Meet Dana A. Schneider
Dana founded Contemplative Insights, LLC to share her love of heart-centered practices to people interested in enhancing their wellbeing and integrating a mind, body and spirit approach to living. She is fascinated by the concept of thin places, derived from Celtic spirituality, where the everyday world meets the divine world. She is working on a project to explore this intersection with the sacred, pulling from her research and her decades of work with students and clients. Dana earned an A.B. from Bowdoin College, an MSW and Ph.D. from Smith College School for Social Work. She has a postgraduate certificate in Contemplative Practice, also from Smith College.
Dana is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coach Federation and trained in Transformative Coaching with the Graduate Institute. She is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT 200) certified in Kripalu yoga. Specializing in mindfulness with under-resourced communities, Dana completed a trauma-informed Mindfulness Teacher Training with the Engaged Mindfulness Institute and is a certified mindfulness teacher (CMT-P) through the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. Much of Dana’s approach to mindfulness is influenced by her personal experiences training with and being exposed to great teachers, such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Chan Khong, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Daniel Siegel, Joan Borysenko, and David Whyte. Dana’s practice is informed by great poets and the teachings of Plum Village, where she received the five mindfulness trainings.
Extending into the community, Dana has conducted local and national presentations on mindfulness practices and mindfulness in education and has provided workshops and sessions with a variety of organizations including:
- 4Catalyzer
- Ann's Place
- CT Chapter of NASW
- Dawn Giddeon Foundation
- Evergreen Yoga/Meditation Collaborative in New Haven
- Guilford Center for Children
- Guilford High School
- Independent Day School
- LEARN Regional Educational Service Center
- Mercy by the Sea Retreat and Conference Center
- Southern Connecticut State University
- Summer Institute for the Gifted at Yale University
- Watershed Partnership
Inspired by adventure, Dana has traveled to Plum Village in France; conducted a program evaluation of an environmental and healthcare clinic in Indonesia; and participated in a meditation and service retreat with a mindfulness-based school in India. She lives on the shoreline with her family.
Dana’s scholarship focusses on individuals’ stories and resilience. She has researched, written and presented on women’s childbirth experiences, the experiences of individuals in New Haven who are homeless, as well as themes of being seen and known in education. Her research appears in journals including: Families in Society, Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, Journal of Social Service Research, Psychoanalytic Social Work, The Journal of Perinatal Education, The Journal of Teaching in Social Work, Social Work Education: The International Journal, International Journal of Childbirth Education, and Smith College Studies in Social Work.
Dana is pleased to have collaborated with the following organizations:
