Several years ago I volunteered in the kitchen at the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center near Muir Woods, north of San Francisco. A sign of instructions for cooks was posted that could not be missed. <<< click image to read more>>>
All in Meditation
One Powerful Word To Reduce Your Stress
Philosophers, sages, teachers and critics have debated over translation, interpretation, and nearly every aspect of yogic philosophy, but the one thing that still unites all communities is the universal sound of Aum, or more commonly, “OM”. <<click image to read more>>
Reduce Stress in 60 Seconds: Dial “N” for Nature
Decades of medical research, books, journals, and papers exist on the benefits of spending time in nature, the positive impacts on stress levels, and the our overall physical and mental wellbeing. <<click image to read more>>
The Secret Sauce of Work-Life Balance
There's something missing from most discussions of "balance" that I've seen.
It's what matters most.
Think about what matters most to you -- your priorities, your beliefs, the things you long for, the things you're utterly devoted to. <<click image to read more>>
Who and Where is Your Tribe?
The need to belong is a psychological driver behind a desire for human connection, but WHO are the people we want to connect with, beyond basic survival needs, and HOW do we find them? <<click image to read more>>
30 Days Are Over - What's Next?
Putting a new idea out there — such as this 30-day practice for the wine industry on breathwork and meditation — is a lot like turning on a lightbulb. Once it’s lit, we’re more able to see what we couldn’t see before. << click on image to read more >>
Two Tools For Better Breathing and one is FREE!
As we draw to a close of our 30 Days of Practice, here’s two simple resources I have found instrumental in helping get deeper into my breath and manage stress, concentration and anxiety - and one is free!
<<click image to read more>>
Jetlag - 6 Tips To Take You From Fog To Fabulous
For the 6% of the population who never suffer jetlag, you are truly superheroes in my mind.
But for the other 94% of us, the sleepy, foggy, groggy feeling of jetlag can strike at the most inopportune times when traveling on business. <<click image to read more>>
What I’m Not Supposed to Say about Meditation
As I’m traveling abroad this week for work, I’ve realized something about my meditation practice that I’m probably not supposed to say.
But here goes.
<<click on the image to read more>>
Hands Up or Hands Down?
"Sit with your hands in your lap."
That is, normally, the instruction we hear regarding what to do with our hands when we meditate. Today I'd like to draw your attention to a very subtle movement, and encourage you to experiment with how it impacts your practice. <<click image to read more>>
Should I Meditate in Order to Work Better
Today I'd like to share with you a post I wrote for my "home base" of yoga, on the six steps of applying the practice of meditation to my work, and especially my career as a writer. <<click image to read more>>
How to Make Space for Meditation
Making Space is a tiny little book, written by Thich Nhat Hanh.
It somehow manages to be both full-to-the-brim powerful and gently encouraging, all at the same time.
Its message is about creating a home meditation practice, and I'd like to share five highlights with you here today. <<click image to read more>>
30 Seconds is All It Takes
How many of you have heard of Kevin Zraly's 30-second practice?
I have no idea if Kevin himself would call it a "practice," but it feels like a practice and it's a neat thing to know about in any case. <<click the image to read more>>
The Eight Limbs – Yoga Beyond the Physical Poses
Kumbhakasana, dhanurasana, malasana and the crowd favorite, shavasana.
If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you have likely heard these poses or positions called by teachers as you have moved your body and breath through class. But yoga goes so far beyond the physical practice represented in much of mainstream America. <<click image to read more>>
Drink While You Pour
Drink while you pour.
It’s another of my favorite takeaways from my teacher, at home in Atlanta, that also happens to resonate at the personal level for those of us in the wine business. <<click the image to read more>>
3 Reasons to Meditate
Earlier this week I introduced you to the whirling dervishes.
That's how I think about the flurry of thoughts racing through my mind every time -- every single time -- that I sit down to meditate. There's no escaping them, so I suggest that we make friends with them instead. << click on the image to read more>>
Why We Retreat - Stepping Back to Move Forward
By nature, the human self is constantly in a state of doing, creating, managing, and evolving. But we must also make space for our spiritual selves, where we can silence the mind’s busyness, find space to return to our true selves, and connect back to what our spirit and soul truly craves. <<click image to read more>>
Can't Slow Down Your Thoughts? It's Normal!
The most common objection I hear to meditating is that "I don't have enough time," something we looked at on Day Four in this series.
The second most common objection is, "I can't slow my thoughts down," and that's what I'd like to explore today. <<click image to read more>>
Are you REALLY Breathing?
Now you’re here, take a deep breath, and e-x-h-a-l-e…
See!
Don’t you feel better?
<<click image to read more>>
Wake Up and Sit
When?
When, exactly, does anyone have time to meditate?
That's probably the biggest question, and the biggest obstacle, that I hear expressed when it comes to meditating. Or not meditating, as the case may be. <<click image to read more>>