Online Offerings

The Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness is pleased to offer online events, courses, practice meetings and other learning opportunities. While onsite attendance is usually encouraged (due to the unique and powerful benefits of in-person group practice), we realize that this is not possible for everyone. Our goal is to make these concepts and practices available to anyone who wants them in their lives.

In light of the pandemic, all of our classes will be offered simultaneously online and on-site until further notice. We will assume online participation unless you contact us at least 24-hours in advance of the class you are registered for to reserve a limited seat on site. Register for the class you wish to participate in and, if its not a free class, purchase your pass. The Zoom link will be provided for you in your registration confirmation.

Important Information:

When you register for an online offering, the Zoom link will come to you with your registration confirmation. You must also purchase a pass for paid classes and sign a waiver (one time only) to attend. When you register for hybrid offerings ( those offered both online and onsite), please email us to let us know if you plan to attend in person so we can make space for you.

Live closed captioning is available during our DiversAbilities meetings (instructions below) and may be available for other online events upon advance request – please contact us to request closed captioning.

The following additional terms and conditions pertain to your attendance and participation in online and hybrid offerings conducted by MAM. By registering for any of our online and hybrid programs, you signify your acceptance of and obligation to the following terms and conditions (if you have objections to the following terms and conditions, you should not register for or attend the offering):

1. While we make every effort to ensure the quality of the video and audio on our end, we cannot guarantee it on the participant’s end. If you are having problems with your connection we will do our best to help troubleshoot, but we do not offer refunds after the enrollment deadline for our offerings.
2. Participants agree not to record, duplicate, or distribute the materials presented in our offerings without the express written permission of MAM.
3. MAM records some of our offerings and this is clearly disclosed in the registration information for each offering. Participants in recorded classes may appear in these recordings and give MAM permission for their use and distribution.
4. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the registration materials, online offerings are for participants who are 18 years of age or older.

What you will need:

• computer with web camera and microphone
• high speed internet connection
• good lighting
• a quiet and private space where you will be uninterrupted
• an appropriate seat for sitting meditation (and possibly space for mindful movement if that is part of the offering)

It is advised that you practice using your video camera and microphone with a friend or family member prior to your first online offering if you have never used them before.  You can test your bandwidth at www.speedtest.net. Closing all other programs and windows on your computer to reduce delay and choppiness.

Using Zoom

MAM uses Zoom as our primary platform for our online meetings. Here are some video tutorials to help you understand how to use Zoom:

• Joining a Meeting: https://youtu.be/vFhAEoCF7jg
• Meeting Controls: https://youtu.be/4w_pRMBEALE

Participant controls in Zoom are typically in the lower left of the Zoom screen. Using the icons in the lower left corner of the Zoom screen, you can:

• Mute/Unmute your microphone (a red line means off) – please keep your microphone muted when you aren’t speaking to the group to minimize background noise
• Turn on/off camera (“Start/Stop Video”) – please keep your video on during offerings so we can connect more intimately
• Leave the meeting

Typically in the upper right corner, you will see a choice to toggle between “speaker” and “gallery” view. “Speaker view” shows the active speaker. “Gallery view” tiles all of the meeting participants. We recommend using the gallery view for a more connected experience.

Once you are in the virtual practice space, please change your display name to your actual name (if its not already). This helps us check attendance and in relating to one another during the practice. When there is a waiting room, we will only allow folks into the Zoom space whose names we recognize from our registration list. If you’d like, you might add where you’re practicing from as well. Here are instructions on how to do that: https://www.techjunkie.com/zoom-change-name/

Please consider keeping your camera on during our meetings and practices. This really adds to the sense of community we would like to foster in our online offerings.

For privacy reasons and in order to engender a sense of safety within our community, please do not record any of our meetings. MAM will not record any meetings unless it has been expressly stated in the registration materials. We wish you a peaceful and meaningful practice experience!