Wellness

Yoga studios are crawling with raving lunatics. I should know. I was one of them and looked every bit the part: a rail-thin-rubber-bandy-raw-vegan-meditating-twice-a-day-yogi. While I could twist myself into a pretzel, it was only after tumbling off my mat that I began to embody what yoga truly means.

The connection between stress and modern aliments is becoming increasingly clear thanks to scientific research that validates the mind/body connection. We know food plays a powerful role in both physical and mental wellness. Understanding our bodies’ natural rhythms and learning how to listen to our bodies gives us are the key to self-empowered health.

A long time ago a wise, old yogi named Patanjali wrote a text called the Yoga Sutras. The sutras outlined eight different ways to live in alignment with our highest nature. Like a gentle guiding hand, the Yoga Sutras warn you of the inevitable pitfalls on this journey called life. According to Yoga, we suffer because we are blind to our true Self.

Self-motivated activities like yoga, gardening, bird watching, photography, etc. are driven from within. You want the locus of control to be in your hands, where it belongs, not at the mercy of others. It can involve others and is often more fun, but it needs to be something that already makes your heart sing. But if all your activities involve others, go back and change a few.

When we regularly cultivate inner grounding, we set ourselves up for greater resiliency. One of the best ways to do this is through ritual. The key to success is simplicity and repetition. Have a variety of ways to slow down and then pick one to practice. It could be something you already do each day. The change is in the intention.

“Since my house burnt down, I now own a better view Of the rising moon.” – Basho I’ve been on a quest to make my world small. It all started when I went big. I had a tiny house before they were vogue because it…

As a therapist, one of my favorite roles is to remind people of their largeness – which I define as living a Self-led life. When describing the qualities of Self, it’s not unusual for clients to look at me quizzically. Recently someone asked “What if my “self” wants to run off to the Bahamas and drink pina coladas all day?” I smiled even though I suspected that hidden within this comical question was a fear that she had no authentic Self.

Brené Brown consistently delivers whole-hearted, thought-provoking material that helps women in their journey of personal growth and self-acceptance. Here she interviews Oprah Winfrey in classic researcher style, asking pointed questions on tender subjects.

Now here’s the part you may not know. Grains, carbohydrates and sugar create a three-alarm fire in the body. Yep, even “healthy whole grains.”

Up until this moment, I viewed sugar as my lover and nemesis, torturer and savior but never my teacher. Yet here I am learning more about myself and health than all my cumulative years of study.