Facing – & Transforming – the Fear of Feelings
Last fall, Gallup and UNICEF teamed up to ask teens and young adults in nearly two dozen countries on what it’s like to grow up in today’s world. The vast majority - 86% - said they sometimes or often feel anxious or worried. Nearly the same number also said that when...
From the Archives: Cultivating More Positive Emotions in These Ongoing COVID Times
This week, we thought we’d re-share this post from the early days of the pandemic, for after nearly two years, we can all use reminders of the importance of recognizing positives to balance the effects of negative feelings. One positive? Signs that Omicron may be...
Tips for Talking with Kids About Climate Change & the Environment
With so much buzz about the new Netflix movie Don’t Look Up, you’d hope that at least some of it would transition to talk about the issue it allegorizes - and, most importantly, what we can do about it. But talking about climate change is difficult. And it’s even...
The Yoga Calm Blog Year in Review, 2021
It’s natural to find yourself feeling a little more introspective and reflective at this time of year. Like all living things, we pull inward through the quiet, dark days of winter, preparing for new growth in the year to come. When we look back on our blog each year,...
“Safety…Is the Presence of Connection”
One time when I was working with a client, I asked how she had survived the many losses and trauma of her childhood. She smiled and said simply, “I found magic, safe places in the world: a coffee shop with sweet energy; a quiet music store where someone patiently...
Guest Post: Mindful Walking with Children
Although originally written with springtime in mind, the script below can be used for a mindful walk with kids at any time of the year both for fun and as an opportunity for little ones (and perhaps not so little ones, for that matter!) to practice both observation...
SEL & Self-Care Trendiness in Toys – But Does This Actually Address Kids’ Real Needs?
The supply chain and delivery issues we’ve been hearing so much about lately are just the latest twist in pandemic life. They’re also probably why we’re already hearing so much about trending toys for the holiday season that’s not yet begun. (Frankly, we’re old school...
Guest Post: Teaching Breathing Strategies to Our Youngest Learners
Our thanks to MoveMindfully for letting us share this wonderful - and practical - post from their blog... Teaching mind-body practices in Early Education is so much fun! After over a decade of experience teaching yoga-based movement and social-emotional learning in...
A New Approach to Environmental Education: Yoga Calm Earth Warriors
Modern life has its benefits, of course, but also costs - most notably in the increasing distance it’s put between us and the natural world. Many of us grew up thinking of nature as something totally separate from human life. Today’s technology often widens the gap as...
A Journey from Trauma to TRE
It’s one thing to hear about TRE and how it can help individuals release stress and heal from trauma. Experiencing it is something else entirely. So we were quite pleased when Julie, a school teacher here in Portland, offered to let us share some of her writing about...
The Promise & Hope of Post-Traumatic Growth
Back when I was first learning about trauma’s impact and the possibilities of healing, I often saw the negative consequences of childhood trauma pushed to center stage: addictive and other self-destructive behaviors, worse education and employment prospects,...
Why You Should Have a Breathing Sphere in Your Back-to-School Toolkit
As kids return to school - some, in person for the first time since the pandemic began - many educators have homed in on the importance of relationship-building and greater attention to kids’ emotional needs, even as they remain aware of learning gaps that will need...