the news stresses and depresses as the country's diverse and turbulent times make the headlines. If ever the concept of a personal physical sanctuary for rejuvenating body and spirit had currency, it is now.
"I've always been intrigued with the relationship between the built environment and the human spirit," says Kahn, who opened her design firm, Lisa Kahn Designs, in Naples in 2000. "I approach residential design as an opportunity to create spaces that serve not only our bodies but cradle our souls. My work has always been about creating peaceful environments of beauty and order, creativity and light."
Kahn's reason for creating "Seven Days to Sanctuary" was simple. Not everyone can have her as their interior designer, but everyone needs their own sanctuary. And especially now, when personal peace can seem so elusive. The self-paced course costs $188 and comprises seven classes, each about an hour long. Start-up can be any time, with the content delivered to each student upon enrollment."
Though students progress at their own pace, the classes are interactive. Students' comments will be posted, and others can respond. "Students automatically become members of the Finding Sanctuary Community. As every sanctuary is always a work in progress, this community is the place where we shape our challenges and our little (and big) victories," explains Kahn. Each class begins with a short video introducing the topic then segues into deeper reading on the subject, followed by an activity and instructions on how to share it with the class.
The first class is devoted to setting the right intentions. "It's so important to get your sanctuary space off on the right foot!" says Kahn. Choosing the location that works best is paramount to a sanctuary's success. The curriculum also will cover sanctuary practices—all the things students actually will do in their sanctuary spaces—as well as outfitting the sanctuary, deciding which colors, textures, and furnishings will be most conducive to a restorative retreat.
"I also share secrets and strategies that I've learned from creating sanctuary for myself and my daughter, and from my work for clients. I've spent countless hours researching the interaction between the built environment and the human spirit. I designed the curriculum to introduce students to the basics of creating a space that will comfort their bodies and refresh their spirits," Kahn explains.
True to her quest for beauty, the curriculum Kahn created is beautiful in its own right. It includes poetry by Walt Whitman and Nobel prize-winner Wislawa Szymborska, and passages from Anne Lamott and Kahlil Gibran. Coursework is more of a mental inventory than a prescription of external essentials, and that inward look begins the quietude and reflection that are emblematic of a true sanctuary. Kahn's own writing includes phrases like "temples for our growth" and "putting value on ourselves through our sacred spaces."
It's no coincidence that eloquent writing is exhibited in the course materials. The course is an offshoot of a book, "Finding Sanctuary," that Kahn is writing and expects to see on bookshelves in 2019. "The book is about how creating peace in the environment around us inspires peace within us," she says. "I paused writing the book to develop 'Seven Days to Sanctuary.'"
Kahn recommends the online course for anyone looking for a sense of peace and serenity; who wants to transform her or his life from one of frantic activity to one of balance and harmony; who wonders how to reconnect with her or his innate creativity; and who needs "some good, old-fashioned self-care."
For more information, visit Seven Days to Sanctuary Seven-days-to-sanctuary-class, Kahn's blog findingsanctuary.com or her website lisakahndesigns.com.
Media contact:
Cathy Lloyd
[email protected]
336-956-2488
SOURCE Lisa Kahn Designs
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