My daily intention is to live consistently with an attitude of gratitude, or as Reverend Michael Beckwith states, “May you suffer from chronic gratitude.” Chronic gratitude. What a fabulous blessing to have in your life. According to William Chopik, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Close Relationships Lab at Michigan State… Read more »
Imagine your positive words and positive actions toward others as poker chips. Having a big stack of chips in your account can make you feel like a winner. Each of us has the power to give chips to others. A chip can be a compliment, a note, a favor and even a smile. Chips can… Read more »
When challenges occur, we often imagine getting “through” the hard times and then getting “back to normal.” Our society has hoped for this as we have lived with the pandemic, and I had imagined this with my cancer experience over the past 15 months. It has been a surprise to me that the time after… Read more »
The intensity of the last 19 months might be lessening, but some of us still aren’t feeling the stability of years past. There is this frenzy to “get back to normal,” yet there is also an awareness that we are not sure what that is anymore. This holiday season might look different – different friends,… Read more »
Whether one is a budding naturalist or merely passionate about personal growth, a “sit spot” allows a place to unite with nature and connect with self. A sit spot is an outdoor space where one goes time and time again. It is a place where we start to know the landscape by day and by… Read more »
Thanksgiving and seasonal holidays are upon us and it is the time to be jolly. It’s the time to get together with your loved ones, friends and family, create memories, and heal things of the past. Or, it’s a good time to accept that we can’t change others, but we can change ourselves. If we… Read more »
As any of my clients will tell you, one of my favorite topics is joy. Why joy? Think for a moment about a stressful or upsetting event in your life. Notice your thoughts and emotions. Do a quick body scan and take note of the physical sensations in your body. Observe where you feel those… Read more »
While the holidays are immortalized in song as “the most wonderful time of the year,” the fact is that they can also be the most stressful time of the year. This is true even if you and your family members are healthy and not filled with fear, anxiety or stress that comes with these challenging… Read more »
Earlier this year, we introduced our “Eat, Drink and Be Healthy” column to offer savory substitutes to your favorite foods. We’ve featured salty snacks to replace chips, hearty veggie pastas, sugar-free ice cream sundaes — even sugar-free margaritas. But what if you’re simply not motivated to choose the healthier option? How do you find that… Read more »
So often, we go through life tending to our daily tasks, relieved when we finally complete our list. We come home, make dinner, relax with a glass of wine, catch up on our favorite shows and go to bed. We then wake the next day and do it all over again. But are we living… Read more »
The practice of self-love is a practice of falling in love with yourself. You may think it is merely a new age trend to try and overcome pain from our past or to reprogram our ancestral DNA; however, the concept has been around for centuries. It is a sacred, intentional practice that has been taught… Read more »
Do you have a best friend? I’ve known mine since we were in middle school. We’re two independent, intelligent, hipster women in their 60s raised in LA. You’d think we would have learned the fine art of listening to each other, but spending five days together last month showed us that communication is complicated, even… Read more »
When was the last time you checked your mood? How often do you ask yourself, “How am I feeling today?” Our go-to answers might be “I’m good” or “I’m fine,” protecting ourselves from feeling a much more uncomfortable emotion. The truth is there is no such thing as a “bad” emotion. Humans experience a spectrum… Read more »
Everyone experiences pressure in life. Sometimes it comes from outside influences, and other times from within. Pressure can be a motivator as well as an obstacle in achieving our goals. Sometimes we handle it well, and other times it breaks us. For competitive athletes, pressure comes with the territory, and those who learn to deal… Read more »
Tai Chi Chuan has been practiced by millions of people across the globe for centuries. Tai chi, at its most basic, is a set of movements based on martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine, which are memorized and practiced slowly and with intention. This “meditation in motion” deliberately focuses both your mind and body on… Read more »
Most of us are feeling some level of trepidation as the world begins to open after a year of pandemic isolation. The information about what’s safe changes daily, and we don’t yet have information about the need for a booster or exactly how protected we are from reinfection. Our mental health has been challenged. Some… Read more »
Over the years, research has shown us that those who struggle with self-love or self-approval have usually experienced some form of struggle in their childhood, which in return has impacted their self-trust, self-worth, and even self-motivation. This experience is not necessarily from abuse; it could have been neglect or lack of acknowledgement during the fundamental… Read more »
If you are one of those people who likes to work out and has fitness goals, but you recognize it will take strength, stamina and balance to achieve them, then you might want to think about sprint training. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from this method, as we all have… Read more »
Something strange is happening with my social circle. We finally get the green light to gather, and many don’t want to step outside. Even the most gregarious are experiencing a bit of apprehension at this unleashing we’ve all been anticipating — including me. While excitement to hang out with old friends, support restaurants and return… Read more »
The COVID-19 pandemic has left no one unaffected. As of April 15, 2021, there have been over 31,200,000 cases in the United States1. The good news is many metrics, including the rate of vaccination, are improving in the US1. However, we will feel the lingering effects of the pandemic for a long while. Many who… Read more »
