Mindfulness

Mindfulness is one of the recommended mind-body approaches for managing chronic pain. There are some good studies suggesting significant benefit of of practicing mindfulness after just a few weeks. But what is it? I struggled recently to write a clear description. Those who think of mindfulness as a religious/spiritual concept, are missing some important and […]

The Sweet Spot: Book Review and video

The Sweet Spot is an excellent book that helped me to get going on  and actively work on my currentbig project. (The one that keeps me from posting more regularly). Christine is a sociologist at the Greater Good Science Center at U.C. Berkeley, and while her book is easy and conversational to read, its content is based […]

Book review: Move into Life

I am happy to introduce this book to you. I have spent a vacation week opening it at random, taking notes, talking about it to family and absorbing it’s message. This book combines three of my greatest interests: encouraging physical movement, flexibility of body, thinking and emotions, and information about neuroplasticity in this context. If […]

Keep Dancing

It is summer. Time to be active outdoors, swim, garden and walk. There are also opportunities at farmers markets and other events to dance. Older folks like this gentleman are such an inspiration to me, I plan to still be dancing at that age. So please enjoy this video and keep moving. If you feel […]

Be a rainbow…

…in somebody else’s cloud. The inspiration for yoga class last Friday was this phrase by Maya Angelou, who had just died. It was a reminder to go looking for the rainbow on “grey days”, but also that we can add color to someone else’s day through a simple action, perhaps just even a smile, not […]

Boost your will power– not just around food

All of us have goals that we struggle with completing. We hope to change our habits and take better care of ourselves, but it is difficult to follow through. This talk offers some very surprising insights and strategies that can help you with your goals and resolutions for the holidays and the New Year. This is […]

Quick ways to relieve pain at your computer

If you are hurting during your office work day, or sitting at the computer after work trying to relax, you are in good company. Even though I don’t have chronic pain any more, my neck and shoulders often hurt at the end of the day from poor posture. When I found Undulation Exercises my body […]

Not enough on your plate?

This is not about food. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and many of us are both concerned about gaining some weigh, and being too busy. I just found this great graphic by brain researcher Dr. Daniel Siegel and his colleague Dr. David Rock. When I cook, I like to use as many colors in […]

An invitation to explore meditation

Today I want to point you to a meditation that is a great introduction, and is presented beautifully by meditation teacher Tara Brach. Listen to it here for free. In 28 minutes Tara will talk you through how to sit, breathe, relax, feel your body, attend to sounds, and return kindly to your mindful state after […]