Alternative Health

This 10-minute meditation practice explores the awareness of the breath and body sensations as a means to anchor you into the present moment. It can be used any time of day, whenever you need a moment of stillness to reset and connect back to your body with this breath in this moment.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to Finding a Still Quiet Place with Dr. Amy Saltzman

In this episode, I interview Dr. Amy Saltzman. Dr. Amy is recognized as a visionary and pioneer in the domains of mindfulness for athletes, coaches, and other high performers, as well as for kids, teens, parents, teachers. Dr. Amy offers mindfulness coaching and holistic medical care to children, adolescents, their parents, and professionals. Before moving to Santa Barbara, she worked with employees and exces from Apple, Google, Stanford, Square, Genetech.

When I was looking for ways to teach mindfulness to children A Still Quiet Place: A Mindfulness Program for Teaching Children and Adolescents to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions, by Dr. Amy Saltzman was one of the first books I read. Her book provided me with evidence on the benefits of mindfulness and step-by-step tools for how to teach it in a way easily understood by children. After falling in love with her curriculum and the results I was seeing with my clients, I went on to complete her 10-week online practicum. I still use her curriculum in the mindfulness groups that I lead today.

Here are some of the topics we cover in this episode:

• Amy guides us in brief breath practice to help us connect with our still quiet place
• How mindfulness is defined in easy to understand terms for children
• Gaining an understanding of Emotion Theory
• Tools for helping us recognize our emotional patterns and children to recognize their emotional patterns
• Behavior management vs. Behavior Investigation
• The three breaths practice (also known as the late to school breath practice)
• Benefits of mindfulness during these unpredictable times
• Compassion and gratitude

I highly recommend checking out some of her other work:

A Still Quiet Place for Athletes: Mindfulness Skills for Achieving Peak Performance and Finding Flow in Sports and in Life

A Still Quiet Place for Teens: A Mindfulness Workbook to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions

Still Quiet Place: Mindfulness for Young Children

Still Quiet Place: Mindfulness for Teens.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to Building Rock Star Resilience with Em Capito LCSW, MBA, RYT

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, my perspective continues to evolve. There are times that I have felt tremendous gratitude, connection, presence, and other times of sadness, fear, and loneliness. I’ve started to contemplate the things in my life that I really do have control over. It might have taken an earthquake (and more than enough aftershocks) in the midst of a pandemic to realize how little control I do have. One foundation that I keep coming back to that has given me stability is my mindfulness practice. I can’t change what will happen but I can choose how I respond. I’m also reminded of the resilience that each of us has within us. No matter what our age, we can overcome obstacles and find joy despite our trials.

When it comes to the power of resilience, I knew exactly who I wanted to interview! Em Capito LCSW, MBA, RYT might argue that we find meaning in life in spite of our trials. Em is an unconventional psychotherapist specializing in holistic mind-body resilience, in particular through intentional discomfort, highlighted in her recent TEDx talk on Resiliency Field Trips. Em is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a certified LifePower yoga teacher, and a Dharana Method meditation teacher with a private practice in South Jordan.

I invite you to listen to my interview with Em: Building Rock Star Resilience. Em will guide us on how we can navigate this time with a “hero’s journey” mindset. My hope is that you will also realize how far you have come, how resilient you truly are, and the innate wisdom you already embody.

Here are a few of the topics we cover in the interview:

• The power of Resilience
• The Hero’s Journey Framework
• COVID-19: what is in our control
• The importance of creating healthy routines
• You are an “expert” on you
• Hierarchy of Resilience
• and much more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to How to Find Presence as a Parent During Challenging Times with Cathryn Lokey, MS/Ed.S

It is March 2020 and we are in the middle of a pandemic. These are particularly challenging times, for all of us, there is no question.

How do we find peace and presence ourselves and with our children during these unpredictable times?

I cannot think of anyone more appropriate than Cathryn Lokey, MS/Ed.S, to dive into this complex topic with me. Cathryn worked as a school counselor for 12 years where she designed and implemented an innovative school-wide guidance and counseling program with a foundation in mindfulness. Cathryn recently gave a talk for the TEDxFSU conference, in which she spoke about her passion for children, the importance of compassion, and the vital need for courageous approaches to solving current social problems. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in Learning and Cognition at Florida State University and conducting research on children’s perceptions of mindfulness and their experiences of its practices.

Discussion points

• How do we talk to children about the current pandemic
• How do children respond during times of stress
  • Different approaches for times of mild and extreme stress
  • How stress impacts our ability to learn
  • Children sharing their feelings is a privilege
• Permission to let go of parent guilt
  • Should academic progress be the biggest focus right now?
  • The most important thing we can learn from this experience is to love unconditionally
• Recognizing our judgments about our own emotions
  • All emotions have value
  • Asking yourself, is this an appropriate emotional response to what is happening?
  • Our brains are wired for negativity
• What are the impacts of stress on the body
  • TEDtalk How to Make Stress Your Friend
• Our individual state is powerful.
  • The science of Heart Math
  • ‘We don’t always have to be “doing something” to make a big difference. When we release resistance and calm ourselves, doing our best, without judgement, it has an impact on ourselves and others and, some scientists say, the world.’ -Cathryn Lokey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to Responding vs. Reacting

To learn about our Mindfulness classes click HERE</

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to Awareness of Feelings

• Each of us, children and adults alike, tend to respond to our feelings in a rather habitual way.
• We typically reside somewhere along the continuum of ignoring (suppressing) feelings or being controlled (overwhelmed) by them.
• Mindfulness helps give us insight into the patterns we have with reacting to our feelings. With practice, we can “have our feelings without our feeling having us;” meaning, we are aware of our feelings without them controlling our behavior.
• The way we respond to our feelings can directly impact our own suffering. Consider the equation below:

Pain x Resistance= Suffering
Unpleasantness x Wanting Things to be Different= Upset
(child friendly version)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to Noticing Pleasant Events

• “The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences,” psychologist Rick Hanson is fond of saying, “and Teflon for positive ones.”
• How can noticing pleasant events rewire your brain to be more positive, connected, and empathetic?
• Strategies for how to notice and connect more to positive events throughout the day.

a>

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to Thought Watching

• Mindfulness gives us the ability to notice our thoughts in a non-judgmental and curious way.
• All of us have an inner critic. Dr. Amy Saltzman refers to this inner critic as, “unkind mind.”
• Once we start bringing awareness to when, why, and where “unkind mind” shows up, we can be more in control of how we choose to respond.
• Keep in mind that some thoughts are simply that: just a thought. We don’t need to try to judge, fix or change them. With the analogy of our own “thought bubbles”, can we notice our thoughts come and go? If you wait long enough, the bubble will eventually “pop”, the thought will go away, and a new thought will emerge.
• Thoughts are not facts. Perceptions of ourselves and others are not always accurate.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to an Introduction to Mindful Eating

• How to introduce mindful eating to your child.
• How does mindful eating relate to daily life?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

Listen to How to Make Yoga a YES for Everyone with Denise Druce.

In this episode, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Denise Druce. Denise Druce holds a special place in my heart. It is because of her yoga teacher training, Yoga Assets, that I am a yoga instructor. I can’t wait to share with you how yoga teacher training (aka transformation) changed my life. We also dive into Denise’s TEDx talk, How Yoga Training Re-Creates Prison Environments for Inmates.

Here are some of the topics we cover:

• Why yoga teacher training?
• What sets Yoga Assets apart from other trainings?
• Taking yoga where it isn’t: into the Utah prison systems
• Denise’s mission and non profit: Yoga Forward
• What can yoga teach us during quarantine?

For nearly four decades, Denise Druce has been inspiring people to live healthier, happier lives. She calls herself an Elevator…when you’re around her, you’re going up! Denise has taught a wide variety of fitness classes over the years, from step to indoor cycling to her current and lasting love, yoga. She teaches her students to stand at the “Soft Edge of the Hard Place” in fitness and in life. Her non-profit Yoga Forward is “taking yoga where it isn’t”…prisons, shelters, schools, and shopping malls. She has a Masters Degree in Public Health, is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT500, and is a breast cancer Thriver. She spends most weekends on the road, making the world a better place by getting more people trained to teach yoga everywhere. Denise and her husband, Michael live in Salt Lake City with their three boys.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More