Check out this video blog with another mindful breathing practice: the “pausing as you exhale” breath. I enjoy teaching this breath for a couple of reasons. First of all, there are steps to follow as you’re breathing, and the steps help keep you anchored mindfully in the current moment.
Mindfulness
Depression is a Lying, Manipulative, Thieving, Self-Important A-Hole
Depression is kind of an a-hole. There, I said it. Please pardon my crude language but I think it’s an apt description. Depression can turn a perfectly lovely, capable, intelligent person into an irritable, lethargic, confused, pessimistic mess. It is notorious for telling very convincing lies, and these lies are often big whoppers packing a […]
Go Take a Walk! The Many Benefits of Taking a Mindful Walk
Why am I outside to talk about mindfulness? Two main reasons. First, brain imaging research has shown that taking a walk outside in nature changes brain activity, allowing for improved concentration and decreased negative thoughts.
A Mindful Breathing Exercise: Alternate-Nostril Breathing
Alternate nostril breathing from Jennifer Hartman. Check out the above video, my first ever video blog, where I teach you how to do alternate-nostril breathing. It sounds weird, I know, but it’s actually pretty cool. This breathing practice comes from yoga tradition and in the yoga world, it is touted to have all kinds of […]
Don’t Lose Your Mind! Learn to Respond Instead of React
Orlando, St. Paul, Baton Rouge, Dallas (where I live), Nice (France). After a string of recent tragedies, I, like so many people, have been grappling with feelings of shock, outrage, sadness, and confusion. I come to you today not with any answers or direct commentary, but with a request. My request involves a call to action […]
The Mindfulness Boost for Anxiety: The Power of Letting It Be
Over the past 10 years, I think I’ve become much more adept at treating anxiety disorders and wonder if the boost is due to adding mindfulness-based therapies into my repertoire. I have read about research demonstrating that mindfulness-based therapies are at least as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating anxiety, with some suggestive evidence […]
This Blog Is Gonna Have Typos: Reflections on Perfectionism
I often joke with my patients that there is evidence of my perfectionism hanging on my office wall in the form of my higher education degrees. You don’t have to attend graduate school, however, in order to be a perfectionist. Perfectionists tend to buy into the belief that they can always be better and do […]
“But why would I want to breathe in the bad stuff?”: A Brief Intro to Tonglen Meditation
That’s the question I often get asked when I teach a specific meditation style called Tonglen. Before I explain Tonglen meditation, think about any guided relaxation exercises you might have done in your life. Many of us have experienced guided meditations, relaxation exercises, and even yoga practices that encourage us to breathe in the “good […]