Balanced

The path to high self-esteem, self-compassion and self-love begins with self-acceptance. When we are self-accepting, we are able to embrace all facets of ourselves, the highs and the lows, the strengths and weaknesses, our flaws and failures and any perceived limitations. When we stop judging ourselves, when we are able to accept ourselves just as we are, we are then able to love ourselves, and thus others. So often, we live in the future, striving for more so that we forget to live in the present moment. We have come up with some definition of “success,” what that may mean to us, and what society tells us, through media, what that might look like. We may constantly be seeking more.  What would happen if you shifted your mind from future thinking to present thinking, and the knowing that you are exactly where you need to be at this very moment in your life? What would happen if you knew, without a doubt, that you are enough, that you are valuable exactly as you are? Self-acceptance hel

I’ve become a bit of an expert on sleep. Why? Because for my entire life, I’ve struggled to get a good night’s rest. But sleep is a funny thing, the more you chase it, the more elusive it becomes. So I’ve mostly learned to just let go. Do I always sleep well? Maybe not every night, but more often than not I do, and that’s saying something. I was first introduced to the practice of mindfulness because I had trouble sleeping. I was just a kid struggling with insomnia, and found my own way to deal with it. I discovered that counting my breaths quieted my mind enough to fall asleep. That’s mindfulness, that’s being in the present moment, I just didn’t have a name for it back then. The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. After just 24 hours without it, your eyes begin to have trouble focusing, then you lose the ability to identify objects by touch. By day three, you become uncoordinated. Sleep deprivation can lead to memory problems, hallucinations, increased risk of stroke and

Let’s talk about stress because, well, you know, 2020. Stress may be at an all time high right now, and even the most seasoned meditators are feeling it. Between the pandemic, the almost inconceivable and sudden loss of my son, some emergency room visits for my husband and now a wildfire near my home (and all this in the past month), my practice has become even more important to my wellbeing. Stress can manifest itself in a number of ways, effecting your body, mind, emotions and behavior. You may experience frequent headaches, fatigue or breathlessness. You may worry or have trouble concentrating, have trouble sleeping or be restless. Anger, anxiety and depression are common during periods of high stress. And those effects have an impact on your entire body. You go into “flight, fight or freeze” mode, signaling your body to release adrenaline and cortisol, also known as the stress hormones. These hormones make your heart beat fast, raise your blood pressure, change your digestive proce