Our breath is one of the most powerful and accessible tools that we have to support our physical and emotional health and wellbeing. As someone who used to struggle with panic attacks and debilitating anxiety, I can humbly say that learning how to breathe deeply with conscious intention has been life changing. One of my favorite breathing techniques is 2-to-1 Diaphragmatic Breathing (also known as Relaxation Breathing). It’s a deeply calming breathing technique that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (which is also known as our rest and digest system).  It’s called 2-to-1 Breat ..read more

Years ago when I was at the height of my panic disorder diagnosis, things that once brought me relief like yoga or deep breathing exercises, suddenly seemed to no longer work. When I felt a panic attack coming on, I would reach for my trusted calming tools, only to find that they exacerbated my physical feelings of fear and overwhelm. My physical sensations and body became the enemy and I had a visceral feeling of wanting to jump out of my skin. In the wellness world, moving into a “parasympathetic state” (also known as rest/digest) is often glorified and calming techniques are touted as the e ..read more

Years ago, when I felt like I was drowning in my own trauma, I sought out talk therapy and at the time, it surprisingly made me feel worse. Looking back, I now know that there was a very practical reason why I didn’t get the results I was hoping for, which had nothing to do with me or my therapist. Instead, it had to do with the nature of trauma itself. Before I go on, let me preface this by saying that I’m actually a big advocate of therapy and I’m in no way suggesting that you should ditch your therapist or shrug off professional mental health support. Please in fact, DO NOT do that. I have ..read more

Our nervous system is wired for our survival. In a healthy, regulated nervous system, when we experience something threatening or stressful, our body physiologically responds by activating our protection system (also known as fight or flight). Our heart rate increases, breath becomes short and shallow, our eyes dilate to scan for danger, digestion shuts off, our muscles tense, blood rushes to our arms and legs, and our body is flooded with a cascade of stress hormones designed to mobilize us in the face of danger. These natural bodily responses are designed to be temporary. As soon as the thr ..read more

Nightmares keeping you up? You’re not alone. Throughout my life, I’ve had more than my fair share of nightmares – the kind that jolt me awake with my heart racing and make it nearly impossible to go back to sleep. I’ll spare you the details of any one nightmare in particular, but suffice to say they are extremely vivid, deeply disturbing, and always leave me feeling very unsettled. Nightmares are common in people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and can be disruptive not only to quality of sleep, but quality of life by creating fear or anxiety around going to bed. Fortunate ..read more

Our breath is one of the most powerful and accessible tools that we have to support our physical and emotional health and wellbeing. As someone who used to struggle with panic attacks and debilitating anxiety, I can humbly say that learning how to breathe deeply with conscious intention has been life changing. One of my favorite breathing techniques is 2-to-1 Diaphragmatic Breathing (also known as Relaxation Breathing). It’s a deeply calming breathing technique that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (which is also known as our rest and digest system).  It’s called 2-to-1 Breat ..read more

Uncertainty has become my constant over the past few years, starting with the newness of becoming a mom, then unexpectedly battling with mysterious health issues, followed by a very sudden move from our home and the uncertainty of when we’d be able to return. Throw into the mix a global pandemic, the forced closure of the yoga studio I taught at for years, a very necessary global movement to dismantle systems of racism and oppression, and a very unpredictable and unprecedented election year, and whew, let’s just say that the only thing I’m certain of right now is the complete unpredictability ..read more

Years ago when I was at the height of my panic disorder diagnosis, things that once brought me relief like yoga or deep breathing exercises, suddenly seemed to no longer work. When I felt a panic attack coming on, I would reach for my trusted calming tools, only to find that they exacerbated my physical feelings of fear and overwhelm. My physical sensations and body became the enemy and I had a visceral feeling of wanting to jump out of my skin. In the wellness world, moving into a “parasympathetic state” (also known as rest/digest) is often glorified and calming techniques are touted as the ..read more

Years ago, when I felt like I was drowning in my own trauma, I sought out talk therapy and at the time, it surprisingly made me feel worse. Looking back, I now know that there was a very practical reason why I didn’t get the results I was hoping for, which had nothing to do with me or my therapist. Instead, it had to do with the nature of trauma itself. Before I go on, let me preface this by saying that I’m actually a big advocate of therapy and I’m in no way suggesting that you should ditch your therapist or shrug off professional mental health support. Please in fact, DO NOT do that. I have ..read more

Nightmares keeping you up? You’re not alone. Throughout my life, I’ve had more than my fair share of nightmares – the kind that jolt me awake with my heart racing and make it nearly impossible to go back to sleep. I’ll spare you the details of any one nightmare in particular, but suffice to say they are extremely vivid, deeply disturbing, and always leave me feeling very unsettled. Nightmares are common in people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and can be disruptive not only to quality of sleep, but quality of life by creating fear or anxiety around going to bed. Fortunat ..read more