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  In this episode of Cultivating a Healing Mindset, I share a wonderfully helpful technique for moving past stuck places around difficult emotions and pain. RAIN, a four step process developed by Insight meditation teachers, helps us be less at war with ourselves during times of adversity or discomfort. With this gentle yet brilliant technique, you can explore what is holding you back from compassion or insight. It's meant to be applied either on the meditation cushion or on the spot. In this video, I'll guide you through the four steps and give…continue reading →

  "Be positive.” “Hang in there.” “Don’t worry.” In the pantheon of well-intentioned but lame advice, ill people have borne the brunt of it. Whether you’re suffering from chronic pain, stress, or just feeling out of sorts, the underlying message from others tends to be that you aren’t trying hard enough. If only you were more disciplined, rational, or grateful, life would be better. This can lead to an attitude that something is deeply wrong with us – perhaps that’s caused our predicament? The ancient teachings of Buddhism however point us towards a…continue reading →

We all face times where we struggle to find balance between our two important Rs — responsibility and relaxation. From meeting important deadlines to getting a healthy dinner on the table, completing our to-do list shouldn’t require that we sacrifice health and wellness. Prioritizing our physical health is an important aspect of self-care — not only will we be better able to succeed in caring for ourselves, but we’ll be better able to care for others. Find the balance between your two Rs with these tips for balancing your fitness routine with self-care.…continue reading →

A healing mindset is much more than just having a positive attitude. It's healing the rift between how we wish we were (or think we should be) and how we actually are from one moment to the next. It's about dropping the exhausting resistance we have to our own emotions. In this video, I'll explore 3 different components of a healing mindset: Presence, Openness, and being Actively Kind (to oneself and others). You'll learn a short practice for each of these different components.continue reading →

I just left a sweaty Catholic school gym where 400 members of the Park Slope Food Coop (disproportionately shod in Keen and Birkenstock sandals) voted overwhelmingly to endorse the New York Health Act, a Medicare for all plan that is one state senator away from passing here in New York. I don’t normally write about political issues, and I’m going to continue that tradition today since I believe that healthcare shouldn’t be a political issue. Watch Jimmy Kimmel tearfully explain in a mixture of disgust and gratefulness how, after seeing his newborn son’s…continue reading →

Emotional Wellness: How To Take Care Of Yourself Guest Post by Melissa Howard of stopsuicide.info In the light of two very publicized and tragic suicides, this post comes from Melissa Howard and the organization stopsuicide.info.   For many Americans, focusing on emotional wellness can be a double-edged sword. In one sense, it’s a good way to ensure that you’re feeling good every day, but it can also bring painful memories or emotions to the forefront, keeping a vicious cycle alive in your mind. Finding a good balance will allow you to take good…continue reading →

I was inspired to write this post after teaching a workshop on lovingkindness meditation and smashing one of my daughter’s popsicle molds in anger (in the same week). Lovingkindness meditation is a thousand-year-old tool for dealing with hard-heartedness and isolation. Research continues to emerge about the positive effects of lovingkindness, including decreasing migraines and chronic pain, and activating empathy. Recently, at one of my Your Body Is Your Practice workshops, we offered ourselves the traditional phrases: May I be safe, May I be happy, May I be healthy, May I live with ease.…continue reading →

What Sharon Salzberg has contributed to meditation and Buddhism in America is hard to quantify. Nowadays, she is everywhere you look within the recent mindfulness surge (and deservedly so): interviews with Oprah, podcasts with Tim Ferris, magazine articles, and her nine books on the subject. She has become known for her emphasis on the practice of metta, or lovingkindness, and her seminal book on the subject (Lovingkindness). This focus has been particularly needed in the West where the temptation to use meditation and spirituality as another self-improvement project or an attempt to control…continue reading →

Embedded within everyday anxiety is the hope that if we could only complete the remaining tasks on our to-do lists, then we could rest in an aura of accomplishment and contentment. Anxiety creates its own logic: we should maximize all our moments with doing or thinking about doing. I know it's hard for me to relax when I think about my swollen email inbox. Email has a field day with my adrenal glands. While we know that meditation and self-care ultimately may be good for our productivity and happiness, choosing them in the…continue reading →