Every breath you take comes from a tree (sorry if I just planted an earworm in your head). Think about that. It’s easy to forget, isn’t it?  Every breath you take is oxygen that was released from a tree. We have a symbiotic relationship with trees. Our every exhale is an offering to them. It’s like a constant gift exchange!  It’s easy to forget that our bodies are of the earth! It’s easy to forget that the calcium in our bones is the same calcium that’s found in rocks, shells and minerals. That the water in our blood, lymph, tea ..read more

Noticing. Paying attention. Are you noticing . . . the trees changing, their color show just beginning. The birds are migrating and doing funny bird things. I’ve seen squirrels outside my window performing crazy acrobatics to get the farthest berry on the limb. The light’s becoming more golden, the sun lower in the sky, blinding me now as I drive around that certain curve at 5:00. Days are shorter and will get shorter still. The air cooler, crisper.   When you notice this earth-dance into autumn, do you pause and take it in? This moment in the change of seasons, and in your personal chan ..read more

You may think napping is just sleeping. But there’s so much more to this afternoon rest! According to Arianna Huffington, in her book, The Sleep Revolution, research shows that napping boosts your learning power and lowers your blood pressure. Huffington also reports that older adults who take a thirty-minute nap and engage in moderate exercise can improve the quality of their nighttime sleep. If you’re not sold on the beauty of napping, consider it a brain-break–a time to mentally reset and prepare for your afternoon work. Or consider it a time for creative problem solving. Try taking a curr ..read more

Think of your home yoga practice as basic self-care. Self-care is taking care of yourself physically, emotionally and mentally. As well as attending to the body, mind, and emotions, regular yoga practice creates a container for developing interoception – your ability to hear your body’s signals, messages and intuitions. Remember that yoga means the union of the body, mind and spirt. A daily practice can take as little as 10 minutes! In general, a daily yoga practice can consist of three elements: Physical movement – it can be a simple as decompressing the spine and moving th ..read more

Using Your Breath as the Focus of Your Meditation Breath-centered meditation is one of the most common forms of meditation. In this sequence below, I point out aspects of the breath to pay attention to. Focusing on these subtle sensations will pull your attention inward and help to keep you from wandering off. Notice the sensations of breathing. Notice all the places where you feel the breath moving in your body (belly, chest, throat, nose). Try not to change the natural rhythm of your breath. Choose one of those places and hold your awareness there. Pay attention to duration. Pay ..read more

A cancer diagnosis can be traumatic and scary! It can make you want to run and hide under the covers or put your boxing gloves on. Or both. Yoga can help. The word Yoga means union. It means to bring all parts of yourself – your body, mind, emotions, and spirit – into union, into this present moment. And Yoga is all about self-care – It’s about tending to the body and helping it move and breathe. It’s about soothing the anxieties of the mind and finding peace. It’s about listening to the heart and making space for its wounds and joys. Some people actually emerge from their cancer experience ..read more

I’ve been so excited about neuroscience lately! I’m learning about things like neuroplasticity which is our ability to change our habits no matter how old we are. I’m learning that we all have negative bias which means we’re hard-wired to dwell on our negative experiences instead of the positive ones (it’s a problem-solving mechanism for us humans). And then there’s something called entrainment  which may explain why it’s easier to meditate with a group than by yourself. Who knew? One thing that I’m consistently hearing is that meditation will help you understand your mind and behaviors and h ..read more

One of my yoga class participants recently said that she’s never still – she’s always busy doing something, gardening, cleaning, community projects, etc.. This is all great, but it left me thinking about our cultural programming around stillness and busyness. We’re taught to value constant productivity. It’s not okay to just be still. What I mean by stillness is really mindful being or meditation/contemplation/prayer or even just reading a book. Remember books? I suspect what she meant by stillness was the dangerous state of being a couch potato. These are two different things. Our country thr ..read more

Sleep is like the secret sauce. It affects everything – mood, focus, mental clarity and your general sense of well-being. So why are so many of us not sleeping well? For many, the culprit is the dreaded BUSY MIND! How do we fix that? It might help to understand some brain science: when your mind is ruminating and trying to solve all your problems, it’s in an evaluative mode. Your mind is evaluating all of your problems and trying to find solutions. In this mode, you’re usually thinking about something in the future or the past. When you bring your attention to what’s happening in the present m ..read more

Every day, in my yoga-for-cancer work, I’m with people who are trying to take care of their bodies, quiet their minds and find some peace. So I think a lot about what it means to be healthy and happy, hence these writings about the 5 best things to give yourself (a quiet mind, a peaceful heart, a happy body, laughter and good sleep). This month I’m talking about the benefits of laughter. Q: What did the duck say when she bought lipstick? A: “Put it on my bill.” Did you know that laughter: reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenalin increases endorphins which can reduce pain strengthen ..read more