Our thoughts have a powerful impact on how we see and interact with the world around us. They direct both our emotions and our actions, and because of this, it is very important to take the time to notice what we are thinking. We can get stuck in thinking patterns and habits that we may … Continue reading Check Yo Self
Blog
Here I Am, Baby
In individual coaching and in leading group courses, I frequently work with people around the experience of vulnerability and how to process, cope with, and move through feeling vulnerable. The word vulnerability alone can bring up feelings of discomfort. We may run from it, deny that we are susceptible to it, or even feel the … Continue reading Here I Am, Baby
We are the World
We live in a world where bad things happen. No one is immune to this. Bad things have always happened, but now we are inundated with live, detailed media coverage of it all. This adds to the "everyday stress" that we are already experiencing in our own lives and communities. Tragedies happen to people we … Continue reading We are the World
Don’t Let Me Get Me
Our lives can become so busy that, at times, we default to auto-pilot mode. We do things because "that is how we have always done it" or because that way worked at one point or because it is just the easiest way to get through the day. We can create habits in our thoughts, emotions, … Continue reading Don’t Let Me Get Me
Rock the Boat
Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort that we experience when we recognize that we hold conflicting beliefs or when we see a new perspective that conflicts with our previously held beliefs. Our beliefs drive our thoughts, emotions, and actions and when something shifts our beliefs, it impacts how we show up in our lives. We can … Continue reading Rock the Boat
I Could Spend the Day
When it comes to our health, it is helpful to take a look at what we are doing on a regular basis that is taking us away from how we want to feel and keeping us stuck, as well as looking at what is moving us toward our goals. In other words, we want to … Continue reading I Could Spend the Day
I Can’t Quit You Baby
The human brain is terrific at adapting to different conditions and at adjusting our personal chemistry based on the state of our bodies. This process is called neuroadaptation and it is what we are experiencing in our system both when medications are no longer as effective as they once were and when our tolerance for … Continue reading I Can’t Quit You Baby
Maybe It’s Time
Spring is a time of renewal, rebirth, and growth. A time to assess who we have been and step into plans for who we are becoming. We must be brave enough to look at our trajectory and recalibrate in order to move in the direction in which we truly desire. We must investigate to uncover … Continue reading Maybe It’s Time
Change Your Mind
Adaptability is the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions or circumstances. It is flexibility in the face of challenges or obstacles and it is part of being resilient, which we looked into last week. The opposite of adaptability is rigidity and when we experience ongoing and high levels of stress or when … Continue reading Change Your Mind
Get Up
In the realm of physics, the definition of resilience is the ability of a substance to return to its usual shape after being bent, stretched, or pressed. In reference to a person, it is the ability or capacity of a person to recover quickly from difficulties. And according to the American Psychological Association, resilience is … Continue reading Get Up
Come Together
As humans, we are wired for connection. We cannot survive infancy without the care of others and in adulthood we cannot thrive emotionally, physically, spiritually, or intellectually without the support of others. Humans are inextricably linked to each other in that way. We truly need each other. Connection calms our nervous system and helps us … Continue reading Come Together
Free Your Mind and The Rest Will Follow
We have most likely all been there. We receive what we perceive to be a judgmental look from someone as we are walking through a store. From there, we may begin to create a story in our heads about what happened and we have an imaginary conversation with the person questioning who they think they … Continue reading Free Your Mind and The Rest Will Follow
I Believe, I Believe, I Believe
At the beginning of his book The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz explains how we are trained into our beliefs when we are young. He points out the influence that our parents, teachers, community, and culture have on what we accept to be true about ourselves and the world around us. We are even taught … Continue reading I Believe, I Believe, I Believe
Hold on Loosely…
The Buddha taught about impermanence and our lack of control. He tells us that impermanence is an inescapable fact of life, but I am not sure that anyone was listening. Everything changes. Everything. Nothing is permanent. Yet, we live our lives as if things will last forever. We become attached to people, to situations, to … Continue reading Hold on Loosely…
Stop, Collaborate, and Listen
Final relaxation at the end of the yoga class begins and there she goes: her foot starts to anxiously beat side to side; her fingers tap on the mat; her hands come up to her neck to rub and then she checks her watch; her arm falls to the mat with a thud; her foot … Continue reading Stop, Collaborate, and Listen