Self-esteem is the practice of seeing yourself as above average. And in a world that's constantly comparing, keeping a high level of self-esteem may feel more like a challenge than a relief. “Beauty is perfect in its imperfections, so you just have to go with the...
Read MoreSelf-compassion can make a person feel more energetic, alive, and optimistic. Right up there with being able to make spaghetti and wash your own socks, practicing self-compassion rates as a vital life skill. With self-compassion, we are able to accept that though we are imperfect beings...
Read More“Becoming clear on what is our problem and what is someone else’s is revolutionary.” Over the last couple of years, I’ve been working with a wonderful, life-changing phrase: not my problem. It might sound harsh, cruel, or maybe like a cool breeze on a hot day, but,...
Read MoreRecently, I read an interview with author Danielle LaPorte where she stated that she never speaks meanly to herself. “Not ever.” This blew my mind. Because even though I write regularly about practicing self-compassion and embracing ourselves, I still struggle with harsh self-talk. I’m guessing you do, too. It might...
Read MoreMindful Editor, Anne Alexander, shares some cringeworthy reasons why self-care might just be something worth considering. Self-care can be touchy subject. It certainly was for me. I used to think that “self-care” was for privileged, entitled, lucky folks who were out of touch with the lives of real...
Read MoreHow to cultivate and strengthen our capacity for kindness and compassion. ↓ Offering a smile and a kind word to the checkout person, giving a frazzled mom an understanding look when her child is having a tantrum, offering your shoulder to cry on for an upset friend;...
Read MoreHow to Stop Speaking Harshly to Yourself ↓ Harsh self-talk is a pattern of learned behavior, and the good news is we can unlearn it. Recently, I read an interview with author Danielle LaPorte where she stated that she never speaks meanly to herself. “Not ever.” This blew my mind. Because...
Read MoreYour Self-Esteem is Not the Problem ↓ Like everyone else, I’ve had difficult times in my life. I’ve had bad breakups, I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve been hurt. In these difficult moments, a lot of people have cheerfully diagnosed me with “low self-esteem.” ↓ I never quite agreed. I...
Read MoreYou're Not Fighting That War Alone ↓ One of self-loathing's most devious tactics is to isolate its victims, chasing each of us into dark lonely corners in which we feel singled out and incomparably awful, just as those who stole our self-esteem did, way back when. They drove...
Read MoreMeditation Is Hard When You Hate Yourself * Maybe at some point, you decided to try meditation—thinking it might help you resemble those placid, robe-draped figures chanting in the documentaries. Maybe you marveled at those scientific studies linking meditation with reduced anxiety and better sleep. Maybe you started...
Read More* Stop the Violence Within * Never speak badly about yourself. It’s a simple statement, one many of us would agree with in concept. But do you follow it’s advice? Probably not. Because our inner critic speaks to us in a voice so familiar we rarely notice it’s presence. * Recently,...
Read More* How to Control Your Emotions * I’ve been told that I have a fairly broad and deep emotional range. That can be a good thing because it means I feel things with sensitivity, complexity, and intensity. I notice nuances in myself and others. Feelings, occurrences, people—they matter...
Read More13 Ways to Take Care of Yourself Every Day * Don’t get stuck in an unhealthy daily grind. Here’s how to work “me time” into your busy schedule. It’s 7:30 a.m. and your alarm is blaring. Squinty-eyed, you reach for your phone, fumbling to swipe that horrible noise...
Read MoreStop Self Criticizing, Start Meditating * According to the experts, meditation lessens the extremities of negative thoughts, changes patterns of belief and facilitates learning how to forgive yourself. Admit it, you’ve been there: acting as your own worst critic by doubting yourself. As a writer and yoga instructor,...
Read MoreBrain Food for Happiness * * Did you know that compassion, the act of recognizing someone else’s suffering with the inclination to want to support them, creates important activity shifts in the brain that are associated with resiliency and well-being? I recently attended a talk at a fundraiser where...
Read More31 Perfect Things * As we see more and more holiday gift guides, articles espousing the perfectness of glitzy products, I’d like to offer an alternative perspective. We don’t need to buy things to make our lives beautiful or joyous. We don’t need more glamorous items in our...
Read MoreBy: Naomi Teeter 5 Tips if You Feel "Behind" in Life It happens around this time every year—I get that feeling of loss. Autumn is known as a time for reflection. For many of us, during this season, it becomes clear what we didn’t accomplish during the...
Read More* 7 Stories for Mastering Your Emotions * The emotional body is widely overlooked for overall health and happiness. Explore these 7 stories on how to understand, cope with and use your emotions appropriately. 8 Creative Techniques to Cope with Painful Emotions Many of us have a hard time...
Read More* Improve Yourself Time for a history lesson: The Stone Age didn’t end because humans ran out of rocks. It ended because we kept learning and improving. If you think about it, the desire for self-improvement is written into our DNA. Through the ages, the most successful people...
Read MoreCan Spirituality Protect Against Negative Emotions in Heart Disease? *** There is no doubt how strongly our negative emotions affect our physiology. When we feel anxious, there is a gnawing sensation in our gut. When depressed, our whole body seems to slow down into deep fatigue —...
Read MoreHow to Remain in Balance with your Emotions By: Bess O'Connor Blame it on the environment, your work, the stress, your partner, the kids, the overwhelm – yet the truth remains – your emotions are your own and for you to remain in balance with. Emotional turmoil directly...
Read MoreLiving Well with Chronic Pain An Interview with Vidyamala Burch Vidyamala Burch: In 1976, when I was 16 years old, I had my first spinal injury from lifting a friend out of a swimming pool, which sounds innocuous enough but the accident revealed an underlying spinal weakness,...
Read MoreRewiring Grief: Creating Healing Thoughts So far in my life, I’ve been amazingly lucky: I haven’t experienced a major traumatic loss, like the death of a parent, close family member, or friend. Sure, I’ve had my share of losses: failed love affairs, important opportunities that got...
Read More3 Tips to Carry Yourself With Confidence Live life free of fear, insecurity and self-doubt. Here’s how. Fear, insecurity, self-doubt and the like can be the biggest obstacles many of us face in life. To overcome that negativity, many people turn to unhealthy or compulsive behavior. This undesirable...
Read MoreLetting Go of Emotional Pain Most of us have felt self-conscious from time to time. Self-conscious emotions include embarrassment, guilt and humiliation. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll lump them together here under the broad category of shame. Even an 18-month-old child can feel shame. Young children respond...
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