Personal, Professional and Academic Experience
Informs Laura’s Authentic Mindful Approach
Laura Gavigan, Founder
Laura is open about sharing her experiences with anxiety and chronic pain throughout her life. She knows, first hand, how a mindful approach is an easier, kinder way of being for herself and others.
Working as an educator for 25+ years, Laura learned ways to manage her own stress and anxiety with therapy, yoga and meditation and wanted to bring this insight and practice to others. She has coached and advised thousands of students, integrating a framework of mindful wellness, empathy, and support and has led introductory and advanced mindful meditation classes and workshops. She has also been featured as a guest speaker or panelist for a wide variety of organizations.
Laura helps people discover their inherent and newly acquired mindful skills to live with peace, ease and energy for balanced well-being.
“I could have really used mindfulness when I was younger. I was anxious, exhausted and never in the moment. I truly wish I had known about yoga, meditation and mindfulness then for the insight and skills to stay in the moment. And to understand myself and others with curiosity and compassion.”
- Laura Gavigan
Managing Stress with Mindfulness
Life inherently creates stress and anxiety, leading to burnout and chronic health challenges. There’s no way around stress but we can learn to manage it with less pain and exhaustion.
Mindful Matters was launched in the spring of 2021, when the world collectively experienced stress, trauma and uncertainty and was desperately need of calm, compassionate support and safety then and now.
Laura decided to start offering a blended model of teaching, counseling and coaching integrating mindful meditation skills to help others understand and manage their very human stress responses during crises and for a lifetime.
For Laura, It’s Personal
Mindfulness has helped Laura during times of challenge so everything she brings to Mindful Matters counseling and coaching is very personal and authentic.
Her unique strength is a combination of teaching, counseling, coaching, advising and leadership all with with an emphasis on mindful wellness.
Mindful Matters embodies a compassionate, empathetic approach.
Professional and Educational Expertise & Affiliations
Laura possesses extensive experience and education working as an academic counselor and mindful meditation teacher for an incredibly diverse group of students and colleagues with the University of Rochester’s Mindful University Project. She brings 25+ years of professional and leadership experience in addition to her personal experience.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from SUNY Oswego, Master’s degrees in both Higher Education Administration and School Counseling from the University of Rochester and is a certified Mindfulness teacher and EFT practitioner.
“Laura was by far the strongest support system I had at the University of Rochester. I could always count on her to help me through difficult times with compassion and wisdom, while proudly celebrating my success as I found my path.
She is someone I consider to be a formative mentor and a dear friend that has been there for me every step of the way, long after I graduated college.”
Forrest B.