While their first mindfulness experience was mandated by their father, two Cupertino siblings have since embraced its tenets and have started an online initiative to share it with peers who are stressed out by sheltering in place.
“Mindfulness to us means responding to a situation or person rather than reacting to one,” says Riyana Goel, 12, who will be a seventh-grader at Stratford Raynor Middle School in Sunnyvale next school year.
Riyana and her brother Aayush, who will be a sophomore at Cupertino High School next year, started Apart But Not Alone to address their worries about how their learning would be impacted when schools shut down on March 13. They soon found out that their classmates shared similar worries and, in some cases, had concerns about food insecurity and inadequate equipment for online learning at home.
The siblings had already co-founded Golden Fingers Foundation in 2017 with their mother in honor of their grandpa, a film editor who was known as the “Man with Golden Fingers” for his skill.
“A couple months before his death in 2014, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and the first thing that got affected were his golden fingers,” Riyana says. “Since then, we have regularly worked with Parkinson’s patients. When the lockdown was announced, we were able to spin off another arm for Golden Fingers Foundation to quickly institute Apart But Not Alone.”
The siblings brought in their mindfulness coach, Monica Kamran, to help them develop an online platform to explore the themes of mindfulness.
“Both Aayush and I have worked with Ms. Kamran since 2018 to learn mindfulness tips to deepen our practice,” Riyana says. “Since we already had a relationship with her, it was easy to bring her on board.”
The siblings launched Apart But Not Alone with a six-week program of 24 free mindfulness classes that drew more than 1,000 participants of all ages from across the country. The next six-week program was set to begin June 18.
“Our program largely covers all the themes of mindfulness, such as overcoming anxiety, acceptance and letting go, building resilience, embracing the unknown, loving kindness and practicing gratitude,” Riyana says. “Within that structure, we have finetuned the content to offer specific exercises, tips and techniques to deal with the added stress of being stuck at home and the fears and uncertainties associated with it.”
The siblings were uncertain themselves when their father introduced them to mindfulness practices.
“We attended our first Vipassana overnight retreat much against our wishes,” Riyana says. “Initially, we also found it silly and extremely hard to stay focused and sit in meditation. But with regular practice, we realized that the process of becoming aware and focused inward was like shaking up a box of glitter. The first few minutes into meditation, our thoughts are always like glitter floating all over, and then it’s beautiful to see it all settle down and find its place.”
To register for any or all of the free mindfulness classes offered this summer, visit https://www.apartbutnotalone.com/register