I’m happy to report I did it again…I completed the annual 60-mile ride for the American Heart Association for the fourth time! It was tough, but I managed to go the distance. And what a great feeling it was to roll past the finish line again this year, knowing I’d helped raise money for heart research. My own heart was…
Balancing spirituality and science, the lineup for last week’s FACES conference in Washington, D.C., was remarkable: Roshi Joan Halifax, Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Kristin Neff, Barbara Fredrickson, Frank Ostaseski, Christine Courtois, Tara Brach, John Briere, and Chris Germer. I was worried that mindfulness had been talked about a bit too much of late, but the speakers brought fresh insights and research to…
We’ll be celebrating Memorial Day next week, and I can’t think of a better way to honor our veterans and active duty armed forces than by making sure they get the mental and physical health benefits they deserve. That’s why my friend Congressman Tim Ryan, author of A Mindful Nation (Hay House) and co-chair of the bipartisan Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery…
By Traci Pedersen Seeking out something to laugh about on a daily basis—such as watching your favorite comedian online—may be just what you need to create a more relaxed, zen-like state of mind. A new study by Loma Linda University Health reveals that joyful laughter produces an abundance of gamma brain waves, similar to those found in a person who…
Do the aftereffects of traumatic events we suffered as children follow us into adulthood in a physical way? Research about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) proves that enormous childhood stress absolutely leads to increased potential for adult illness and disease. The original Adverse Childhood Experience study (conducted from 1995 to 1997) examined the link between childhood trauma and the likelihood of…
Brent Baum is an important person in my life and a remarkable man. He’s a therapist and a teacher who developed Holographic Memory Resolution (HMR), a method combining meditation, exercise, and emotional reframing techniques to ease the impact of stress and trauma. He defines trauma as “any experience large or small that overwhelms us in our daily existence.” Left unresolved,…
My teenager is home on break from college and my husband quit his job to freelance, so now we both work from home. I love having them around, so I couldn’t figure out why I’d been feeling stressed out. Then I went for a long walk alone and immediately understood what I’d been missing: talking to myself. I talk to…
Like so many people, women in particular, I was never very comfortable in my own skin. But my discomfort had less to do with wanting to be a blonde instead of a brunette or wishing for blue eyes instead of hazel. Though I did of course occasionally covet different physical traits than the ones I was born with, it wasn’t…
