Mindfulness
The Courage to Change
Courage is the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. We need courage, not because it shows our strength but because it shows our ability to act, in spite of our weaknesses. If we don’t stand up for what is important to us, follow our hearts, and persevere in our most…
Keep Reading...The One Thing You Need to Be Authentic
When I first started speaking professionally, almost 20 years ago, I wanted to be just like all the great speakers I experienced, such as Jeanne Robertson, with her side-splitting humor, Les Brown, with his engaging intensity, and my beloved coach, Lou Heckler, with his heartfelt ability to connect. Great speakers are polished and passionate delivering…
Keep Reading...Begin with Beginner's Mind
Beginner’s mind is one of my favorite qualities of mindfulness because it means to approach the familiar and unfamiliar things in life with a sense of curiosity, awe and wonder of a child—instead of the criticism of an adult. Whether it is riding a horse for the first time (like our granddaughter Ana in the…
Keep Reading...Practice Compassion
Compassion is the desire to alleviate suffering by expressing fundamental loving kindness toward yourself and others. We need compassion because life is hard, unfair, and impermanent—for all of us. There are now studies confirming practicing compassion improves health, well-being, and relationships. Compassion makes us feel good by activating pleasure circuits in the brain. It can…
Keep Reading...Do You Mind What You Eat?
Do you mind what you eat? In other words, are you mindful, (awake and aware) of what, how much, when and why you are eating? In these busy and stressful times, many of us are not. We can find ourselves “grabbing something” between meetings, soccer games, or conference calls and what we “grab” is usually…
Keep Reading...Silence is Loud
I had the privilege of leading several Your Mindful Year trainings and retreats last month to a variety of groups, from high school and pre-school teachers, to therapists and healthcare providers. I am happy to say they were very well received and the most powerful part of each program was re-discovering silence is loud. Your…
Keep Reading...You are Not Your Brain!
Last month I attended a mindfulness retreat, (which was part of a class I took in January and kept postponing because I was too busy). We spent the day in silence with various mindfulness practices of yoga, body scan and meditation. At lunch, we were encouraged to go outside and maintain our silence while practicing…
Keep Reading...The Way of the Mindful Warrior
The Wisdom Warrior training I took last month targeted seasoned yoga students, 50 years and wiser, who want to stay strong and safe in their yoga practice. I finished the four days feeling very empowered and recognized the traits of the Wisdom Warrior and the Mindful Warrior support you not only to go deeper in…
Keep Reading...Top 10 Reasons to be Mindful
Mindfulness, being awake and aware in the present moment is so powerful because it is the only place we can decide, create, listen, act, and live. When we cultivate the kind of awareness that comes through mindfulness practices, we have the opportunity to pause and choose how we respond to the inevitable triggers and stresses…
Keep Reading...Bring RAIN to Your Spring
Spring time here in the Rockies can give a real challenge for deciding what not to wear or if the weather is severe enough to cancel events (as I did last week). But I find the unpredictability and extremes of our weather patterns this time of year also leave me unsettled and ungrounded with feelings…
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