Exercises / Practices

By Joy Reichart, New Ventures West, guest contributor

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of witnessing the certification of a new group of Integral Coaches: a powerful rite of passage that is the culmination of a year of hard work, dedicated practice, and profound growth. At the close of the session, one new graduate checked out with these words: 

I am not me without you.

Though I know this person to be profoundly wise, spiritually connected, and relationally skillful, it nevertheless seemed…

By Priscilla Szneke, guest contributor 

Mindfulness meditation is often thought of as an activity that requires one to stop the mind from thinking while sitting absolutely still, usually cross-legged on the floor with the eyes closed for 20 minutes to an hour. This couldn’t be further from the truth. First, thinking is always happening and trying to stop the mind from thinking is like trying to stop the heart from beating. Good luck with that! The creator of MBSR, Jon Kabat-Zinn, explains “mind…

By Dr. Gus Castellanos, guest contributor 

The holidays are stressful and full of distractions, making it easy to neglect your mindfulness practice. Travel, parties, time constraints, fluctuating energy and mood can interfere with practicing. It's not surprising that many "fall off the practice bandwagon" during the holidays. Notwithstanding the challenges you might have, it is essential to keep your practice going to reduce stress and other negative feelings. And without mindful awareness, we …

By John J. Murphy, guest contributor

What better time of year to practice mindful leadership than during the year-end and year-beginning holidays? Of course, there are a variety of cultures and traditions celebrating this season, and many involve the practices of traveling, reuniting with family and friends, and exchanging gifts. There are also many people who struggle during this time of year with anxiety, stress, loneliness, and the feeling of being overwhelmed. Navigating crowded parking lot…

By Joy Reichart, New Ventures West, guest contributor 

“If you want to improve the world, start by helping people feel safer.” —Stephen Porges

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Can you recall a moment in your life when you felt truly supported? Perhaps it was a session with a therapist, bodyworker, coach, or teacher. Maybe it was a good conversation with a trusted friend. Or maybe someone came to your aid following a disturbing event.

What was that person’s bearing, and what sort of effect did it have on you? 

Regardle…

By Steven M. Cohen, guest contributor 

Thanksgiving has been a special holiday, a day where both sides of our family and some friends gathered together for a feast.  The more the merrier, and without the entanglement of religious significance. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 changes everything. What once brought only joy now brings fear, particularly with respect to our elderly parents. Likely, it will be too cold to gather and eat outside, and likely too dangerous to bring everyone together to eat …

By Marc Brackett, guest contributor 

When we are overly stressed and worried, like many of us have felt lately with threats like the coronavirus, it becomes even more difficult to regulate our emotions with effective strategies.

But what exactly is effective emotion regulation?

Emotion regulation is how we deal with the feelings we experience from moment to moment to have wellbeing, build positive relationships, and achieve desired goals. When we’re feeling disappointed or joyful or anxious o…

By Joy Reichart, New Ventures West, guest contributor

Guidance is a concept that is easy to forget about, or dismiss altogether. It can be brushed aside as an ethereal, “woo-woo” concept that has no place in our contemporary western world, where will and self-determination are what lead to success. Actually, guidance is more readily available and far less mysterious than we might think. 

What might happen if we made room in our lives to more easily receive guidance? Mindfulness, of course, is …

By Larissa Hall Carlson, guest contributor 

If you’ve been seeking out mindful ways to reduce stress overload, but are still feeling tapped, it may be time to create space to just… do… nothing.  Oh yes!  There’s a stealthy workday power tool that resuscitates and revitalizes with no effort at all: meet Constructive Rest Pose.  

Constructive Rest Pose is a restorative yoga posture that works like a reviving balm when time is tight and tensions are running high. Restorative yoga is known for usi…

By Cara Bradley, guest contributor 

Do you ever feel like you’re like a brain on a stick—you know that sensation of being stuck in your head, disconnected to what is happening below the neck, aka your body? Let’s just say, it’s not a comfortable (or productive) place to live—and, yet, it’s all too common.  

Somehow, moving through the world like that brain on a stick is acceptable in our culture. In some ways, we revere those supposedly productive minds that are always thinking.  The result of…