At the end of a week-long yoga and mindfulness retreat, I was standing outside the yoga room looking out over the expanse of the canyon that lies outside of San Jose, Costa Rica. There was a light wind blowing, as is often the case in the mountains at this time of the year. There were
Mr. Rogers is making a comeback in the new documentary about his life—“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I never watched Mr. Rogers as a child because he wasn’t around yet, but I have gotten to know him as an adult. As far as I can tell, adults need Mr. Rogers as much now as little
The trail seemed a LOT steeper than it was the last time I was here five years ago but I was determined to get to the top of the mountain. I remembered the majestic grove of trees which were covered in fog and, at the top, there was a tremendous view of the whole valley.
We often regard stress as something to be avoided. Ultimately though, stress is inevitable…from the moment our alarm clock rings, we experience a “fight or flight” response and continue to experience stressors for the remainder of our day. Although people generally regard stress as negative, stress is actually adaptive in that it helps us to
I regularly teach meditation to people who have never meditated before and one of the common misconceptions is that meditation is the same as “relaxation.” While meditation may have a side benefit of helping you feel relaxed and peaceful, it is not the primary intention of meditation. The primary intention of meditation is to teach
With the current Fitbit craze, you’re probably aware of the health benefits of getting in 10,000 steps a day. But are you aware of all of the health benefits of smiling? I’d like to invite you to do a little experiment. Put a smile on your face right now and leave it there for 30
As Jon Kabat-Zinn says, one of the ways to have more time is to take some of it for yourself. And, as we start the New Year, now is a good time to set the intention to take more time for mindfulness. Some people call it self-care, I call it a necessity. Taking “time” for mindfulness might
How would you answer the question “What do you want in life?” As it turns out, many people say they want to be happy. Yet, despite our relatively prosperous conditions, only one-third of Americans report being happy and we rank 17thcompared to other countries on how happy we are, with Denmark and other European countries
When someone tells me he is too busy to meditate, I know he is just the person that needs it most. The busier you are, the more you need to take time for a bit of mindfulness. I’m sure you have felt the energy drain of a day when there is too much to do.
Everybody is looking for a quick fix to be less stressed. We try shopping, drinking, distracting ourselves with TV, and even complaining to try to feel better. However, these strategies are only temporary and often have negative side effects (e.g., financial difficulties, being hung over, being overweight, and feeling more negative). Let’s face it, there
