Mindfulness Truly Blooms in Community
Mindfulness has real benefits. The research makes that clear. It can reduce stress. It can reduce emotional reactivity and increase cognitive flexibility. It can boost memory and focus. The list could - and does - go on. Yet those kinds of results also point towards...
Guest Post: What Does Good Posture Look Like?
All motion begins with posture, and all motion ends with posture. That’s part of the second Posture Principle from Dr. Steven Weiniger’s book Stand Taller-Live Longer: A Posture & Anti-Aging Strategy - and the reason his at-home program is used by clinicians to...
Making a Real Commitment to Students’ Mental Health & Well-Being
The strong, handsome, teen boy sat in my office with a look of deep despair on his face. He was a kind person and a straight-A student, but recent trauma had pulled everything out from under him. There were panic attacks and sleepless nights. He struggled to...
Guest Post: Breathe Easier with Stronger Posture
Good posture is something you hear a lot about as a kid. I can remember distinctly hearing my mom say, "Sit up tall and put your shoulders back!" You might remember your own mom (or dad or caregiver) telling you something similar. Yet here we are today in our...
Teaching Mindfulness to Kids Through Story & Art
Recently, we were treated to a wonderful new book that guides young children into mindfulness through creativity - Colorful Place by art therapist Jocelyn Fitzgerald and behavioral intervention teacher Heather McClelland. Loaded with bright and captivating artwork,...
7 Tips for Telling the Difference Between Triggers & Tantrums
President Biden’s proposal for universal preschool was great to hear this past week. Of course, now comes the challenge of getting the plan through Congress. Still, we’re hopeful that some progress will be made toward making preschool available to more children. After...
Some Reflections as We Near Earth Day 2021
As we write this, we're entering the final stage of work on our Yoga Calm Environmental Education Curriculum. This project has been some years in the making and now looks like it will finally drop within the next few months. We didn’t plan to be finalizing it so close...
Sakura’s Call to Mindfulness, Mindfulness’ Call to Gratitude
While cycling through downtown Portland a few days ago, I was amazed to see so many people out along the waterfront admiring the cherry trees and their eruption of soft pink blossoms. The tree limbs were like arms, welcoming us to step out into the spring, with its...
Yogic Breathing May Help Covid Long Haulers
We’re finding out now that long COVID is extremely common. Roughly one-third of those infected will have some lingering symptoms, most often fatigue and loss of smell or taste. We’re also finding just how mysterious it is, affecting more women than men, for instance,...
Missing Body…Investigation Underway
Just yesterday, my granddaughter Anna came to me and said, “Let’s go for a bike ride.” While this is an activity that she always enjoys for its own sake, I could see that the suggestion was coming from a place of stress. Some bullying had been happening in her...
“Hope Is Nature Talking to Us”: 6 Tips for Nurturing Hope
Some people seem to think of hope as kind of a feeling that comes and goes. Others understand it more as part of a person’s very constitution - you’re either an optimist or a pessimist, and once the thought pattern is set, that’s that. But in fact, hope is something...
Slowing Down & Thinking with Your Heart
As a child growing up in a home suffused with trauma, life always felt uneasy - like something bad was about to happen. Always. This ever-present fear often got expressed through impatience, rushing, and urgency. It was a defense against instability and readiness to...