The pandemic caught most of us off guard and added significant stress to our lives, asking us at times to think out of the box to come up with creative ways to do what we did in the past differently. In a flash, life went virtual! Teachers, in particular, who, as a profession rank high amongst those helping professions that are predisposed to mental health challenges due to stress on the job, were asked to convert in-person curriculums to remote learning overnight. Teachers were already at risk of burnout before the pandemic, with a significant percentage of teachers leaving the profession within the first 5 years. The pandemic has simply added salt to an already open wound.
Past research has looked at the benefits of bringing yoga into the schools for the students. This research has shown the positive effects on the developing minds of children, including but not limited to reducing stress and anxiety, improving memory and attention span, enhancing coping skills, and increasing self-confidence and self-esteem. By building yoga into the students’ curriculum, it was accessible to everyone and was not designated as an optional, after-school activity. By supporting students in this way, it certainly indirectly helps the teachers. However, with such a high burnout rate in this profession, it is just as important to look at what might prevent such teacher burnout more directly.
More recent research is now looking at bringing yoga to the teachers at school. One such recent quasi-experimental study looked at the connection between improving the mental and emotional well-being of teachers through a twice-a-week yoga class, including gentle meditation exercises, and a reduction in burnout. Yoga, and is contemplative practices, was considered for this research because it is a discipline that has been shown to enhance body awareness and encourages equanimity in the mind. The design of this research included concern for the need to adapt to the working environment, so that no particular setting would be required, making it easy to replicate.
The research was able to identify a significant, positive effect of yoga on the psycho-physical well-being and resilience response on the job of the teachers. The program was short, only 8 weeks, and did not identify any risks. The conclusion suggests that schools would benefit by offering yoga to the teachers to reduce burnout.
If you are interested in reading the full article, click the link below. If you are a teacher or know a teacher, consider sharing this article with those that might benefit, including the principal of your school.
Can neurofeedback be a “Nudge” to a Stuck Nervous System Due to Early Life Stress?
/0 Comments/in Neurofeedback /by LindaGrowing up in a single-mother household created a lot of stress and fear that stayed with me even as an adult. Such a household dynamic brings a greater risk of poverty, which creates challenges in securing a safe place to live and putting food on the table on a consistent basis. Fear in childhood from stressful experiences can change the trajectory of a person’s health over the entire life span if not addressed, specifically an elevated vulnerability to addiction in all of its forms. Now, with the advent of the pandemic, we might need to add this to the long list of stressors that children struggle to adapt to as it might be years before the impact and lingering effects of the fear and isolation it has caused to be fully understood. Is it possible that neurofeedback might be able to “nudge” the fearful nervous system back in the direction of health?
What we have learned about adverse childhood experiences and the traumatizing effects of such, is that talking about it may not be enough to move through the fear and calm the emotional centers of the brain. More is needed and not everyone is willing to tolerate the side-effects of prescription medication, such as suicidal thoughts. Therefore, research into alternative and complementary non-invasive, non-medication treatments, such as yoga and neurofeedback, has increased over the past couple of decades, with very promising results.
A recent review focused on neurofeedback to determine if it might help move the autonomic nervous system away from fear toward homeostatic equilibrium in people who experienced early life stress. The researchers conclude that neurofeedback can increase the efficacy of other training protocols and more traditional talk therapy techniques.
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Help Save Lives
/0 Comments/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 suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, that, according to the CDC, suicide rates have increased by more than 30% in half of the states since 1999, and that the youngest person to kill themselves was only 6 years old?
Many of us will notice changes in people around us and get the feeling that “something is not right”. You may not want to say anything for fear you won’t know what to say if they confirm your concerns. While these conversations can be very difficult and confronting, just one conversation can save someone’s life by preventing suicide.
You may not be sure what to do to help, whether you should take talk of suicide seriously, or if your intervention might make the situation worse. Taking action is always the best choice. Here’s what you need to know to start saving lives today:
As always, if you try any of these intention-setting ideas for holistic health, I would love to hear about the impact they might have had for you. Please send me an email at linda@sanctuary4compassion.com to share!
Hybrid (On-site/In-person and Online/Virtual) Reiki-infused Sound Healing and Meditation Class!
/0 Comments/in Events /by LindaOn-site/In-person Community Gathering Practice Tips
We understand that, during this transitional time, some of us are more ready than others to slowly re-enter into the experience of small social gatherings. For this reason, we have created a hybrid service model, where a small number of (no more than 4) participants will be able to join us in-person. If you are interested in this option, let us know and we will provide further guidance, including:
Virtual Community Gathering Practice Tips
For those that would prefer to stay in the comfort of home – whether due to physical distance, family participation and/or even the enhanced sense of privacy – we will continue to provide the option to connect with us through Zoom.
Once you let us know that you are interested in attending, we will send you an email that will include details around what is needed from you, including:
To facilitate the benefits of such a virtual community practice at home, below we have provided some helpful hints:
Restorative Yoga Tips and Props
On the day of the class, here are some additional recommendations to create a more sacred space in advance for your practice:
In home prop ideas:
Can focusing on emotions when talking with your therapist improve symptoms of Binge-Eating Disorder (BED)?
/0 Comments/in Talk Therapy /by LindaBinge-eating disorder, although not formally recognized until added to the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), is the most common eating disorder in the United States. Having experienced the suffering from this diagnosis myself in the past, I used to refer to it as an emotional eating disorder. Simply put, I used food to soothe and comfort myself. I had not learned any healthy coping strategies when I experienced emotions, so I did my best to stuff them down with food. It wasn’t until I took the journey of befriending my emotions and honoring their intelligence that I even became aware of my unhealthy relationship with food and eating behaviors.
Once I was able to accept my emotional beingness as a human, so many more things began to make more sense to me. With the support of a good therapist, I came to learn that what I had experienced as a child was traumatizing and I disconnected from my emotions to survive. However, living life from only the logical intelligence perspective was so limited. And, even though I disconnected – or dissociated – from my emotions, it didn’t mean they went away. They wanted to come out and be heard, so they knocked on the door loudly, sometimes bursting in when I least expected or wanted them. So I used food to try to quiet them down, like you feed a baby when they are crying.
When I learned how to recognize my emotions and allowed them to have some air time, I was able to engage in a dialogue with them so they could inform me what I needed in the moment. I then needed to learn how to give myself what I needed. My personal journey towards valuing my superpower – my emotional intelligence – is the reason that my psychotherapy services include emotion-focused therapy (EFT). Prior to EFT being researched to the point of becoming an evidenced-based practice, most research and treatment for BED aligned with cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs). Unfortunately, these approaches could not address efficacy, failure to abstain from such unhealthy eating, and high drop-out rates from treatment, because powerful emotions are among the most accurate predictors of BED.
This realization led researchers to consider exploring other psychological treatments with a focus on emotions. A recent research study looked at EFT as an alternative treatment approach for BED other than CBT. The results validate my own personal journey. The findings provided additional evidence that individual EFT might be beneficial in the treatment of BED, as it supports clients in processing uncomfortable emotions instead of relying on food as an emotional coping mechanism.
To read the full article, click the link below:
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Support Your Overall Wellness
/0 Comments/in Newsletter /by LindaNational Wellness Month!
August has most of us experiencing “the heat” of summer, which makes us humans a little edgier and more prone to irritability, even more so during a pandemic that just won’t go away! Heat, of all kinds, makes us uncomfortable. Physical heat has been shown to elevate levels of cortisol in our bodies. So what might we “do” to make ourselves more comfortable this summer – and perhaps for a lifetime?
National Wellness Month encourages us to focus on our self-care. When we do so, we are actively participating in reducing our stress and keeping us aligned with our authentic self, the one that reflects your inner strength through vulnerability and open-heartedness. Unfortunately, many of us have been told that self-care is selfish, so we put ourselves last on our list of responsibilities. When we don’t prioritize our self-care, we disconnect from our authentic self and expose ourselves to toxic stress, making us uncomfortable in our own skins.
To honor August as National Wellness Month, below are intention-setting ideas for you to consider that might support your level of comfort in your own skin, even in the heat, by reinforcing the connection to your authentic self:
As always, if you try any of these intention-setting ideas for holistic health, I would love to hear about the impact they might have had for you. Please send me an email at linda@sanctuary4compassion.com to share!
Might Yoga Help Prevent Teacher Burnout?
/0 Comments/in Yoga /by LindaThe pandemic caught most of us off guard and added significant stress to our lives, asking us at times to think out of the box to come up with creative ways to do what we did in the past differently. In a flash, life went virtual! Teachers, in particular, who, as a profession rank high amongst those helping professions that are predisposed to mental health challenges due to stress on the job, were asked to convert in-person curriculums to remote learning overnight. Teachers were already at risk of burnout before the pandemic, with a significant percentage of teachers leaving the profession within the first 5 years. The pandemic has simply added salt to an already open wound.
Past research has looked at the benefits of bringing yoga into the schools for the students. This research has shown the positive effects on the developing minds of children, including but not limited to reducing stress and anxiety, improving memory and attention span, enhancing coping skills, and increasing self-confidence and self-esteem. By building yoga into the students’ curriculum, it was accessible to everyone and was not designated as an optional, after-school activity. By supporting students in this way, it certainly indirectly helps the teachers. However, with such a high burnout rate in this profession, it is just as important to look at what might prevent such teacher burnout more directly.
More recent research is now looking at bringing yoga to the teachers at school. One such recent quasi-experimental study looked at the connection between improving the mental and emotional well-being of teachers through a twice-a-week yoga class, including gentle meditation exercises, and a reduction in burnout. Yoga, and is contemplative practices, was considered for this research because it is a discipline that has been shown to enhance body awareness and encourages equanimity in the mind. The design of this research included concern for the need to adapt to the working environment, so that no particular setting would be required, making it easy to replicate.
The research was able to identify a significant, positive effect of yoga on the psycho-physical well-being and resilience response on the job of the teachers. The program was short, only 8 weeks, and did not identify any risks. The conclusion suggests that schools would benefit by offering yoga to the teachers to reduce burnout.
If you are interested in reading the full article, click the link below. If you are a teacher or know a teacher, consider sharing this article with those that might benefit, including the principal of your school.
5 Intention-setting Ideas to Celebrate Our Differences
/0 Comments/in Newsletter /by LindaJuly is Disability Pride Month!
President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. This law is one of those major milestones in our history as it prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It is the official recognition that valuing and respecting each individual uniqueness is our collective strength.
In order to continue to raise the collective consciousness around diversity and inclusion, July presents an opportunity to continue the celebration coming off the heel’s of June’s LGBTQA+ Pride Month. It is only when each of us can truly honor all differences as normal, natural and beautiful that the soil in which we grow becomes richer, where the seeds of acceptance, belonging, compassion and connection are able to blossom in all their glory.
Therefore, below are intention-setting ideas for you to consider as you reflect on your relationship with disabilities and how you might honor and contribute to the elevation of the collective consciousness:
As always, if you try any of these intention-setting ideas for holistic health, I would love to hear about the impact they might have had for you. Please send me an email at linda@sanctuary4compassion.com to share!
Free Informational Sessions on the Upcoming In-depth Yoga Study and 200-hour Basic Yoga Teacher Certification Training
/0 Comments/in Events /by LindaCan direct neurofeedback provide hope to those experiencing post-stroke fatigue?
/0 Comments/in Neurofeedback /by LindaAs a direct neurofeedback provider, I am continually amazed at the positive effects it has on people’s lives. I am in awe of the human body’s natural ability to heal itself, especially when it is supported naturally. I feel privileged to work directly in supporting the brain’s neuroplasticity and its innate ability to organize itself towards health. I feel excited every day to learn how this treatment modality is being utilized to address so many different body-mind symptoms of disease, to improve quality of life and well-being. A recent exploratory study took a look at a very common symptom post-stroke, fatigue.
According to the CDC, stroke:
With such statistics, anything that we can do to support the brain-body recovery would be a significant development. As someone who has a family history of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, I feel excited about the possibilities.
With fatigue being one of the most commonly reported symptoms after a stroke, the study looked at using transcranial direct current stimulation (aka direct neurofeedback) to support the activity of the brain on its road to recovery. The study only included a single session of direct neurofeedback and the results indicated that such treatment may be a useful tool for managing post-stroke fatigue. I can only imagine the results if more sessions were offered, but I guess we will have to wait for that study!
In the meantime, if you or someone you love is suffering from post-stroke symptoms, especially fatigue, consider reading this study (click below) and looking for a direct neurofeedback provider in their area.
Hybrid (On-site/In-person and Online/Virtual) Reiki-infused Sound Healing and Meditation Class!
/0 Comments/in Events /by LindaOn-site/In-person Community Gathering Practice Tips
We understand that, during this transitional time, some of us are more ready than others to slowly re-enter into the experience of small social gatherings. For this reason, we have created a hybrid service model, where a small number of (no more than 4) participants will be able to join us in-person. If you are interested in this option, let us know and we will provide further guidance, including:
Virtual Community Gathering Practice Tips
For those that would prefer to stay in the comfort of home – whether due to physical distance, family participation and/or even the enhanced sense of privacy – we will continue to provide the option to connect with us through Zoom.
Once you let us know that you are interested in attending, we will send you an email that will include details around what is needed from you, including:
To facilitate the benefits of such a virtual community practice at home, below we have provided some helpful hints:
Restorative Yoga Tips and Props
On the day of the class, here are some additional recommendations to create a more sacred space in advance for your practice:
In home prop ideas: