Connect with me:
LINDA CROSSLEY, MBA,
LMFT*, E-RYT 500®
*License # LMFT93390
Serving Orange County, CA
To leave a confidential voice mail,
please call (714) 707-1277
For all other inquiries, please call
(657) 204-6262
Email: linda@sanctuary4compassion.com
Can 8 weeks of listening to a 13-minute daily guided meditation change your life?
/in Yoga/by LindaThe second most frequent question I get asked – after how many times a week should I do yoga (Click here to read my reflection on this question) – is how long should I meditate each day in order to reap the benefits? Well, it appears that brief daily meditations can have a positive effect […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Support the Manifestation of Your Dreams for 2019 and Beyond!
/in Newsletter/by LindaNew Year resolutions have all been set and rung in for two weeks now and, as some of the motivational energy behind those resolutions might be fading a bit, I thought I would dedicate this newsletter to the number one tool for manifesting our desires, intentions and dreams – visualizaton! As the quote above by Henry […]
The Stigma of Stuttering – Can Direct Neurofeedback Improve Speech Fluency?
/in Neurofeedback/by LindaIf you know – or have ever known – someone that struggles or struggled with stuttering, then you most likely are aware of how physically and mentally exhausting it can be for them to communicate as they attempt to control the disruptions in their speech caused by this neurodevelopmental condition. And when we realize that […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Expand Our Capacity for Self-Compassion
/in Newsletter/by LindaAlthough the holidays bring visions of family coming together, these images may not always bring the joy presumed by the presentations. Many of us struggle to create an accepting and caring environment when we ourselves did not receive such acceptance and caring as we grew up. Add the stress of trying to plan “the perfect” […]
Is self-compassion the answer to happiness?
/in Talk Therapy/by LindaIf we are lucky, our parents actively taught us the concept of compassion towards others. If we were very lucky, our parents actively taught us self-compassion. Unfortunately, it is only recently that such concepts have come forward in the research as tools to support our body, mind and spiritual health, so most of us may […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Open Your Heart
/in Newsletter/by LindaNovember is National Gratitude Month! The ‘attitude of gratitude’ is finally having its day . . . or an entire month! Research focused on the benefits of cultivating more gratitude in your life is showing many measurable psychological, physical and interpersonal benefits, such as lower blood pressure, less feelings of isolation and loneliness, and higher levels […]
Gratitude Journaling Improves Mental Health!
/in Yoga/by LindaGrowing up in a chaotic home environment, whether as a result of job loss, divorce, mental illness or abuse, challenges the developing brain to grow from its survival parts to the parts that allow us to engage in the world in a way that brings a sense of acceptance, belonging, peace and abundance. It gets […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas for Emotional Wellness
/in Newsletter/by LindaI believe we are all feeling the heaviness of the divisive energy that we are experiencing in the world, whether we want to acknowledge it or try to pretend it doesn’t exist. So many of us can’t wrap our minds around what is happening! I keep reminding myself we must have destruction before construction. The […]
Might direct neurofeedback be worth a try?
/in Neurofeedback/by LindaI’m a big believer in our innate ability to heal ourselves, the power of the human body and mind to continually work together towards homeostasis and health. I also have personally experienced the chaos created in both by trauma, challenging my body and mind to maintain that state of equilibrium and well-being. Through my own […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Help Save Lives
/in Newsletter/by LindaSeptember is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. Suicide is not an easy topic to talk about and yet that is exactly what is needed in order to reduce the growing rate of this tragedy. Conversations can make a difference when someone is thinking about suicide. Did you know that […]
The Legacy of Childhood Trauma – Transgenerational Impact!
/in Talk Therapy/by LindaI had a dear colleague once say to me “We didn’t know what we didn’t know. When we know, we do better”. I hear myself repeating this phrase often, because blame and shame are not healthy, period. Yet, if we don’t look back to reflect on the need for change and growth, then we are […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas for Navigating This Eclipse and Retrograde Season
/in Newsletter/by LindaOn Tuesday, August 7th, with the planet Uranus going retrograde, we will now be under the influence of six planets in retrograde for the next two weeks, until the 19th when Mercury returns direct and Mars returns direct on the 27th. In addition, we have the last eclipse of the year, a solar eclipse occurring […]
Self-acceptance, what is it good for? Absolutely everything!
/in Yoga/by LindaSome days I get washed away by a tidal wave of gratitude for discovering yoga all those years ago. I first embraced the practice “on the mat”, showing up for classes sometimes 5 to 6 or 7 days a week depending upon the kind of week I was having, and ultimately integrating it into my […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Beat the Heat
/in Newsletter/by LindaAlthough we are technically still in the first third of the summer, we are in the middle of the dog days of summer as children start to plan to return to school next month! And not only are we busy down here on earth moving through the changes that come with summer vacation, but the skies […]
Neurofeedback – Promising non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies for anxiety and depression!
/in Neurofeedback/by LindaMany people that I connect with express a desire to try other approaches to address symptoms of anxiety and depression before turning to medications, especially when it is their children that are suffering from such symptoms, as all prescription medications come with undesired side-effects. As a psychotherapist and yoga teacher, I share the research with […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas for Shining Light on the Human Need for Acceptance
/in Newsletter/by LindaThe Summer Solstice is upon us as we are celebrating Pride Month and making plans to mark International Yoga Day on Thursday, June 21st! As I reflected on the intersection of these events and celebrations, I came upon a thread that runs deep, connecting the acknowledgement of the light on the longest day of the […]
Heart Rate Variability, Stress Reactivity, and Diaphragmatic Breathing – How Yoga’s Basic 3-part Breath Practice Supports Body-Mind Health
/in Yoga/by LindaOne of the designations for the month of May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month with the social media message of #MoveInMay. So in support of this awareness effort, I would like to share the benefits of learning how to move your diaphragm to support your body-mind fitness! Yes, that large skeletal muscle that […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas for Navigating Times of Transition and Transformation
/in Newsletter/by Linda“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” ― Socrates Change can happen all of a sudden or it can creep up on us without truly recognizing it as such! Either way, change often brings fear into our hearts. Humans are creatures of […]
Does the ability to be self-aware of our inner emotional world contribute to our mental health?
/in Talk Therapy/by LindaIn March of last year, I explored alexithymia when reflecting on how this difficulty in identifying, describing, and feeling our emotional world may be a factor in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically how early childhood trauma impacts the developmental ability to integrate thinking and feeling. I find myself revisiting this topic again due to recent […]
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Reduce Stress
/in Newsletter/by Linda“We can never attain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”― Dalai Lama The month of April, among other things, has been designated Stress Awareness Month. The first step to making any change in our life is awareness. Without awareness, we tend to continue on our journeys doing the same old things, […]