Self-Care Solutions
Fingertip Focus for Rapid Calm
One of my favorite practices for rapid calming and centering involves bringing attention to the fingertips. This single-pointed focus turns a simple shift of attention into a meditation that can be done anywhere, anytime, in less than five minutes. The practice involves turning the palms face up, resting full attention on the fingertips, and noticing…
Read MoreForgiveness Is Good For Your Health
I recently suggested a prescription for forgiveness to address a patient’s recurring insomnia. Why? Because holding a grudge causes stress and chronic stress is the foundation for many chronic disorders, including insomnia. Conversely, forgiveness is “the feeling of peace that emerges as you take your hurt less personally and become a hero instead of a…
Read MoreFeel Peace and Balance with PMR
Progressive muscle relaxation, or “PMR” is a fun and simple practice of opposites: tensing and then relaxing the muscles, helping achieve a state of harmony and balance. Muscles can be tensed individually, in groups, or even in succession to achieve full-body tension followed by full-body relaxation. Try a mini version now: tense your biceps while…
Read MoreMove Negative Emotions Out of Your Mind and Body with EFT
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) – more commonly known as “Tapping” – is a simple and quick practice that improves anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD, and burnout. By allowing you to release negative emotions, EFT helps you move forward. In EFT, you tap your fingers on 9 acupuncture points in succession while you repeat an affirmation and…
Read MoreBuddha’s Triangle Acupressure Helps Anxiety and Stress
I fell in love with the Buddha’s Triangle treatment over 10 years ago when I heard the name and received the treatment of 3 needles covering the triangle from my inner wrist bones to the first third of my forearm. Since then, I have used the Buddha’s triangle in patient treatments and many now request…
Read MoreWe Owe Our Lives to the Leaves
Recently, Sarah Holmes on the Herbal Highway Podcast discussed the many ways that leaves support us. From shelter and food to providing us with oxygen, it turns out we cannot live without leaves. Let’s look at the leaves and what they do for us. A leaf is a principal appendage of the stem of a…
Read MoreYoga Nidra Helps Anxiety, Insomnia, Migraines and More!
I have been learning and practicing yoga nidra rather intensely for the past few months. Over that time, my sleep and stress levels have improved significantly. While I can’t say for sure that yoga nidra was responsible for all of these changes, the research actually supports these findings! Some days I practice for 15 minutes…
Read MoreUsing Spices to Reconnect to Nature and Improve Your Well-being
Last year, when my husband and I got sick with the COVID virus, I was pleasantly surprised when our physician prescribed a homemade turmeric tea in addition to Paxlovid. I have continued to make and drink this tea a few times a week since then and I share the recipe below. Watching the heaping half…
Read MoreUsing your ears to calm your nerves
When was the last time you relied on your sense of hearing to interpret the world around you? Close your eyes and listen. Just listen. Notice what you hear. Notice how you feel just listening. What we hear impacts our mood. In fact, recent research has found that the sounds in our environment have a…
Read MoreThe Physiological Sigh: A Small and Slow Solution for Anxiety
Indigenous people worldwide have known the value of using slow and small solutions, Permaculture Principle 9, to live in harmony with Mother Earth. The physiological sigh, which decreases anxiety and heart rate, is one example of a slow and small solution for maintaining health and well-being. We explore this simple but powerful practice as well…
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