Who hasn’t come face-to-face with the overwhelming vicissitudes of life? Job pressures, relationship snarls, schedule overloads, high expectations–any number of life’s interwoven threads can raise stress levels. With elevated stress comes mental fog and a distracted state. Sometimes just thinking about a difficult situation is enough to raise anxiety levels. This gets us cogitating on all the negative possible outcomes. …
Help – I’ve Got Blackberry Thumbs!
I can usually predict that my clients and students will have joint issues in their hands during the winter, but it’s now spring and the complaints are still coming in. It may be a weather-related thing, but I suspect a different culprit. Our hands and wrists are home to some of the body’s true workhorse joints, about 27 of them on each side, give or …
Managing Chronic Back Pain
At any given moment, approximately 20-30% of us are in the throes of an episode of acute, nonspecific back pain. The American Spinal Decompression Association speculates that at least 80% of the US population will experience mild to severe pain lasting anywhere from a month to many years at some point in their lives. The source of pain may vary, …
The Essential Low Back Program
A science-backed program for chronic back pain Six Tuesday Evenings: September 13 – October 18 6:30-8:30 PM This course covers the most common low back dysfunctions, including hypo- and hyper-mobility, S.I. destabilization, pelvic misalignment, scoliosis, and lumbar-disc conditions. Via lecture, adapted postures, supportive breath work, and other self-management tools, participants will learn to alleviate pain and cultivate strength and stability. Tuition …
Next 3-Day Yoga And Walking Retreat October 21-23
Please join me and my colleague Stephanie Harding for our third annual fall celebration Embrace Autumn! This retreat will be held at the fabulous Stony Point Retreat Center, where we will enjoy exclusive residence of the Gilmore Sloane House, a 150-year-old Victorian mansion with period furnishings. All the rooms have ensuite baths & accommodate 2 people. Meals are included, prepared with …
“Take a Deep Breath” Or Don’t!
In the face of acute stress, either our own that of another person in the midst of panic mode, it’s almost a certainty that someone will utter an instruction to, “Take a deep breath.” Who hasn’t been there? But good intentions aside, stop for a moment and consider how helpful that advice actually is. Coaching a deeper the breath through a respiratory system in contraction mode …
Featured Sequence: Five Mindful Minutes
After only a few centuries in existence, mindfulness has become trendy! With all the recent stories in the media on the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, I am frequently asked how I’d respond to a person who is curious about practicing but who cannot imagine sitting still for any length of time. Most often, the person asking is, in fact, someone who cannot imagine sitting still, …
Setting the Stage for Better Sleep
We can’t all fall into a restful sleep at the drop of a hat like Puff in the picture here. Most of us need to do a little advance planning to prepare for a more restful night, starting with getting a handle on those things that are keeping us up. Let’s face it, sleep issues knocking at your door at 2 AM have likely …
Gather and Regroup
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Go Outside and Play!
Have you taken your workout outside yet? Summer may be winding down, but there’s still plenty of good weather for hiking, biking, kayaking, and letting your inner ball pro loose on the local diamond. Moving your body aerobically while negotiating the unexpected–uneven ground, moving water, natural hills–can be both challenging and exhilarating. It’s a great way to integrate body, mind, …