Structured Time vs. Free Time for Play – Why Not Both?
Could there possibly be any benefit in overscheduling a child’s life? Here’s how one mother defended it in a recent essay for the Washington Post: Of course, there is value in sitting in a corner reading, playing board games, climbing a tree or just daydreaming. But...
Responding to 13 Reasons Why (Resources Included)
By Lynea Gillen Across the US and Canada, schools have been warning parents about the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and its handling of teen suicide. If you’ve been following the controversy, you’re familiar with the concerns – that it glorifies suicide, that it...
Practicing Gratitude This Mother’s Day (Activity Downloads Included)
By Lynea Gillen “But you do it, too, Mommy!” There’s nothing more frustrating as a parent than to realize that a child’s troubling behavior pattern is something they learned from you! How many of us have had that hollow feeling when we expect them to “do as I say, not...
Science Meets Nature
Each spring, when the flowers and leaves are coming out and nature is once again showing its beautiful resiliency, I have my RYT-200 students go on a Mindful Walk through our garden. It’s a nice break from learning yoga anatomy and yoga teaching techniques, and it...
4 Ways to Bring More Mindfulness to Yourself & Your Kids
“When I had my son, I knew how I didn’t want to raise him,” a mother we know recently told us. She didn’t want to parent as she had been parented. She didn’t want to repeat the patterns of her own past. “At the same time, I didn’t know how I did want to raise him,”...
How to Bring More Mindfulness into the Family: Mindful Parenting
When a child acts out reactively, it’s the easiest thing in the world to respond just as reactively – with anger and impatience. And that response says far more than just “your behavior is upsetting, so please stop it.” It says that a big, fast, from-the-gut reaction...
Helping a Child Through Grief & Loss
Emotional loss is part of the human condition and, though painful, is part of our growth into caring, compassionate adults. Grief is the process through which we heal. Many of us grow up without learning how to grieve in healthy ways, how to let go of the pain while...
How Trauma Changes the Brain, How Strength Transforms Trauma
By Lynea Gillen It was clear that the young men in the psychiatric unit weren’t much interested in yoga. Struggling with addiction and mental health, they appeared cautious, wounded, apathetic. Lounging in their hospital scrubs, they shot us suspicious glances. “We...
Low Back Pain? Kids Can Have It, Too. And Yoga Can Help (Tips Included!)
Low back pain is pretty common. It’s the top cause of disability worldwide. Over 30 million American adults have it right now. Maybe you’re one of them. But it’s not something you normally associate with kids. The conventional wisdom is that children shouldn’t...
Bullying on the Rise – What Do We Do About It?
Through recent months, we’ve seen evidence of a lot more bullying going on, much of it attributed to the angry, polarizing 2016 US election. Recent research out of the University of Wisconsin seems to reinforce that impression. If we look at the 2013 data, about 12...
Resolution: Bringing What Matters into Focus
By Jim Gillen My first yoga class of the year is always a big one – as many as 50 people squeezing into a small space, each wanting to start off the new year right. Usually, I ask my students about their “resolutions.” This year, I asked a different question:...
Yoga for the Holidays, Strengthening Family Ties
By Lynea Gillen I recently led a yoga class for a family that has been involved in Yoga Calm for several years now. About halfway through, one of the older girls who hadn’t practiced in a while quietly said, “It’s good to be back.” Her mother smiled. Yes, it is good...