Blog
Working With Hands
Did you know … when your hands get activated by physical touch, endorphins and serotonin (pleasure chemicals) get released in your brain, and levels of cortisol (stress hormone) decrease. So, as you work with your hands, you provide activities to stimulate the brain by increasing pleasure while decreasing stress.
Yoga Smorgasbord
Two weeks ago, a Yoga for Wellness reader who enjoyed June 20th’s blog on “Midwestern Sensibilities” and the varied geographic cultural influences, wrote back to me commenting that I should write about varied yoga cultural influences as well.This got me thinking about the studio that I belong to: Mosaic Yoga
Pulling Weeds
My family and I have just returned from two back-to-back family reunion events. Although these events celebrated my heart, my garden beds appear to have celebrated in their own way! (A weed party) There were sections where I struggled to discover which plants were the vegetables and which ones were the weeds. Granted, I anticipated this, but observing how rapid weeds grow, this never ceases to amaze me.
Midwestern Sensibilities
“Porch Time
is never wasted time
It’s taking the time to commune with nature and your loved ones.
It’s listening to my daughter play air guitar to Little Feat on volume 11 at midnight with her Aunt and Dad.”
-Amy Conn
Transitions
I’m sitting on my porch for a spell in between two very busy times in my life. Taking a moment to observe the stillness I am suddenly reminded of the busyness that surrounds me.
Much like this song “ Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley - I am reminded of the simplicity and amazement of nature. You see, residing within a homemade birdhouse that my children made a dozen years ago at their middle school, live a small family of birds with very busy parents.
Writers and Riders
Writers and Riders Have A Lot in Common
Natalie Juteau
September 14, 2014 I realized yesterday that writing books and riding horses have a lot in common. Both can be a bit scary. There have been times when my hands shake and my heart races right before I get on a horse that intimidates me. There have been lessons where I’ve had to give my students a pep talk and then coax them into the saddle.
Yoga And Art
Why do Yoga and Art go together … NATURALLY
There is not much difference between art and yoga. Art is transforming a plain white paper or canvas or cloth into an amazingly beautiful portrait while yoga is a transformation of a human who functions to someone who can move beyond their habitual way in the form they think, breath, move, and talk.
Endings And Beginnings
I started preschool when I was 4 years old. On the 6th of May, I turned 62—my entire life has encircled around the agrarian needs of a school calendar with its beginnings and endings differing from the traditional 12-month calendar.
Surround Yourself with JOY
True joy is a limitless, life-defining, transformative reservoir waiting to be tapped into. It requires the utmost surrender and, like love, is a choice to be made.
A Gentle Giant Part II
This past week, Michael and I traveled to Long Beach to join my brother and sister-in-law to memorialize our friend, our family member, a person we loved.
Mindful…EVERYTHING!
Start by looking at what you are planning to eat. What do you notice visually?
Now, smell the food carefully. What do you notice?
If applicable, do you notice any sounds? If you’re eating something like a raisin, try holding it close to your ear as you squeeze it gently. Or if you’re unwrapping a chocolate, listen to the crinkles of the wrapper as you unfold it …
Do You SEE Seattle?
For the last three years, I’ve been preparing for a paper for an international conference involving my 5th grade students, a program called Anatomy Academy, and all of it during a time when we were all being taught over a platform called ZOOM during a worldwide pandemic.
Anatomy Academy is an outreach and research program to combat childhood obesity through education.
A Gentle Giant
“The world lost a bight light, a beacon of love, with a heart that held so much love and compassion” writes Jean. “Brian loved BIG, laughed long, and knew how to make others feel heard and seen.”
It Was a Grand Adventure!
We arrive at the bottom of the canyon in time for a Ranger talk. I am reminded of these talks as a child visiting various National Parks. I loved these stories and remember attending these intimate amphitheater events with my dad and siblings. (I feel fortunate to have visited so many in my childhood.)
What Does WELL Look Like? (part 2)
And I think it’s just as if not more important to remember that despite preparations for an unknown future, we must all practice being in and practice finding joy in the present moment. It’s easy to forget that the path of life isn’t over the next horizon but the ground that my feet are stepping on at this exact moment.
What Does WELL Look Like?
I like to dance! But … It doesn't mean I’m great at it! It just means that I like to do it. It makes me happy.
