Last Monday, I woke up with a fat lip — my upper lip the size of a hot dog. I assumed I got sunburned on my lip in the pool Saturday (yes, I had on sunscreen and a hat). For the past four months, I have been teaching Mindfulness and Self-Compassion as a specialty [...]
Did you know that July 12 is National Simplicity Day? I love the idea of simplicity for summertime — so natural, yet not so easy to access. “Summertime, and the livin' is easy” go the lyrics to the old jazz tune. Yet these days it’s easy to forget to take it easy, slow down, and [...]
“What are you doing for Mother’s Day?” my dear friend asked me during a long phone call last month. “Sticking my head in the oven,” I replied. “You?” She laughed out loud, the real kind of laughing, and told me she loves me. Our convo was wide ranging, as is usual when we do a [...]
Do you ever take the time to fill the bathtub, turn down the lights, light a few candles, put on some soothing music and just…relax? Do you have a nice big spa with massage jets, or a deep, old-fashioned tub on feet that’s gathering dust? Or maybe the tub you once dreamed of spending quality [...]
Interpreting self-care rituals from around the world through the lens of mindful self-compassion can help you calm stress and renew your spirit. Spring has sprung, and with the longer days, warmth, buds, and flowers comes…. stress! We feel it when we think of our fellow humans suffering in Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. We tense [...]
Keeping babies engaged can be exhausting. Sometimes you’ve got to have a little break — but how? Recently I had the pleasure of spending two hours with a delicious 1-year-old baby. I’ve known the mommy since she was a child, and the GiGi (grandma) is an old friend of mine. Some of my friends are [...]
Were sleep issues to blame for me coming down with a more intense case of COVID? Getting restful sleep is one of the best ways to boost our immune system and fight off colds, flu, and even COVID-19. And once you get one of these respiratory illnesses, it’s that much harder to get well when [...]
Take a deep breath and slowly let it out — 2022 is here. All the unsettling news from 2021 seems not to have noticed the change and galloped right into the New Year. Another surge of the pandemic. The same political strife. The aches and pains in our bodies and psyches can seem overwhelming. It’s [...]
Winter officially begins December 21, but freezing temperatures are already common across much of the US. With the days getting shorter, darker, and colder, curl up in a cozy spot and broaden your horizons for some new ways to nurture yourself. From lagom, which means “good enough” in Sweden, to kakkukahvit, the Finnish term for [...]
There’s something you do that can lower your blood pressure, improve your immune system, deepen your relationships, and make you more optimistic, happy, and compassionate. Can you guess what it is? Practice gratitude. Gratitude is defined as “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.” As emotions go, it’s hard to think of one [...]
