What do you want? Use the power of intention to focus your mind on your next steps. It’s still early in this new year. Many of you made New Year’s resolutions to achieve a desired goal. How are they going? Most resolutions fail because they are based on the...
Read MoreLooking for a new practice to calm the mind and connect with others? Try writing an old-fashioned letter. Every day our senses and brains endure a digital onslaught—not just from being held captive by smartphones but also email conversation purgatory, inbox overwhelm, and screen fatigue. Think back to...
Read More↓ Reclaim rest with a rest guided meditation that will take you on a journey of self-exploration. I’ve witnessed something pretty special over the past couple months. There has been a collective shift recently away from frustration and fear toward peace and healing. Within this shift has...
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Yoga and mental health are inextricably intertwined. Yoga helps promote mindfulness, healing from trauma, and boosts creativity. Yoga has been thoroughly studied for its mental health benefits and has been proven to help with anxiety, depression, and many other mental health disorders. Even without a specific...
Read More↓ A new study examines how different practices benefit people who worry a lot by Kira M. Newman If you’re prone to worry, some well-meaning person may have advised you to try mindfulness meditation. Theoretically, focusing on the present and cultivating an attitude of acceptance are effective antidotes...
Read MoreTai chi is a low-impact traditional Chinese medicine practice that engages the mind and body. The benefits of tai chi include increased mindfulness and focus, improved balance, and relief from chronic pain. ↓ For hundreds of years, traditional Chinese medicine has prescribed tai chi to address health...
Read MoreTeaching mindfulness to kids has been said to improve their wellbeing, boost performance in the classroom, increase emotional intelligence, and reduce stress and “negative” behavior. In Old Path, White Clouds, a retelling of the Buddha’s life, the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh explains that one of Buddha’s...
Read MoreBreath action into everyday words. “You might be surprised at how many nouns in the English language can be used as verbs.” ↓ Words have always fascinated me. One thing I discovered by playing with words is that they don’t always fit into neat categories or have...
Read MoreMindful eating means being intentional about what, when, and how you eat. It can become more intuitive the more you practice. ↓ ↓ Benefits of Mindful Eating Reduces binge eating and emotional eating Improves digestion Increases satisfaction and satiety Acts as an innate form of portion control Leads...
Read MoreHere’s how to use it to get fitter ↓ It was Sunday morning, which meant I had a long run on the training schedule. 9–10 miles was what I had to tackle on this particular weekend. By 8 am, I had consumed my favorite pre-run breakfast of oatmeal,...
Read MoreAlong with newer children’s books about mindfulness, many beloved picture books also offer mindful messages about kindness, friendship, and contemplating the world around us. Here are a few of our favorites. In recent years, there has been an explosion of books for kids about mindfulness and...
Read More♠ That chronic back pain is a message from your body. Are you listening? These 5 questions will help you gain insight. When back pain is occasional and acute, it generally has a really important message like: “Take me to the doctor! I’m injured—which is very helpful....
Read More↓ The skills we cultivate by playing tennis can also help us be more mindful—even if you've never before picked up a racket. Success in tennis is based on a simple principle: The present is all that matters. It sounds easy, except it’s not. A Harvard study showed that...
Read More↓ A new study suggests that practicing acceptance helps reduce our stress more than simple mindful awareness. Life can be stressful. Whether it’s the stress that comes with having too much work to do in too little time, fulfilling caregiving obligations, or dealing with a major illness...
Read MoreWe in the modern West assume that the normal mind is a healthy one. But a "healthy mind" is still subject to many types of distress, including depression, anxiety, frustration, restlessness, boredom, and resentment. Only when such imbalances are excessive are we advised to seek...
Read MorePhilosophy isn't just for professors. Embracing a philosophical attitude can make you healthier, happier, and (of course) wiser. List the top three things you’re interested in—that’s a request I made of 14 different people. Their responses included world travel, family, health, nature photography, playing guitar, and...
Read MoreNew research finds that those who meditate can focus their minds and control their impulsivity better than those who do not meditate. Your brain is actually shaped by your thoughts and your behaviors, which is why stress can take a toll on brain function over time. While some...
Read MoreNew research finds that practicing mindfulness is linked to better-coping flexibility and decreased stress levels. Stress is often villainized but it is also inevitable, which means effectively coping with stress is our best defense. According to new research, mindfulness meditation-based interventions may help build long-lasting flexible coping skills...
Read MoreThe skills we cultivate by playing tennis can also help us be more mindful—even if you've never before picked up a racket. Success in tennis is based on a simple principle: The present is all that matters. It sounds easy, except it’s not. A Harvard study showed that...
Read MoreStruggle to stay focused when you meditate? Learning to listen like a musician can deepen both your meditation practice and your mindfulness. Musically minded people are naturally deep listeners. The variety of nuances and qualities that they can discern within a few bars of music is absolutely...
Read MoreBeing aware of the present moment may reduce certain symptoms. Some women breeze through menopause, barely registering a physical or emotional complaint. For others, menopause can be a truly challenging time, when symptoms such as night sweats, hot flashes and increased irritability become pronounced and interfere...
Read MoreReleasing anger and frustration can actually help you regain control over a hectic day or win back productivity after feeling frazzled. But you have to do it in a mindful way. On the surface, these three people live worlds apart: Stefan works as a family practice nurse...
Read MoreMeditation is like sitting by the bank of a river, watching it flow by. From time to time, we get pulled into the (thought) stream, but that’s OK. In fact, pulling ourselves out to again sit and watch is the heart of the ↓ I got tired of...
Read MoreWays to allow for reflection while walking. ↓ In the children’s book Wacky Wednesday, Dr. Seuss imagines a world where people are doing very odd things indeed, like driving a car facing backward. That’s how I felt the other day in my neighborhood. I saw one lady pushing...
Read More(Ps. You can develop the same habits to improve your own mental toughness.) ↓ Mental toughness is a choice and a discipline, not an innate quality bestowed upon the lucky. In this article, originally published on LinkedIn Pulse, Dr. Travis Bradberry shows you how to get tough. ↓ We all...
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