Brain Hacks: Suggestions from Neuroscience on How to Make Good on Your Resolutions
Did you make any resolutions for the new year? How are you doing with them? The hard truth is that despite every good intention, most of us fail to make good on the promises we make to ourselves at the turning of the year. Some statistics suggest that, over the long...
Sharing Dreams Can Change the World
When we started Yoga Calm, we had no idea how it would grow. We had a dream and we shared our ideas with a small group of enthusiastic school counselors at a local conference. Their excitement and support motivated us to share with many others – not just counselors...
Tech Toys Are Fun, but Do They Really Help Learning? (Maybe Not)
For a lot of kids this past holiday season, at least one – and maybe many – of the gifts they opened were tech toys of one kind or another. Older kids may have received things like video games, tablets, wearables, or countless other gadgets (even – for better or worse...
Got Sleep? It’s Just the Thing Our Brains Need
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, indeed – especially for teachers and students. For it’s not just the presents and fabulous feasts and festive family gatherings; not just the sparkly lights, glitter and shimmer and all the rest. It’s a welcome opportunity...
Skilled, Safe and Free Range Children
Those of us old enough to remember the original Mickey Mouse Club can recall that while Jiminy Cricket warned us about a whole lot of things – “I’m No Fool, no siree!” – “stranger danger” was never one of them. My, how things have changed! “Why Won’t You Let Your Son...
Successfully Bringing Yoga into Your School
When Lynea and I first developed our Yoga Calm program at her elementary school in the year 2000, we had no idea that we were going to be part of such a large movement. We were just responding to student needs with the skills and tools we had on hand. Fast forward 15...
Practical Mindfulness: Gratitude
When people talk about mindfulness, you often hear them talk about gratitude, too. After all, you can’t really practice gratitude without it. For gratitude is more than just saying “thanks.” It’s recognizing what we value about an action or person or thing, and how we...
Re-connecting the “Me-Me-Me Generation”
Were you, too, a little disconcerted to see Christmas swag going up well before Halloween this year? Yet that makes it even a little cooler to see more major retailers stepping up to say, “No, we’re not opening early for Black Friday. We’re staying closed all...
Working Together – Making Our Dreams Come True
Writing books has always been a dream for Yoga Calm founder, Lynea Gillen. But it hasn't always been an easy path. Her first children's book, Good People Everywhere, was panned by her writing group, because it didn't fit the typical children's book model. "Their...
A New Vision for Healing: Yoga as Complementary Therapy
For parents and children struggling with mental health and behavioral issues, the stress of life can be overwhelming. Often the clients come from families with unresolved grief and trauma. The professionals working in the field need tools that are simple and...
Kids, Autonomy & the Need for Unstructured – Even “Risky” – Play
How much freedom a child is given is largely a matter of perceived risk. It’s the case with traditional societies. It’s the case with our own. But what happens when our risk assessment doesn’t really match reality? Our Media-Fueled Fear It’s easy to believe that the...
So “Close”, yet So “Far”Away… : The Impact of Tech on Kid’s Empathy
In a recent New York Times article, Professor Sherry Turkle offered a stark example of how lack of empathy can play out in a school setting: A few years ago, a private middle school asked me to consult with its faculty: Students were not developing friendships the way...