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Learning to Sit With Sadness on the Yoga Mat

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:39:03 GMT

Your feelings won't kill you, but how you handle them makes a difference.

What do we as humans do with negative emotions? Despite the millions of self-help books on the topic and the countless hours of university research poured into mood “disorders,” many of us still cannot find more than the most fleeting joys, let alone lasting happiness.

Years of meditation have taught me some hard truths. One is that you truly only have two options for dealing with negative emotions. The first is to act on them. The other is to accept what you cannot change.

Which approach is best in any given circumstance, time, and place requires mindfulness. Your yoga mat is the ideal place to encourage clarity of thought. It also creates a safe harbor where you are safe to feel, process, and yes, cry and scream into the void.

Processing the Things I Cannot Change on the Yoga Mat

The best way I can show what I mean by processing the things I cannot change on my mat is to explain my own healing process. The past few years have been hard on me in ways that the previous two decades were not. Before, I was in pure survival mode. My need to keep a roof over my head while getting to the bottom of mysterious health symptoms that stymied my ability to work and lead a normal life took up every minute. Nothing existed beyond daily triage.

Thanks to my beloved, I have enjoyed greater financial and housing stability over the past several years. However, that hasn’t spared me from different kinds of heartbreak. While I am forever grateful to my work on the mat for my newfound ability to navigate this minefield sober, it hasn’t been an easy few years.

Tremendous Loss

First came the loss of my beloved Poe, who was so much more than a cat. Then an ex-spouse, one I had loved dearly but simply could not live with amid addiction and poverty. My dad and then my aunt next crossed over. Finally, my beloved yoga cat and best friend of 15 years, Squeeks, passed beyond the gate.

My grief has been enormously complex. Some of the souls I lost were among the most loving and pure I have ever known. The other relationships were more contentious, but there was still much love and many valuable lessons learned. These losses all occurred within the past three years; on any given day, I still alternate between crying jags and fits of dark despair when something triggers a memory. And, much like the old Naked Eyes song goes, there’s always something there to remind me.

Mourning a Life Never Lived

Although it was my physical symptoms that eventually drove me to straighten out my mental mess, figuring out what was going on with my brain was an easy pattern to recognize once I had a few missing pieces. I will forever be grateful to Psychological Pathways , Devon Price , Mom on the Spectrum , and other people who have contributed enormously to the recognition and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. I’m even grateful to the long-ago school psychologist who mislabeled me as “gifted” when I was four — it gave me a necessary point of reference.

Figuring out I was never gifted, simply autistic, was the easy part. Dealing with the aftermath, not so much.

Part of it was horror over my own behavior. While I’m grateful that I was a “lie in bed and read a book” drunk and not the vehicular manslaughter sort, and while I never fight back unless cornered (flight is my go-to response), oh, can I be vicious when I do feel trapped. Furthermore, I learned the art of verbally decimating another person from a true master in the art, and my meltdowns often mirror the rage I was so often on the receiving end of as a child.

A good deal of my sadness, though, was mourning the life I might have had, had autism been properly identified in girls back in 1976 when I was first tested. Despite my brain’s stubborn refusal to do math, I am gifted in several ways, and I could have contributed much more to the world had I only had the support and intervention necessary to keep my lack of social awareness from crippling me.

Nor is autism the only driving force behind this mourning. Although a wise nurse practitioner at a Chandler, AZ, Urgent Care first noted my issues with orthostatic hypotension back when I was 30, I lacked consistent access to medical care. Because I was uninsured, I didn’t go to the doctor unless it was an emergency, and every time I did, I got scolded for using emergency medicine, furthering my distrust of doctors. However, no one ever taught me how to access the complicated US healthcare system the “right” way.

Although I await final confirmation from a tilt table test, the going hypothesis is POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, based on what the monitors on my heart found during my recent hospitalization. This condition can easily be confused with a panic disorder, as it causes irregular spikes in your heart rate. It can also make you pass out—like some of my “hemiplegic migraines” make me do.

Incidentally, this is what I mean when I say there is no anger in me anymore, only sadness. How could I be angry? POTS wasn’t even recognized by medical researchers until 1993 [1]. Should I rage at my parents, my ex-partners, the entire medical establishment? Literally everyone reinforced a singular message: you’re not really sick, you’re just crazy, you’re making this up for attention.

The whole world was the problem, and yeah, I was angry. You would be too, if you felt like you were literally dying, but everyone around you sneered, “you’re a liar!”

From my perspective, my lived experience has been akin to that of an epilepsy patient in the 1800s. Before science understood the physiological roots of that disease, sufferers were also deemed “insane” and thrown into asylums. However, I can’t blame anyone for being ignorant of what they simply didn’t know about at the time.

There is still sadness. Certain people whom I love dearly will never even try to understand the impact these two undiagnosed conditions have had on my life, and they’ve made it clear that they aren’t even interested in hearing about my experiences. That hurts. A lot. However, wishing or even tearfully begging them to listen won’t help and will only bring further hurt and suffering to both me and them. All I can do is radically accept their indifference and direct my love energy toward those who do care.

Radical acceptance is, admittedly, much easier now that I do have others in my life who support and love me. I’m forever grateful to my beloved, our family here at A Quiet Place and, of course, my yoga partner Ed, for listening to me and for loving me for who I truly am.

Still, I only learned I was autistic at 52 and am just now confirming my POTS diagnosis (hopefully) at 53. Mourning nearly 54 years of barriers to my potential at the same time as going through other losses has been a lot.

Facing Future Fears

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that now is also a scary time for millions of people. I don’t even think I need to go into further detail. We’re all aware of the elephant in the middle of America’s living room, even as we feel different sorts of ways about it.

Uncertainty has truly reigned supreme since at least 2019, the year the COVID-19 pandemic began. Put it this way: as a child, I didn’t realize I fell in love with horror movies because they offered a predictable scare pattern that regulated my wee nervous system way more than the chaos in my household. Today, if I want a good jump scare, all I have to do is scroll through the news where headlines of WWIII and AI terminators scream.

Suffice it to say I cannot influence world events, nor do I want to. However, they affect me deeply. It’s nearly impossible for me to feel settled when I think of the magnitude of the suffering, how many crucial human needs go ignored while world leaders fight over who has the right to manipulate the populace. It’s a constant sadness that very much weighs on my soul.

Creating a Safe Harbor for Sitting With Sadness in Your Yoga Mat

I can’t go back and relive my past, now that we know that POTS exists and that yes, Virginia, girls can be autistic, too. I can’t bring back those I have lost. I can’t even fully tune out the news, much as I try to these days, if only so that I can continue to function.

Negative feelings need a place to go. Anger is a type of energy, as is sadness; you can direct these outward or inward.

Outward expressions of negative emotions can cause horrific consequences. How many wars have been fought out of the spirit of revenge?

Violence is the ultimate manifestation of directing that negative emotional energy outward. The problem with violence is that it creates a ripple effect that inspires future acts of destruction. While you may feel a momentary catharsis from heaving that glass against the wall, shattering it, you can easily bloody your feet, knees and hands on the shards. Hurting others, even hurting their belongings, causes resentment and anger in others. Now they have to do something with their negative emotions.

However, directing negative emotions inward by stuffing them is equally harmful. Anger turned inward often morphs into depression [2], but sadly, those who come across as cross are rarely seen as “needing help.” Instead people (rightly) avoid them and their irritable behavior, furthering the individual’s sense of guilt and shame.

Often, addiction and other mental health issues arise when you stuff down negative emotions. Addiction is, in many ways, a manifestation of the flight response [3], a desire to escape feelings that overwhelm you.

However, here’s a cool tip I learned from a Buddhist nun during a Plum Village recording that I will never forget. The peak of your emotional response—that feeling of ‘I cannot live through this’---only lasts about 90 seconds [4]. If you can hold on for that long, the feeling won’t entirely disappear, but it will become manageable. The simple magic of awareness begins to dial it down, allowing you to examine your thoughts.

Learning to Sit With Sadness

Once you are able to calm your nervous system enough to examine your thoughts, you can question them. Are they logical, based on fact, or simply reflecting your emotional turmoil? How could you approach the same idea differently? What happens when you shift perspective?

I’ll be honest: sometimes, I can do this. Some days, I cannot. There are days when I simply cry into my yoga mat. Sometimes, all I can do is light the candles behind my cat statues and reflect on all the gentle lessons they taught me to keep from going off the rails—or back into the bottle.

However, crying, even screaming, into your yoga mat, is the opposite of stuffing your feelings down. It’s still processing them. It might look messy, but it’s a lot less so than going out, getting high, and ending up in a car wreck that destroys your life and others.

Talking to your mat doesn’t magically take your pain away. It doesn’t make death less inevitable, and it doesn’t make accepting those things you cannot change easier to bear.

What it does do, however, is prevent you from stabbing yourself with a second arrow , adding to your existing pain by engaging in destructive, hurtful behaviors that strain your closest relationships, including the one you have with your sense of self.

Nobody can cultivate this resilience but you. However, learning to process negative emotions on the yoga mat is a skill I wish we taught in schools. Fortunately, with patience and loving kindness toward yourself, you can teach yourself how to sit with sadness and gain the inner courage that comes when you learn that you are, in fact, strong enough, to handle what the world throws at you.

The process probably won’t be linear. It will be messy. And painful. However, it’s oodles better than destroying others with random acts of violence or decimating your health with addictive substances.

Each time you allow yourself to process your emotions on the mat instead of acting them out or stuffing them down, you reinforce a vital skill. You also gain more confidence in your ability to weather emotional turmoil. You may not be able to stop life’s incoming storms. However, you can learn to answer back, “you don’t scare me,” while you dance amid the raindrops.

References:

[1] Rasavi, Medhi and Safayi-Naeini, Payam. “Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.” PubMed. February, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2026, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7046364/

[2] “Is Depression Anger Turned Inward?” New Harbor Behavioral Health Care. ND. Retrieved April 11, 2026, from:

https://newharborbh.com/is-depression-anger-turned-inward/

[3] Nolan, Maura, LPC, LCMHC, NCC. “Beyond Fight, Flight or Freeze: Treating Addiction Through Nervous System Regulation.” Open Sky Wilderness Therapy. ND. Retrieved April 21, 2026, from: https://www.openskywilderness.com/addiction-and-nervous-system-regulation/

[4] Stone, Alyson M., PhD, CGP. “90 Seconds to Emotional Resilience.” ND. Retrieved April 21, 2026, from: https://www.alysonmstone.com/90-seconds-to-emotional-resilience/

How to Avoid Rumination While Using Restorative Yoga in Your Healing Journey

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:18:53 GMT

Your mat is a sacred place of rest, not a quest to Mt. Doom.

Talking to your mat is the perfect way to calm yourself. Soothing a jangled nervous system is often the first step toward getting out of your limbic brain and into your wise mind.

However, even though long, slow poses can soothe you and create space for clearer thoughts to arise, they can also invite rumination. Before you know it, you’re on a mental journey to Mt. Doom.

Rumination is like a vampire in that it drains you. It’s not at all conducive to healing—so how do you stop it? This guide and the following tips can help.

As always, the requisite caveat: we at Only in Sedona Yoga are not licensed health care or therapy practitioners. We are fellow patients on a healing journey.

Step One: Sanctify Your Space

Your anti-rumination work begins before you even set your intention by creating a safe, quiet, serene space for your practice. For those with the luxury of their own room, setting aside a 5’ by 8’ sacred practice area is ideal. Use room dividers, mirrors and plants to create division and the illusion of a spacious, natural setting.

In a perfect world, everyone would get a room of their own with a bit of an exterior courtyard for yoga practice or simply for existing. However, that’s not where we live. Some of us live with codependent or intrusive family members and roommates.

If that’s your situation, and you can’t create a safe space at home, can you find one elsewhere? I’m a huge fan of taking my practice into nature. However, a quiet corner of your neighborhood gym or community center can do in a pinch. Some facilities allow members to use the fitness studio space when group classes aren’t in session, and even if others enter during your flow, they’ll generally leave you be. Get creative! Even a “Harry Potter-esque” storage space beneath your stairs can become a sanctuary for a restorative or Yin practice.

The idea is, once you step inside this space, you leave the outside world—along with its frustrating tangle of demands, pressures, deadlines, and expectations behind. Your space should feel like entering church. Your mat is your sacred space to commune with Divinity as you understand it, so find or build a sanctuary that welcomes you with a sense of “aah.”

Step Two: Set an Intention

Establishing the proper mindset for each yoga session begins with your intention. I like to think of my intention as an invitation to the Universe, to Divinity as I understand it. I am here, I trust in you, I come to you to work hand in hand with you towards this purpose.

That purpose may include nothing more than deep relaxation, which is honorable in and of itself. Calming your nervous system empowers you to get in your wise mind, to balance your emotions with your reason , which facilitates clearer decision-making on and off the mat. Your intention may be short, sweet and simple: I remain anchored through my breath.

Of course, you can set any intention that you like. The most effective intentions are affirmative, positive statements, worded if what you intend to bring about is already happening. For example, instead of saying, “I want to feel more peaceful and serene,” try, “I invite peace and serenity into my heart.”

Step Three: Create a Breath Mantra

I’m forever grateful to the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and his work at Plum Village . I cannot count how many times I have turned to his simple mantra of, “Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in; breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out,” to center myself amid chaos.

Your breath is your most powerful tool in your anti-rumination arsenal. Returning your awareness to your inhales and exhales can break an obsessive thought chain. Once you become better at “catching” yourself before taking off down the mental road to Mt. Doom, you might even notice how you hold your breath or begin breathing more shallowly and rapidly when stressed.

A breath mantra is just a simple phrase—such as “breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in”---that pulls you back to this state of awareness. It’s a spoken or silent internal cue to slow down, to direct your attention toward breathing into the muscles and connective tissues currently under pressure. Your breath mantra might be something like, “breathing in, I remember in this moment, I am safe. Breathing out, I give thanks for this space to recover.”

Step Four: Establish a Sensory Check-in Cue

Even the most noble of human intentions can veer off course. However, there’s an app for nearly everything these days, and timers are among the most simple and free. If you’re using your computer or phone for your flows, here’s a free site where you can set an interval timer to provide an auditory clue to hop off the rumination train and tune back into your breath and your mantra.

If you have an Apple Watch or other fitness wearable, use the timer function on it as a silent sensory cue. This hint works well when you practice in a group setting, too, as no one else can feel the vibration on your wrist. I like to set mine to remind me every 30 seconds or so, but you can choose whatever interval works best to keep your mind from ruminating while holding long poses.

Tools for Warding Off Rumination Vampires

A fitness wearable is one tool you can use. Here are five others to consider when planning a long restorative session.

1. The Right Music

Lately, I have been absolutely obsessed with the handpan. I don’t know what it is about this relaxing instrument, but I adore it, and tuning into the gorgeous music it creates transports me right out of this world and into a more peaceful and beautiful one.

You can use any music you like. The magic of earbuds makes it possible to practice your flows at 2 am without upsetting your roommates. It also provides a clearer, more immersive sound experience. Singing along can also break a rumination chanin, so hey—if yoga accompanied by metal is your jam, crank it and play a little air guitar while you lie in bananasana (we won’t tell).

2. The Right Temperature

The heat in a hot yoga class may loosen stressed muscles and leave them feeling like delicious warm taffy [2]. It’s also harder for your mind to wander when you’re focused on a mild discomfort, like sweating, so see if turning up the thermostat a bit eases your urge to ruminate.

That ice-cold water bottle also offers aid. According to Dr. Haley Nelson, PhD, splashing cold water on your face activates the mammalian dive reflex. This dials down your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) response and cranks up the parasympathetic half, which helps you rest and digest [3]. The mild shock to your system may be just the trick to snap you out of a rumination chain.

3. The Right Company

It’s no secret that I prefer to practice yoga alone. Even before being diagnosed with autism, I have craved solitude, hungering for it like a dehydrated dandelion in the 1930s dust bowl.

However, the company of others is magnificent for preventing rumination. Have you been moodier and more introspective than usual lately? Shaking up your “mat game” by catching a new class in a studio instead of in front of the TV might be the change of venue you need to reconnect with your Zen. Sometimes, the simple act of flowing with others, even if you don’t converse, is enough to keep you in the present moment.

4. The Right Playful Mindset

Here’s a trick that helped me enormously a few years back. If there’s one thing my untamed brain did to perfection, it was ruminating. Now that I am sober and have recovered my memory, it's even easier for me to time-travel back into the past—but I’m not going that way.

I’m also used to thinking of my brain as a separate entity, which makes this trick even easier: Make it a game to catch yourself ruminating. Assign no judgment, no, “oops, I did it again,” to each time you catch yourself. Just pretend your rumination chains are Pokemon. Gotta catch ‘em all. It sounds silly, and maybe it doesn’t work for all brain types, but it helped me considerably.

5. The Right Distraction

Here’s some maverick advice that may upset some traditional yogis. What can I say? While I had a more traditional Ashtanga introduction to the mat in my younger years, talking to the mat only became sacred to me when I needed it to heal myself. Therefore, I take an unconventional approach. I’m not saying my methods work for everyone, but if you find them helpful, then my time spent writing this article was worth it.

Dig into a distraction. Please don’t doomscroll—especially nowadays, as the news can be so very triggering—but keep your Kindle handy. Got a TV and a phone? Tune into an educational video for your mind while your body flows.

Using this method helped me enormously in my own healing journey. I’d do hours of restorative yoga while watching various licensed psychologist’s channels and university lectures on various aspects of health, mental and physical. Easing my aches while focusing my mental energy on learning something new prevented rumination and taught me quite a bit about myself and how to drive my rather unusual brain.

Avoiding Rumination While Practicing Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga is much like a deep tissue massage you can give yourself for free. It’s relaxing and healing for your muscles and connective tissues, but it can leave your mind with ample time to wander down the rumination trail to Mt. Doom.

If rumination keeps you from indulging in your practice, give the above tips a try the next time you take to your mat for a quiet talk. Let us know what works for you and feel free to share your ideas with the community in the comments.

References:

[1] “Wise mind v. rationalization: Balancing logic and emotion in DBT therapy.” Palo Alto University. N.d. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from: https://paloaltou.edu/resources/business-of-practice-blog/wise-mind-vs.-rationalization-balancing-logic-and-emotion-in-dbt-therapy

[2] Gordon, Sherri. “Different Types of Hot Yoga and Their Benefits Explained.” Health. February 16, 2026. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from: https://www.health.com/hot-yoga-11788434

[3] Sardinha, Emily Laurence. “I’m a Neuroscientist, and this 10-Second Habit Can Instantly Boost Your Focus.” Parade. June 8, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2026, from: https://parade.com/health/10-second-habit-to-boost-focus-according-to-neuroscientist

How Yoga Helps With Sleep

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 23:55:51 GMT

Tips for Talking to Your Mat If You Toss and Turn

Nearly everyone tosses and turns now and then. However, ongoing insomnia can do a number on your physical and mental health. It can spark a vicious cycle, as disturbed rest leads to poor decision-making, which only creates more stress..

Multiple studies suggest that yoga helps with sleep. Here’s what the current science says about how you can improve your chances of a solid night’s rest. Plus, learn how to integrate daily practice into your routine.

How Yoga Helps With Sleep: What the Science Says

Multiple studies suggest that yoga improves sleep quality and quantity. A 2025 meta-analysis of 57 studies showed the following [1]:

Low-frequency sessions (1 to 2 times per week) yielded significant improvements in insomnia severity.
Medium-frequency sessions (3 to 4 times per week) produced a large mean improvement in sleep quality.
High-frequency sessions (>5 times per week) had the most significant overall impact, although researchers caution the data were limited.

It’s not the physical activity component of yoga, at least not alone, that works the sleep magic. A randomized controlled trial of OM chanting, pranayama (deep breathing/breathwork) and yoga nidra found that these practices led to statistically significant improvements in blood pressure and sleep quality among participants [2]. All of these “exercises” are performed while you sit or lie still in savasana.

The magic of yoga for sleep works even in patients with chronic illness. A 6-week yoga program increased activity levels, decreased fatigue and increased sleep quality in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a 2025 study published by Science Direct [3].

Is Yoga the Best Form of Exercise for Sleep?

If movement isn’t the magical component that makes yoga so helpful for sleep, does that mean it's better than other forms of exercise at encouraging restful slumber? There, the evidence is mixed.

A 2025 study in China suggests the answer is yes. Researchers at the Harbin Sport University in China analyzed 30 randomized controlled studies spanning more than a dozen countries with over 2,500 participants [4]. They found that high-intensity yoga performed twice per week was the best form of physical activity for poor sleep. Walking was next, followed by resistance exercise.

However, earlier studies testify to the power of cardiovascular exercise. While high-intensity yoga can get your heart pounding, this 2025 meta-analysis of 22 randomly controlled trials published by the British Medical Journal found that yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging have similar impacts on sleep [5].

It may be that different approaches work best for, well, different people. Your best bet is to experiment and find the approach that best suits your unique and beautiful body and mind.

How to Fit a Daily Yoga Practice Into Your Life

Fortunately, you don’t need much time to fit a daily yoga practice for sleep into your life. Only in Sedona offers 10-minute wind-down routines that are specially designed to encourage a good night’s rest. Add them to your playlist and do them right on your mattress.

You can also include a flow any time of the day. You’ll find 10-minute morning or anytime flows on our channel or on those hosted by many other wonderful yogis, such as Yoga With Kassandra or Devi Daly. Use them to transition from the office to “home mode” after a tough day, squeeze in a little mindfulness on your lunch break or simply wake up with a gentle stretch. There’s an app for everything these days, including yoga, so use the resources you have creatively to make your practice a welcome break in your day instead of a “to-do.”

Of course, if you’re fortunate to be blessed with more time and resources, spending them on your yoga practice will only improve your overall well-being. How many things in life feel as good as a cozy restorative session without being bad for you? Joining a studio or gym is fantastic if you also crave community and the structure that accompanies leaving your home to participate in this activity.

Going on a retreat is a vacation dream come true for many, and you can DIY if money is tight. We’re admittedly extremely blessed in this regard. However, while there’s some scenery you can find only in Sedona, nearly every location has at least one park where you can touch grass. If not, make friends at your local Habitat for Humanity and look for plant-pot donations and a cheap room divider to create your own miniature urban jungle getaway.

Combining Your Daily Yoga Practice With Other Sleep Hygiene Tips for Your Best Night’s Rest Yet

You may do best by combining your daily yoga practice with another form of exercise, alternative sleep hygiene tips, or both. Few things in life come risk-free, but adding a brisk walk or jog to your daily routine, followed by 10 minutes of soothing yoga, is safe and effective for most people.

Try it in combination with another popular sleep hygiene trick making the social media rounds, the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep rule. This method is more about when you stop certain activities , not add in new ones, making it less cumbersome [6]:

Stop consuming caffeine 10 hours before bedtime.
Cease food and alcohol consumption three hours before bed.
Stop working at least two hours before turning in.
Turn off your screens an hour before (maybe read a book—or practice yoga?).
Avoid hitting snooze (aim for zero times) in the morning.

Other hygiene tips that may help you improve your sleep score include:

Adjust your lighting, using blackout curtains, even blackout bed curtains or a face mask if you work night shift.
Dial your temperature down a bit, as many people sleep better when it is slightly cooler.
Digitally detox your bedroom, ditching that bright red glowing alarm clock from 1984 with an analog model. Use your phone as an alarm? Charge it on the opposite side of the room so you aren’t tempted to grab it for impromptu midnight doomscrolling. If you must keep all electronics in your bedroom because roommates, invest in LED blocking tape for all those tiny lights. Although they are pricey, EMF-shielding curtains around the bed offer a possible shared-space solution for sensitive souls.
If you don’t share your bed with pets, try an essential oil diffuser or a few drops of lavender on your pillow.
Make your sleep space inviting and comfortable. Although modern humans seem to view enduring discomfort as some sort of badge of honor ( why?) , the place where you rest your head should beacon you: “Come. You love it here. This space is designed just for you. Indulge.”

How Yoga Helps With Sleep

Recent scientific research continues to support the theory that regular yoga practice helps with sleep. Adopting this habit may improve the quantity and quality of your Zzs.

Tune into one of our wind-down flows tonight or find a creator with whom you resonate and get mindful right on your mattress. You may just reap the reward of a rmore efreshing night’s sleep.

References:

[1] Alghosi, Mohammad, et. al. “The effect of chronic yoga interventions on sleep quality in people with sleep disorders: a scoping review.” Frontiers in Neurology . April 29, 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12071090/

[2] Boopalan, Deenadayalan, et. al. “Mechanistic insights from neurological studies of OM chanting, pranayama and yoga nidra on sleep quality.” Annals of Neurosciences. October 29, 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12571781/

[3] Ozturk, Dilara and Turan, Gulcan Bahsecioglu. “Effect of yoga on sleep quality, fatigue and physical activity levels in patients with multiple sclerosis: A randomized control trial.” ScienceDirect . October 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1876382025001490

[4] “Yoga the best medicine to improve sleep: Chinese study.” Medical Brief. April 1, 2026. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from: https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/yoga-the-best-medicine-to-improve-sleep-chinese-study/

[5] Bu, Zhi-jun, et. al. “Effect of various exercise interventions on insomnia patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.” n.d. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from: https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/07/09/bmjebm-2024-113512

[6] “Follow the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep rule for a better night’s rest.” Health . March 29, 2026. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from: https://www.health.com/10-3-2-1-0-sleep-rule-8763555

What Should I Do If I Can’t Get Into a Yoga Pose?

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:45:54 GMT

It's Utterly Okay to Be a Little Different :)

Your gummy bear instructor makes transforming the human body into a pretzel look as simple as pouring water into a glass. However, your mind says, “yeah, right,” and your body says “heck, no.”

Is it time to roll up your mat in favor of the recumbent bike? While you’re always free to make that choice, there’s no reason to stop talking to your mat. Yoga is for everyone of all ages and abilities, and the right asana variations make it accessible for just about anyone. Here’s what you should do if you can’t get into a yoga pose and why that’s perfectly okay.

Assessing Why You Can’t Get Into a Yoga Pose

You are not a “standard issue human.”

No one is.

Everyone’s bodies contain unique variations, including differences in the configuration of your muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons. Even the ratio of muscle to tendon length [1] can vary across different parts of your body. It’s yet another reason that appearances can deceive: you may have the genetics for “show” or good muscle definition without being especially strong. You just have the right configuration for things to “pop” at aesthetically-pleasing places.

The takeaway you should hear loud and clear is: there is NOTHING wrong with you if you can’t get into a certain yoga pose.

Maybe Your Body Wasn’t Meant to Move That Way, and That’s Okay

It may very well be that your beautiful and unique body simply wasn’t designed to move in that way. Think of how your hip bone sits like a pestle in the mortar of your hip. Your range of motion is inherently limited by the physics of this configuration. Some people really do have naturally smaller, tighter hips than others.

That’s also why you should never force your way into a yoga pose that doesn’t feel right for you. While bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles are living tissue and thus have some give, all solid matter also has a breaking point. Even though many people (myself included) turn to yoga to manage chronic pain [2], you can make things worse by pushing too hard. Sadly, those who do get injured often shy away from the mat altogether, which isn’t ideal for their long-term mental and physical well-being.

While a lack of flexibility may be the reason you can’t get into a yoga pose, there could also be underlying structural issues you can’t see.

How to Know When a Lack of Flexibility Is the Issue

However, Mother Nature has your back, if you learn to mindfully tune into her via your body’s cues. Stretching only to a point of pleasant tightness will eventually increase your flexibility, gradually, over time, without damaging tissues or tearing anything.

That’s why the best advice I can give you to guide you as to how hard you push yourself is that your practice should always feel like healing medicine. Healing medicine can sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable, breathy, sweaty, even achy, like a deep tissue massage — but it should never make you feel worse than when you started or produce sharp, sudden or fresh pain. Healing medicine can also feel indulgent, like one of our weekly Saturday live yoga and meditation sessions on the Only in Sedona Yoga channel on YouTube.

What Should I Do If I Can’t Get Into a Yoga Pose?

There you are at your favorite yoga class, unable to follow what your guide is doing, but the last thing you want is help with adjustment. What now?

1. Talk to Your Guide

A proactive approach is best. Talking to your guide before class gives you time to assess their style — are they hands on or off — and make your preferences known. Some guides now use red or green index cards to indicate whether or not you appreciate hands-on adjustments or prefer not to be touched.

2. Take Savasana

Taking savasana is a sure sign that you need a time out, and most everywhere should respect it. Your only precaution may be to use care if you’re in a high-energy power class where spreading out could trip other participants, injuring you and them — or if you’re one of those fortunate souls who can fall asleep anywhere.

3. Take Child’s Pose or an Easy Sukhasana Seat

Otherwise, taking a child’s pose or an easy sukhasana seat is another option. Join back in when you feel ready.

Finally, you can modify many poses. We at Only in Sedona Yoga have been working on a series of short videos to introduce you to many of these variations, but you can also get creative, especially if you have a background in anatomy and physiology. You are, after all, the best judge as to whether a given pose is dangerously painful or “hurts so good." Use your mat time as your chance to learn something about your body and yourself.

Using Props When You Can’t Get Into a Yoga Pose

Props can help you get into yoga poses and make them more comfortable and passive for longer Yin and restorative asanas.

Often, everyday household objects work as well or better than professionally branded props, so get creative with your couch cushions, blankets and towels. You can fold and stack the latter two into nearly any configuration to support your knees, hips, back and other joints during your practice.

Deep Dive on Props and Pose Variations: Forward Fold

Here’s a primer on how you can use different variations of the same pose along with assorted props to make forward folds work for you despite any physical challenges you may face:

For Standing Forward Folds

Use blocks. Place blocks on either side of your feet and use them to catch your hands in standing forward folds to decrease the pressure on your lumbar spine, especially if your fingertips don’t quite reach the floor, You can flip them the tall way and move them to the short side as you increase in flexibility.
Up against the wall. If hinging forward from your hip puts too much pressure on your lumbar spine, begin by placing your hands against a wall instead. Step backward, keeping your spine straight, until your body forms an upside-down letter “L.” Use the wall to support your upper body as you tune into the release in your hamstrings.

For Seated Forward Folds

Use a strap. Wrapping a strap around your feet frees you to lengthen your hamstrings without rounding your lumbar spine.
Use pillows, bolsters and blocks. Piling pillows and bolsters against your low belly can prevent your lower back from rounding too much in this pose if you have lumbar problems. Additionally, supporting your head on blocks lets you lean forward without neck strain.

Or Make It Supine

Use a strap here, too. Use a strap during single-leg supine hamstring stretches to release the back of the thighs with no pressure on your lumbar vertebrae.
Or move toward snail. You can reach for your hands with your calves or use the weight of your legs alone, leaning them back toward your head as if you were going to go into snail pose, to elongate the backs of your thighs.

What You Should Do When You Can’t Get Into a Yoga Pose

Relax, beautiful fellow yogi. There’s no shame in yoga. Read that again.

There’s no shame whatsoever in your yoga practice.

If you still feel shame from not being able to get into a yoga pose, this mental trick might help: try flipping the equation on its head.

You could just as easily say, “this pose is not the right fit for my body.” It’s not the pose that’s the problem. Likewise, it’s not your body that’s at issue. It’s just an incompatible configuration, one that a few minor adjustments or tools might help to connect.

Yoga means “union” — in an infinity of beautiful ways. One interpretation of “yoga” is the union between your physical self and your external reality. Maybe you can’t fit into certain shapes in your present form, and that’s perfectly okay! You wouldn’t shame yourself for your inability to fit into a shoebox once you outgrew infancy. Why feel bad for being unable to get into a full lotus pose if your hip configuration simply does not allow it?

Relax, and Let Your Flow Flow

Therefore, simply relax, beautiful fellow yogi, and get into your flow. Mindfully tune into your body and let it guide you. Rather than trying to imitate your instructor’s moves perfectly, perform them in a way that feels like healing medicine to your unique mind, body and spirit.

With much love and hope for healing, always. ~ J.

References:

[1] Cathe. “What genetic factors determine the shape of your muscles and how strong they are.” Nd. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from: https://cathe.com/what-genetic-factors-determine-the-shape-of-your-muscles-and-how-strong-they-are/

[2] Beckencamp, Paula R., et. al. “Benefits and harms of exercise therapy and physical activity for low-back pain: An umbrella review.” NIH, Pubmed Central. April 2, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12191304/

Everyday Household Objects You Can Use in Your Yoga Practice

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:33:54 GMT

No $ for props? No problem!

Yoga props can seem like a luxury, especially if you live on a shoestring budget. Fortunately, you probably already own everything you need if you get a bit creative.

In fact, you may find that some of the “substitutes” you choose suit you better than branded gear. Experiment with the following everyday household objects during your next flow and experience new levels of challenge or relaxing bliss.

1. Pillows, Couch Cushions, and Blankets

I love my bolster. I also feel slightly guilty about it. While it was a justifiable purchase — I am a side sleeper who needs a solid knee divider for hip support — it was also expensive.

You can achieve the same perks with ordinary bed and throw pillows, couch cushions and folded blankets. In fact, these items may work even better, as you can gather a bunch before your practice and always have one within arms reach that’s like Baby Bear’s chair. Not too hard, not too soft, not too big, not too small. You get the idea.

Fold blankets multiple times to add the height and support you need. Couch cushions are usually firmer than throw or bed pillows, so use them where you need an extra boost of support, such as support for your hips and knees during supine twists. Squishy pillows are ideal for creating a soft reclining surface for meditation. Place them beneath your knees, your low back, or your head to elevate your savasana experience.

2. That Robe Sash

A robe sash is the perfect substitute for a strap. It’s soft and won’t cut into your skin, and it’s lengthy enough to facilitate lower body stretching even if they call you long-legged Hannah from Butte, Montana.

Some yoga straps have D-rings to create a closed loop. You can create a similar effect with your robe sash by creating a small loop at one end by tying a knot.

3. A Chair

You can perform some yoga flows right in your chair, but you can use this everyday household object to facilitate standard flows, too.

If you have severe lower back problems, for example, use a chair to modify forward folds. Instead of reaching for your toes, keep your spine straight and lean your upper body against your chair, creating an upside down “L” shape with your body. Focus on the stretch down the back of your legs without rounding your lumbar vertebrae.

4. A Wall

You could use a chair to help with balance, too, or simply head toward the nearest wall. Simply having something solid nearby might give you the courage to try tree pose, as you feel more secure that you can catch yourself if you start to feel wobbly.

Walls are also glorious for one specific pose — legs up the wall. Make this oh-so-good pose even better by using a wall to make it completely passive. Simply tune into the sensation of the blood flowing back up your legs after being pooled in your feet from long hours of standing or sitting still.

5. A Railing

A railing can work like a ballet barre, facilitating balance poses. You can also use it to perform variations of certain asanas.

For example, try a single-leg hamstring stretch by placing your foot atop the ankle and leaning forward from the waist. You can also improve your shoulder flexibility by grabbing the barre or railing with both hands and backing up until your torso begins to dip between your extended arms, focusing on the release in that upper arm joint.

6. A Frozen Water Bottle

Got back pain? We feel you. This trick sometimes helps me, especially after I’ve been rounding my back over a computer.

Use a frozen water bottle for a double-dip of pain-relieving goodness in supported fish pose [1]. Be sure to wrap the water bottle in a towel so that it doesn’t freeze to your skin and cause painful ice burns.

7. A Hiking Stick

Are you a fan of taking your flows outdoors? I’m a bit of a nut; I’ve been known to kick off my shoes on bare desert rock and bust into a flow, usually just after or during a hike to work out some of the kinks that arise from all that stepping.

Use your hiking stick to brace your back if touching your toes hurts your back in standing forward folds. Brace yourself on it during balance poses. You might even consider it an “intermediate” step between a wall or a chair and performing balance poses unaided.

Yoga is all about getting to know yourself and your body, and it is not a race or a competition. You may always prefer more solid props in balancing poses, and that is totally okay — but if you want to experiment, treat your hiking stick like a big kids’ bike with training wheels.

8. Dryer Balls

If you have a muscle knot, a tennis ball can work wonders for easing it. However, putting your full weight on a tennis ball during restorative poses can result a bit too much pressure.

Instead, opt for one of those squishy dryer balls. As a bonus, it may smell heavenly if you use essential oils [2] to freshen your laundry instead of harsh chemicals. It’s just soft enough to give but firm enough to notice.

9. A Towel and Towel Warmer

A towel can do triple duty. Place one on top of your mat during hot yoga, outdoor or particularly sweaty flows to keep from slipping on the perspiration slick when you hop back. Roll it up diagonally to create a long snake as a substitute for a strap. Cover yourself, or at least your torso, with it to preserve your agni heat when you lie in savasana.

Alas, a towel warmer, like my much-coveted weighted blanket, is one item my yoga repertoire lacks. However, if I did have a portable one, best believe I’d drag that bad boy out during my practice and indulge myself with a warm towel or two, just for the spa-like pampering effect. Aaah.

10. Your Partner/Child/Roommate

Yoga can be practiced solo, of course, but it’s also fun with friends. Plus, you can help each other gain flexibility by using each other’s bodies as props.

For example, increase your range of motion in a straddle or seated wide-leg forward fold by performing one opposite your partner. Sit an arms length apart and take turns supporting the other person as you pull their torso gently toward you.

Feeling creative? Want to strengthen your bond with your beloved? Try an acroyoga class and increase your sense of trust and safety [3] through this beautiful partnered art and movement form.

Enhance Your Yoga Practice With Everyday Household Objects

There’s no need to max out your credit card on yoga props. If you’re on a budget, turn to everyday household objects to enhance your practice.

How do you use “nontraditional” props creatively in your practice? Let us know in the comments!

References:

[1] Lee, Cyndi. “3 Variations of Supported Fish.” Yoga Journal. August 15, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2026, from: https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/modify-fish-pose-joy-contentment/

[2] Keasey, Matt. “Dryer Balls or Dryer Sheets: Which Is Better for You and Your Laundry?” Green Llama Clean. April 25, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2026, from: https://greenllamaclean.com/blogs/news/dryer-balls-or-dryer-sheets-which-is-better-for-you-and-your-laundry

[3] “Acroyoga explained: Meaning, benefits, techniques and popular partner poses.” Vinyasa Yoga Academy. Nd. Retrieved March 24, 2026 from: https://vinyasayogaacademy.com/blog/acroyoga-explained-meaning-benefits-techniques-popular-partner-poses/

10 Mindful Health Habits That Cost Less Than $10 or 10 Minutes of Your Time

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:29:50 GMT

Break free from the "I don't have the money/time" black-and-white thinking trap

You – yes, you – deserve a little kindness today. And guess what? There’s nothing wrong with showing yourself a bit of self-love.

Better yet, double your fun by including a friend. You’ve said, “but I lack the money/time,” long enough. The following mindful health habits cost less than $10 or 10 minutes of your time, but can put a smile on your face or that of someone you love.

Note: Only in Sedona Yoga is not currently enrolled in any affiliate programs other than our connection with Yeti, maker of the world’s best reusable drinking vessels (in our humble opinion) and bear-proof camping coolers. However, we may be in the future, so kindly consider this our requisite legal disclaimer (as we really are a team of two people and don’t have the resources to keep up with our rapidly changing legal landscape).

1. Sip a Probiotic Yogurt Drink

The other day, my local grocery had a 5-pack of Sabor Cool probiotic drinks on sale for $1. That’s nearly a full week’s worth of gut health goodness that you can swallow down as part of an impromptu, get-out-the-door breakfast.

This quick and cheap treat qualifies as a mindful health habit because of the multiple benefits probiotics have for your health. Recent research links them to everything from preventing cancer to helping you mitigate your stress response [1]. Stock up on these drinks when they go on sale near you and give yourself a little mental health boost that may have other perks, too.

2. Text an Old Friend to Say Hi

The power of connection can likewise do anything from helping you recover from cancer to keeping your brain sharp as you age. Fortunately, today’s devices can bring you closer if you use them wisely.

Instead of posting on social media, text up an old friend you haven’t spoken with in forever, just to say hello. You might be surprised at the goodness you feel from rekindling this connection [2].

3. Plant a Tree

Planting trees benefits your health in multiple ways. Trees are the lungs of the planet, and the more of them Earth has, the more nasty gunk she can remove from the air you and I breathe.

Fortunately, you can do so for less than you may think. Check out this great charity a whimsical Google search for “ plant a tree for $1 ” turned up [3]:

4. Choose Organic

Yes, organic foods cost more, but there’s no rule that everything in your cart must bear the official label. Even swapping out one piece of produce can make a difference in soil health and keep crops healthier to eat [4].

Better yet, use online groups like Facebook Marketplace, Meetup and Nextdoor to discover farmer’s markets near you if you don’t pass any on your typical commute. Not only will you get the best prices, you’ll often enjoy a bigger nutritional bang for your buck, since you reduce the shipping time from harvest to your table.

5. Reheat Right

Yes. The EPA banned trans fats back in 2018 [5], but it’s not only what comes out of the bottle that matters. Heating oil changes its chemical properties, rendering it dangerous to eat by oxidizing it and creating more unstable molecules [6]. You could unwittingly be increasing your heart disease or cancer risk if you re-fry that chicken to make it crispy.

Instead, use an air fryer. You’ll reheat your leftovers just as quickly without adding any extra oil. Because, you know, sometimes grilled just doesn’t cut it, not when leftover Church’s calls your name.

6. Floss Easier for Less

Relatively few Americans floss daily as they should. Why not? It’s usually messy and painful.

Eliminate the ouch factor with an electric water flosser. They cost less than you think — a Google search for such devices under $10 turned up several options.

7. Seek a Natural “Hit”

While “dopamine detoxes” may be all the rage, Mother Nature designed this chemical to encourage you to perform certain behaviors again — it’s just neutral as to what the outcomes of those behaviors are. Use this knowledge to encourage yourself to stick with habits that are good for you by choosing a healthy activity associated with higher levels of this brain chemical and penciling it into your daily routine [7], even if only for ten minutes. Dopamine boosting activities include:

Exercise
Sleep
Listen to music
Meditate
Create art
Spend time outside
Set and achieve a small goal (it might be simply making your bed!)
Help someone
Have sex (safely)

8. Try a New Tea

True tea comes from the Camellia Sinesis plant – the methods of harvesting and drying determine whether it’s white, green or black. Most versions have less caffeine than coffee and plenty of heart-health perks, making them ideal if you’re sensitive and too much joe gives you the jitters.

Herbal teas are often caffeine free. Better yet, some blends have oodles of folks that testify to their relaxing qualities [8], so mix up a soothing blend to ease your weary mind.

9. Take a Yoga Break

While an hour or more at the studio can feel heavenly, there’s no need to forego daily yoga practice if you’re pressed for time. You can squeeze in a 10-minute flow any time of the day or night, no equipment necessary.

You don’t even have to leave your chair [9] to practice some poses. If long hours at your desk make you stiff, breathe and flow while still impressing the boss with your “seat time” dedication.”

10. Just Breathe and Be

Breathing costs nothing and is accessible to everyone. Furthermore, slow, deep, rhythmic breathing is proven to soothe your vagus nerve and help you relax.

Close your eyes, set a timer, and simply breathe and be. You may choose to focus only on your breath. Alternatively, concentrate on one thing that delights you in your immediate environment, allowing those good feelings to spread and grow in you as you breathe.

Healthy Mindful Habits for $10 or 10 Minutes or Less

Before the words, “I don’t have time for my health,” fall from your lips again, consult this list of ideas. Chances are, there’s at least one thing you can afford the money or time for that will improve your mental or physical well-being – often, both!

Share these tips with a friend, use them to connect with loved ones, or add your own tips in the comments. Thank you for reading, and namaste.

References (because citation and transparency matter):

[1] “How the gut microbiota regulates the circadian stress axis.” European Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM). N.d. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from: https://www.gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/how-the-gut-microbiota-regulates-the-circadian-stress-axis/

[2] Frates, Elizabeth, et. al. “The connection prescription: Using the power of social interactions and the deep desire for connectedness to empower health and wellness.” PMC PubMed Central. October 7, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6125010/

[3] Plant With Purpose. Seriously, has a more beautiful mission ever existed? Please consider supporting this organization if you have the means.

Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://plantwithpurpose.org/plant-a-tree?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc_grant&utm_campaign=PERFMAX&utm_content=6539384262&utm_term=%7Bsearchterm%7D&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22027518930&gbraid=0AAAAAD0hMWzIiB4_xluN_ycsaHFB8oJvt&gclid=CjwKCAjw1N7NBhAoEiwAcPchp8yKBP4TnQMJolbtOR2iPCxDwicpv7znaX6_sfMDkfXrV8RoWN7i8xoC0QkQAvD_BwE

[4] “Why organic?” The Soil Association. N.D. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://www.soilassociation.org/take-action/organic-living/why-organic/

[5] “Trans fat.” EPA. N.d. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/trans-fat

[6] “Can reusing cooking oil increase cancer risk?” Comprehensive Hematology Oncology. N.d. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://comphemonc.com/2025/12/12/can-reusing-cooking-oil-increase-cancer-risk/

[7] DiLonardo, MaryJo. “How to boost dopamine.” WebMD. August 18, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://www.webmd.com/brain/how-to-boost-dopamine

[8] Robertson, Erika. “7 Terrific Teas for Anxiety That Will Calm Your Mind,” Teabloom. I chose this tea company to thank the nurses during my recent hospital stay, and I love their dedication to delicious, organic teas and the most charming accessories. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from: https://www.teabloom.com/blog/7-terrific-teas-for-anxiety-that-will-calm-your-mind/?srsltid=AfmBOorrAMwywVmxTXCKl_b5_qMebQ1Wb3cijE2xq6-tZcDH4vi1ivpW

[9] Shameless plug! Please check out our free yoga YouTube channel. It’s filled with 10-minute short videos in various formats for any time of day. Plus, come home to yourself every Saturday night during our Sober Saturday livestream, featuring 30-45 minutes of restorative yoga, followed by a body scan meditation (now with a NEW “low tech” and completely silent option!). https://www.youtube.com/c/onlyinsedonayoga

A Quick Mashup of the Latest Research on the Benefits of Yoga

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:25:43 GMT

Modern science continues to prove ancient wisdom to be correct.

Yoga is finally getting massive medical attention in the West, and yours truly couldn’t be more delighted. Because holistic health is pretty much my ultimate special interest these days, I decided to see what was up with the latest research news.

Here are six studies that once more underscore the benefits of a regular yoga practice. Get inspired and talk to your mat today.

1. Yoga Improves Immunity and Metabolic Markers Among Medical Students

While my failure to attend medical school remains among my greatest life regrets, I’m pretty sure that few people experience more psychic stress than those cramming for finals, especially when said exam involves literally cutting into another person’s body. Talk about pressure! I suddenly hear Queen and David Bowie.

Such intense effort is sure to wreak at least a little havoc on your immune system, and how many hard-grinding students complain about frequent colds or stress-related weight gain? However, one recent study in Nature followed 37 medical students, 81% of whom were female, in a 10-week yoga intervention at the University of Pecs, Hungary.

After the 10-week intervention, participants showed improved Immunoglobulin A levels, a protein that acts as one of your body’s first line of defense against germy invaders to the mucus membranes of your nose, throat and lungs. Furthermore, while there was no significant change in the participant’s total cholesterol levels, their HDL or “good” cholesterol significantly increased [1].

2. Yoga Protects Your Brain as You Age

Yoga doesn’t only make your limbs more flexible. It may also keep your brain sharper as you age.

A recent article published by the American Heart Association reviews multiple yoga studies. It found evidence that this ancient practice may preserve gray matter and offset neurodegenerative decline, even better than other exercise forms. Researchers point to factors including the break yoga provides from stress and tension, as well as the mind-body connection fostered by this unique form of physical movement. [2]

3. Pair Yoga With More Structured Exercise for the Best Heart Health Results

While I may personally cast aspersions on whether or not the researchers behind the next study have ever gone on an Ashtanga retreat, a recent article in Science Direct states that yoga may not be as effective as other exercise forms at protecting your heart. Tai chi, Pilates and HIIT consistently outperform yoga in improving vascular function — the health of your blood vessels.

The study’s authors recommend combining yoga with more vigorous exercise forms if your goal is to maximize your cardiovascular benefits. However, they also state that yoga alone is better than no movement at all. [3]

4. However, Yoga Still Improves Heart Health

That’s also not to say that you reap zero heart benefits from yoga — they just might not be as pronounced as they would be with a combination exercise approach. A recent article in Harvard Health reviewed dozens of studies. It found that yoga can decrease body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat percentage while improving blood pressure and cholesterol numbers. [4]

It helps to look at your heart health holistically. Yes, vigorous exercise gets it pumping, which puts moderate stress on your veins and arteries, improving your blood vessels. However, your heart is an electrochemical organ, meaning various other factors impact its function, from hormones to peptides. Stress also impacts your ticker, and few exercise forms are as effective at easing stress as yoga.

5. Can’t Sleep? Try High-Intensity Yoga

A recent meta-analysis of 30 randomized controlled trials showed that of all forms of activity , regular, intense yoga was the most associated with improved sleep. It beat out walking, resistance training, a combination exercise approach, tai chi, and qi gong. [5]

Interesting. The next time I can’t sleep, maybe I’ll pop on one of our MSM yoga videos, which have recently moved over to Patreon , along with some other fabulous bonus flows. This series was specifically designed to segue from Hatha yoga to restorative and closes with a brief meditation, which might be just what I need the next time I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back under.

6. And Finally Yes, Talking to Your Mat Will Likely Boost Your Mood

Yoga really is about the best all-around health intervention you can find for free. It makes me eternally grateful for all the enlightened ancestors who had sufficient wisdom to put together at least something of an owner’s manual for the human mind and body, unlike modern society, which seems to regard the magnificent creation that is homo sapiens as utterly disposable.

When I had absolutely nothing else, I had my mat. I love yoga for that reason. I also love it because it proves for once, my weirdo autistic self wasn’t “crazy.” I just process emotions somatically, which is an unfortunate curse to have in a society that wants to keep women as small, still, stationary, shrinking and silent as possible. Study after study, including this brief 2-week one, supports what my cells have always known: yoga eases everything from pain to insomnia to anxiety to depression.

This study, recently published in Frontiers in Medicine, added more evidence to the growing pile. It followed women with chronic pain for two weeks as they participated in a 60-minute Hatha yoga session twice per week. Despite the short study duration, participants who actively engaged in this intervention showed improvements in reported pain, sleep issues, depression, and anxiety. [6]

The Latest in Yoga Research

Yoga has oodles of benefits that Western medicine has only begun to explore. This mind-body activity proves time and again to be one of the most positive, free things you can do to boost your health, and nearly anyone can do it. Catch one of our free flows on YouTube or simply talk to your mat as your body feels called to do so. Thousands of years of proof of yoga’s perks can’t be wrong, and modern science now bears out ancient wisdom.

References:

[1] Chauhan, Shalini, et. al. “An exploratory study on the changes in immune and metabolic parameters by 10 weeks of yoga intervention among medical students.” Nature. November 5, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026, from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-22421-4

[2] American Heart Association. “Yoga isn’t just for flexibility. It may also protect brain health.” AHA. September 9, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026, from: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2025/09/09/yoga-isnt-just-for-flexibility-it-may-also-protect-brain-health

[3] University of Sharjah. “Yoga Isn’t as Heart-Healthy as You Think, New Study Reveals.” Science Direct. September 30, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026, from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250930034240.htm

[4] Corliss, Julie. “More than a stretch: How yoga can improve heart health.” Harvard Health. July 1, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026, from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/more-than-a-stretch-how-yoga-can-enhance-heart-health

[5] Cassella, Carly. “One form of exercise improves sleep the most, study finds.” Science Alert. November 22, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026, from: https://www.sciencealert.com/one-form-of-exercise-improves-sleep-the-most-study-finds

[6] Andrade, Alexandro, et. al. “Immediate effects of yoga on anxiety, depression, and sleep on women with chronic pain in a rural community setting: a pilot feasibility study.” Frontiers in Medicine. November 2, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026, from: https://www.sciencealert.com/one-form-of-exercise-improves-sleep-the-most-study-finds

Healing Through Talking to Your Mat: Managing Relapse Triggers

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:57:30 GMT

When temptation abounds, this 3-step method I use may help others avoid falling off the proverbial wagon.

Is it just me, beautiful fellow yogis, or does the current state of the world make anyone else feel a stronger-than-usual urge to relapse?

It’s safe to say I am feeling decidedly more anxious of late. Fortunately, years of talking to my mat have taught me that that’s exactly when I am most likely to give in to impulsivity. Such as “having just one drink to take the edge off.” Yeah, bad idea.

Recognizing the risk of relapse is the first mindful step when things start fraying at the seams. The second is understanding the nature of your impulsive, emotional signals well enough to understand how they can hijack your reason and what you can do to bring them back into balance with your wise mind. The third and final step is taking that action.

As we often say at OIS Yoga, we are not doctors or scientists but partners on a healing journey. Here’s the 3-step approach I have used to avoid relapsing the past several years despite multiple highly stressful experiences and losses. I hope it will help you on your healing journey.

Step One: Building Awareness of Your Relapse Triggers

Your mat is the perfect place for building awareness of your triggers. If you’re wired like me (I’m female and autistic), it may even be a more conducive space than your therapist’s couch, although the two practices — therapy and yoga — can also complement each other perfectly.

Why? Those of us with extremely holistic and somatic ways of perceiving and interacting with the world are so highly in sync with the micro-expressions and subtle posture changes of others that we can undermine our own healing by trying, both consciously and unconsciously, to please and mirror our therapists. Our therapist might shift position for no other reason than to pass gas, but we misinterpret their discomfiture as an unspoken cue that we are “doing therapy wrong.” As such, we desperately try to “fix” our presentation. We readjust our masks instead of digging into the real work our souls need to do.

However, on your mat, you can close your eyes. You don’t have to — nor should you — focus on anything but the present moment and your perceptions within it.

How liberating! Outside distractions removed, you’re now free to listen to that still, small voice from within. You can reflect on the following questions and let your soul answer honestly, with no fear of outside judgment over your answers to these questions from the work of Janina Fisher [1] (whose books I highly recommend):

What am I feeling right now? Identify and label your feelings beyond “good and bad.” This step can be surprisingly difficult. Or maybe it’s just me. I didn’t know I was autistic until age 52, but lacking the words to define my lived experience didn’t prevent alexithymia or the anhedonia that followed repeated traumatic experiences with no time for processing or loving companion to support me. Learning it was safe to feel my feelings let alone label them as an adult was hard. Be gentle with yourself.
Where am I feeling it in my body? Tune into your somatic sensations. Is your heart pounding? Do you feel weak and sweaty or impossibly heavy? Are you tense all over or in specific regions?
Does this feeling remind me of anything specific from the past? It’s okay if you can’t pinpoint one specific event, although you might.
What is this part of me trying to do? Is your initial reaction fight, flight, freeze or fawn? A desire to drink or use substances is often a manifestation of the flight response [2], a way to numb as a form of escape.

Step Two: Understanding the Neurobiology of Emotion

The first step is learning to identify your triggers. The second is proving to yourself that you have the strength to sit with difficult emotions without dying or giving into the temptation to use.

Yes, you do, I promise you.

Why? According to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor of Harvard University, your body goes through a spontaneous chemical process when you react to something in your environment. That’s beyond your control.

However, what happens after that initial 90 seconds [3] remains at least somewhat in your control. The thoughts and actions you take immediately following that initial 90 seconds go far in determining whether you remain stuck in an negative emotional loop.

That’s huge news for those of us prone to relapse. How many times have you followed a stressful experience with a fleeting thought of, “Man, I could really use a drink right now?” Understanding the neurobiology of emotion and its impact on your thought processes can help you snap back with more gusto in your, “No, I couldn’t; drinking would worsen my anxiety [4] levels,” in your reframe.

Recognizing your triggers builds your awareness of the emotions and bodily sensations that lead to “stinkin’ thinkin” like “one won’t be that bad.” You notice the emotion or the bodily sensation or the thought pattern because you have trained yourself to pay attention to these signals.

The second step occurs when you recognize, “Uh-oh, danger, Will Robinson, danger.” Secure in the knowledge that this fleeting temptation will pass in 90 short seconds, you breathe your way through it as you reframe those thoughts.

Sometimes, though, you need a little bit more. That’s when it’s time to choose a healthy coping mechanism.

Step Three: The Power of Healthy Distraction

If breathing and cognitive reframing in the moment were enough, therapists’ couches and yoga studios alike might cease to exist. Sometimes, though, those intrusive thoughts keep coming. When that happens, you need to immerse yourself in an alternative activity to avoid giving into temptation.

Think of this as a breather for your brain, like stretching and taking rest after a tough workout. The goal is to give those neurochemicals a change to come into better balance so you can get in your wise mind and think more clearly. You’re giving your brain time to recover from whatever is straining it.

You already know that my favorite activity is to practice yoga — a restorative session is heavenly for both my body and spirit even when my joints ache. Here are some other healthy distracting activities that may or may not work for you. Some of these are grounding, some are indulgent, others are just random tips meant to distract you from intrusive, unwanted thoughts of using until your brain chemistry rebalances itself. Take them or leave them as you need them, or share some of your favorites in the comments!

Read. Just don’t doom scroll — dive into a special interest instead if you’re autistic like me or just grab a book you love.
Pop a big tub of popcorn and put on a favorite movie
Open to a random recipe book page and get cooking
Got houseplants? Make a clipping for a friend
Do a jigsaw puzzle
Play computer solitaire
Study a random language on a language learning app
Grab a hairbrush, crank Youube and have an impromptu karaoke session
Get moving. I’m pretty sure no one has ever felt guilty about hitting the gym instead of the bar.
Make a book of funny memes and add to it (humorous only)
Color an adult coloring book
Mindfully savor that piece of chocolate. A little sugar and endorphin boost [5] is better than using.
Look up a random skill you’d like to learn on YouTube
Special interest? True crime? Cryptids? Historical fashion? Fall down a Wiki hole.
Draw, sketch, or paint.
No artistic talent? Create a mandala , which anyone can do. Carl Jung reportedly really dug these, too, at least according to a YouTube video or two I’ve heard in the past.
Play a memory game. Look at a busy scene for 10 seconds, then close your eyes and list all of the items you saw (this works best if you look at an unfamiliar scene, like a city street, not your familiar desktop).
Cuddle with your pet. I miss and love you forever, Squeeks and Poe.
Play with ice. Putting it on your pressure points can create quite a distracting sensation. How does it feel when you let it melt in your hands?
Do an unwanted chore. One less thing on your to-do list eases stress.
Work. There are scores of online and offline gigs now and then, and while they don’t pay enough to live on, you can often pick up a few extra bucks on the side. Of course, you might want to really wow the boss at your regular 9–5, too.
Tune into a yoga nidra meditation. Come back to your body and experience deep rest and relaxation that alters brain waves.

Avoiding Relapse Through the Healing Power of Talking to Your Mat

The world is a scary place these days, and you aren’t alone if you feel less secure and more anxious than usual. If uncertainty increases your temptation to use, the above method may help you avoid relapse.

I’ve successfully used this three-step formula to avoid relapse through the deaths of several loved ones, unexpected career changes, and recovery from deep trauma over the past few years. I can’t promise that it will work for everyone, but I hope it brings you some solace. With love and hope for healing always. ~ J.

References

[1] Fisher, Janina. Books. Retrieved February 17, 2026, from: https://janinafisher.com/books/

[2] Empower Health Group. “About Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn: How Trauma Shapes Our Reactions.” White Oak Recovery Center. Nd. Retrieved February 17, 2026, from: https://www.whiteoakrecovery.com/addiction-blog/fight-flight-freeze-or-fawn/#

[3] “The 90-Second Cycle of an Emotion.” Parent & Family Wellness Center. November 19, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2026, from: https://parentfamilywellness.com/blog/2021/11/19/the-90-second-cycle-of-an-emotion

[4] Henry Ford Health Staff. “Hangxiety: The Link Between Anxiety and Alcohol.” Henry Ford Health. December 10, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2026, from: https://www.henryford.com/blog/2025/12/hangxiety-link-between-anxiety-alcohol

[5] Linda. “Why Does Chocolate Make Us Happy? The Science Behind Your Favourite Mood Booster.” January 19, 2026. Retrieved February 2026, from: https://www.henryford.com/blog/2025/12/hangxiety-link-between-anxiety-alcohol

**A note about references. I don’t adhere to any official style guide, instead combining elements of MLA, APA and Chicago. My goal is to include as much relative information as possible to help you locate the original sources for any science-based information in my posts, so that you can fall down a delightful Wiki hole and fact-check me to your heart’s content. One of my real-life roles is fact-checking — I love it. I invite readers to do so on me because what matters to me, nearly more than anything (except love) is the truth. In short, if I err, I want you to call me on my mistakes, please. That is how we learn and grow together (just please include sources and don’t just say “you’re a bloody idiot,” because my reactive response to that tends to be “well, so are you, mate,” and that sort of unnecessary combativeness has never solved a single problem, as literally the entire world’s history shows). Links without a reference number in brackets [] are either links to my other content or fun links of interest (like “how to draw a mandala,” etc.).

Quick Tips for Setting an Intention

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:52:53 GMT

What do you do when your guide says, "set a private intention for your practice?"

At the start of many flows, you’ll hear your yoga guide utter some variation of “form a silent intention for your practice.” What does this mean, exactly? And what are you supposed to do?

Intention-setting is a core element of yoga. It’s where its healing and transformative powers originate. Discover how to compose and use yours to deepen your connection with yourself, your desired path, and even those around you and the universe as a whole.

What Is an Intention?

Many people conflate “setting an intention” with a specific desire they wish to manifest. However, for purposes of setting in intention for your yoga practice, zoom out and adopt a more holistic and realistic lens. An intention, or sankalpa , as it is called in the yoga nidra tradition, is not exactly like writing a letter to Santa with your wish list attached.

Rather, an intention or sankalpa in the yoga tradition is a connection between your soul and all that there is, has been and ever will be. It is a heartfelt cry from the depths of your being of who you are or most wish to be inside, a manifestation of “om” or “I am,” a remembrance of your self and your true nature. It’s communion with the Creator as you understand Them to be, an invitation, “I am here, made of the sacred stuff of the universe, ready and willing to receive my Divine lessons and purpose.

Setting your intention is very much like opening a prayer in that aspect, and since no one knows all the languages Divinity speaks, your sankalpa transforms the work you do on the mat into an act of devotion, of reverence, much like attending a church service. Only, instead of connecting with the words of another human who may or may not have your best interest at heart, you listen to the still, silent voice arising from within.

When you set a positive intention, you are manifesting in a way — but the changes you hope to bring don’t only affect your external world. It’s a team effort, and the connection between you and the universe, or the Divine, or that still, small voice inside, is what guides the transformation.

That’s what gives your intention power. It’s aligning your will with the flow of the universe, inviting a greater holistic awareness of your objectives as you navigate daily life, facilitating choices that might just bring you closer to any goals you may have — without feeling like you’re sacrificing anything essential to who you are or exerting extraordinary effort.

What Does a Well-Formed Intention Sound Like?

A well-formed intention is an affirmative statement, and if your brain is wired anything like mine , it must also contain a basis of truth. Saying, “I am the Queen of the Universe,” won’t result in a heavenly host descending from the clouds and handing you a scepter, along with the keys to the kingdom.

However, if what you want to connect with is a sense of your own power, an intention of, “I am the Queen of My Universe, fully in charge of my energy and how I choose to direct it,” may facilitate improved feelings of strength and confidence. It might be the perfect intention to set when dealing with difficult, yet influential people, like your boss or in-laws, compels you to talk to your mat. It serves as a reminder, one you reinforce with every breath of your flow, that while you can’t control their behavior, you can control how you respond to it.

As you can probably tell from reading my articles, I tend toward verbosity (sorry). While there’s no right or wrong length for an intention, it can be as short as one word. Despite writing about recovery, I am still very much in the process of mine. There’s a lot between childhood trauma and medical neglect, which even if unintentional, led to teen and adult trauma, addiction, and life-altering chronic illness. Accordingly, my primary objective for talking to my mat is simply to nurture my nervous system, and my simple, one-word intention is: Serenity.

State your intention as if it is already happening, as if the energy you need already exists, it’s simply a matter of directing it. There’s no need to include “I wish that,” or “I hope that.” Form your intention as if it is already here, already reality. For example, “I am strong,” “I demonstrate integrity in all that I do,” “I maintain serenity in the face of life’s storms,” or, “I choose to respond mindfully instead of reacting impulsively.”

21 Quick Examples of Setting an Intention to Inspire Your Practice

1. I celebrate and honor my inner strength.

2. I ignite the light within me.

3. I take joy in the small things.

4. I am grateful for the divine light within.

5. I am open to receiving the wisdom of the Universe.

6. I treat all beings with love and respect — including myself.

7. I live my truth and reflect integrity in all I do.

8. I am as adaptable as water changing course.

9. I trust in my own capabilities.

10. I send loving-kindness to myself and all other souls.

11. I direct my energy towards things that bring me peace.

12. I choose to act with compassion over fear.

13. I embrace challenges as opportunities for growth.

14. I am grateful for my body.

15. I give thanks for the power to quiet my mind.

16. I invite healing to myself and all those who need it.

17. I remain open to unexpected blessings from the universe.

18. I seek the goodness in everyone I meet and in every circumstance.

19. I believe in the power of transformation and welcome needed change into my life.

20. I invite the spirit of play in my practice.

21. I honor the perfection of this present moment.

Of course, at Only in Sedona Yoga, we occasionally add the lead phrase “I talk to my mat” in front of our intentions. You’ll often hear me say, “I talk to my mat to invite the spirit of serenity into my life.”

Setting an Intention for Your Yoga Practice

Intention is what elevates your yoga session from a mere physical exercise to a full-on, mind-body-spirit communication with the universe and the divine within. It adds power to your practice and facilitates the transfer of the wisdom acquired on the mat into your daily life.

Have fun setting your unique intentions. Please feel free to share any that speak deeply to you in the comments.

Is Self-Care Narcissistic?

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:55:09 GMT

Despite popular misconceptions, regular self-care practices may be one antidote to the modern narcissism plague.

What comes to mind when you hear the words “self-care?” Many people picture luxurious day spas, facials and pedicures. No wonder the term gets a bad reputation. You might even harbor a secret (or not-so-secret) belief that those who regularly indulge in self-care are a bit narcissistic.

The purpose of this article is to convince you that nothing could be further from the truth.

Self-care cuts across all socioeconomic levels — no country club dues necessary. Regular self-care is a must in a status-obsessed society where people care all about what you do and what you have but not who you are. Some, more mindful forms of it can even act as “narcissism preventative medicine,” both helping you avoid becoming entangled with unsavory folks or developing such behaviors yourself in your quest to “get ahead,” or, let’s be honest, stay afloat.

No, self-care is not narcissistic. And more of it may be just the medicine this narcissistic society needs.

What Is Self-Care, Anyway?

You can book a spa treatment, declare an official “self-care” day, and no one will argue with your terminology. However, if you’re anything like me, even that indulgence won’t do diddly squat to improve your overall health if you worry the splurge will leave you short on rent. The fear of “can I truly afford to be doing this,” eats away at the curative properties of your treatment until you’re left with nothing but a slight relief in soreness and a side order of guilt.

While a spa treatment can be self-care, real self-care goes deeper — without making you feel guilty.

Self-care is, at its heart, taking the time to recognize that you are a unique human being with needs that matter each and every day. It’s saying, “I have a lot to offer, and because I have a lot to offer, I am worthy of doing what I need to do for me to perform at my best.” It’s taking the words “I am enough,” and giving them meaning.

You can be a self-care guru without ever stepping foot inside a day spa. Self-care includes:

Taking a few moments to mindfully plan your meals for flavor, balance and nutrition instead of simply shoving whatever cheap, sugar-and-white-flour-laden, empty-calorie treat you can shove into your piehole in between keystrokes.
Getting up five minutes earlier, not to grumble at your to-do list as you hit snooze with a frown but to give thanks for another day amid the miracle of life, cuddle your partner or pet, focus your thoughts on those things for which you are truly grateful, and direct your energy toward your desired mental/emotional state.
Staying for the cool down at the gym instead of lighting out of that HIIT class the minute you finish your final burpee.
Brushing your teeth, washing your face and brushing your hair before bed.
Making your bed so you have something inviting to crawl into at day's end, maybe even adding a little aromatherapy to your bedroom.
Finding movement that you love and prioritizing it — start with 10 minutes if you’re resistant and work up from there.
Paying attention to those “endless complaints” that always fall from your lips and making a proactive survival/escape plan, whatever that may look like, instead of giving in to despair. No, it may not happen overnight, reality speaks volumes, but ultimately, you have to find a way to deal with that toxic job or relationship — or it will slowly destroy you.
Listening to your body through mindful self-care practices like yoga, and working with your doctor to give it what it needs. Could a tart cherry supplement help ease your arthritis pain? Talk to your physician and mindfully experiment, paying attention to the changes, if any, you notice.

Self-care should be a daily occurrence, not an occasional indulgence. I have countless mini self-care rituals I call upon at various points in the day, and yes, they do help when done mindfully, with purpose. No, they don’t instantly solve all of my problems, but they do help me center myself enough to make it through the stress of daily existence without feeling like a heavily armed porcupine ready to shoot barbs at minor annoyances.

How Self-Care Can Be an Antidote for Narcissism

“You do self-care rituals all throughout the day? Like, oh, my god, you must be such a total narcissist.” That word gets thrown around an awful lot these days, so much so that many people forget it has a clinical, psychological meaning. It’s not just a fancy way of saying someone is a big, fat jerk.

According to the Canadian Psychological Association, narcissism is a series of unhealthy strategies to cope with disappointments and threats to your positive self-image. It includes a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, success achieved by taking advantage of and manipulating others for personal gain, a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and arrogant, haughty behaviors toward others [1].

Read that first sentence again. Narcissism is an unhealthy coping strategy (one that, yes, usually does take the form of acting like a big, fat jerk). Narcissism is a lot like addiction in that aspect, and many addicts behave narcissistically, engaging in behaviors like stealing to obtain their substance of choice. How do you break an unhealthy addiction? You can do it cold turkey — or you can substitute a healthier activity to fill that empty space. Like self-care.

What’s a better use of your time? Indulging in an hour of restorative yoga or heading to the corner bar? Only one costs money, and only one risks a DUI charge, and it’s not talking to your mat. Furthermore, yoga may increase your GABA levels naturally, without the dreaded morning-after “hangxiety” that often accompanies a night of heavy drinking as your neurotransmitters rebalance themselves [2].

Furthermore, that hour of clarity you get from your practice — or spending an hour fishing or indulging in any of your favorite mindful, healthy hobbies — is worth far more than the wisdom of any barstool Socrates. You’ll have to trust me on that one. I’ve tried both approaches to dealing with bad relationships and financial stress. Drowning my sorrows in booze only ever led to more bad decisions (and relationships). Talking to my mat was curative.

How Self-Care Can Prevent Narcissistic Tendencies From Taking Hold

Self-care alone won’t cure those with full-blown narcissistic personality disorder. However, if there’s one thing that I wish every compartmentalized mind could understand, it’s that literally everything , every disease and every disorder, is on a spectrum. Just like one person can have arthritis and play pro ball while the next is utterly crippled by it, narcissistic traits also exist on a spectrum, and regular self-care can help the occasional slipup from becoming a pattern of harmful behavior.

One way self-care helps with this is that it creates a safe space to cope with overpowering emotions. Remember, narcissism is an unhealthy coping strategy. Why do people engage in unhealthy coping strategies in the first place? It’s because they don’t know any other way to manage overwhelming feelings.

Here’s the thing narcissists don’t understand: According to neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor, your emotions are a biochemical response over which you have little control — for the first 90 seconds only [3] . After that, how you feel is largely determined by your thoughts and actions, such as replaying scenes in your head or reinforcing negative interpretations with hurtful self-talk.

I’ve personally tested this theory for the past six years or so, and I am utterly convinced of its validity. It’s a large part of why I recently quit social media, other than my YouTube channel, as I realized that, as much as I cherished my online connections, doom-scrolling was only feeding my negative thought cycle.

When you talk to your mat or engage in other calming self-care rituals, you create a safe space for self-reflection. There’s no therapist making facial expressions that suggest you aren’t “reframing right.” You’re free to examine the good, the bad and the ugly without condemnation, allowing you to see your reality clearly. It can even lend insight on what to do if you don’t like what you see.

You can also gain insight into other people’s behavior, which helps if relationship problems plague your mind. Notice I didn’t say “change other people’s behavior,” just “gain insight.” What you do with that insight is up to you. Remember, the only energy you can control is your own. Whether you decide to carry on the relationship as usual, keep certain people at arm’s length or sever ties completely is up to you — your self-care time is a chance to reflect on the right choice.

Self-Care Is a Necessary Part of Being a Good Citizen

What does it even mean to be a good human? Most people would probably mention things like not committing crimes and contributing to your community in some way.

Think about the last part of that statement, “contributing to your community.” Can you pour anything out of an empty pitcher? No.

Reality states that human beings must meet certain basic needs if they’re to function at all, let alone at their best. Healthy food, daily movement and exposure to nature, mindful activities like yoga and gardening, and fostering positive relationships aren’t the “fluff” of life. They are life, the very stuff of life, the gift we were given to celebrate.

If you want to see what neglecting self-care looks like when played out in real life, I invite you to take a look at the current state of the United States. While I’ll refrain from making anything that could be interpreted as a political statement, I will say that as a culture, we have taken the idea of rugged individualism, relying only on yourself and refusing to build a strong social safety net to a very unhealthy extreme. As a result, people are working harder than ever, giving more than ever, and falling further and further behind because we’re all too gosh darn stressed from the constant rat race to give anything our best.

I can’t make the nation collectively sit back, slow down, take a yoga class, and have a good, long look in the mirror. However, I can write these articles, guide classes, and encourage such behavior. And I can affirmatively state that yes, I blame much of our current divisiveness, anger, hostility, and tension on the fact that we are a people stressed out to the max and in desperate need of rest, reflection, and healing.

However, I think we all can agree that we want to give more and do more when our own cups feel full. Many of our collective cups have run empty for so long. Self-care is one way to refill them, and the world deserves the best version of you. I know despite all I’ve been through, I still have faith humanity can pull off a Hail Mary and come to their senses. Imagine what we could collectively accomplish as a society if we all felt well-rested and well-fed instead of like so many piano wires pulled way too taut.

Self-Care is Not Narcissistic

Narcissism occurs when you have no healthy coping methods to deal with your negative feelings, so you take them out on everyone around you. Self-care may look like self-absorption, but it’s actually quite the opposite. It’s necessary self-optimization, so that you act as the best version of yourself when it counts.

You wouldn’t expect an athlete to take to the field without training. Think of your daily self-care as a necessary warm-up for the game of life.

Self-care is no more narcissistic than taking a vitamin is. Find the mindful rituals that make your life more rich and meaningful and indulge in these healthy activities free from guilt.

References:

[1] “Psychology Works” Fact Sheet, Narcissism. Canadian Psychological Association. February 20, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2026, from: https://cpa.ca/psychology-works-fact-sheet-narcissism/

[2] “Impact of Yogic Practice on Brain Function, Memory, and Neuroplasticity.” The International Journal of Indian Psychology. November 3, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2026, from: https://ijip.in/articles/memory-and-neuroplasticity/

[3] Travers, Mark. “A Psychologist Shares the ‘90 Second Rule’ to Survive Emotional Waves.” Forbes. March 12, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2026, from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2025/03/10/a-psychologist-shares-the-90-second-rule-to-survive-emotional-waves/

Rest in Power, Lioness and Yoga Cat Squeeks

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:25:38 GMT

June 25, 2011 - January 27, 2026

Squeeks never wore a cape. In fact, she would have shredded the fool who tried to tie one on her.

However, she was the biggest hero who ever lived. With the biggest heart. Right next to her brother, Poe.

Squeeks (and Poe) saved my life more times than I can count. I mean that quite literally. While I now know it’s “bad” to express suicidal ideation because of the impact it has on those who do care about you, that knowledge was never enough to stop me from wanting to die. When things were at their worst, when I had lost everything to health issues no one would believe, that even the people closest to me accused me of faking, when I felt reduced to nothing but a ball of pain to be kicked around for other people’s enjoyment, one thing made me draw my next breath: the three cats whose lives depended on mine: my Squeeks, Onyx and Poe.

Now Onyx is with Ed, and they make each other very happy every day. And that knowledge brings me joy.

But oh, my Squeeks. I love you so so much.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw you. You popped out of that carrier with a tiny, indignant, “Me!” And just like that, you melted my heart, as the words “Oh, she Squeeks,” fell from my lips. And the name stuck.

Your first daddy is gone, now, too, but oh, how you brought us both so much joy. You, my beautiful angel kitty, were the one bright spot in our miserable lives. How you delighted us with your antics! How we loved to sing, “I’m…the cat…in the box…” every time you found cardboard in just the right size and shape. Even teaching you to use the litter box (cause “everyone knows who the kitty is…”) was a joy. You were so young when we got you, but even then, so independent. Getting you to take the kitten milk was never easy.

You were always so sassy, my Squeeks. I used to joke about having a “guard cat.” But it was no joke. You are a little lion in every sense of the word, and it’s not just your beautiful mane that you both loved and hated to have brushed. It’s your attitude. I don’t have to wonder if you would stand between me and an attacker. You proved yourself so many times. It’s a miracle I was able to keep you safe, so determined you were to save me.

You are my hero, Squeeks.

For months, we have prayed. We’ve given you “the medicine” with a song and a smile. We’ve hoped for a few more years.

But now, every day has become pain and suffering for you. And that is not fair. Please know I will always be with you. Please know that I will never, ever, stop looking to find you again, just like I looked for and found your new dad. Just like you looked for and found me. Our hearts are forever entwined, “We are the sugar tits!” And I will always, always love you.

We should all be so lucky to die at home, in our beds, surrounded by the people we love. I am glad I am able to give you that final gift at least. It still doesn’t seem fair, not after all you have given me.

Goodbye for now, my sweet child, but not forever.

Only one thing is real, and that’s love.

And I love you forever, Squeeks.

Rest in Power, Lioness Squeeks: June 25, 2011 — January 27, 2026. ❤️

Should You Practice Yoga When You're Sick?

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:02:28 GMT

Is it safe to practice yoga when you're sick? Yes, but with the following caveats.

If you’re a regular fan of Only in Sedona’s Sober Saturday restorative yoga and meditation livestream, you’ll know that we’ve had some unavoidable changes to our regular programming, due to my (Jennifer’s) recent hospitalization. As I draw inspiration for Only in Sedona Yoga from my life, this experience made me ask something many of you may wonder about as well: Should you practice yoga when you’re sick?

While the simple answer is yes, reality is a bit more complicated. Here’s what you should know about practicing yoga when you’re sick and how doing so might facilitate your recovery.

What Are the Rules for Practicing Yoga When You’re Sick?

Let’s face it: The Ashtanga primary series is probably the last thing you want to do if, like the old “Hot Blooded” song, you’ve got a fever of 103. However, even mild illness produces fatigue and taxes your body’s energy resources. You’ll want to take it easy, but how much so depends on your specific symptoms.

The old rule for indulging in physical activity when sick states that symptoms occurring “above the neck,” such as sniffles and sneezing , shouldn’t prohibit you from working out [1]. When you have symptoms “below the neck,” such as vomiting, fever, and body aches, you should not exercise.

However, this rule isn’t supported by recent studies. Furthermore, as someone with a rare migraine subtype , I take umbrage to it, as there is no way on God’s green earth that I could perform certain yoga flows in the midst of a bad attack, even when my symptoms stay primarily “above the neck.” Dizziness and vertigo preclude balance poses such as Tree, and the motion alone could move those symptoms down to my belly in a most unpleasant fashion.

During my recent hospital visit, I was hooked up to so many wires that independent movement was pretty much impossible. Obviously, during extreme situations like inpatient hospitalization, you should follow your doctor’s recommendations and avoid any activities that could have adverse effects, such as dislodging your IV.

However, if you’re merely practicing yoga at home when you’re sick, VeryWell Health suggests letting your body be your ultimate guide. They recommend against exercise when the following conditions apply:

Fever
Heavy cough
Productive cough

Otherwise, they suggest letting your body’s energy levels be your guide. A walk or a mellow yoga class is probably okay in many cases. However, you should rest if you feel truly fatigued or run down.

What Kind of Yoga Should You Practice When You’re Sick?

You can practice some forms of yoga right in bed, making them ideal for keeping up your practice when you’re sick. Yin and restorative yoga immediately come to mind, as both styles feature slow, passive stretches that don’t elevate your heart rate or tax congested lungs.

There’s always a silver lining: Thanks to my recent inpatient experience, you can now choose from two bed-inspired flows when you aren’t feeling your best for free on the Only in Sedona Yoga channel. Devi Daly yoga also features numerous flows that I’ve done in bed in the past, and some of Travis Eliot’s Yin flows are equally appropriate.

There’s another form of yoga that’s perfect for when you’re sick: Yoga Nidra. This completely passive yoga practice is akin to a guided meditation but may be particularly soothing for upset nervous systems. This ancient practice alters your brain waves , encouraging the kind of deep relaxation that may facilitate your healing [2]. It’s more or less what I did for three days straight during my recent hospital visit.

Practicing yoga nidra requires nothing more of you besides lying back, closing your eyes, and listening to your guide. Getting more rest is nearly always a good idea when you’re sick, making this highly relaxing yoga form an excellent complement to traditional remedies.

Can Practicing Yoga When You’re Sick Help You Get Better Faster?

When you’re sick, your only priority is getting well. Could yoga help you feel better faster? Possibly, through several mechanisms.

One way practicing yoga when you’re sick may help you feel better is by calming and toning your nervous system. Infections such as COVID-19 can cause dysfunction with the sympathetic and parasympathetic halves of your autonomic nervous system [3]. You might feel panicky for no reason or stuck in “zombie mode” well after the most acute stage of infection abates.

Gentle yoga practices also facilitate sleep, which can be frustratingly hard to find when you’re sick. Studies suggest that yoga nidra can promote deep and higher quality sleep , giving your body the “break” it needs to devote all its energy to getting well [4].

What Are the Risks of Practicing Yoga When You’re Sick?

Practicing yoga when you’re sick carries risks to both yourself and others. Therefore, you should choose your format and location carefully if you decide to indulge.

One obvious risk is spreading infection to others, including those who might have compromised immune systems that make them more susceptible to severe complications. For example, the flu can live up to two days on hard surfaces, and the coronavirus may last a few days [5]. You get pretty up close and personal with borrowed studio mats, not to mention other surfaces — please practice at home when sick with an infectious disease.

Furthermore, your compromised immune system can make you susceptible to more serious bugs when you’re already sick. Infections such as bronchitis , strep throat, and pneumonia often begin this way [6]. While you do have some immunity to the same pathogen for a limited time after you become sick with it, this immunity does not last, and other germs can take advantage of your weakened immune system if you push yourself too hard and fail to isolate yourself [7]. Once again, your safest bet for practicing yoga when sick is at home in your living room (or your bed).

How to Practice Yoga When You’re Sick: 5 Tips

The following five tips can help you practice yoga safely when you’re sick.

1. Isolate Yourself

While this rule only applies when you’re sick with an infectious disease, please do remain mindful of how quickly germs can spread and how long they can linger on certain surfaces, like yoga mats. You have no way of knowing if the next person to use shared studio equipment is immunocompromised, so be kind and stay home. Even if you wear a mask, it’s nearly impossible to keep from transferring germs when you’re that up close and personal with the general public.

2. Be Extra Mindful of Fatigue

Your body should always dictate the pace while practicing yoga when you’re sick. If you start to feel fatigued or like any pose is too much — even if you’re merely sitting up — take a break. Think of it this way: tuning into your body’s needs won’t delay your return to your usual flow. Conversely, pushing too hard can result in further injury that lands you on the disabled list for a much longer time.

3. Choose a Gentle (Balance-Free) Style

Take a tip from the vertigo queen (that’s me, your guide, Jenn) and get low when you aren’t feeling your best. Even mild head congestion can throw off your usual sense of balance a bit, so save Dancer Pose for after you recover. Yin and restorative yoga are your best bets if you want physical movement. Restorative yoga was specially designed for those recovering from illnesses and injury, and may help stave off the aches and pains that can accompany physical inactivity.

4. Use Props to Make Your Practice Passive

Both Uttanasana (standing forward fold) and Supta Padangusthasana (supine single-legged hamstring stretch) release the muscles and connective tissues along the back of your legs. However, only the former has the potential to make you feel dizzy if you hold it too long. Conversely, you can use a strap to facilitate a supine hamstring stretch, or stack bolsters or pillows to create a headrest when performing a seated forward fold.

Bolsters can make it easier to perform supine twists without hurting your back. You can also use them for poses such as Supported Fish, which can feel heavenly if you’ve been rounding your spine in the opposite direction as you rest in bed.

5. Indulge in Yoga Nidra

Nearly everything in life is best enjoyed in moderation, but yoga nidra may be one exception to this rule. The one caveat is if you are a trauma survivor. Yoga nidra may potentially be dangerous if you have such a history, as it can trigger a negative trance [8].

As a trauma survivor myself, I have never experienced any negative effects — but you should know the risks. However, if you’ve practiced yoga nidra in the past with no adverse impact, feel free to do so to your heart’s content when you’re sick, stopping only if you experience discomfort or other unwanted symptoms like lingering brain fog. I personally found yoga nidra to be a lifeline during my recent hospital stay, but I’m only one person. Use yourself as your best guide.

Practicing Yoga When You’re Sick

Should you practice yoga when you’re sick? While you should proceed with caution, indulging in this ancient practice may facilitate your healing. If nothing else, it can keep your joints from feeling too stiff when you’re confined to bed rest.

Let your body be your guide and do only what you can. Listen to your doctor’s recommendations, and be proactive about your care. If you’re unsure whether a move is safe, ask.

Being sick need not completely derail your daily mindfulness commitment. When practiced gently and mindfully, the ancient practice of yoga can become a healing partner in helping you feel better soon.

References:

[1] Herndon, Kristina. “Should You Exercise When You’re Sick?” VeryWellHealth. October 22, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://www.verywellhealth.com/should-you-exercise-when-youre-sick-770457

[2] Zerbe, Leah. “Yoga Nidra: Bliss Out Your Brain With This Ancient Practice.” Dr. Axe. December 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://draxe.com/fitness/yoga-nidra/

[3] Allen, Dr. Mark, PhD. “Yes, COVID Affects the Nervous System (and What to Do About It).” Cognitive FX. July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2026 from: https://www.cognitivefxusa.com/blog/does-covid-affect-your-nervous-system

[4] Summer, Jay Vera. “Yoga Nidra for Sleep.” Sleep Foundation. February 27, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/meditation-for-sleep/yoga-nidra

[5] Khan, Kamran R. “Should You Disinfect Your Home After an Illness?” UPMC. June 11, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://share.upmc.com/2025/05/disinfect-home-after-illness/

[6] Villazon, Luis. “Can People Have Two Colds at the Same Time?” BBC Science Focus. Nd. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/can-people-have-two-colds-at-the-same-time

[7] “How Long Does Immunity Last After You’re Sick?” AFC Urgent Care. nd. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://www.afcurgentcare.com/burlington/blog/can-you-get-sick-multiple-times-in-a-row/

[8] Bowler, Natalie LPC-MHSP. “Three Risks of Teaching Yoga to People Coping With Trauma.” How We Can Heal. July 27, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from: https://howwecanheal.com/three-risks-of-teaching-yoga-to-people-coping-with-trauma/

How Long Is the Ideal Yoga Class?

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 13:41:41 GMT

Consistent practice matters more than a singular retreat.

If I had a dime for every time I have heard some variation of, “I’d love to practice yoga, but I just don’t have the time,” you’d see my face next up on Fortune magazine’s “Top Ten Wealthiest People” edition.

While talking to my mat has taught me it isn’t always polite to call out fibs when I hear them, the phrase “I don’t have time to practice yoga” simply isn’t true. While you might not have time to complete the entire Ashtanga primary series on a given day, you can tune into a yoga nidra recording once your head finally hits the pillow after a grinder. Guess what? If you have time to draw a single breath, you have time to practice yoga — and breathing is kind of important.

Still, people talk to their mat for various reasons, usually because they want results, be they emotional, mental, or physical. What does it take to achieve them? How long is the ideal yoga class?

The ultimate answer, dear beautiful, fellow yogi, is as unique as you are.

How Long Must I Practice Yoga to Experience Positive Effects?

What is it you are trying to achieve? Yoga offers multiple positive benefits, many of which you experience immediately. Others take longer to develop.

For example, as much as I love hiking through Sedona’s red rock wilderness, it stiffens my knees, hips, and back up something fierce. I often stop, step off the trail, and perform a few standing forward folds or downward dog asanas to ease the tension in my legs and lower spine. Simply releasing that hard-working posterior chain is instant bliss. That’s an example of an immediate benefit.

However, reprogramming my extremely toxic, learned behavioral patterns is a long-term project. Quite honestly, it wasn’t even a goal at first — which is how I know yoga works for mental health. It did its nifty magic on me even when I wasn’t expecting it. It started with awareness, first gaining insight into the root cause of my emotional distress, then recognizing my role in it. Now, it’s a matter of applying that recognition to my behavior off the yoga mat, catching myself when I’m about to behave maladaptively and either removing myself from the situation before I explode or choosing a different course of action.

I’m a work in progress, but it’s getting easier with time and consistent yoga practice to avoid behaviors that make me feel ashamed. It’s also gotten much easier to recognize people and situations that bring out the worst in me before they become negative influences. Am I perfect at it? Heck no. However, I have experienced the difference, and it has helped me get my life back on track, literally pulling me out of the gutter.

It took several months of consistent daily practice for me to experience the mental health benefits of yoga. Then again, my mind is filled with muck deeper and nastier than the Augean stables. Large-scale physical or mental transformations will take time, dedication, and persistence, although you still shouldn’t beat yourself up for imperfections. One or two missed sessions won’t derail your progress, so please avoid falling prey to the all-or-nothing thinking trap, giving up before you taste the delicious benefits.

“Okay, that’s all well and good, lady, but give me some rough ideas of how long various perks take here.” Okay. As a reminder, the Only in Sedona crew does not consist of doctors and scientists but fellow travelers on a healing journey . That said, here’s what science has to say about how long you must practice yoga before seeing the positive effects:

According to a September 25, 2025, article on Health.com, it takes about two to four weeks for previously inactive people to lose weight and build muscle on a new exercise program. It takes about four months to see significant fat loss. [1]
A 2025 study of 220 medical students found that a 10-week yoga program significantly improved quality of life, quality of sleep, and emotional regulation. [2]
According to Jiva Yoga Academy, it takes about three to four weeks of regular yoga practice to increase flexibility. [3]

The bottom line : You’ll experience both immediate and long-term benefits from yoga. Instant benefits include soothing your nervous system and easing aches and pains brought on by muscle cramps and physical activity. Long-term benefits include significant improvements to your overall physical and emotional well-being.

How Many Yoga Classes Should I Do Each Week?

One half of me wants to say, “Oh, at least seven, you need a daily fix,” but that isn’t realistic or practical for most folks. We at Only in Sedona created our weekly Wednesday shorts to help you fit yoga into your daily routine, but some days are just a blur.

The realistic answer is as many sessions as you want or need and can fit — with one caveat. Much depends on the style of yoga you select. For example, you really wouldn’t want to do the vigorous Ashtanga primary series more than once in a single day, even if you schedule a full-day retreat. Yoga reminds us that everything is a balance, and too much of a good thing can create mental health issues from overexertion. [4]

A large part of any yoga practice, even for those who engage primarily for physical benefit, is mindfulness. Tune into how you feel, and if you notice your routine becoming a chore instead of feeling like medicine, cut back a session or two per week or mix things up with a gentle restorative or Yin class.

Do I Need a Full 90 Minutes? Is 20 Minutes of Yoga Per Day Enough?

While a typical primary series takes roughly 90 minutes to complete, you don’t need an hour and a half daily to practice yoga. 20 minutes per day or even five or ten is fine. Any mindful activity produces benefits, even if they are short-lived and small.

Consistency is key to building habits that stick. If your goal is to take a time out for your physical and mental health daily — something we all should do — then even talking to your mat for a single minute is fine. It reinforces the idea that this activity is an integral part of your daily routine, and what matters is that you stick to your practice, not how long you engage in it.

What Is the Best Time of Day to Practice Yoga?

Speaking of habit building, the best time of day to practice yoga is when it is most convenient and useful to you. Consistency and habit-stacking can help you remember until it becomes automatic.

What is habit-stacking? This practice refers to attaching a new, desired habit to one you’ve already established. For example, if you decide that morning is best for your practice, and you typically take your vitamins in the morning, you might commence your flow right before or after you swallow your daily dose of necessary nutrients.

Is Yoga Alone Enough to Stay in Shape?

As in many of the other questions on this list, the answer is that it depends. Part of the equation centers on what style of yoga you choose, and the other on how often you practice.

According to the World Health Organization, most adults need around 30 to 45 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity most days of the week. [5] A good way to tell is by asking yourself how hard it is to control your breathing during your practice — if you struggle a bit, you’re in the right zone. The WHO also recommends strength training at least two days per week. Choosing a style that incorporates power moves, such as long, steady lunges and planks, can fit the bill.

However, if your preferred yoga style is restorative or Yin, you should complement your practice with cardio and strength training.

Can I Use Yoga Just for Physical Exercise?

Yes! Even though I often talk about the mental health benefits of yoga, mostly because they caught me quite by surprise, there’s no reason you need to talk to your mat as a form of therapy. Nor do you need to communicate with the Divine or seek spiritual insights. You can practice yoga for no other reason than easing aches and pains or increasing flexibility to improve your sports performance.

How Long Is the Ideal Yoga Class?

Yoga classes vary in length, and each has its purpose. There’s no one “right” way to practice yoga — anyone who tells you otherwise is likely trying to enroll you in a program or retreat. While yoga guides certainly undergo considerable study and training, there are many paths.

How long the ideal yoga class is largely depends on you and your needs at the time. Some days, you might crave the formal atmosphere and physical discipline of a traditional 90-minute Ashtanga session. On others, you may simply wish to squeeze in a bit of mindfulness amid the madding hustle and bustle.

We at Only in Sedona Yoga strive to bring you a variety of yoga programming, and there is a world of other wonderful guides awaiting you when you embark on your yoga journey. Take the first step toward better health today by beginning your practice, no matter how much or how little time you have to devote to it.

Yoga is, above all, a mindset. It’s a commitment to yourself to remain mindful, to see reality clearly, and to respond to it wisely and with loving-kindness, not with knee-jerk or conditioned responses. Committing to daily practice — even if only for a minute of deep breathing — is really a commitment to yourself to remain in the captain’s chair in the ship of your life instead of letting life’s waves direct you.

References:

[1] Andriakos, Jacqueline. “How long does it take to see results from working out?” Health.com . September 15, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from: https://www.health.com/fitness/scale-weight-loss-progress

[2] Chauhaun, Salini, et. al. “Impact of a 10-week yoga intervention on mental health and general well-being among medical school students: GSY study.” National Library of Medicine. April, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12031128/

[3] Admin. “Does yoga improve flexibility? 2025 ultimate guide.” Jiva Yoga Academy. March 29, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from: https://jivayogaacademy.org/does-yoga-improve-flexibility/

[4] Talago, Liz. “The physical dangers of overexercising.” Rula. April 15, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from: https://www.rula.com/blog/overexercising/

[5] “Physical activity.” World Health Organization. N.d. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from: https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/physical-activity

Healing Through Talking to Your Mat: Using Your Body to Heal Your Mind

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:28:59 GMT

The Mind-Body Connection Works Both Ways...Use It to Your Healing Advantage.

Your physical health affects your mental wellness, but the connection is a two-way street. Just as illness or injury can affect your spirits, taking good care of your “machinery” or physiological needs can make a big difference in your overall mood and mindset.

Establishing healthy physical habits can be a powerful act of self-compassion, the first step on your journey to mental wellness. You might even think of it as pouring a foundation on which you can build a house of joy. Here are four simple habits that use your body to heal your mind.

As a reminder, the Only in Sedona crew — my partner, Ed, and I — are not doctors, therapists or scientists. We are fellow travelers on a wellness journey, sharing what we have learned to help others. Please consult with a licensed health professional before taking medical advice from the internet, a chatbot, or other electronic sources.

1. Regular Physical Activity

Although I’m diagnosed as autistic, I often wonder how much ADHD I have in my neurospicy mix. Ever since I was a child, I have used physical movement to regulate overwhelming anxiety. Science agrees. The National Institutes of Health credits exercise with everything from r educed blood pressure and better sleep to lower rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. [1]

Exercise harnesses your body – and brain’s – innate fight-or-flight reflex to mitigate stress hormone levels. [2] It also increases your body’s production of feel-good chemicals , like serotonin and endocannabinoids. [3] Recent research also suggests it may raise the amount of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), which aids in the recovery of brain cells and improves connectivity between brain regions , making emotional regulation and stress management easier. [4]

What’s the best exercise? My highly unscientific opinion is that whatever form of movement makes you smile is the best. Enjoying exercise helps you stick with it if you aren’t like me and don’t take to the walking track like a Siberian husky takes to a dog sledge, at least at first. Pick something free and fun, like walking in the park if you live near a pretty natural area or dancing around your room to your favorite tunes.

2. A Healthy Diet (That Doesn’t Cost a Mint)

The right diet can go a long way toward improving your mental health. Your gut produces many of the feel-good chemicals your brain needs, including 95% of your serotonin. To function at its best, it needs the right raw materials.

Start with probiotics from fermented foods like yogurt, kefir and kombucha, and prebiotic fiber from sources like apples and whole grains. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that aid digestion and help you manufacture happy brain chemicals, while prebiotics are the food these critters thrive upon. Be consistent. A recent study showed the effects of this approach increase over time as your gut heals along with your mood. [5]

Strive to get three or more colors on your plate at every meal, as the different shades in plant-based foods correlate to differing nutrient profiles. Consuming a variety goes a long way toward ensuring you meet all your needs. Pay attention to specific deficiencies, like magnesium, that can adversely affect mental health. If you eat meat, adding fish to your diet two or more times per week can give you a brain boost from the omega-3s.

3. Routine Stress Reduction Activities

Although you can’t see your nerves, I like to think of them as chemically-directed guitar strings. Continuing to play them hard and fast when they’re all out of tune results not in harmonious music but an ungodly, clamorous noise. It often sounds like broken relationships, lost jobs and opportunities, and shattered lives.

Think of routine stress reduction as keeping your central nervous system in tune. Tread carefully here, though. Doom-scrolling does not count as relaxation, not if you come away from the screen feeling more keyed up and despondent than you did before you logged on. Neither does binge-watching an entire season while devouring a bag of chips and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with either behavior, anything that leaves you feeling worse doesn’t count as relaxation, sorry.

As with anything, what works for you is as unique as your personality. Some folks might enjoy chatting with a friend over coffee. For me, socializing equals anxiety, so I prefer solitary activities, like hiking and, of course, yoga. It’s how Only in Sedona Yoga’s “ Sober Saturday ” livestream came to be. Other suggestions include working on a favorite hobby, playing a game with people you love, or losing yourself in a good book.

Although I have no basis for this claim, I strongly suspect that consistency matters more than how long you spend on stress reduction each day. Some days you might get by with ten minutes, while others may require an hour. The important thing is to make a daily commitment to yourself to keep your central nervous system running smoothly.

4. A Good Night’s Sleep

The pesky thing about sleep is that the more you need it, the more elusive it seems to become. While it's unfortunately impossible for many to force themselves into dreamland, a gentle approach can ease the pathway there and encourage your body to get the rest it needs.

Some folks swear by the 10–3-2-1-0 sleep rule pioneered by Dr Jess Andrade. [6] This method focuses on when to quit certain activities. For example, you should consume your last daily dose of caffeine no more than 10 hours before your typical bedtime, and log out of work at least two hours before you turn down your sheets.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of yoga nidra. This ancient technique incorporates various visualization techniques to alter your brain waves and induce a deep state of relaxation. It’s completely passive and performed in your favorite resting pose, either savasana or your preferred sleeping position.

General tips for inviting a good night’s sleep include:

Setting the mood . Whenever possible, make your sleeping space as quiet, comfortable and conducive to rest as possible, tuning into your senses to create a place that fits you like Baby Bear’s chair. Yes. That means if you want rainbow unicorn sheets as a 42-year-old adult, you get rainbow unicorn sheets, budget permitting, of course.
Cool it down: Part of attending to your senses includes the right temperature, and research suggests cool temperatures improve slumber. [7]
Create a sense of safety: I’ve yet to see this tip in any other self-help sleep article, but it matters a lot, especially if you have a trauma history. This tip doesn’t necessarily mean keeping your Red Ryder on your bedside table. It can also mean bringing your baby’s crib into your room instead of leaving them with a cold monitor, adding a secondary lock to your bedroom or replacing the door with a solid-core model if you live with roommates, or investing in screechers for your windows and doors if you live alone. Few things make it harder to sleep than feeling unsafe.

Use Your Body to Heal Your Mind

Think of it this way: Adding a new roof to your home won’t help much if the foundation is still crumbling. Likewise, trying to sort out your mental mess while you’re still poisoning yourself with unhealthy foods and neglecting your body through a lack of exercise, proper relaxation and sleep can feel like an exercise in futility. Your body and mind work together, and both function more efficiently when tended to with gentle TLC.

A bottom-up approach is what I used when I first commenced on my own healing journey after recognizing the role I played in many of my own problems. I’ll be honest — I’m still learning, still growing, and still doing the work. However, taking care of the physical end of things helped a lot. Getting sober was only one step. It provided the firm foundation I needed, and helped ease many of my chronic aches and pains that admittedly dour my mood.

Make your first step on your mental health journey one of self-compassion by resolving to improve at least one of the four above physical wellness areas. You might be surprised by what you discover about your own mind-body link. If you do, please share your experience with us in the comments! With love and hope for healing, always. ~ J.

References:

1. “Health Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity.” National Institute on Aging. N.D. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/exercise-and-physical-activity/health-benefits-exercise-and-physical-activity

2. Ershad, M. Javad, MD. “How Exercise Balances Cortisol Levels.” Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. April 23, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from: https://lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu/how-exercise-balances-cortisol-levels/

3. Buculei, Ioaa, et. al. “The Endocannabinoid System and Physical Exercise.” PubMed Central. January 19, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9916354/

4. Kong, Jianda and Zhang, Tianyu. “How does exercise regulate the physiological responses of post-traumatic stress disorder? The crosstalk between oxidative stress and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.” PubMed Central. September 12, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12466154/

5. Johnson, Katarina V. and Steenbergen, Laura. “Probiotics reduce negative moods over time: The value of daily self-reports in detecting effects.” Nature. October, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00123-z

6. Mutchler, Cristina. “Follow the 10-3-2-1-0 Sleep Rule for a Better Night’s Rest.” Health. November 2, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from: https://www.health.com/10-3-2-1-0-sleep-rule-8763555

6 Mindful Survival Strategies to Soothe Your Spirit If the Holidays Are Hard This Year

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 23:00:46 GMT

The holidays aren't always happy, but you can make them more peaceful.

The holiday spirit can be hard to find if you’re managing grief, struggling with illness, relationship issues, job loss, or financial hardships. Sometimes, multiple bad things occur at once, creating a miasma of misery that makes you want to return every cheerful seasonal greeting with a hearty “bah, humbug” or a few other choice words.

While engaging in the mad holiday rush can feel like a welcome distraction for some people, some of the time, it can also overwhelm anyone – especially when you’re also processing weighty emotions. These six mindful survival strategies aren’t magic cures, but they can help you step back and soothe your spirit a bit before re-engaging in the festivities, especially if your holidays are a little hard this year.

1. Take a Yoga Break

You knew this suggestion would appear. It’s often amazing what a little bit of quiet, contemplative physical movement can do to adjust your mood and mindset. Sometimes, the effects are subtle but just enough to get you over that next “hump.” Ten minutes of yoga or five minutes of deep breathing can be lifesavers if you struggle with addiction, and they stand between you and temptation.

It’s what inspires Only in Sedona Yoga to produce our Weekly Wednesday short videos. While some are designed to wake you up or cool you down, others are perfect for anytime you sense your tolerance thermometer entering the red zone. Although you can use equipment, you don’t need any. Plus, wearing comfortable clothes that make it easy to move anytime, anywhere, is another way to show compassion to yourself this holiday season if 2025 has been hard on you.

2. Try a “Sensory Shock”

Even if you hate wintertime, it’s the perfect season for shocking your nervous system. It often takes nothing more than stepping outside into the cold for a few. While it sounds extreme and possibly painful, mild sensory “shocks” can rebalance the parasympathetic and sympathetic sides of your central nervous system, restoring a sense of calm centeredness and bringing you back to yourself.

Other sensory “shocks” you can play with, courtesy of Dr. Megan Anna Neff, clinical psychologist, author and educator about all things neurodivergence, include:

Cold showers
Singing or humming
Smelling an essential oil
A weighted blanket

Experiment, as the type and degree of intensity of the “sensory snap” you need might vary. It could even change with time.

For example, my nervous system has taken a beating over the years, so the sensory “shocks” that work for me tend to be extreme. My favorite, though, comes from my camper days. Even now that I’m conventionally housed, I turn off the heat at night out of more than mere frugality and sustainability. You see, I’ve tuned into the magic that happens when I brave frigid temps to make tea and feed Squeeks the cat, only to dive back under the covers once my toes have become ice cubes. The contrasting sensory shock floods my brain with enough feel-good chemicals to give me an hour or two of seriously productive time.

3. Cling to a Comfort Object (and Identify Safe Spaces)

If you have a weighted blanket, wintertime also provides the perfect excuse to carry it with you everywhere you go. Other people need not know that it serves as your “woobie” or “security shield.” Everyone knows that one person who is “always cold,” so let that person be you, and embrace how courteous you are to everyone else by bringing along that extra layer instead of insisting they adjust their thermostats.

Other comfort objects can be more discreet. For example, many places of worship have special tokens or “angel stones” you can put in your pocket and rub when you need an extra burst of strength or calmness throughout your day. You might even come across a rock in nature that has particular significance to you.

It also helps to identify safe spaces if you feel emotionally vulnerable but must mingle with others. Where is the nearest bathroom? A quiet office or even a broom closet where you can retreat if you feel overwhelmed and need a minute? Your car is another handy place — did you leave something in the backseat? Who would argue with you taking a few minutes to go out and look for it?

4. Make Your Own Holiday Playlist

If hearing Mariah Carey through supermarket speakers just one more time is going to send you over the edge, there’s an app for that. And headphones. Today’s bone-conduction models make it safer than ever to tune into something comforting without compromising your ability to hear approaching traffic or other ambient noises, giving you more control over your auditory environment when you must be out and about in the hustle and bustle.

Once you have the right earbuds, design your own holiday playlist, which may not contain a single jingle bell. Instead, tune into binaural beats or solfeggio tunes for white noise, tune into some LoFi for focus, or build a custom playlist for your every holiday mood, from blue to rage-y.

5. Pare Down and Play Tradeoff

The holidays demand more of you. However, if 2025 has already exacted a steep toll, you might not have extra to give. That’s okay. Instead, pare down and play tradeoff, swapping at least one of your usual chores every time you add an extra one into your schedule. Do you have to prepare a dish for the office holiday potluck this week? Then guess what? The sheets get washed next week.

Some holiday events, like your office party, might be unavoidable. Others you can skip. Make two lists, one consisting of holiday “musts,” the other consisting of “maybes.” Write the “maybes” on the inside of one of those old-school origami “ fortune tellers .” Select as many as you realistically have the energy to commit to. With the rest, make like a good baseball fan and let them go for the season with a shrug and an “eh, there’s always next year.”

6. Just Say No

As personal safety expert Gavin de Becker writes, “No” is a complete sentence. You don’t owe anyone an explanation when you RSVP “no thank you” to an invitation. However, another hard-to-swallow lesson my autistic self has come to recognize over the years is that people often want something , some kind of reason, to soften the blow of “no.” That doesn’t mean you have to tell them the complete story if doing so is going to make you melt down or become uncomfortably emotional in a traditionally unemotional space (like your workplace).

A simple, “I’d love to, but I have to decline. This year has been hard on me, and I’m looking forward to this time to regroup,” is sufficient. Expect people to press you gently, and be ready with an “I appreciate that, thank you, but I must still say no.” Anyone who is overly insistent is clearly showing that they don’t respect your boundaries. Is that the kind of person you really want to spend the holidays with when you already feel emotionally fragile? Hint: No.

Mindful Survival Strategies If Your Holidays Are Hard This Year

The holidays are a festive time of celebration. Much as you don’t want to be a downer on other people’s fun, it’s equally important to recognize and honor yourself if you don’t feel up to the standard holiday cheer this year.

Low-key holidays can sometimes be best, anyway. There’s a curative power in spending the year’s end in quiet contemplation, maybe enjoying your favorite takeout with your cat. It’s certainly nothing to disparage or treat as “unworthy” of celebration if a little “you time” is exactly what you need. You’re not a “Who,” and no one is going to punish you for failing to sing ‘Fah Who Doraze’.” On the contrary, stepping back can keep you from turning into the Grinch and irreparably harming relationships with those you love.

Many of us find it best to strike a balance between engaging in traditional celebrations and honoring our need for rest and reflection at year’s end, especially if we’ve had a rough time over the preceding months. I know that after losing not one but two family members this year, I most look forward to quiet time to nurture and heal my heart. It doesn’t mean I love the holidays less; it just means I’m mindful of where I am and what my needs are, too.

If you are reeling from losses or at a difficult place in your life, please remember that the people who truly love you will respect your needs as much as you respect theirs. Take the time you need to center yourself so that your interactions with others, even if brief, remain positive and kind. We at Only in Sedona Yoga wish you a peaceful, balanced and blessed holiday season.

Healing Through Talking to Your Mat: Recognizing the Signs of a Mental Health Crisis

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 22:15:09 GMT

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Spending time on your yoga mat provides valuable insights into yourself. It can also alert you when you may need more help than quiet mindful practices can provide. Learning to recognize and respond to the signs of a mental health crisis can be among the most powerful healing work you do.

What are the signs of a mental health crisis? Here’s what to ask yourself the next time you talk to your mat and how to reach out for help.

Please remember that the folks on the Only in Sedona crew are not licensed mental health practitioners. We are fellow travelers on a healing journey. We always recommend checking with a licensed healthcare provider before taking actions that may impact your well-being.

Recognizing the Signs of a Mental Health Crisis — Questions to Ask

Once upon a time, people referred to mental health crises as “nervous breakdowns.” In a sense, the old-fashioned term, if now considered politically incorrect, is descriptive in a way. While various stressors can prompt a mental health crisis, they nearly always go down with a super-sized helping of emotional dysregulation, thanks to the turmoil in your nervous system.

The problem is that it's hard to recognize when you reach that tipping point, especially in a crisis. Your amygdala may “hijack” your reason, initiating your fight-or-flight response , pumping up stress hormones, and telling you that you need to take action right now [1]. This older, more primitive part of your brain can ride a rickshaw over your logical, reasonable prefrontal cortex , driving impulsive behaviors when a pause, followed by mindful, deliberate, and intentioned effort would serve you better [2].

Spending time talking to your mat while asking yourself the right questions can help you recognize the signs of a mental health crisis. Reflect on the following:

Have I recently increased my drug or alcohol use? Why?
Have I been eating too much or too little? Have I suddenly developed an enormous appetite or lost it entirely?
Have I been sleeping too much, restlessly, or not at all?
Have I experienced other physical symptoms that have no explanation, like increased aches and pains with no obvious cause (like a bruise)? Have I experienced sweating, shaking, upset stomach, or breathing difficulties?
Am I finding it more difficult to perform everyday tasks, like getting out of bed in the morning, bathing, paying the bills, and washing the dishes?
Have I experienced frequent mood swings of late?
Have I recently experienced any major life changes (death, pregnancy, birth, relocation, lost job, starting or stopping mental health treatment, etc.), that I don’t feel as if I have fully processed?
Have I isolated myself from others, including peers, coworkers, and even family members?
Have other people asked me if something is wrong? Have other people commented on changes in my attitude or behavior?
Have I lost interest in things that formerly brought me joy, like my hobbies, work, or schooling?
Have I been tempted to engage in self-harm or reckless activities, such as excessive speeding or weaving in and out of traffic?
Have I felt “not fully there,” or as if I am having an “out-of-body” experience, a lot lately? Have I recognized any hallucinations or delusions (it can be tricky to spot these distortions in yourself, and a trained mental health provider’s help can be invaluable here).
Have I engaged in abusive or violent behavior?
Have I had recurrent intrusive thoughts of suicide or contemplated a plan? Please dial 988 if you feel you are at imminent risk of death by suicide or text 741-741.

Reflecting on these questions during slow, contemplative practices like Yin or restorative yoga can sometimes lend insight into what’s wrong. It can also point you toward the steps you must take to get to feeling better. Sometimes, there’s not much you can do except avoid making an already-bad situation worse, but awareness of the issue allows you to approach it mindfully, not impulsively. That alone can make a big shift in your reality.

What to Do If You Suspect You Are in a Mental Health Crisis

You recognized one or more of the above signs, and are concerned you may be in a mental health crisis. Now what? Much depends on which resources you have at your disposal. However, lifelines exist to help folks through the crisis.

If You’re in Immediate Danger, Call 911

Every state has emergency hold laws for mental health crises, even if you are indigent, but these vary from state to state [3]. A secure mental health facility may hold you for as few as 23 hours to as many as ten days or more until authorities deem you are no longer a danger to yourself or others. Your best bet is to report to the ER or call 911, as they can initiate this process. Be honest: there’s no shame in going to the ER and saying, “I feel I’m at imminent risk of taking my own life.”

A tip from someone who has been there: if at all possible, initiate the hold yourself, and have a reliable friend or family on the outside who knows where you are and can offer support. Such facilities often strictly restrict contact with the outside world during stabilization, so you won’t likely have access to your phone, let alone a computer. Write down or memorize the phone number of your contact so you can use the facility’s phone to reach out when permitted and take your favorite comfort objects with you. While you may not be able to have them at first, you’ll often be allowed a stuffed animal or favorite pajamas once the staff approves of them. The little things can make a big difference in your overall comfort during your stay.

If You Aren’t at Imminent Risk

If you recognize the signs of a mental health crisis but aren’t in immediate danger of self-harm or going on a dangerous bender, the following tips can help you re-regulate your nervous system:

Talk with your doctor. In the United States, your primary care doctor can be a crucial liaison connecting you with the right mental health provider, as they already work with your insurer. Ask them for a referral if necessary, a recommendation if not. You can also find a mental health provider by calling your insurer directly or use a site like FindTreatment.gov .
Check the marketplace. If your mental health crisis arose from a sudden change in your life circumstances, such as the loss of a loved one or losing a job, check with Healthcare.gov . You may qualify to switch plans or get on a plan if you don’t have one already. Seek one that offers comprehensive mental health coverage if that is your primary area of concern.
Explore the world of apps: Mental health apps can help if you don’t have insurance — or sometimes, even if you do. For example, Talkiatry and Brightspace both work with insurers. Others, like Better Help and Calm, may allow you to use your HSA or FSA to pay for services. Some, like 7 Cups, are free.
Eat a healthy diet: What you put in your body may impact your mood and outlook. A diet rich in pre- and probiotics , omega-3s and magnesium alone may ease some mild symptoms, especially when combined with talk therapy or other modalities to encourage nervous system calm.
Avoid inflammatory food, drink and substances: Ultra-processed foods often offer scant nutritional benefits, and too much white flour and sugar can increase inflammation [4]. Likewise, avoid alcohol, as it does a number on your neurotransmitters and mood [5]. Suffice it to say, you should avoid illegal street drugs and those not prescribed to you. Even caffeine can adversely affect some sensitive individuals, so ease off on that, and the nicotine, too, if you still smoke.
Avoid toxic headspaces, too: This tip was a big one for me, prompting me to leave Twitter earlier this year and Facebook more recently. It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with either platform, but they were not good for me or my mental health. If social media likewise brings you down, cut back or switch to an alternative platform like YouTube or Reddit, where it's less about a cult of personality and more about what you can learn. Likewise, if there are people in your life who always trigger you, now’s the time to isolate yourself from them a bit whenever possible. If you share a home with them, can you create a safe space? If you conflict with a colleague, can you work from home or switch departments?
Be good to you: Now is not the time to train for a marathon or enroll in medical school, at least if you can avoid it. While hardcore training may temporarily take your mind off your troubles for some people, the stuff you leave unprocessed will most likely come back to haunt you when you least expect (or need!) it. Instead, dial back your commitments, recognize that your body reacts to mental trauma like a physical wound, and give yourself time to settle, to simply be .

Recognizing the Signs of a Mental Health Crisis on the Mat

Your mat is the perfect place to check in with yourself. Usually, this step looks like taking your temperature, simply observing what you see. However, if you recognize the signs of a mental health crisis, it's time to take action. Determine the degree of emergency, and then mindfully take the next steps necessary to get back to feeling like yourself again.

References:

1. Holland, Kimberly. “Amygdala Hijack: When Emotion Takes Over.” Healthline. April 18, 2025. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/amygdala-hijack

2. “Prefrontal cortex.” Cleveland Clinic. ND. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/prefrontal-cortex

3. Burris, Scott, et. al., “State Laws on Emergency Holds for Mental Health Stabilization.” Psychiatry Online. February 29, 2016. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201500205

4. Rath, Linda. “Reduce Sugar for Better Health.” Arthritis Foundation. May 28, 2024. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/foods-to-limit/sugar

5. “How Alcohol Affects Your Brain’s Neurotransmitters.” Awakenings Treatment Center. January 30, 2025. Accessed November 17, 2025, from: https://www.awakeningstreatment.com/blog/how-alcohol-affects-your-brains-neurotransmitters/

Healing Through Talking to Your Mat: Fueling Your Brain for Recovery

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 23:31:46 GMT

The right foods help you create a beneficial internal environment for brain healing.

You are a magical, complex creature with multiple systems working together to create the harmonious whole that is you. That means you can attack your recovery from several angles, including mindfully choosing the right foods to nourish and fuel your brain.

What you eat can impact your mood in more ways than making you feel guilty after polishing off an entire pint of Häagen-Dazs. The right nutrients facilitate better brain chemistry, ensuring your body has all the raw materials it needs for a healthy balance of neurotransmitters, those magical mind molecules that affect your outlook.

As a reminder, the members of the Only in Sedona Yoga crew are not doctors, therapists, or other medical professionals. We’re two average people. I (Jennifer) am simply on a healing journey, and I share what works for me from one layperson to another. That said, here’s how I fuel my brain for recovery with the right nutrition. May these tips help you, too.

The Mind of the…Gut? Pre- and Probiotics

Fun fact: You produce 95% of your body’s serotonin in your gut, not your brain [1]. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with mood; it’s the substance that SSRI antidepressants are designed to let your body access more readily by blocking reabsorption. Your intestines also generate other mood-affecting neurotransmitters like dopamine and GABA as well. They do so thanks to the help of beneficial bacteria , like Lactobacillus acidophilus [2] .

If these healthy bacterial colonies deplete, thanks to a poor diet, alcohol or antibiotic use, or other factors like stress, it could throw your neurotransmitters out of whack and impact your mental wellness. Fortunately, it’s not too challenging to nurture your gut by eating pre- and probiotic-rich meals.

Prebiotics refer to specific types of non-digestible fiber that feed your gut bacteria [3]. You’ll find them in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. For example, the pectin found in apples is a type of prebiotic fiber, and you know what they say about an apple a day keeping that pesky doctor at bay [4].

Probiotics refer to foods that contain these healthy bacterial strains themselves to help replenish your body’s natural stash. Although most folks must take them regularly to maintain the benefits, they’re relatively easy to get. Yogurt is famous for being rich in probiotics, although the pasteurized type you’ll find on store shelves has the bacteria added back in after purification. Other sources of probiotics include:

Fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut
Kombucha, such as Wild Tonic
Kefir, which is kind of like milky yogurt
Miso soup – if you add the miso paste after removing the soup from the heat [5]

Magical, Mindful Magnesium

Magnesium may not be a magical mineral for your mind, but it’s close. It plays a role in over 300 body processes, but as many as half of all US adults have a deficiency [6]. That’s a problem, as this stuff helps your heart health and is a must for your body’s stress response to function properly.

Magnesium deficiencies can cause sleep issues, anxiety, and depression. Fortunately, you can find ample supplements containing seven different forms of magnesium on store shelves. You can also find this mineral in foods such as nuts and seeds, spinach and other leafy greens, yogurt, avocados, bananas, and salmon.

Fish Really Is Brain Food

If your childhood caregivers told you to eat your fish for a healthy brain, they weren’t trying to manipulate you, at least not with untruths. Fish is the best source of two of the three forms of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA [7]. Omega-3s play a vital role in your memory and cognitive power [8]. The other form, ALA, is found in plant-based foods like chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts.

Your body can manufacture EPA and DHA from ALA, although it isn’t the most efficient at it. However, take heart if you are a vegan. Purslane, a humble, often-overlooked but super-tasty foraging food, contains trace amounts of EPA [9]. If you don’t like the taste of it raw, try adding it to soups as a thickening agent for its benefits without the bitter taste.

A Micronutrient Rainbow

Listing every nutrient and its impact on brain health would be a mammoth undertaking well beyond the scope of this article. However, fortunately, Mother Nature, in Her infinite kindness, took mercy on humanity. She provided them with a handy color code that helps strike the right balance between all the good vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body and mind need to function at their best [10].

All you have to do is strive for at least three different colors on your plate at every meal. It’s easier than you think. For example, adding berries is an easy way to get more reds and blues into your diet. A few slices of bell or baby sweet peppers add yellow or orange to your next wrap or sandwich. Adding brown rice and nuts to a bed of greens gives you a color combo and a complete vegan protein to boot [11].

Avoiding Foods That May Adversely Impact Brain Health

Adding more of the right foods ensures your body has the raw materials it needs to manufacture the neurotransmitters and other substances necessary for healing. However, you can defeat your positive efforts if you also consume foods that promote brain inflammation or cause other imbalances. Approach the following with caution, and consider eliminating them from your diet altogether to let the foods you eat to fuel your brain for recovery do their work unimpeded:

Alcohol: Alcohol can increase brain inflammation and inhibit neurogenesis, or the creation of new brain cells [12]. While the effects of an occasional overindulgence often reverse, alcoholic brain damage can sometimes be permanent [13].
Added sugars: According to Deena Adimoolam, M.D., a diabetes and endocrinology specialist, the overconsumption of added sugars (though not those naturally occurring in foods like fruit) can increase inflammation [14].
Red meat: A recent study found an association between red meat consumption and a higher risk of developing dementia [15]. Red meat also uses a huge amount of environmental resources, so it's probably best to save the steak for special occasions, if you choose to eat it at all.

Fuel Your Brain for Recovery

Think of it this way: If you had a cut on your leg, would you wrap it in a filthy bandage? Or would you give it a little TLC via a clean wrap and a proven antibiotic ointment? While diet alone may not singlehandedly fix any mental health problems you may face, it can create a positive, nurturing, healing environment for your brain, not one laden with toxins.

Providing your body with the nutrition it needs to produce healthy neurotransmitter levels ensures you have the raw materials you need on hand to nourish your recovering brain. When you combine a beneficial brain diet with talking to your mat, you invite the right conditions for healing breakthroughs to occur.

References:

[1] Berg, Per-Olaf, et al. “Identification of human gut bacteria that produce bioactive serotonin and promote colonic innervation.” Science Direct. October 28, 2025. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725012057

[2] Robertson, Ruairi. “9 ways Lactobacillus Acidophilus can benefit your health.” Healthline. April 20, 2023. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/lactobacillus-acidophilus

[3] Healthy Gut Initiative. “Do prebiotics really impact your gut health?” 2023. Accessed November 3, 2025 from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9460662/

[4] Gu, Fangji, et al. “The potential of pectins to moderate the human gut microbiota evaluated by in-vitro fertilization: A systemic review.” NIH. September, 2022. Accessed November 3, 2025 from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9460662/

[5] “Episode six: Probiotic miso soup.” Gastric Cancer Foundation. N.d. Accessed November 3, 2025 from: https://gastriccancer.org/video/probiotic-miso-soup/

[6] “Which type of magnesium is right for your symptoms?” University Hospitals. April 24, 2025. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2025/04/which-type-of-magnesium-is-right-for-your-symptoms

[7] “Health benefits of fish.” Washington State Department of Health. N.d. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/food/fish/health-benefits

[8] Avina, Neda Asgari, et. al. “A systematic review and dose response meta-analysis of omega-3 supplementation on cognitive function.” Nature. August 20, 2025. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-16129-8

[9] Ali, Md Eaqub, et. al. “Purslane-weed ( Portulaca Oleracea) : A prospective plant source of nutrition, omega-3 fatty acid, and antioxidant attributes.” NIH. February 2014. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3934766/

[10] Velazquez, Vickie, “Eat the rainbow: The colorful path to health.” Vegetarian Zen. April 13, 2025. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.vegetarianzen.com/eat-the-rainbow-the-colorful-path-to-health/

[11] “Can you get enough protein from plant foods?” The National Peanut Board. N.d. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://nationalpeanutboard.org/news/can-you-get-enough-protein-from-plant-foods/

[12] Chen, Kevin, et. al. “Alcohol and adult hippocampus neurogenesis: Promiscuous drug, wanton effects.” NIH. May, 2014. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4134968/

[13] Alcohol-related brain damage: Types, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Dementia UK. N.d. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.dementiauk.org/information-and-support/types-of-dementia/alcohol-related-brain-damage/

[14] Cavallo, Isabella. “Does sugar cause inflammation? Experts explain.” Prevention. November 3, 2025. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.prevention.com/health/a69230293/can-sugar-cause-inflammation/

[15] Gu, Xiao, et. al. “Long-term intake of red meat in relation to dementia risk and cognitive function in US adults.” Neurology. January 15, 2025. Accessed November 3, 2025, from: https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000210286

Practicing Mindfulness With a Troubled Mind

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 23:25:00 GMT

Resist the urge to abandon your practice when you need it most.

I first uttered the phrase “talk to the mat” as I began clawing my way back after illness, addiction, divorce, housing loss, and ongoing housing insecurity trampled me to my lowest point ever. As a reminder, I’m not a psychologist or doctor, but I do know a thing or two about practicing mindfulness with a troubled mind.

I’ll be the first to admit, though, I’m not fully healed. Recent scary events have me in a bit of an emotional tailspin, and I’m apparently not the only one who feels this way. If you are struggling to practice mindfulness with a troubled mind of late, here are a few tips from my personal experience that may help.

Think of Your Practice as Maintenance for Your Nervous System

If you find yourself muttering, “Dang, my nerves are shot,” talking to your mat may be one of the best remedies. Yes, it’s tempting to push harder during stressful times, especially if your anxiety stems in part from lacking adequate financial resources. However, think of it this way: If you drive for DoorDash, what’s going to happen to your car if you keep ignoring scheduled maintenance, like oil changes?

If you said, “Your car will eventually break down,” ding, ding, ding! You win first prize at the Common Sense County Fair. Guess what? The same rule applies to your body, mind, and yes, your spirit.

Taking time out to reset is essential when your mind is troubled. When you take on too much at once, your ability to concentrate suffers. When you lose focus, careless mistakes happen that make you beat yourself up and often make your circumstances even harder. Even if distracting yourself with work is your preferred coping strategy when you have a troubled mind, going too hard for too long inevitably results in frustration and burnout.

Physiologically speaking, excess “yang” energy, or intense physical or mental activity, increases stress hormone levels. Too much cortisol spurs headaches , brain fog, irritability, and sleep issues, all of which impact your ability to think clearly. High cortisol also raises your blood pressure and heart rate, increasing your risk for physical disease, which only adds to your troubles.

That’s why engaging in daily mindfulness practice, such as yoga, is so crucial, especially when you have a troubled mind. It’s one reason we put out new short videos every Wednesday to use in your practice or share with friends. Yoga and meditation mitigate cortisol levels and may help you stave off burnout, even when life demands a lot of you.

Yoga Isn’t Exactly “Sleeping on It,” but It’s Close

Have you ever noticed that a good night’s sleep can give you a fresh perspective on your situation? Sometimes, you need to step away and let your unconscious do the work. While sleep may prove difficult when your life grows chaotic, engaging in a mindfulness practice such as yoga allows you to metaphorically “step back” and shift your outlook.

Some forms of yoga also make sleep more accessible, even when your mind is troubled. Yin and restorative practices are perfect for soothing your nervous system and encouraging restful sleep.

Yoga nidra is a completely passive meditative experience that encourages a shift in brain waves that many practitioners claim is the equivalent of deep, restful sleep. I often listen to such recordings on sleepless nights and hope to add some to our channel soon (we’re working on the right tech solutions).

Preserve Your Positive Emotions and Maintain Your Motivation

Emotions are woefully sticky things. Over time, they create neural patterns and can even structurally change your brain . The longer you feel bad inside, the harder it becomes to feel good again. The problem is, few of us know how long the crisis will continue when we find our minds heavily troubled by one.

Preserving your positive emotionality boosts your motivation levels, giving you the oomph you need to persevere when things trouble your mind. Additionally, your body, mind, and spirit need a bit of happy balance for reasons experts don’t yet fully understand. Giving yourself a little treat to look forward to in the form of a daily yoga flow can help you overcome temporary crises without long-term personality changes that embitter your outlook on life.

When Ed and I started Only in Sedona Yoga, I was in such a horrible headspace. I had lost everything — isolated from friends and family, relationship over, health failing, bills piling up, savings and retirement accounts drained, and credit cards maxed. I remember asking myself, “What are my assets?” and what I had was God’s country all around me and a yoga mat. That’s what I used to give myself something to look forward to every day, even at my lowest.

I’m afraid to think of where I might be today had I not. I honestly don’t think I would have made it had I not made this healthy coping mechanism a daily part of my life. What yoga has given me is far more valuable than money. Just the other day, I realized, wow, in the last three years alone, I’ve lost Poe cat, my ex-husband, my father, and a work contract I had relied on for ages. Right on top of the trauma I had gone through before. And I made it through it all sober .

The recognition honestly stunned me. Thanks, yoga.

I don’t pretend to know why humans need the right balance of pleasurable and challenging experiences to maintain positive mental health. However, I’m unfortunately acquainted with what can happen to your worldview if the preponderance of your experiences brings you down for too long, and it isn’t pretty. It gives you a nasty outlook, which makes other people avoid you and everything in your life harder. Creating something to look forward to daily, or at least a few times a week, is a must to keep the darkness from pulling you down.

Quick Tips for Practicing Mindfulness With a Troubled Mind

Some days, you just want to crash out and binge Netflix and ice cream when the world gets too much. Encourage yourself to stick with your practice by treating it and yourself with loving-kindness:

Keep it short: One trick for motivating yourself when you feel paralyzed by mental troubles is to tell yourself, “I’m only going to do this for five minutes.” Some smart watches have mindfulness apps with timers as short as one minute. You might feel encouraged to go longer, but let yourself stop if you don’t. What matters is committing to building healthier coping habits.
Make it cozy: If you don’t have the energy for a vigorous Vinyasa flow, stick to restorative or Yin practices.
Or match your mood: Conversely, if you have some anger to work through, a sweaty Vinyasa or power yoga session could fit the bill perfectly.
Make it convenient: One nice feature of yoga is that you can practice nearly anytime and anywhere. I’ve already done it on bare rock , no mat necessary. You can also stream YouTube from your phone nearly anywhere, and premium members can download videos for offline viewing.
Find your crowd: Sometimes, just being in the presence of other living beings who are kind, not scary, can soothe your troubled mind. If you can find a studio or course near you that suits your vibe, the connection you form with other participants can help you experience a sense of community support.

Practicing Mindfulness With a Troubled Mind

Far too many people abandon their mindfulness practices when a troubled mind weighs down their spirits. Yet taking the time to recenter yourself is most crucial at such times. You may not be able to change your external circumstances, but you always have the power to take control of and calm yourself so that you can face adversity head-on, strong in your sense of agency and self.

Try talking to your mat when you have a troubled mind. If you feel so inspired, let us know what helps you the most in the comments. With love and hope for healing, always. ~ J.

Double Your Benefits, Double Your Fun: Combining Earthing With Yoga

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 21:50:51 GMT

What if you could get a two, even three-for-one punch of goodness with your flow? You can.

Yoga offers a laundry list of health benefits. So does earthing. Why not combine the two practices for a one-two punch of goodness? Here’s how you can do so and tips for connecting more deeply with Mother Earth when taking your flows outdoors.

What Is “Earthing?”

Earthing, or grounding, refers to the act of standing barefoot on the naked earth, perhaps on a grassy patch , or, here in the desert, more often soil or rock [1]. Doing so connects you energetically with the ground beneath your feet, facilitating the flow of electrons between you and Mother Earth.

According to Dr. James Oschman, biophysicist, this direct contact with the earth’s electrons neutralizes free radicals , acting like natural antioxidants [2].

What Are the Health Benefits of Earthing?

You might already know that antioxidants are good for you because of their ability to nix free radicals. According to earthing aficionados, the benefits include better sleep, lowered pain levels, and faster recovery. However, the benefits of earthing aren’t confined to subjective patient reports. One 2015 study found that earthing reduced inflammatory biomarkers in just one hour.

Another, more recent randomized clinical trial found that earthing mats reduced stress levels , insomnia, and daytime sleepiness [3]. Best of all, earthing is free — all you need is a natural patch of soil and your bare feet. How often do you find free healthcare like that in America these days?

Combining Earthing With Outdoor Yoga to Multiply the Perks

Yoga, of course, is also fabulous for reducing stress and improving sleep quality , benefits that many of us today can definitely use [4]. Doubling the perks by combining your flows with earthing is as easy as taking your practice outside.

Doing so may provide a trifecta of goodness. Simply soaking in the sun and breathing the fresh air can reduce stress and provide other mental health benefits , like improving executive attention [5,6].

Tips for Making the Most of Your Combo

I began earthing with yoga out of necessity. I enjoyed practicing my flows on the rocks following a hike, and I didn’t like carrying a mat with me. However, a little prep and a few creature comforts can make combining yoga with earthing even more satisfying.

1. Scope the Scene

Put on your real estate agent hat if possible — location, location, location. Something with a spectacular view is nice (and not hard to find in Sedona), but there are other characteristics more crucial in selecting the right spot.

First of all, is the surface comfy to your bare feet? Use the same caution you would when dipping your toe into the pool. Goatheads can hide in seemingly soft grass, and practicing on them isn’t fun. I speak from personal experience.

Scope the entire sensory scene. Some people prefer the camaraderie and safety of practicing in a noisy area of a public park, while others prefer quieter locations. Funky smells can be hard to avoid outdoors if you live in the country near a dairy, but are there avoidable hazards, like a smoky barbecue on one side of the park but open space on the other?

2. Wear Kick-Offable Shoes

Dust sticks to bare feet and will stain your socks. I speak from experience. If you are of the inclination to keep your footwear pristine, wear shoes that are easy to kick on and off.

If you walk or jog to your chosen spot, consider bringing a backup pair of socks. Putting on your old ones after they get all sweaty is ick .

3. Dress for the Weather (and Remember, Safety First)

Earthing in January can be a little chilly here in the desert southwest. I don’t even want to imagine some colder areas of the planet.

Dress for the weather, and keep your safety paramount. Remember, exposing your body to below-freezing temperatures can cause frostbite , and your extremities are often the first affected [7].

4. Keep a Towel Handy

It’s understandable to want to leave your bulky mat at home. However, you can drape a towel around your shoulders. Pro-tip: Sticking it in the freezer first is a cool treat on a hot summer’s day.

You want your bare feet against the earth when combining earthing with yoga. However, it’s helpful to have a clean(ish) cloth to wipe your face, your feet, or just to change your shoes on.

Combining Earthing With Yoga

Yoga offers multiple health benefits, including reducing stress and enhancing sleep. So does earthing. Combining the two practices could potentially multiply the benefits. Test the theory yourself by combining earthing with yoga the next time you practice, and tell us about your experience in the comments. With love and hope for healing, always. ~ J.

References:

1. “What is earthing?” Earthing.com . N.d. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://www.earthing.com/pages/what-is-earthing

2. “Mayo Clinic earthing: The science 101.” PB Pressbooks. N.d. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://ubalt.pressbooks.pub/clinic/chapter/mayo-clinic-earthing-the-science-101/

3. Kim, So Hee, et. al. “A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the improvement of sleep quality with Earthing mat.” Science Direct. January, 2025. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212958825000059

4. Bu, Zhi-jun, et. al. “Effects of various exercise interventions in insomnia patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ Journals. April, 2025. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/07/09/bmjebm-2024-113512

5. “Nature and mental health: Why time outside helps you feel better.” Mass General Brigham McLean. N.d. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/nature

6. McDonald, Amy S, and Strayer, David L. “The influence of a walk in nature on human resting brain activity: a randomized controlled trial.” Nature. 2024. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-78508-x

7. “Frostbite.” NHS. N.d. Accessed October 9, 2025, from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/frostbite/

Healing Through Talking to Your Mat: Filling the Emptiness

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 19:32:56 GMT

Feelings of emptiness are common in recovery, but what if you shift how you interpret them?

Picture a clear, empty glass. Is that glass achingly lonely? Is it frantic, desperately seeking something, anything to fill it? Or is it complete in its own right, solid, true to its form? Is it not empty at all, but full of possibilities, ready to hold anything from fresh mountain spring water to a handful of sun-sweetened blueberries?

If you’ve struggled with addiction or other mental health issues as I have, you’re probably familiar with the feeling of emptiness. It’s a soul-deep, profoundly uncomfortable emotion, and it can quickly drive you back into old, maladaptive patterns as you flee from it in terror.

However, there’s a different path, and talking to the mat can illuminate the way. Instead of running from emptiness, learning to embrace it can be the most empowering thing you ever do and a potent step in your healing. It’s not an easy scramble, by any means, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Understanding what to expect from someone who has been through it may make it less frightening. Here’s what I’ve learned on my journey, in hopes it helps you.

Emptiness and Addiction

Very few people talk about this aspect of addiction recovery — what, exactly, are you supposed to do with all your newfound time ? Withdrawal doesn’t only set off a host of physical symptoms but leaves you with gaping holes in your schedule. The hours that once seemingly flew by sitting at the bar or arranging for your next fix now stretch before you like a long, echoing hallway of emptiness. If you’re not using, what, exactly, are you supposed to do ?

This reality is why inpatient treatment programs often keep residents busy with a host of programs, from physical exercise to group therapy. However, let’s be real. I’ve been alive for 53 years, and never have I ever had the freedom or the resources to enroll in such a facility, much as I could have benefited from it. Unfortunately, my situation is far from uncommon in the United States.

Failing to plan for all this empty time is one reason why those going sobriety alone so often fall off the wagon. I can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is to find a way to fill those empty hours, and make it something pleasant, something that you love, something that you look forward to as much as using (or at least almost). Saying, “I’m going to quit drinking, spend more time at work, and embark on an MBA program,” can set you up for relapse.

Your substance of choice is an easy reward — earning a degree, not so much. When stress makes temptation call, you need something that soothes your soul to keep you from the pill or alcohol bottle.

For many people, socializing fits the bill nicely, which is why programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are so beneficial. These programs are incredible gifts and now offer both online and offline meetups for greater inclusivity. AA even recently launched an app , allowing you to connect and heal with others in recovery nearly any time of the day or night from wherever you are in the world.

My path was a little different, as I’m older and autistic, albeit late diagnosed. However, back in my day, going to AA meant church basements lit by harsh fluorescents, lined with hard metal folding chairs, and hazed with cigarette smoke — a sensory nightmare, in other words. It’s admittedly difficult for my nervous system to let go of old negative associations, so I went a slightly different route.

My early private practice, which consisted of hours of restorative yoga and meditation, eventually transformed into today’s Sober Saturday live stream. Originally, that practice was just my way of filling the empty hours that drinking used to occupy. Nowadays, I simply create another safe space for those healing from addictions — or anyone who simply wants to show their nervous system a little love and TLC at the end of a tough week.

The point is that you must find something you absolutely love to fill that space. Going to meetings is one option. Practicing yoga is another. Maybe, for you, it’s an uninterrupted hour to play your favorite video game or walk with a loved one in nature. Spending your newly sober time doomscrolling your phone is like issuing an open invitation to those old, maladaptive signaling patterns in your brain — fill them with activities that make your heart smile instead.

Emptiness and Letting Go of Delusional Thinking

Much as I hate to admit it, it’s true — I have behaved narcissistically. I have behaved neurotically. I have behaved impulsively, immaturely, and irrationally. While I have never been diagnosed with a personality disorder, I attribute that fact to a lack of financial resources, not symptoms. Although I no longer believe I would meet the diagnostic criteria today, I have no doubt I would have in early adulthood. I was a mess.

Please let me emphasize that I am not a mental health professional, just a fellow soul on a healing journey. However, I’ve studied such disorders from both an academic point of view and a therapeutic one. Watching role plays was a crucial element in my recovery. As an undiagnosed autistic person, I was always aware that much of my outward behavior was an act to fit in. What I didn’t recognize was that the patterns I learned in childhood, the patterns I had mirrored, which I always believed reflected the “right” way to act, were, in fact, highly toxic.

Not only was my whole life a lie, it was a shitty, damaging one that harmed other people around me. Yeah. That was a pretty sobering realization to go through alone. The guilt still overwhelms me at times. But at the time, I had no one to help me process this revelation, which may have actually been beneficial. I want to please and be accepted so badly, I’m highly suggestible, and what I needed was to figure out who I was without the influence of others.

Guess what? Coming to grips with the fact that your beliefs are irrational and that your behavior has been deplorable can also trigger deep feelings of emptiness. Discovering much of your life has been a lie, and a harmful one at that, is probably the toughest realization anyone can face, which is why I suspect so many people run from quiet, contemplative practices like yoga. It’s like that scene in “The Neverending Story” where the hero has to look into a deadly mirror, one that no one has ever survived looking into — because it forces you to look at your true self. What if you don’t like what you see? What if there’s no one there at all?

To thoughts like that, I say this: If you don’t like what you see, guess what? You have the power to change that. In fact, you’re the only one who can, and I’m living proof that if you want to heal, you can find a way, even if you lack the resources for an intensive inpatient treatment program or even weekly therapy.

If you don’t see anyone at all in the mirror, go back and reread the first paragraph of this article again. You are that empty glass. What if you reframed that feeling of emptiness, sensing it not as loneliness, not with panic, not as a hole you need to fill with any old stuffing to keep from falling in? What if you instead view it the way a painter might view a blank canvas? That “empty” space is yours to fill however you like, a prospect to regard with joy, not fear or anxiety.

You do have the power to reframe your feelings. Did you know that anxiety and excitement actually produce similar physiological effects? That’s why some people can’t get enough of jumping out of airplanes. You can reframe your feelings of emptiness the same way you can reframe fear as anticipation. Instead of considering this sensation as signifying your life is meaningless, missing something, look at it as an invitation to fill that blank canvas with the rich and meaningful life you crave and deserve.

Your mat is the perfect place to dig into this transformative work. It’s a judgment-free zone where you can work through all the difficult emotions that might come up, including emptiness. I’ve ugly-cried into my bolster more than once, and I’m sure I’ll do it again. Guess what? Doing that is a heck of a lot better than hitting the bottle and starting a fight with people I love.

Filling the Emptiness by Talking to Your Mat

Feelings of emptiness are common during recovery from addiction and other mental health issues. While emptiness isn’t pleasant to experience, you can reframe how you look at it. When you do, you’ll notice how you feel begins to shift from negative to positive.

As with all true healing, this work takes time. I can only speak from personal experience, but for me, gentle, restorative yoga and meditation work. You might find other ways to fill the emptiness as well, such as support group meetings, healthy hobbies, or simply spending time with the people you love the most. Talking to your mat is always a good first step to get mindful and contemplate what will work best for you as you prepare to transform this “blank canvas” portion of your life into a glorious masterpiece.

Talking to Your Mat Through Your Recovery: Showing Your Nervous System Love

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 21:54:03 GMT

Healing your central nervous system is an important part of trauma and addiction recovery.

From an outsider’s perspective, your yoga practice might look like a sensual indulgence. Guess what? If it does, you’re doing it right.

Overcoming guilt at taking time for yourself might be the hardest step in your recovery. However, the only way you can bring your best self to the rest of the world is to get right with yourself, and there’s no better method than quiet, meditative practices, such as yoga.

Trauma and addiction wreak havoc on your central nervous system. Until you bring it back into balance, it will keep firing at random, sending you internal signals that tempt you back into past maladaptive patterns. Fortunately, all you really need is your breath, but creating a comfortable, inviting atmosphere helps, too. Here’s what the science says and how to show your nervous system love as you talk to the mat through your recovery.

Introducing Your Nervous System to a New Reality

According to the great teacher Patanjali, one of the purposes of yoga is to transcend the senses , easing suffering by relinquishing attachment to the physical world. Why, then, would I encourage you to indulge yourself before each practice, using aromatherapy, lighting, soothing music, and as many comfy, cozy props as you like? There is a method to this seeming madness.

The reason can be summed up in the tagline of a meme I recently saw that really spoke to me. It, in essence, said, “Maybe what you need is to introduce your nervous system to a different reality.” A softer, gentler, more loving, and kinder reality.

When your central nervous system is out of whack, the environment inside of you grows stormy, making practice difficult. This internal maelstrom can make sitting in quiet meditation or holding long, passive poses challenging. When the tempest inside collides with external discomfort, the temptation to say, “forget this,” roll up your mat, and walk away can overwhelm you.

Are there advanced practitioners who can sit in lotus pose for hours on a cold, concrete floor? Undoubtedly, there are, but we here at Only in Sedona Yoga aren’t among them. We aren’t monks. Although I have practiced yoga for as long as I can remember, it began as a physical discipline for me. It only became mental, emotional, and spiritual when I badly needed to heal, and it was my only tool to do so.

As such, I admittedly follow a slightly different path than a guru who has traveled to India or trained under great masters. While I dream of someday having such experiences, they aren’t a part of my present reality. That’s one reason I am such an advocate for everyone to practice yoga. I didn’t have to travel or go on a long-term retreat for it to work. If you dedicate yourself to your practice, the rewards will follow, even if you don’t seek them, and even if you don’t expect them.

However, it only works if you practice regularly. A single class or even an occasional retreat may provide temporary benefits, but not a deeper transformation. Guess what? You’ll never look forward to your daily mat time if you make it an uncomfortable chore you dread. That’s the first reason I suggest indulging your senses by creating a comfortable, harmonious practice space — anticipating a yoga session should make you say “aah,” not “ugh.”

Furthermore, unhealed trauma wreaks havoc on your nervous system. So does addiction. For example, alcohol is so powerful that it can influence the development of several nervous system diseases , including stroke, brain tumors, MS, and Alzheimer’s disease. Even the occasional overindulgence does a number on several neurotransmitters, including GABA and glutamate , which can leave you feeling shaky and out of sorts the next day.

Science tells us that creating a harmonious environment can soothe your nervous system, helping to bring it back into balance. For example, consider the following research:

The simple act of removing clutter boosts your mood , eases anxiety, and sharpens your focus. That’s why many yogis prefer a clean, minimalist aesthetic. That’s not to say you can’t surround yourself with your favorite sacred objects or favorite pieces of memorabilia (I certainly do). However, you should create a tidy, inviting space for your practice.
At least one recent study shows that using aromatherapy leads to lower anxiety and pain levels. Lavender and peppermint essential oils were especially beneficial.
Another recent study shows that listening to solfeggio frequencies , particularly 528 Hz, can reduce anxiety, improve your mood, and encourage cellular protection. Earlier studies suggest that this frequency is also beneficial for chronic pain.
Finally, surrounding yourself with cozy things prompts your brain to release oxytocin , a neurotransmitter that induces a sense of well-being, belonging, and calm.

I’ll be perfectly honest: creating an environment that pleases my senses is a must for me to get into my practice, and I’ve been doing this for a long time. As an autistic person who went undiagnosed until age 52, much of my life has been a sensory nightmare. The neurotypical world most people love is way too bright, noisy, and fast-paced for me. Don’t even get me started on clothing — there’s a reason I often wear pajamas on our Sober Saturday livestreams.

However, even if you love bright lights and big sounds most of the time, introducing your nervous system to the slower, gentler, softer side of things can provide enormous benefits. Hey, if you want to see how long you can sit in lotus on a cold, concrete floor, you can always test your stamina. Still, making your regular practice a sensory delight is the best way I’ve found to encourage regularity.

Being With Your Breath

Indulging your senses can also feel like a warm, comforting hug, which you may need if you talk to your mat through your recovery from a mental mess. However, there’s one tool you can use for serious nervous system soothing that requires no props or special environment at all — your breath.

When we come to the mat, we set our intentions, and we check in with ourselves, taking our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual temperature. We begin to practice detachment , reminding ourselves that we are not our thoughts or feelings any more than we are our arms or our legs. However, it’s easy to get mired down in our mental muck if examining our ideas, beliefs, and behaviors leads us down Rumination Road.

That’s why returning to your breath throughout your practice is so vital. It helps you return to that detached state instead of getting caught up in past regrets or future fears.

Ask yourself this: Are you your breath? No. Your breath, like your thoughts and emotions, moves through you, flows through you, but is not you. Each breath comes, each breath goes. Yet you remain, even as each one of the trillions of cells that make up your physical self exchanges carbon dioxide for fresh, clean oxygen. You surrender from within and draw renewed power from without, strengthening your bond with all that there is with each inhale and exhale.

When viewed this way, each breath is like a miniature rebirth. On and on this cycle goes, as you remain a calm center of awareness amid the waves moving within and without. Your only job is to witness, like a patron in a movie theater, which invites a sense of relaxation and calm.

From a scientific standpoint, slow, deep breathing encourages theta rhythms in your brain, inducing calm. You have several types of brain waves, with theta being the most relaxed and inwardly focused , a short hop away from the delta waves of deep sleep.

My favorite way of returning to my breath is to recite a short mantra by Thich Nhat Hanh, “Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in; breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out.

Breathing Techniques

A discussion of breathing techniques deserves a full article in its own right. However, here are a few tips to encourage simply being with your breath.

1. Equal Breathing

Some people consider breathing in for a count of five and breathing out for the same length to be the “perfect” breath. Of course, you can choose to inhale for four, five, six, or any number that works. It’s impossible to count and think of anything else at the same time, making this a great way to pull yourself out of rumination and back into the present moment.

2. The Continuous Breath

To perform a continuous breath, direct your focus to where one exhale ends and the next inhale begins. Can you do so with no pause, one leading directly into the other? It’s a bit trickier than it sounds and requires considerable concentration.

3. The Elongated Exhale

Lengthening your exhales is perfect for engaging the parasympathetic side of your nervous system if you notice anxiety sneaking in, especially during longer holds. All you have to do is exhale for longer than you inhale. Experiment to find the pace that works for you.

Loving Your Nervous System Through Your Recovery

Trauma and substance abuse disrupt your central nervous system function. This uncentered state can make it hard to relax and get into your yoga practice. However, the mat can be the perfect place for healing when you know the right tricks to help you leave each mat session feeling calmer, more mentally stable, and refreshed.

Use these tips to show your central nervous system some love through your recovery work. Calming the storm within can lead to a more harmonious, peaceful, and balanced you both on and off your mat.

Talking to Your Mat Through Your Recovery: Confronting Shame

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 21:28:20 GMT

Dealing with shame is perhaps the hardest and most necessary part of healing

Perhaps the toughest part of recovering from trauma involves dealing with shame. Shame feels horrible. Heavy. Unfortunately, many people cope with such feelings by distracting themselves, often engaging in the same maladaptive or addictive behavior that contributed to this negative emotion in the first place.

However, the heavy weight of shame is why talking to your mat through your recovery can be so powerful and transformative. Until you learn to sit with negative emotions, including shame, you risk having your external circumstances unconsciously dictate your behavior. Instead of being an active participant in your life’s story, you simply react, often badly, remaining trapped in the same negative cycles without fully understanding why.

Yet your mat also offers safety. Comfort. Freedom from judgment. It’s where you can confront shame, examine it, learn what led to it — and how to change the behaviors that drive it. Talking to your mat doesn’t violently force you into a confrontation with your shame. Rather, it’s a confessional free from penance. It’s where you can sit down with your shadow and deeply, truly listen to what wounded it so badly, giving it a safe space to be heard at last.

A Well of Shame So Deep, It Goes All the Way to China

Coping with my own shame on the mat has been the hardest part of my journey. Although my recovery will likely be a lifelong trek, it began in earnest when I had to fill the hole left when I quit drinking. Instead of hitting the bottle and doomscrolling, I spent hours doing restorative yoga in bed while listening to various licensed psychologists on YouTube.

As I watched role-plays, my brain finally made the connection between cold, clinical diagnostic criteria, such as “frantic efforts to avoid abandonment,” and actual, physical behaviors such as threatening suicide. Yes. I had threatened suicide on myriad occasions. However, I never intended such statements to be manipulative. When I said it, I genuinely meant it — and at my lowest point, I darn near went through with it.

It had never before made sense to me how such behaviors could be construed as manipulative. It was only in watching these role-plays, in seeing the same behavior from both my perspective and the other person’s , that I came to understand that such statements could cause enormous stress and anxiety in the listener. Before, I could only see my perspective, my pain. From where I was sitting, other people dismissed my words as “not that serious; just Jenn being dramatic again” because they didn’t care. It never occurred to me that they might behave dismissively because my words frightened them. I never considered that they did care but were powerless to help.

I still cry while confessing this, so utter was my horror at this revelation. One difference in how my brain functions is that it takes a while to grasp certain concepts. However, once I “get” something, I understand completely . It’s more like a several megaton nuclear blast than a light bulb going off. Which is an appropriate analogy. Imagine the full horror of all your past maladaptive behaviors slamming into you all at once like a freight train of shame.

The sum of my mindless bad acts, acts that had caused others untold suffering, blocked my path like a juggernaut, an insurmountable wall of shame. Yet, I had to continue to live in this world, and I’ve never been good at lying to myself. I immediately resolved to stop engaging in such behaviors. I isolated myself and continued my unusual form of self-study, teaching myself what I should not do to avoid hurting other people.

I still had no idea what I was supposed to do, if not self-sabotage. I had never had a healthy behavioral model to follow. I just knew I didn’t want to hurt anyone ever again. My reparenting work began with talking to my mat, absorbing lessons on how to set appropriate boundaries and how to ask for my needs to be met instead of ignoring them until I broke down in hysterical tears or furious screams.

Talking to the mat then rewarded me with the greatest gift I’ve ever received. I chanced upon one of Dr. Kim Sage’s videos about complex trauma — and autism. Flashbacks of being identified as “gifted” at age four, of my inability to fit into any one peer group but drifting aimlessly through school, being mystified by how other people formed lasting friendships while I had no clue, endlessly annoying my parents with my “rutchiness” or endless need to move, hit me with the force of the shame semi. However, this insight was revelatory in a positive way. Seeking an evaluation was hard, but necessary, and the results surprised me not at all. Yes, Virginia. I was autistic.

Knowing this has made navigating life and relating to other people infinitely easier and less terrifying. Yes, I’m still awkward, and no, I will never enjoy socializing for socializing’s sake the way more neurotypical people do. However, understanding that my nervous system does perceive the world differently and that people do misinterpret my intentions when I communicate has provided the insight I need to change my approach. It’s not about trying to be manipulative; it’s about respecting the other person and expressing myself in a way that’s authentic without being offensive.

However, I still have a deep well of shame inside me. To prevent unleashing my inner negativity on people outside of me who don’t deserve it, I need to deal with it. Therapy still isn’t very accessible due to financial limitations. So I talk to my mat instead, unpacking memory by memory, allowing myself to feel my emotions, learn from what they teach me, comfort myself that I did the best I could with the resources I had at the time, and remind myself that I am free to choose a different, healthier path armed with what I know now. Little by little, I’m healing.

Tips for Making Your Mat a Safe Place to Work Through Shame

Shame work is hard. It’s also necessary. Ideally, you have the help of a trusted therapist to guide you through this process. However, we don’t live in a perfect world where everyone in need of such services has meaningful access, and I want you to feel empowered, secure in the knowledge that yes, you can get better if you are brave and willing to take a long, hard look at yourself.

Here’s the perfect place for my standard disclaimer: We at Only in Sedona Yoga are not mental health practitioners or medical professionals. We’re two ordinary people, one of whom is working her way through her own trauma and shame using tips like those below. However, ultimately, your doctor is your go-to source for professional advice. Think of us more like friends who care and encourage your healing.

1. Make Your Mat an Inviting Retreat

Talking to your mat should be a pleasure, not a chore. Yes, you will undoubtedly deal with some extremely heavy feelings should you choose to do shame work, but there’s no need to add insult to injury by twisting yourself into poses that don’t feel right for your body, punishing yourself by pushing too hard, or subjecting yourself to a harsh environment filled with bright lights, uncomfortable temperatures, or funky smells.

That’s why we encourage you to set the mood. Light candles or use whatever safe form of aromatherapy encourages you to relax. Scents like lavender and frankincense activate receptors in your brain that induce a sense of calm, which may help if negative memories trigger anxiety.

Surround yourself with cozy objects. Bolsters and pillows let you sink into passive poses but also act as emotional supports. I can’t begin to count how many tears my own bolster has absorbed over these past few months and years. A weighted blanket (something I’m dying to get) may be enormously beneficial, depending on your nervous system. It can feel like a comforting hug.

2. Find a Safe, Private Place to Practice

As glorious as your guide at the local gym may be, a crowded classroom may not be the best place to do shame work on your mat. You could end up feeling embarrassed at your emotional reactions. Instead, find a safe, private location for such flows.

You might have to get creative if you share space with multiple other people. However, practicing outdoors gives you an added healing boost. Can you find a semi-secluded area in your neighborhood park or even a corner of your balcony separated by a folding divider and a few houseplants? Those with YouTube Premium can download flows to watch anywhere, even in the middle of the forest where WiFi doesn’t reach.

3. Practice Detachment

Shame work poses the risk of sending you down Rumination Road, someplace you don’t want to go. Before you dig in deeply, find a visual or auditory tool that helps you detach.

I prefer the visualization device of a little neutral scientist in my head, jotting each thought down in a notebook, then turning the page. However, my internal wiring is a little different. I have a nearly eidetic memory for anything emotionally charged, and this method works for me because it also allows me to return to each item for further examination later. Experiment and find the technique that best helps you detach.

4. Start Small, Slow, and Simple

If you have been as emotionally dysregulated as I have been, you may have mountains and mountains of shame to work through. However, part of the beauty of healing through talking to your mat is that there’s no timeline, no insurance company saying, “You get X number of sessions, and that’s it.” Please, start slow and start small. Deal with one painful memory at a time.

Consider keeping each session short at first. As you grow and heal, you can add length and depth to your practice. Limiting each session to no more than ten minutes also helps to prevent rumination, especially if you plan another, different, more distracting activity for afterward.

5. Incorporate Other Healing Modalities

Depending on how your nervous system works, your mat time might only be a starting point for other healing modalities. Mindful walking in nature, journaling, expressing yourself through art, or talking through your feelings with a safe person you trust may be more transformative for you than somatic work — and that’s okay.

Workbooks produced by licensed mental health practitioners are glorious for this work. I’m personally a huge fan of Dr. Daniel Fox’s “ Borderline Personality Workbook .” It was transformative in teaching me healthy ways to express myself that others didn’t interpret as a vicious attack or dramatic bid for attention.

6. Amass a Library of Materials on Healing Shame and Trauma

The bad news is, therapy remains as expensive as ever. The good news is, countless licensed professionals provide tools you can use for free and programs you can enroll in for much lower prices than one-on-one couch sessions. Dr. Fox’s workbook is only one example. You’ll find scores of others that may be better suited to your unique situation.

The positive side to self-guided recovery is that you don’t have to sign a treatment plan or adhere to a regimen prescribed by someone else. Get mindful and creative. For example, I practiced while listening to audio lectures by licensed mental health practitioners, figuring there was no law stating “thou must perform yoga flows in silence.” That worked for me, along with reading countless books. Find the right combo for you, even if it seems unconventional to outsiders.

7. Think Marathon, Not Sprint

Chances are, you didn’t accumulate your shame overnight. You may have endured a lifetime of trauma. However, there’s no real “finish line” and certainly no need to race to it. Be patient with yourself, and remember that healing is a marathon, not a sprint.

For example, you might have several good weeks. Then, something happens that triggers a particularly painful memory. Sometimes, you can’t pinpoint anything obvious. You feel like you’re going forward, then suddenly take three steps back.

When you do, it’s good to pause and detach once more. It also helps to take a tip from those in addiction recovery. Keep in mind that relapse, or occasionally slipping back into other coping mechanisms that trigger shame, doesn’t represent failure. Many who struggle with addiction make as many as five attempts to get clean before it sticks.

One thing is for certain — burying yourself in more shame won’t help you deal with the pain you already have, so be gentle and recognize that changing deeply ingrained behaviors takes time. What’s important is that you recognize them for what they are now and take accountability by apologizing when you do slip up.

8. Don’t Focus on Shame Work With Every Flow

This final tip goes hand-in-hand with the first one. The idea is to enjoy your time on the mat, to look forward to it, something that won’t happen if you continually associate your practice with negative feelings. Therefore, be intentional when you work through shame on the mat, but don’t feel like you have to turn every flow into a therapy session.

Part of the beauty of recovery on the mat is that the simple act of coordinating your breath and body movements and moving slowly, with intention, is enough to start healing your nervous system. Therefore, even when your mind isn’t working through trauma, you’re still getting benefits such as improved emotional regulation and mindfulness. Dedicate at least half of your mat time to focusing on your breath and the pleasure you take in the poses, doing your best not to think of anything else at all.

Confronting Shame When Talking to Your Mat Through Your Recovery

Dealing with shame is one of the hardest parts of recovery. It’s also where many people stumble. While making outward behavioral changes, such as quitting substance use, helps, the true transformation comes from dealing with the underlying emotions that drive you to such maladaptive behaviors in the first place.

Confronting your demons can be tough, but it can also be the most worthwhile endeavor you ever undertake. The good news is, the rewards for doing so keep coming long after you’ve brought your shadow into the light. Working through your shame increases your sense of accountability for your own actions but also highlights what you can and can’t control. For example, when I thought I was “gifted,” I had the deep-down core belief that it was my duty to save the entire world. The fact that I was failing so miserably at it increased my sense of shame.

However, working through such emotions on the mat taught me that the only behavior I could control was my own — and that was enough. Imagine what the world could be like if everyone took the time for similar introspection. Confronting your shame by talking to the mat eases your suffering and that of everyone else whose lives you touch. A more predictable, stable, and peaceful world begins by healing from the inside, and you have the power to do so. With love and hope for healing, always. ~ J.

What Does It Mean to Be Mindful of Your Thoughts?

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 23:16:18 GMT

Building awareness of your thoughts may greatly benefit your mental health

At the end of each Only in Sedona Yoga flow, we seal our practice by tapping our foreheads to remind us to be mindful of our thoughts. What does “being mindful of your thoughts” look and feel like in action? How can the work you do on the mat to develop mindfulness of thought affect your health? Here’s what to know.

How Talking to Your Mat Builds Mindfulness of Thought

How often do you pay attention to your thoughts as if you were an outsider examining what’s going on inside your head? Many of us take our thoughts for granted. We consider them inflexible, unchangeable, immutable, a part of our very personality, and who we are.

However, as I often say during our flows, you are not your thoughts or even your feelings, any more than you are your arm or your leg. Your thoughts are a component of you, but they are not you . Your thoughts are more like transient clouds drifting across your field of awareness before dissipating, gone forever into the ether. Don’t believe me? Tell me the exact thought you had at 2:43 yesterday afternoon. You can’t do it because that ephemeral thought has long since been replaced by countless others.

Even though each thought is transient, after a while, they begin to form patterns. These patterns affect your emotions and behavior, even if you aren’t consciously aware of the impact. It’s as if, over time, your brain programs its “favorite” channels like radio stations. It’s these patterns your brain returns to when it isn’t actively distracted by external noise or activity.

What Is Your Default Mode Network?

Your default mode network refers to a system of connected brain areas that become more active when you aren’t focused on external stimuli, like balancing your checkbook or keeping up with a rapidly changing conversation. It’s most active during introspection — such as when you are daydreaming or, worse, ruminating.

How Does the Default Mode Network Affect Mental Health?

People with depression often show increased connectivity in the default mode network, which researchers associate with increased rumination. It’s also more connected in the brains of lonely people. Additionally, people with autism show marked differences in this system’s organization, although researchers don’t yet fully understand how these variations affect their thoughts, moods, and behavior.

This association presents a bit of a chicken-and-egg question. Is it rumination that leads to increased connectivity, or does the increased connectivity spur the rumination? Most likely, it’s a bit of both, but based on what scientists know now, it could go either way.

What this means is that you might be able to “reprogram” your default mode network, at least somewhat, given sufficient time, dedication, and practice. How? The work begins by building mindfulness of thought on the yoga mat. It continues when you begin tuning into your thoughts throughout your day, gaining awareness of what’s going on in your head.

From there, you can take steps to reframe those thoughts that don’t serve you. “I’m always such a hopeless failure,” becomes, “Okay, I messed up in that job interview; let’s examine what went wrong, learn from it, and do better next time.”

Does this sound eerily like CBT? I think of it as CBT on steroids because once you get the habit, you begin examining your thoughts for distortions in traffic. The grocery store checkout line. Hour two of that endless budget meeting, when your mind starts to wander.

Of course, this process is easier if you have a therapist’s help to identify your cognitive distortions. Unfortunately, not everyone has such a resource. However, anyone can begin building awareness of their thought patterns on the mat, anytime, anywhere, for free. From there, you can research further, learn to recognize distorted thoughts by watching videos and reading books. The DIY route is harder but possible — we’re speaking from personal experience. It’s what inspires us to do what we do.

Here’s a good place to insert the standard disclaimer: We at Only in Sedona Yoga are not doctors, paid researchers, or scientists. Please check with your doctor or therapist before taking any health advice you read here .

Tips for Building Mindfulness of Your “Default” Thoughts On And Off the Mat

Building mindfulness of your default thoughts on the mat begins with detaching from them enough to examine them free from judgment — and without going down a rumination rabbit hole. Time and regular practice are what make the habit stick and make mindfulness of thought routine. Try a month of daily practice, even for ten minutes daily, and test what happens when you do the following.

1. Go Outside Looking In

Detaching from your thoughts can be tricky at first. I like to use the visual device of a little neutral scientist with a notepad. She lives in my head, and when I talk to my mat, she writes down each thought I observe on a clean page, noting it, then immediately flipping to the next blank page. This simple visual prevents me from attaching to any one thought. Some people picture their thoughts as clouds or as cartoon word balloons.

What if you’re one of those folks who can’t create visual images in their heads? Aphantasia is a real phenomenon, but speaking each thought out loud — or silently mouthing it if practicing with others — may help you build awareness. You might even try recording each thought for later playback if doing so helps you detach sufficiently to observe that “yes, I’m thinking X” then letting it go.

2. Use Your Tech

Nearly every cell phone has a timer. Set one for a minute or two — perhaps while you wait in that endless line — and tune into what’s going on in your head. Do you have a smart watch? Many versions come with meditation apps preinstalled, including those with sensory cues to remind you to take deep breaths as you reflect. You can also experiment with free meditation apps , although you’ll want to use a silent timer or soft music and not a guided version when building mindfulness of thought.

3. Practice Consistently

People come to the yoga mat for various reasons. However, just like a single session won’t miraculously transform your physical body into a gummy bear overnight, it won’t reprogram your mind after one session, either. For the magic to happen, you must be consistent. That’s one reason Only in Sedona Yoga produces weekly short flows so that you can practice mindfulness of thought (or simply stretch and relax) when you don’t have much time.

4. Be Proud of Yourself, You Mindful Yogi, You

Eventually, you will notice a greater awareness of your thought patterns both on and off the mat. I feel confident saying this because I wasn’t trying to build my own mindfulness of thought through yoga, at least not at first. Nevertheless, it happened. That miracle allowed me to handle some of my life’s most stressful events sober, when previously, I made matters worse by turning to the bottle.

When this happens to you, praise yourself, if only on the inside. For me, the magic first struck when I “lost” a $500 set of keys — and remaining calm instead of freaking out enabled me to find them. Anyone observing what happened from an outsider’s perspective would think nothing of what transpired, but the change inside me was undeniable. It still brings tears to my eyes because panic has been such a frequent bugbear in my life that I was shocked by my ability to resist an utter meltdown.

When it happens to you, you might, like me, find the ability to keep your composure a sufficient reward in itself. However, there’s also nothing wrong with marking the occasion with a small treat. Maybe a new water bottle or mat? After all, you now have proof of your practice paying off, and trust me, that is a wonderful feeling indeed.

Become More Mindful of Your Thoughts

Many mysteries of mental illness and health remain unsolved by science, and not all psychologists agree that you can change your default thought patterns. However, the practice of CBT wouldn’t exist if others didn’t think there was hope.

Changing your thoughts begins with building awareness of them, and your mat is the perfect place to practice. The next time you practice your flow, try these tips for detaching from and observing your thoughts. Better yet, try it for a month and let us know about your results in the comments. With love and hope for healing always. ~ J.

Talking to Your Mat Through Your Recovery: Reconnecting With Your Body

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:00:48 GMT

This article is the first in a multi-part series of tips for talking to your mat during your recovery from childhood abuse, adult trauma, substance abuse — or all three.

Trauma can nearly sever your connection with your body. However, even if you lose or intentionally shut off this communication channel, unconscious messages continue to flow between your body and brain. The effect can devastate your health, transforming your emotional suffering into physical ailments. Although scientists still do not fully understand how all of these related systems interplay, they have long known that experiencing trauma, especially in childhood, can impact physiological health for your entire lifetime.

Reconnecting with your body on the mat can be a crucial step in re-embracing your overall wellness. It’s also where I began my recovery journey. Therefore, I wanted to offer tips from someone who has been there if you are also using your mat as part of your healing work as you overcome trauma or substance abuse.

Please note: We at Only in Sedona Yoga are not doctors or scientists. We are fellow travelers on a healing journey, sharing what we have learned in the hopes of helping others. Please always consult a licensed medical professional for specific concerns, and remember, we do not offer medical advice, only tips from folks who have been there. Thank you.

The Many Factors That Can Disconnect You From Your Body

Becoming disconnected from your body doesn’t always result from nefarious situations or intent. For example, imagine a nurse in an ER with a patient she has to move. The patient might be several times heavier than her, and doing so may strain her back. There’s a reason those in the medical profession endure more than their fair share of lower back pain , but when seconds count, these dedicated pros seldom think twice about their own safety.

Repetitive Strain Injuries

That said, repetitive strain injuries occur, at least in part, from becoming habitually disconnected from your body. It’s one thing to ignore strain during a triage situation. However, how many office workers force their bodies into ill-fitting chairs day after day? How many cashiers and warehouse workers endure undue strain because their bosses won’t let them have so much as a stool or even a lean against the counter during slow times?

(Incidentally, if you are a business owner who won’t let your employees take a seat to care for their health, yes, I am judging you. You are abusing the health of vulnerable humans, not even because it’s necessary for profit, but simply because you “don’t like the way a seated employee looks” in most cases. That doesn’t sit well with me. Don’t be surprised if I stop frequenting your establishment. Cruelty isn’t a good look, despite your sense of professional aesthetics).

It’s understandable to disconnect from your body under such circumstances. After all, you have to work to eat — so in a way, you are triaging your priorities. However, it’s also unlikely that someone will die if you take the time to requisition a better chair, put on a back brace, or shift positions so that you can sit down for a few moments or perform some light stretches. Even ERs have occasional downtimes.

Fortunately, reconnecting with your body on the mat spills over into daily life, inspiring you to take such actions. By cultivating mindfulness, you become aware of the subtle ways you neglect your physical well-being throughout your daily routine. You gain the ability to recognize the areas of tightness and tension that are your body’s way of communicating to you, “SOS, help, please, could you kindly fix this situation?”

This awareness then inspires you to make the necessary adjustments. As a result, you decrease your risk of repetitive motion injuries. Plus, you feel better, which can’t help but improve even the grumpiest mood.

The Well-Meant Wishes of Others (or Intentional Gaslighting)

Another factor that can disconnect you from your body, especially if you have a chronic illness, is gaslighting, both medical and non-medical. Yes, the term “gaslighting” gets used a lot these days, but it’s important to have a word to apply to the experience of other people altering your perception so much that you begin to question what’s real.

Gaslighting can be intentional or unintentional. For example, people may say things like, “Oh, it can’t hurt that bad,” not because they want to make you feel crazy but because they feel helpless. Recognizing that people can hurt and hurt badly when you are powerless to ease their pain can trigger shame. Other people want to rid themselves of this nasty feeling of shame, so they instead deny and minimize your reality.

The problem is that upon hearing these words, you start to question your reality, too. Even if you are experiencing significant pain, you may try to “soldier through,” with devastating health impacts. You may ignore your pain for the noblest of reasons — not wanting to let others down.

Dear heart, please read this if you read nothing else: Denying that you are in pain when you legitimately are rarely ends well for you or anyone else. When postponing needed doctor’s visits results in permanent disability, it becomes a lot harder to care for those you love and make a living. Trust me on this one.

Far more insidious is intentional gaslighting. Sadly, it happens even in the medical profession. One need only browse a few physician subreddits to see how patients seeking help for lesser-understood conditions often encounter professionals with outright disdain and contempt for their concerns. These attitudes can have severe consequences, and they often impact women and minorities most egregiously. One woman went a full week with an undiagnosed heart attack after the hospital dismissed her symptoms.

Standing up to a licensed, educated medical doctor is even harder to do than asserting your truth among friends and family. I know this, too, sadly, from personal experience. While I’m forever sorry that I wasn’t exactly nice to some of the physicians I’ve been assigned over the years, I thank the little stubborn part of me that insisted on certain tests, who refused to take, “you’re probably just anxious and depressed, here, try this offering from our latest drug rep visit” for an answer. Surprise, surprise, I do have damage and a cyst in my brain. I do have a defective mitral valve. And I am autistic. My cardiovascular and nervous systems were misfiring all the time. I was feeling all this pain, I was perceiving the problems — but boy, oh, boy, was I ever disbelieved when I asked for help.

Is it understandable to disconnect from your pain by poo-poohing your symptoms as “nothing” or “anxiety” when your doctor says, “You’re fine?” Of course it is. However, that’s why reconnecting with your body on the mat is so vital. You tune back into your reality, your perceptions, and if they’re still screaming, “something’s amiss,” you know to seek a second opinion.

Physical or Sexual Abuse

While no one likes to talk about it, physical and sexual abuse occur and can severely disconnect you from your body. In some cases, you may intentionally disconnect from yourself as it's the only way to endure the pain. However, even if you purposefully shove down what you feel, Bessel Van Der Kolk is very right in saying the body keeps the score. Chronic pain is incredibly common among abuse survivors , including migraines, fibromyalgia, digestive and bowel problems, allergies, and chronic fatigue.

Physical and sexual abuse can also spur substance use disorders as you attempt to self-medicate your pain. Substance abuse disconnects you from your body by altering your perception and even creating physiological changes that can be hard to recover from. Many people also dissociate, feeling as if they aren’t truly “real” or “there,” a kind of ultimate disconnect from their tangible reality.

4 Tips for Reconnecting With Your Body on the Mat

Understanding why reconnecting with your body matters is only the first step. How does that look in action? Here’s what you can do.

1. Slow Down

While any style of yoga is good for reconnecting with your body, slower formats, such as restorative or Yin, allow you the freedom of time to truly tune into the effects of each pose. They can form a firm foundation of body awareness by inviting you to explore the connection between breath, body, and movement more intimately. You won’t burn a ton of calories from such practices, but you will reconnect with your body and experience deep relaxation that’s just overall ooey-gooey goodness for your central nervous system.

2. Choose Your Guide Carefully

Watch out for drill instructor-style yoga guides. If they insist you maintain a certain pace or insist on adjusting you in poses against your wishes, you could end up feeling more disconnected from your body instead of reconnecting.

Instead, choose someone who suggests modifications and props but allows you the freedom to move in ways that feel therapeutic for your unique body. Some guides now use cards that participants can place face up or down near their mats that indicate if they are open to adjustments or not. If yours doesn’t, consider suggesting it. Not everyone appreciates a stranger’s touch, even to guide them, and it could make the experience more inclusive for the whole class.

3. Perform a Body Scan on the Mat

Breathing into the area that you focus on in each pose synchronizes your awareness with your physical movement. It also proves the freedom to explore the intricate muscles and connective tissues around each joint using your interoception, your perception of sensations arising from within your physical body. Nurture this awareness, watering it like a seed. For example:

Do certain poses cause mild discomfort? How can you shift your positioning slightly so that your “ugh” becomes “aah?” Could you add a pillow under a knee or another joint? Would using a strap help you achieve alignment and stretch without strain? Could you back off the intensity just a bit or explore a modification that makes the pose more accessible?
Do you resist certain poses? Explore why, using gentle curiosity. Instead of demanding an immediate answer, consider any and all possibilities. For example, your hips may grow tight from physical labor. They can also tighten up and cause considerable low-back strain because of mental stress. Is it one or the other? Perhaps a bit of both?
Conversely, do you adore certain poses? Explore why with the same gentle curiosity.

4. Resist the Urge to Skip Savasana

For many yogis, savasana is the best part of class, the dessert, the cherry atop their yoga sundae. However, some folks who see the practice as a mere physical discipline skip this closing relaxation. Please don’t, especially when reconnecting with your body on the mat. Your final resting pose allows you to absorb and connect with all the positive goodness you’ve created during your session.

Checking back in with yourself during savasana is powerful nervous system healing and the ultimate way to reconnect with your physical self. You’re opening the communication channels wide, declaring, “Talk to me, oh, glorious body of mine, tell me what you have learned and what you have left to share!” Think of it as having a doctor invite you for a coffee chat and then really, truly, deeply listening.

Reconnecting with your body in this way is why Only in Sedona Yoga ends every Sober Saturday livestream with a body scan inspired by the yoga nidra tradition. It’s an invitation to your body and nervous system to come and talk in a safe, receptive space to someone who wants your healing more than anyone — yourself. As someone who has intentionally disconnected from her body throughout her life and suffered the ill effects of doing so, I’ve found this practice enormously healing. We share what we share in hopes that others do, too.

Reconnecting With Your Body by Using Yoga in Your Recovery

Yoga can be a powerful tool to reconnect with your body during recovery from childhood or adult trauma or substance abuse. Understanding the many factors that lead to a sense of disconnection from your physical self is only the first step. The hard, yet gentle, work of healing takes place on the mat, as you reopen the communication channels between the many systems and cells that make you, well, you , in all of your wondrous glory. It’s a highly individualized healing journey that each person must make alone, but following in the footsteps of those who have been there can hopefully illuminate your path.

References:

1. Houston, Will. “Childhood trauma linked to major biological and health risks.” UCLA Health . September 17, 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/release/childhood-trauma-linked-major-biological-and-health-risks

2. Tariq, Rayhan A., et. al. “Back safety.” National Institutes of Health Stat Pearls. July 22, 2023. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519066/

3. Thompson, Maya L. “Harnessing the power of yoga for muscle recovery: A holistic approach to healing.” Longdom . 2024, Volume 14, Issue 4. Retrieved from: https://www.longdom.org/open-access/harnessing-the-power-of-yoga-for-muscle-recovery-a-holistic-approach-to-healing-1102008.html#ai

4. “From misdiagnosed heart attack to patient advocacy superhero.” Roche . November 21, 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.roche.com/stories/heart-failure-patient-story

5. Van der Kolk, Bessel A. “The devastating effects of ignoring child maltreatment in psychiatry.” BesselvanderKolk.com . March 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/uploads/docs/Devastating-effects-of-ignoring-child-maltreatment-in-psychiatry-1.27.2016-Commentary-on.pdf

6. “Alcohol’s effect on health.” National Institutes of Health. June 2025. Retrieved from: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohols-effects-body

Coping With Injustice and Helplessness on the Mat

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 14:52:18 GMT

You practice yoga off the mat, too, and rightness of thought and action may bring comfort amid difficult times.

I’m just going to be 100% honest with this post, dear fellow yogis: I am not in a good headspace of late. Dark times have come to my country, and quite frankly, I’m terrified. A million reassurances from my partner can’t convince me that I’m okay. He hasn’t always been with me, and while he’s had horrific experiences beyond my imagination, he hasn’t ever experienced what underlies my fear.

My unshakable anxiety these days stems not only from the injustice I see occurring all around me. It arises from being utterly powerless to do anything about it. Without my partner’s help, I would not be safe from what’s happening. All I can do is watch the news in mute horror as people are overpowered, bound, silenced, shoved into vans, separated from everyone and everything that they have ever known, all the while knowing that, but for a few fortunate strokes of fate, it could be me.

I won’t lie — the desire to drink my dark thoughts away has been a constant companion these past weeks and months. I can’t help but think that society at large does want people like me to disappear, so maybe that’s what I should do, comfortably, on my own terms. I fall into the category of those considered a "drain on society." Drinking always made masking my autism easy. While it’s true I hurt those closest to me when I drank, society at large seemed to like me better. More importantly, I felt better able to cope with the harshness surrounding me. While alcohol increases impulsivity, it also provides what feels like courage, no matter how brief, fleeting, and false that feeling may be. I so desperately want to feel safe again, and the bottle seems like the fastest, most direct route.

I haven’t caved to temptation thus far, but I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been hard. I can’t even lie and pretend that my interventions are the best ones because I’m very much teetering on the edge. However, I haven’t gone over it yet, and these are some of the thoughts that have, at least thus far, kept me from falling.

Time Passes, and Change Happens

We as humans have as short a view of the totality of time as we do of the Universe. Much of what has happened in the past is as mysterious to us as the future. Our knowledge of history, especially before the written word, is pieced together from artifacts whose meaning remains open to interpretation, and scientists can be wrong, just like anyone else.

It’s natural to be frightened of uncertainty. However, when you’re scared anyway, the unknown can, ironically, become your best friend. Why? Even when it looks like the worst is bound to happen, there’s no guarantee it will happen. If it does happen, there’s no guarantee that the changes wrought will last forever.

Bad experiences leave scars, scars that have a long echo. I think that they perpetuate far longer than a single lifetime, which is why we should be careful and mindful of what we do so that we don’t establish systems and patterns that lead to ongoing suffering.

However, should negative systems and patterns arise, holding on to the thought that they won’t last forever is a comforting thought. After all, people once so steadfastly believed the sun was the center of the Universe, they condemned Galileo for heresy, even though his teachings still form much of the underpinnings of our modern understanding of physics.

“This, too, shall pass” can feel kind of dismissive, especially if current events reopen old traumas for you like they have for me. However, it’s still somewhat helpful to hold onto the perspective that things will, eventually, change.

Furthermore, what you do in the interim will influence what happens to your future. So protect yourself, be wise — but try to hold on to hope for a brighter tomorrow. In the immortal words of Tolkien:

“But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.”

Cherish Your “Sam”

Every epic story seems to have a “Sam,” a character who is unfailingly good, unfailingly positive, and unfailingly loyal. They’re a powerful reminder that the power of connection, friendship, and love are what have always seen humans through dark times. Despite a lot of narcissistic bluster about “self-made men,” human beings are a social species, one in which men and women have long worked together to not only survive in the world without claws or fangs but to thrive in it.

This kind of connection has been very hard for me to find, and much of that is my own doing. Because of my physical health issues and the reality of triage, my mental health, although abysmal, has been a backburner concern, and I wasn’t diagnosed with autism until I was 52. I have been masking my entire life , but that’s not even the worst part. The fake persona I created? I modeled it after a person who wasn’t mentally healthy, whose absolute, dictatorial, “my way or the highway” persona pushed people away. And while I went to great lengths to avoid ever abusing a child as I was abused, I hurt plenty of other adults. I also abused alcohol, which made me even more of an impulsive, unpredictable powder keg — not the sort of person healthy folks want to befriend. Add that to the fact that I have all the classic autistic awkwardness when sober (I do when drunk, too, but I don’t notice it as much, even if others do), and it’s not surprising I lead a very isolated life.

However, I have Squeeks, who has been with me the entire journey. That’s also a point of sadness. She’s 15 and diabetic, and I know full well what that means. Still, I cherish every moment with her and give thanks that I have time to pet her, even as my tears soak into her fur.

I have my beloved partner, Bubba. Even though he can’t understand my fear, he’s patient. He’s kind. He doesn’t yell at me or shame me for having my moods.

And I have my beloved Only in Sedona partner, Ed, who texts me every morning. Checking in with each other each morning became a habit long ago, as neither of us has the best health. However, now, I cherish each message all the more. It’s a precious lifeline to yet another someone who sees me as a human being, not as a “problem” to be eradicated.

Should you “get involved?” That depends upon you and how safe you feel doing so. Most of us have never had a single lick of desire to think “war strategy,” but that’s unfortunately the mindset you have to follow when deciding whether to attend protests, film injustices you may witness, or get involved in politics. As for me, I opted out as soon as I discovered I’m way worse at reading most people and their motivations than I thought and far more easily manipulated. Right now, my desire to not make things worse outweighs my yen to fight, but in the past, getting involved with civic organizations has boosted my mood and overall mental health immensely. Do what you feel is right for you, right here, right now.

Seek Solace in Solitude

While this suggestion may seem to contradict the last one, it’s actually closely related. As much as you cherish your support system, you don’t want to demand too much of them. For one, they may be wrangling with many of the same fears and anxieties you have, and it’s all too easy to follow one complaint with another until you draw each other down a swirling vortex of negativity.

Even if you avoid such a trap, it’s dangerous and unhealthy to place the responsibility for how you feel solely on someone else’s shoulders. It’s unfair to them to expect them to carry your burdens as well as their own. Plus, what will you do if something happens to you, or if they grow weary of your endless neediness and leave?

It’s okay to go off on your own to listen to a podcast or simply wander the forest and listen to the trees. If you don’t have a wild space near you, it’s okay to create a private sanctuary. You might have to get creative — if you’re sharing space with several roommates, a bed tent (who cares if it’s made for kids) and a solid set of earphones can be invaluable.

However, communicate your intent, especially if other people can tell you’ve been struggling. It’s not fair to others to make them worry in your absence. Practice saying, “I just need a little time alone right now to get right with my head,” a million times in the mirror, if you must, if that’s what it takes to get comfortable asserting such a boundary when you become overwhelmed with negativity you don’t want to spill all over your loved ones.

I hesitate to say “unplug.” As toxic as social media can be, news does tend to break there first, and in this age of mistrust, relying solely on corporate-owned outlets as your lone source of information can understandably make you feel less safe, not more. However, please do take what you read on social media with a grain of salt. Research claims, and remember that even the most objective stories only tell one perspective . That perspective may or may not apply to your immediate situation.

While it may sound new-agey, what I suggest is to take deep breaths and set both an intention and a timer when checking the news or social media. Remember, you don’t have to react to everything you see or read (I admittedly struggle with this, big time, hence the intention and timer!). There’s no law against lurking, much to the dismay of many stalking victims, but in this case, it works to your advantage. If your “need to be in the know” overpowers your fear of what you might read, perform a small calming ritual to get your head in a better space before doomscrolling.

Remember, There Is Some Good in This World

Near the end of his famous quote, the one that never fails to make me cry, Tolkien (through Samwise Gamgee, of course) reminds Mr. Frodo, and the reader, that there is some good in this world. And it’s worth fighting for. You, beautiful yogi, YOU , are enough. You are one of those good things. And you are worth fighting for, too,

Whether your fight takes the form of using your voice to speak out or protecting your energy until it’s your time to shine, be kind, be loving, be good to you. The world can be harsh. But it can also be kind. The more you hold onto your sense of self, your kindness, your essential goodness, bending gracefully with changes without letting them break you, the more good, kind people there are in the world to amplify that light. Keep shining through this darkness, beautiful yogi. With much love and solidarity. ~ J.

The Gentle Magic of Beginning and Ending Your Day With Yoga

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:19:12 GMT

A few minutes of practice can be tranformative. Here's why.

Yoga is an alchemist. Your work on the mat transforms you in countless ways. You recognize some of these changes consciously, while others work below the surface, adding layers of meaning to each moment, each encounter.

There’s a gentle magic in beginning and ending your day with your practice. It’s what motivates Only in Sedona Yoga to continue producing flows for this purpose. Uniting with yourself as your day begins and ends lends a sense of ritualized completeness to your days while making you feel whole, secure in who you are and your place in an ever-shifting Universe.

Daybreak: Who and What Do You Bring to the World Each Day?

Life is a give-and-take. Each day, the events in your life and the people you meet change you, sometimes in large, other times in nearly imperceptible ways. However, entering into the fray without a secure home base, a firm sense of who you are can make you feel like Katy Perry’s plastic bag drifting on the wind. It’s an anxious, disconnected feeling, and your brain can get up to all kinds of nasty business when you treat it like a mere mirror, your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors only reflecting what you see in the external world, not processing it or mindfully considering how you wish to respond to it.

The reality is, each and every one of us controls nothing but influences everything. Just as the outside world influences our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, what occurs inside of us affects how we interact with the outside world, affecting everything and everyone we touch. What do we want that influence to be?

That’s the gentle magic of a morning yoga practice.

Coming to the mat each morning allows you to check in with your energy. Is that what you want to present to the world? If not, what can you do to shift it, make it more positive, more life-supporting? Your daybreak practice also provides time to mentally prepare for what’s ahead, calming and organizing your thoughts so you feel relaxed, not harried, as you head out the door. Finally, your morning practice brings you home to yourself, reminding you of who you are, what you stand for, and what matters to you. How can you best live those values within the confines of your present reality over the next 24 hours?

Evening: A Time of Quiet Reflection and Preparation

Everyone makes mistakes, and learning from them is an integral part of growth. However, cruel, insulting words, such as “how could you do that? You’re such a hopeless loser,” hurt — regardless of whether someone else speaks them out loud or we hear them inside our heads. Where’s a safe, accepting place to reflect on our behaviors and bring about positive change, free from harsh insults? Gentle reader, you’ve just identified the spirit behind my oft-repeated phrase, “talk to the mat.”

Your mat is your safe space to review, to process the experiences you’ve had over the day’s course, to evaluate what went well and what you would like to change. It’s a space to reflect on how you have been spending your energy, shifting it toward something that better serves you and the collective when necessary.

Life’s triumphs deserve reflection and recognition, too. Winding down via yoga’s gentle magic is a little ritual celebration of yourself, an opportunity to reflect not only on what you wish to change but what went well. Ending your day by reflecting on all that you’re grateful for, including your contributions to the world over the past 24 hours, nurtures your spirit and may help you sleep more peacefully.

Reestablishing Balance by Beginning and Ending Your Day With Yoga

Daily life can get hectic, and it’s easy to become a nuclear reactor, letting external circumstances dictate each passing moment, until you feel lost and distant from yourself. It’s equally simple to lose all sense of connection and become too inwardly focused, so tormented by an inner storm of roiling thoughts and emotions that we lose touch with external reality.

Finding the right balance between honoring our true, core selves and contributing and caring for the greater whole isn’t easy. Fortunately, the gentle magic of beginning and ending your day with yoga helps. Creating a safe, silent space calms your central nervous system, encouraging clarity of thought , allowing you to align your energy to what is and nudge it in the direction you want it to flow. It’s a homecoming that cultivates a sense of harmony between your inner and outer worlds.

The Gentle Magic of Beginning and Ending Your Day on the Yoga Mat

Beginning and ending your day with yoga can transform your life. It’s a daily reminder that you matter, and so does what you bring to the world. It’s also a way to nurture yourself, caring for your mental and physical health. Many also find the ritual soothing to their soul.

Part of Only in Sedona Yoga’s mission is to help you experience the gentle magic of beginning and ending your day on the yoga mat. Turn into one of our wake-up flows each morning and wind down with us when your day ends. Let reconnecting with yourself liberate you to form more positive connections with the world.

Why We Detach From Our Thoughts and Feelings When Talking to Our Mats

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:43:38 GMT

The Gentle, Graceful Parallels Between Sustainable Farming, Daily Yoga Practice, and Healing Our Minds

Did you ever wish you could “zoom out” on your life, observe it from a distance, an outsider’s point of view, and fix what’s wrong with it? Of course, you can’t do that, not really — but you can come close while talking to your mat. The secret is detaching from your thoughts and feelings.

Doing so isn’t easy. However, it can be a powerful technique for those using their contemplative time on the mat to heal from psychological trauma. Reconnecting with yourself after a shattering experience shares a lot in common with transforming a neglected property into a sustainable farm, as I’m discovering here at A Quiet Place while I continue my own recovery work. I’ll use this metaphor to better explain the process of gaining detachment and developing healthier thought processes on the yoga mat.

“You Are Not Your Thoughts and Feelings Any More Than You Are Your Arm or Your Leg”

If you follow the show, you know I often remind you that you are no more your thoughts and feelings than you are one of your limbs. What are you? Who are you? What makes you, well, you ? While various theories abound, it’s clear that you are a miraculous combination of various traits and factors, all of which form a part of the totality of your creation.

However, because your thoughts and feelings are a part of you, it’s easy to confuse them with being you. That’s where you can run into trouble because your ideas and emotions may not accurately reflect reality at the moment. Your thoughts and feelings form your beliefs , which in turn guide your behavior. If that behavior isn’t appropriate for the current reality in which you find yourself, you might not like the consequences much.

Since your thoughts and feelings are a part of you, it’s impossible to detach from them completely. However, you can distance yourself, “zooming out” during quiet, contemplative practices like yoga. Doing so alters your perspective, allowing you to reflect on your thoughts and feelings from as close to an outsider’s point of view as possible.

It also presents a clearer view of your thoughts and feelings in the context of the reality in which you exist at the moment. When you can step outside yourself and notice, “Jennifer is having the thought that X,” or “Jennifer is experiencing X emotion,” you form the necessary distance to observe those thoughts or feelings in light of the circumstances that prompted them to arise in you. From there, you can ask, “Is my knee-jerk reaction representative of the way I would like to respond in this situation? What is most likely to happen if I persist in this pattern of thinking and behavior? Is that what I want to happen? If not, how can I best align my emotions, ideas, and actions to restore my sense of inner peace, while achieving harmony and balance in my external world as well?”

Recognizing and Correcting Maladaptive Patterns on the Mat

Engaging in this detachment process is how I began the process of transforming my life. It’s also how I recognized my neurodivergence , unraveling a mystery that had plagued me my entire life.

I’ve participated in some truly deplorable behavior in my day, mostly saying mean, hurtful things, throwing things, screaming, and acting erratically when my stress levels reached a fever pitch. It happened more often as my symptoms from other chronic health conditions grew worse and my life spiraled into poverty and despair. I recognized there was a problem, but not why.

I have always wanted to know what was wrong with me. I knew something was, but I couldn’t figure out what. Part of my healing process involved listening to psychology lectures while I engaged in restorative yoga. That’s when I saw the light, and it hit me with the full force of an oncoming train.

Although I knew the definitions of various psychology terms, it wasn’t until I watched numerous role plays while in this contemplative, “talk to your mat” state that I recognized that my outward behavior during such episodes was indistinguishable from narcissistic rage. I was able to see myself as an outsider did — and I was horrified.

The thing was, these role plays also included the thoughts, feelings, and motivations such individuals have that fuel their outward behavior. These weren’t at all reflective of my inner experience. I didn’t feel envious of others, I didn’t need admiration or for other people to envy or admire me, I didn’t think I was any more or less important than anyone else. I just needed a little assistance, desperately, as I had already lost everything. I was screaming “help me, you (insert derogatory cuss word here)” while no one even listened.

It simply hadn’t previously occurred to me that the reason they weren’t listening is because they didn’t appreciate being called derogatory cuss words. That’s how people in my family of origin spoke, and, like many autistic folks, I am one monkey-see-monkey-do-and-repeat sort of gal. I copy/paste phrases and behaviors from other people and movies because I have this giant blank spot when it comes to what the appropriate thing to do is in rapidly fluctuating social situations. Whereas other people can keep up with banter and respond instinctively, my conversational processing time is so slow that I’m still thinking about what someone else said 30 minutes ago when they want an answer to what they said in the past three seconds. The easy solution? Insert a well-worn phrase like slapping a band-aid on a sliced aorta.

Once I recognized the mismatch between my inner thoughts and outward behavior, the obvious answer was to modify my outward behavior. There was only one unresolved loose end: everything I was learning about personality disorders strongly suggested that such traits are pretty darn intractable. A narcissist does not simply see their misbehavior acted out on screen and say, “Oh, well, now that just isn’t appropriate! Yikes! I need to work on this. Like yesterday!”

It took a lot more time on the mat watching copious videos, accompanied by reading books authored by licensed psychologists, to figure out the answer. I later sought testing to confirm my diagnosis, mostly because I needed the validation. My healing work continues to this day, with every session I teach and off the mat as well. However, it was detaching from my thoughts and feelings long enough to look at them from an outsider’s perspective that revealed the answer I had previously sought for 52 years without success. Doing so allowed me to learn my triggers, to identify them as a combination of unbearable sensory experiences and anxiety, and establish a lifestyle and healthy interventions for myself to avoid meltdowns, now that I understood the impact they had on others.

Even though my struggles continue, my life is a million times better today, as are my relationships. It all began with building sufficient detachment from my thoughts and feelings to see them for what they were and make the necessary adjustments.

“Between the Stimulus and Response, There is a Space”

Psychologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl wrote, “Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. In this space is the power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” What detaching from your thoughts and feelings on the mat does is provide invaluable practice at recognizing this space.

Your mat is your rehearsal hall, but you’ll notice that you begin to notice this “space” in everyday life — and that’s when magical transformation can also start if you so desire. The good news is, the more you practice, the easier recognizing this space and exercising what psychologists call emotional regulation becomes. The better able you are to regulate your emotions, the better you can get along in a society where daily life means encountering countless different people and their worldviews daily.

A few months ago, I shared a story on one of our shows about losing my keys at our local recycling center. Previously, these circumstances would have prompted a panic-driven meltdown. However, because I had been talking to my mat for several years at that point, I recognized the space. I took a deep breath. I realized that melting down, shouting at my Only in Sedona partner, Ed, whom I had called for help, would only make matters worse. I used my coping mechanisms to stay calm, even though I felt anxious.

The true miracle, though, was that it was not as hard to remain calm as it would have been a few months or years in the past. While I still experienced anxiety, I was able to manage it with the patient, guiding hand of an experienced equestrian wrangling an unruly stallion, not that of a bumbling greenhorn. I still tear up thinking about the relief I felt in the wake of that seemingly meaningless experience: I can manage my emotions instead of letting my circumstances control them and me? What?

The healing work you do on the mat changes you. It changes your very physiology , rerouting neural pathways and slowing the production of stress chemicals in response to the slightest external stimuli. The process isn’t fast, nor is it easy. Yoga and mindfulness are not quick-fix, overnight solutions to transforming your life. However, they produce meaningful growth that doesn’t flee at the first sign of adversity, either. The effects you get from talking to the mat won’t wear off like the high from a pill. They’re much more subtle, but also more enduring.

How to Detach From Your Thoughts and Feelings When Talking to Your Mat

Detaching from your thoughts and feelings on the mat may look different for each person, based on your unique neurological makeup. Here are a few tricks you can try to make the process easier.

1. Talking to Yourself

If you practice in the privacy of your living room, which is what Only in Sedona strives to make easy and free, you can speak your thoughts and feelings out loud as they occur. I call this the “ Doc Snipes ” approach, after one of my favorite YouTube psychologists. If you watch her videos, one cognitive-behavioral approach she recommends for building detachment is simply to say, “I’m having the thought that…” For example, “nobody likes me” becomes, “I’m having the thought that nobody likes me.”

Sometimes, I’ll add a narrative therapy twist to this, imagining myself as a character in a book. I’ll even refer to myself in the third person: “Jennifer thought that” or “Jennifer felt.” Using this approach is useful for drawing the connection between thoughts, behaviors, and consequences. How would the story go after Jennifer thought that? What if Jennifer thought something else? What if Jennifer thought this and proceeded with this belief?

2. Taking Notes

I’m more visual and tactile than auditory and write far better than I speak (as folks who have heard me stumbling over my words on the show no doubt notice). Perhaps it's only fitting that the detachment technique that works best for me is imagining a little neutral scientist in my head, observing my thoughts and feelings from the outside.

She has red hair, glasses, a lab coat, and a notebook. She jots down each thought and feeling that pops into my head, then turns to a new page. Turning over a new leaf is a critical component of this exercise — it keeps me from ruminating too long on any one idea. Just thought-jot-flip.

3. Feelings and Thoughts Are Like Clouds

They really are. The average emotion only lasts 90 seconds. How is it, then, that some people can be depressed for years? While there are probably multiple explanations, one reason is that feelings trigger thoughts, which in turn trigger feelings, making it very easy to get caught in a negative reinforcement mental loop where continued rumination creates the very chains that bind you.

Although I don’t employ this technique often, I used it constantly in the days following the loss of my beloved Poe. As wave after wave of grief threatened to send me spiraling down thoughts of no longer wishing to exist, so deep was the pain, I just wanted, needed it to end, I reminded myself again and again this, too, shall pass, in 90 short seconds. Hold on. Of course, it wouldn’t take long before another wave engulfed me, but that little break of coming up for air in between was enough to keep me from drowning.

Break these chains by picturing your thoughts and feelings as clouds. See them enter your head with the words written on them, then let them break up in your mind, dissipating the way clouds do. When you begin to recognize that your emotions don’t last forever, their hold on you loosens, giving you just enough freedom to choose to engage in alternative patterns that may lead you to a brighter place.

Is There Danger to Detachment?

Could detaching from your thoughts and feelings, even if only partially and temporarily, be dangerous? I honestly cannot say. As I often remind people, I’m not a psychologist, just a chronically ill and extremely traumatized autistic person putting myself back together by talking to my mat and sharing what has helped me in the hopes of assisting others. Anything can have a dark side, and it’s possible that practicing detachment could make people with different temperaments more psychopathic.

However, detachment is not repression. You aren’t shoving your thoughts and feelings down on the mat. You’re recognizing them, validating them, then either letting them go or considering whether they serve you and where they may lead. That’s hopefully not in a “Dexter”-esque direction.

I can only speak from experience, but the effect of detachment on me has been utterly positive. Recognizing how my learned behaviors impact other people by stepping back and observing myself from an outsider’s perspective has inspired me to be far more compassionate, kind, patient, and understanding. It springs from a place of genuine love, and each show we produce and each article I write originates from the same place, a sincere base of loving-kindness. I’m okay with admitting I’m one messed-up mamacita these days, but I’m getting better — and I want others to experience the same healing.

While there may be a dark side to the temporary detachment we engage in on the mat, I’ve yet to experience it. Still, we repeat our frequent caveat: we are not doctors.

Detachment, Sustainable Farming, and Healing on the Yoga Mat

The inspiration for this article came to me while I was hand-pulling tumbleweed from amid the mustard greens and winding 4 O’clock here at A Quiet Place, the fixer-upper property we’re transforming into a sustainable farm and yoga retreat. One goal is to turn the front slope into a vine-covered food forest, but I’d like everything in it to be soft, pretty, or edible. That means getting rid of the tumbleweeds, goatheads, and cat claws to make more room for more desirable plants to grow.

The physical act of selecting what to pull and what to leave reminded me of the process of detaching and observing my thoughts and feelings on the mat. “Oh, there’s a cat claw (maladaptive thought). Better pull it up before it starts to spread and cover everything else with thorns.” I mentally compared the process of weeding my slope to pruning my neural pathways. The thoughts and feelings that served me? They stayed. Heck, give them a little compost and water to help them grow. Those that didn’t? Add them to the burn pile and watch them dissipate in smoke.

Just like hand-pulling weeds, straightening up your mental mess takes time, especially if your brain is as traumatized as mine. Sometimes, especially after a hard rain, the process seems impossible. So many weeds, so many negative thoughts — it’s like mucking the Augean stables.

However, after keeping at it for a few months, I’m slowly beginning to be able to walk barefoot among the emerging grapes and other vines without my feet becoming covered in thorns. On a day-to-day basis, it feels like I’ve accomplished nothing. Yet after a few months, the difference in the before-and-after pictures is night and day.

Maybe that’s yet another mental exercise you can use to practice detachment on the mat. Visualize each thought or feeling that emerges as a plant. Examine it. Is it one you want to water or add to the burn pile? Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh compares your mind to a piece of land planted with all different kinds of seeds. Which seeds do you wish to water and let grow? Which fields do you wish to lay fallow?

Why We Detach When Talking to Our Mats

When I remind folks on the show that you are not your thoughts or feelings any more than you are your arm or leg, you now have a better understanding of what I mean. While they are a part of you, they aren’t the entirety of the wonderful creation that is you. Stepping back from them provides the necessary distance to observe what’s going on inside of you objectively. What you bring into conscious awareness, you have the power to change.

Practicing detachment on the mat provides necessary insight into what you can change. Viktor Frankl also wrote that the last of all human freedoms is that to choose your attitude in any given set of circumstances — any reality in which you find yourself. Detaching from your thoughts and feelings on the mat helps you exercise this freedom and achieve a greater sense of inner peace even in stormy situations.

8 Mindfulness Activities to Do With Your Kids Before Summer Ends

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 01:01:55 GMT

It's the perfect season to practice mindfulness with your little one.

Creating mindful moments with your child has a far greater influence on their life than buying them the latest gadget. You spend less money or even nothing at all, and yet, both you and they receive so much more. Your little ones won’t be this young forever. Now’s the time to create precious memories, and here are eight ways to do so.

1. Looking Over a 4-Leaf Clover

“Touching grass” is glorious, but your little one might get a bit impatient with earthing. Instead, direct their attention by searching for a 4-leaf clover the next time you encounter a patch. Their prize for finding one is the chance to make a wish. However, keep things interesting even if they don’t “win” by asking what other cool things they notice when they examine the world beneath their feet up close.

2. Participating in the Cycle of Life

There’s still plenty of growing season if you haven’t started your garden yet. Plenty of produce sprouts quickly, even if planted in July, meaning you still have time for some fresh, organic corn to ripen before your Labor Day barbecue. Even if you share an urban studio with your little one, a sunny windowsill can support a herb garden, and you and your child can have mindful fun each day waiting for your seeds to emerge and observing them as they grow.

3. Whipping Up a Little Farm-to-Table Goodness

When it’s time to harvest your crops, put them to good use by using them in a delicious home-cooked meal you prepare with your little one. It’s the perfect chance to introduce them to basic kitchen skills while practicing mindfulness. Adding sliced homegrown squash to an English muffin pizza may even inspire your kiddos to eat more veggies. Tune in while you heat things up, asking questions like:

How did adding that ingredient change the taste of the dish? The color? The texture?
How does cooking make you feel? Does your mouth water in anticipation? Are you excited to see how others enjoy your dish?

4. Sharing Cocoa at Sunrise

The cost of your vacation matters far less than the memories you make while there. Camping doesn’t cost a bundle and may even be free, depending on where you live. Pull that last row of seats out of your minivan and add an air mattress if the thought of sleeping in a tent makes you nervous and pack plenty of marshmallows. They’re perfect for roasting over the campfire, but even if you run into restrictions, they make your morning cuppa special. Better yet, make yours a mocha while your little one sips cocoa and enjoy the silent stillness of a forest morning together.

5. Writing an Ant’s Life Story

What does an ant think about all day? Introduce your child to theory of mind in a fun way by inviting them to make up stories about the wee critters they see milling about on the ground. Is that one with the big chunk of leaf carrying home dinner for her own ant-children? Is that one wandering furthest from the mound on a top-secret mission? Write a story about it, including what the tiny characters are thinking and feeling.

6. Exploring the Dusty Trail

Spending time in nature has oodles of benefits, among them increasing mindfulness. Additionally, hiking is free in many areas, especially if you walk or bike to the trailhead. Alternatively, go on walks around your neighborhood with your child, as safe pathways can sometimes hide. Who knows? You might find a safer way to commute to your favorite store or park.

While you walk, tune into how the physical activity feels in your body. Teach your child the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 grounding exercise by inviting them to list five things they can see, four they can touch, three they can hear, two they can smell, and one they can taste.

7. Building Sandcastles

Free beaches still exist, while others charge modest fees. Take advantage if you have such a resource near you or plan a combination beach-and-camping vacation. While there, build a few sandcastles, experimenting with different assembly methods until you find one you like best. Write haiku in the sand near the water’s edge and let the tide erase it. Notice how the sand remains but shifts and changes with its surrounding environment.

8. Practicing Yoga in the Park

Yoga knows no age limit — there’s even a pose called “happy baby.” Take your practice outdoors this summer and invite your joyous little one to join you. Download a flow from YouTube or your favorite app and bask in the glorious warmth of the sun and humidity against your skin. Science suggests that yoga helps kids develop emotional regulation , and your fun, mindful day in the sun might result in fewer bedtime tantrums.

Mindfulness Activities to Do With Your Kids

Be mindful of the fact that your kids don’t stay young forever. Forming memories with them matters more than the money spent on gadgets and expensive summer camps. Bond through these activities before summer ends and take advantage of the season’s benefits to tune into what matters most — the connection you feel with the family you love.

Honoring My Roots: 7 Yoga Channels That Changed My Life

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 12:11:10 GMT

Taking a moment to thank those who inspire us.

The methods humans use to communicate have evolved over time, from marks scratched in stone to instantaneous video streaming from the other side of the globe. Although the means of conveying knowledge may have changed, two things have not: the need for a willing teacher and a receptive student and the difference such education can make in real human lives. Modern “wellness influencers” can face a lot of flack, sometimes deservedly, but many make incredible positive contributions toward helping others live better.

We started Only in Sedona Yoga in large part because of those who have inspired us. Yoga brought me (Jennifer) out of a very dark place. However, when I needed my practice the most, I didn’t even have money to buy bread, let alone join a studio. Fortunately, other creators had my back by creating free content online. Today, I want to honor their legacy by sharing seven yoga channels that changed my life. Please consider following them on YouTube.

1. Yoga With Kassandra

The Yoga With Kassandra YouTube channel has over 750 free videos and tutorials focusing on Vinyasa and Yin yoga. She offers videos in various lengths, from shorter 20 minute flows to longer 90-minute Yin sessions. Her quiet, approachable style puts you at ease and makes you feel relaxed. She also incorporates various props into some flows for those seeking the best ways to use that bolster and now has an app for dedicated aficionados.

2. Yoga With Adriene

Adrienne has an impressive following with over 12 million subscribers. She offers over 700 videos through her Find What Feels Good online program and app. She’s been recognized by the Wall Street Journal and was awarded a Steamy in Health and Wellness in 2016. Her dog, Benji, delights her YouTube audience, and hey, practicing with a pet , even virtually, may increase the healing benefits.

3. Purple Valley Ashtanga

Ashtanga was the first yoga form I studied, starting at the tender age of 16. Purple Valley offers multiple led classes, and you can take your pick from several guides to lead you through the primary series. If you’re new, working your way through their many tutorials will acquaint you with how to perform some of the trickier postures, as well as educate you in a solid background of yoga philosophy and the mental and spiritual aspects of your practice (the stuff I should have paid more attention to in my younger years).

4. Travis Eliot

Travis Eliot’s YouTube channel features a mix of power and Yin yoga classes for free. His production company, Inner Dimension TV, has even more fabulous content for those who choose to enroll, but you’ll find plenty of content gratis , too. His classes are often filmed during a live class session, which is ideal if you prefer the immersive experience of being in a group — even if from your living room. His snippets of wisdom and Zen storytelling keep your mind occupied during long, static holds.

5. Devi Daly

Devi Daly is all about Yin yoga, and her down-to-earth, approachable style makes clicking one one of her free YouTube classes feel like coming home for Thanksgiving dinner. She offers 100% online certification and a membership program with access to over 250+ videos and weekly releases. You’ll also find plenty of free content on her channel, including silent sessions for those days when you’ve had enough stimulating noise and simply need to find your Zen.

6. Ally Boothroyd

Ally states on her channel that she loves sharing the tools that helped her recover from anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and anxiety — and I, for one, am so thankful that she did because they do the same for me. Her yoga nidra meditations put you so in touch with your body, it almost becomes a heavenly, out-of-body experience. She offers online yoga teacher training. Additionally, she hosts various retreats in exotic locations like Costa Rica, and many of her free meditations feature soothing jungle sounds.

7. Kristyn Rose

Kristyn Rose is another goddess of meditations, and her yoga nidra recordings for sleep work even on my wicked insomnia, made worse by the typical autistic slumber struggles. She offers in-person retreats and various online resources, including free recordings and resources to further your research and knowledge. She believes in everyone’s inherent right to rest and pure happiness and joy in this life, a sentiment I gleefully echo.

Yoga Channels That Changed My Life

Human communication methods evolve with the times. One thing, however, hasn’t changed. Those whose lives have been touched deeply by other healers seek to pass on what they know. Honoring these teachers is a way of showing gratitude, for without them, how would knowledge of these healing modalities continue to exist throughout the ages?

Without such guides, vital wellness knowledge could quickly get lost in a world that values profit and competition above everything else. We at Only in Sedona Yoga are forever grateful for those who have inspired us, and we consider it our sacred mission to pass on what we have learned to help others. The human body and mind comes with no training manuals. However, through openly sharing knowledge of healing practices, we can collectively piece together a how-to guide. Everyone does better when they feel their mental and physical best.

On a personal level, I wanted to take a moment to honor the guides who were instrumental in comforting me in a dark place and share their work for others to enjoy. It’s my way to say thank you to the yoga channels that changed my life.

What’s Going On in Your Head While Your Body Holds Long Poses?

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 23:39:47 GMT

If you're bored during restorative or Yin yoga sessions, try stretching your mind.

Try this experiment: set a timer for one minute. Then, sit in total silence. The same 60 seconds that may have flown by had you continued reading suddenly stretched out impossibly long, didn’t they? Restorative and Yin yoga sessions often feature long, static passive stretches lasting as many as five minutes, sometimes more. You know what your body is doing — what’s going on in your head during that time?

Many people shy away from such practices, claiming they are boring and therefore a waste of time. However, both restorative and Yin are enormously beneficial to your body, mind, and spirit. What goes on between your ears is often far more important than what you do with your limbs on the mat. Let’s examine what might go on in your head while your body holds long poses and how to direct your mental energy during restorative or Yin sessions for your maximum benefit and sense of inner peace.

I’m Bored

What is boredom? Contemplating that question the next time it strikes you on the mat is, ironically, a good way to beat it. Boredom is a restless feeling; it’s like energy building up inside of you, screaming for an escape. It makes you feel like a teapot, boiling and whistling, your spirit crying out to do anything other than what you are currently engaged in.

Boredom often strikes during physical inactivity. After all, when you engage your body in active exercise, there’s a lot to occupy your attention. Even a simple motion like walking entails paying attention to where you put your feet so you don’t trip while interacting with passersby and avoiding hazards like bikes, cars, and curious wayward dogs.

People often crave such distractions, giving boredom a bad rap in Western society. Many people mistakenly conflate boredom with a lack of productivity. However, these sacred, silent spaces allow time for deep truths to arise from inside. Your hours spent in quiet contemplation on your mat can be among your most vital and productive hours, as they allow you to connect to the Source. The seeming emptiness is the birthplace of creativity, not only filling you with restless energy but challenging you to determine how to best use it .

Those of us with a spiritual bent often recognize and resonate with this need for divine silence, even before we can explain the value of practices like Yin and restorative yoga in words. However, even those with a strict scientific worldview recognize the value in removing yourself from outside stimuli to let your central nervous system process all the other signals bombarding you pretty much 24/7. Even if you think of your time in contemplative yoga as nothing more than a routine oil change for your CNS, you reap the benefits.

I know because the scientific model was my mindset when I first began talking to my mat in earnest. I had one objective: healing. At first, I simply forced myself to engage in affordable and accessible practices with proven benefits for people with my symptoms. I had no money and precious little free time; I couldn’t afford to waste either one. Spiritual insights came later, arising spontaneously as part of the process. Insight wasn’t something I sought, but it found me nevertheless.

Insight is the gift hidden in boredom for those brave enough to push through it. Yes, quiet contemplation requires courage, as not all truths are warm, fuzzy, and pleasant. Some revelations are downright scary, such as discovering the role you play in your own problems and resolving to take the necessary steps to improve. However, you can’t change what you remain unaware of. Boredom can act as a necessary mirror.

Therefore, embrace boredom when it strikes on the mat. Instead of fleeing from it, lean into it. Treat it with a spirit of curiosity. What revelations might emerge from the depths when you give those muddy waters time to go still?

Remember, always, to practice a degree of detachment, reminding yourself you are not your thoughts. However, you can influence them through your choices. If you need a bit of guidance for directing your mental energy while your body holds long poses, here are 6 tips.

1. Take Notes on Your Thoughts

Detaching from your thoughts and feelings enough to evaluate them objectively is among the toughest work you will ever do on the mat. However, it is a skill you can learn, and doing so can be transformative. It’s how yoga helped me dig myself out of homelessness, albeit not directly. As of writing these words, Only in Sedona Yoga has still not made a dime of profit. What yoga gave me was the ability to see the role I played in my problems. It didn’t fix my problems overnight — what it did was train me to avoid the kinds of impulsive actions that make already bad situations even worse by teaching me to examine the thoughts driving my behaviors.

My method involves imagining a little neutral scientist in my head. As thoughts occur, she writes each one down on a page in a notebook, then quickly turns it to move on to the next. Some people might imagine their thoughts in balloons, similar to cartoon dialogue. Other people might imagine them as skywriting — each thought arises, forms, then dissipates as the next one takes its place. Whatever visualization technique you use, the idea is to get outside your thoughts and examine each of those voices in your head that influence so much of your external behavior.

Only once you get outside of your thoughts can you ask, “Are these thoughts serving me?” The human mind is both the hardest and softest substance in the Universe, capable of changing on a seeming whim or as stubborn as a cement mule. However, you don’t have to worry about the next step. For now, beat boredom by simply building awareness of what’s going on in your head, jotting it down, examining it, and turning the page.

2. Examine an Old Problem in a New Light

Awareness of your thoughts can transform them — and help you solve life’s problems off the mat. The next time you feel boredom going on in your head while your body holds long poses, get a little wacky. Examine a matter facing you from a completely different point of view.

For example, maybe you have an enormous amount of stress in your life right now because you feel trapped in your job. You aren’t happy, but terrified about the loss of income if you quit. It’s a valid fear — good-paying jobs aren’t easy to come by, and in the United States at least, losing employment often means losing health coverage you may need to manage chronic conditions.

Imagine for a moment that you got fired. What would you do if there were suddenly no other recourse, if you couldn’t choose to slog through another day to meet those needs? How would you meet them then? Contemplating these questions busts boredom on your mat. It can also help you break out of ruts and take back your power — what would you do if you could no longer choose to do the things that ultimately lead to your unhappiness?

Your revelations may surprise you. For example, you may discover that your current gig isn’t so bad, after all, not if it affords you the time for things like your yoga practice. Your next question to beat boredom is how to make your daily grind less of, well, a grind .

3. Contemplate Connections

When’s the best time for a spontaneous loving-kindness meditation? An exploration of all the ways you appreciate someone special in your life is a lovely thing to have going on in your head while your body holds long poses.

You might make a mental list of all the things you adore about this individual. Maybe you even begin to compose a loving poem in your head that you can later pen to show them how much you care. Remember, you can also turn the eye of metta or loving-kindness toward yourself — and listing all the things you love about you can be a powerful healing exercise if you talk to the mat to recover from trauma.

4. Focus on a Koan

Many people are already familiar with one of the more famous Zen koans, “What’s the sound of one hand clapping?” A koan is a paradox , a question with seemingly no answer, meant to challenge the limits of your reasoning ability and inspire deep contemplation.

For example, I often say on the show, “You are not your thoughts or your feelings, any more than you are your arm or your leg.” However, how can you think about your thoughts without, well, thinking? I can’t help you with the answer to that one. You gotta talk to your mat.

5. Breathe Into Your Body

Restorative yoga began as a method to recover from injury and illness, focusing on slow passive holds that last anywhere from one minute to as many as 20. Those who have had to recover from such conditions know that physical therapy is often part of the healing process. That’s because exercise increases hyaluronic acid production , and long, slow stretches may improve the ability of your fascial layers to slide over one another, reducing pain (1, 2).

Simply allow yourself to deeply feel, tuning into each posture, especially those that work particularly tense and taut areas. I like to visualize a healing ray of light encompassing the area I’m working. Will this visualization exercise spur faster healing? I can’t promise that, but I can say that I find it beneficial.

6. Simply Be

I don’t know about you, but the world moves way too fast for me much of the time. Sometimes, I think if I had one wish, I’d spend it asking everyone to simply slow things down a few notches. However, I don’t have that kind of power in my command, nor does anyone. What I can control is myself and my energy, and one of my favorite ways to beat boredom is to simply be.

How often do you get to simply breathe without someone demanding something from you? Life is full of external commands. “Do this. Precisely this way, at this exact time, for this specific intensity and at this unwavering level,” is what we often hear, even when our bodies cry out, “Hold, enough, I need a break.” Your mat is your sacred space where you are safe, protected, and loved, and you are not obligated to do anything at all except inhale and exhale. Rejoice in the glorious rest!

What’s Going on in Your Head While Your Body Holds Long Poses

If you find yourself saying, “I’m bored” at the mere thought of a Yin or restorative yoga class, it’s time to examine what’s going on in your head while your body holds long poses. It’s okay to be bored. It may even be the most productive use of your time.

Only the “boredom” you’ll find in long, slow passive holds creates the necessary space for your mind to free itself from external distractions and explore your inner world. Doing so can be transformative. Remember, yoga is so much more than pushing your body through the motions. However, to get the most out of each session and experience true “union,” you must include all of yourself in the equation — body and mind.

References

1. Gasnick, Kristen. “Exercises that worsen osteoarthritis.” VeryWellHealth . September 21, 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellhealth.com/exercises-that-make-osteoarthritis-worse-5215265

2. Casacci, Fabio and Colonna, Severio. “Myofascial system and physical exercise: A narrative review on stretching.” NIH . December 4, 2024. Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11698533/

What Mindfulness Is Not

Wed, 28 May 2025 01:50:17 GMT

Correcting the misconception that mindfulness is a modern mental health "fad."

Every now and then, the Universe kicks me in the derriere and tells me it’s time to step up and improve what I do. I had such an experience today while listening to a psychology lecture. The presenter, a learned professor of psychology, pooh-poohed mindfulness as a modern therapeutic technique, dismissing it as “forgetting the future and the past” to simply live in the moment.

I immediately knew I needed to address this misconception in a blog post. My beautiful fellow yogis, while mindfulness does focus on connecting fully to the present moment, it’s not about hedonistically saying, “this moment is all we have, so let’s party !” Nor is it forgetting about the past or ignoring future concerns — quite the opposite.

While I may not be the most qualified person to describe the whole of what mindfulness encompasses, listening to that lecture made me realize that somebody has to address these serious misconceptions about it flying around in academic circles and making their way into the collective unconscious. Since I am a yoga guide, I guess tag, I’m it. Let’s explore why mindfulness benefits positive mental health, starting with what this practice is not.

Mindfulness Is Not Dissociation or Escaping Into Fantasy

From the outside, someone deep in mindfulness meditation may look like they are daydreaming, even taking a nap. That doesn’t mean they are doing “nothing.” A lot could be going on under the surface, but that inward journey isn’t visible from the outside.

To the uninitiated eye, mindfulness meditation practice may well look identical to going off into a fantasy world. When performed without the tutelage of a trained guide, that’s exactly what can happen sometimes. I know, because it happens to me. Sometimes, you take a stroll down rumination alley. Other times, you get caught up in intricate mental plots and schemes that ignore reality, falling in love with what could be so much that you ignore what is .

However, avoiding these mental traps is exactly what mindfulness training teaches you to do, and the only way to get better at it is to practice. Regularly. Daily. What you’re challenging yourself to do, each time you return to the breath or your selected mantra, is to break the mental chains that rumination and fantasy bind you with.

Because here’s the deal: You can’t remove your head from your shoulders and continue breathing, thinking, meditating or doing anything else. As anyone who has lived with poor mental health knows, you have to learn to coexist happily with your mind because there is no escaping it. Alcohol and other drugs may bring a temporary shift in consciousness, but the reality you wake up to afterwards is often far, far worse than the one you turned to substances to escape.

Mindfulness is the opposite of dissociation and fantasy. It’s training yourself to recognize when you go down rumination or fantasy road, which may be one of the hardest things many of us mere mortals do in life. You might look like you are doing nothing when sitting in mindfulness meditation, but inside, you’re building awareness. Awareness of reality in the present moment, yes, but also awareness of how you arrived at the present moment. Awareness of how your actions, your choices, in the moments to come could influence your future and the futures of everyone your life touches.

You aren’t waving goodbye to the past or the future by grounding yourself in the present. What you’re doing is allowing muddy waters to clear so that you can view the totality of your circumstances — including what has been and what may be — as they are in reality.

Mindfulness Is Letting the Waters Clear

Metaphors have always helped me understand tricky concepts better, so I’ll use one here. Think of yourself as a body of water. The outside world is constantly muddying you. Winds stir up your surface, all sorts of creatures land or toss rocks and pebbles, kicking up great gobs of obscuring dirt.

Mindfulness is allowing these waters to clear. It’s impossible to completely turn off outside distractions, just as you can never entirely turn off your mind. However, by establishing a singularity of focus — your breath, a mantra, yes, even sometimes a chocolate bar — you come as close to it as humans can get.

Letting the waters clear doesn’t mean the creatures along the shore cease to exist. Sooner or later, something will kick up all that mud again, usually sooner than later, which is one reason why daily practice is so crucial. Mindfulness simply creates a necessary break for clarity to emerge, building a still point inside yourself so that when winds howl and pebbles rain, you have a better chance of navigating the storm.

Mindfulness Is Hard, But Necessary, Work

I’ll be the first to admit that mindfulness can be hard. When you still the waters and gain clarity, you might not like some of what you see. For example, one of my toughest realizations was that I engaged in countless toxic behaviors myself, even as I was quick to criticize them in others. I didn’t sit down in meditation with the objective of, “Let’s see how I contribute to my own problems.” What I did was create space for this realization to arise from within.

Creating this space, and then remaining open to what arises, is what makes mindfulness so powerful. There’s an undeniable authenticity to realizations gained through mindfulness practices because the only person who can ever truly know your mind is you. When I sit in mindfulness meditation, I examine each thought by visualizing a little scientist writing it down in a notebook, then flipping to a blank page. However you choose to note each thought, then let it go, is valuable practice in avoiding rumination and fantasy loops. Some people picture each thought floating away in a cloud, others in a balloon that they then pop and let dissolve into the air.

Every time you recognize, “Hey, I’m ruminating,” or, “hey, I’m getting lost in a fantasy world with no plans to make it a reality,” you are training your mind and spirit. For every action begins with a thought. That thought often originates from an emotion. Emotions also have a nasty way of making thoughts go sideways, even become maladaptive, especially if you have a trauma history. Maladaptive thoughts lead to feeling even more miserable, which leads to more maladaptive thoughts, on and on. It’s an ever-growing spiral of despair unless you do something to interrupt it.

That something is awareness. It’s gently redirecting your attention, returning it to the breath, and teaching yourself to breathe through difficult emotions while sitting in them instead of stuffing them down or seeking escape through dissociation or fantasy.

It’s impossible to overstate the difficulty or the importance of this work. The best psychologists in the world cannot heal you if you are not willing to examine your own thoughts, feelings or behaviors. To do this, you must get outside of them and detach from them, which isn’t easy. That’s what you’re doing when you’re practicing mindfulness, returning to the moment. You are experiencing pure awareness, or as close to it as human beings can get, looking at yourself as part of the totality of everything from an outside observer’s perspective.

Mindfulness is Priming the Nervous System for Clarity

If you still conflate mindfulness with idleness or daydreaming, perhaps a more biological explanation will suit your temperament. Mindfulness practices prime your nervous system for clear thought, so even if you are of the school who believes that the mind is only the brain and not in any way related to an independent spirit, well, your brain is the CEO in charge of your nervous system.

You can think of mindfulness practice like you would bicep curls, only you’re toning your brain instead of your arms. Such routine practice is necessary in today’s world. Although short bursts of cortisol increase thinking clarity, this biological mechanism evolved in primates when their only care in the world was fleeing the occasional lion. However, the modern world keeps the vast majority of people in a chronic state of low-grade stress and inflammation that can spur disease and muddy their thought processes.

Modern nerves are like piano wires on an instrument that never stops playing. You can’t flee from worries about how to pay your rent, and the constant, incessant threat can make focus impossible and lead to the development of mental disorders. The best way to get a temporary break, to still the waters and relax the nervous system, is to engage in calming mindfulness practices. Whether you think of it as strengthening your spirit or honing your nervous system, engaging in daily mindfulness practice helps.

Mindfulness Is Not a Modern Fad

I had to laugh a bit at the suggestion that mindfulness is a modern therapeutic fad. Nothing could be further from the truth. Such practices go back thousands of years , and that’s just in the written record. They have probably existed since humans first wondered about the reality of their existence.

You could argue that mindfulness is the original therapeutic modality. After all, how did the great psychologists complete their work if not by immersing themselves fully and mindfully in developing their theories? While mindfulness practices go by various names in different cultures, the basic human need to still the waters and come back to the self has existed in every society known to humankind. Even the workaholic and puritanical Western world incorporated a day of rest into their religious teachings.

Mindfulness Is a Crucial Tool in the Modern Mental Health Toolbox

Mindfulness may be the most crucial tool in the modern mental health toolbox. Again, the realizations that arise from within during such practices aren’t always pleasant. It’s best if you can have someone you trust to process what comes up with when you begin your journey. However, once you come to such a realization, the results are transformative and long-lasting. It’s what keeps me sober these days, nearly effortlessly. Once I became mindful of alcohol's effect on my mood and how my resulting behavior impacted others, it was natural to quit, even though I failed in every previous attempt to cut back.

Mindfulness is transformative, long-lasting — and, perhaps most importantly, at least in the United States — free. It’s why I’m so passionate about Only in Sedona Yoga, and why we create the content that we do. Therapy is prohibitively expensive, and those who need it the most are often those least able to afford it. That includes folks like me with other medical conditions , putting mental health on the backburner, those who are uninsured or underinsured , and those who simply don’t have the right resources available where they live.

However, anyone can practice mindfulness. Some might choose to put on a yoga or meditation video. Others might cook a gourmet meal or weed the garden. Still more might simply sit, returning their attention to their breath. Finding that still point, that singularity of focus, detaching from the ceaseless miasma of mental clutter and external stimulation, and allowing space for what arises from within doesn’t require a copay.

What Mindfulness Is Not

Mindfulness is not a fad. Nor is it an escape into a present-moment fantasyland where the past and future no longer matter. It’s the opposite of dissociation, of running away from your problems. It’s learning to sit with these difficult emotions and realities and observing their effects on you, your thought patterns and behaviors.

Mindfulness is a tool; it’s a path to follow through the jungle of your mind. Whether you conceive of it as a way to get in touch with the universal Divine or simply a means to calm your central nervous system, mindfulness is a crucial tool — perhaps the most important one — in developing positive mental health.

Talking to the Mat for Solace When Sad

Fri, 23 May 2025 19:17:32 GMT

Yoga is healing therapy for more than your body...it also soothes the wounded soul.

For many people, June marks summer’s official beginning. It’s a time of celebration, for hosting backyard barbecues and giving thanks that winter’s cold has departed at last.

Unfortunately, for me, June has become the cruelest month. It’s a month of loss, of mourning, of beating back icy winds and freezing rain, only to have them move from the outside world into my heart. First, June marked the loss of my beloved Poe, who was so much more than a cat to me. The following June came the loss of a man I once loved to the addiction that plagued us both and shattered our relationship.

This year, my father is in hospice. My beloved and I are preparing to travel across the country to say our goodbyes for his 76th birthday. Internally, I’m not dealing with the realities of the trip or losing my dad at all well. However, I’m staying sober through it all, and for that, I must express my gratitude. Talking to the mat for solace helps me when I am sad, as does helping others, and it’s in that spirit that I take to my keyboard now, passing on what I have learned in hopes of teaching others coping mechanisms that may help when they need them.

A Difficult, Complicated Goodbye

I resist writing from a first-person point of view these days, but there’s no other real, honest way to discuss something so personal. To say my dad and I have had a contentious relationship is an understatement. I want to be so careful here because I only want healing, coming together, less conflict, not more. However, I also can’t deny the very real and lasting impacts our relationship has had, and many of them are not positive.

In the interest of maintaining privacy, I’ll spare many of the details for a book I have in progress, Gifted Undiagnosed, should it see the light of publishing day. Suffice it to say here that my dad’s approval was something my young self wanted more than anything in the world but could never seem to earn. At the same time, I rebelled against his ideologies, his deeply held belief systems that haunt me to this day.

To my dad’s mind, the world was a hostile, unforgiving place, and so was everything in it. As it was written in the Gospel According to My Dad, everyone was out to cheat everybody else. It was survival of the fittest, eat or be eaten, only the strong survive, and snowflake stuff like love, warm fuzzies, and lazy afternoons deserved scorn. Life was work punctuated by the occasional material pleasure, but rewards were only for those who took them by hook or by crook; there was no sense of working together to build a mutually satisfactory future or attain discussed and agreed-upon goals. He was dad, and therefore the king — we were his subjects, born to do what we were told to do and nothing else. My inability to follow along with his preordained plan for my life led to endless battles, tears, and acting out in my teen years. All of my adult battles and struggles, I endured alone. I was the failure, I was the loser, I was the bad one, I couldn’t get with the program. I didn’t deserve any love, sympathy, or support as I lost jobs, relationships, homes, health, and sanity.

And the timing couldn’t be worse. My beloved and I were among the fortunate to buy a home amid the current housing crisis, but it took literally everything we had — and it was such a near miss. Traveling is expensive, and we’re piecing together the trip across several nearly maxed credit cards, which gives me the screaming horrors, considering the nightmares I’ve had with credit and housing in the past. I also have a 15-year-old diabetic cat, whom I do not want to leave. She’s never been away from me that long, other than staying with Ed, my partner in Only in Sedona Yoga, when I dealing with my previous housing crisis. If you’ve watched the show, you’ve seen Squeeks. The thought of leaving my precious best friend, who was by my side through it all, even for a little while, makes me feel physically ill.

However, I have to go, and I must focus on the gratitude I have that I can do so in a borrowed campervan, with the man I love, instead of trying to drive myself in a Jeep that may not make it that far or taking my chances hitchhiking. As I’ve mentioned on the show and no doubt will again, the only energy each of us truly controls is our own. I know how devastating it is to feel abandoned by the people you love most when you need them the most. Despite the contention between my dad and I have had over the years, I don’t want him to feel that way. And so I go, praying that Squeeks will be okay with a friend who will stay overnight with her in our absence, and Ed, who has promised to check in on her. I go, not out of duty, as may have been the case in the past, but out of genuine love.

The Only Love You Control Is Your Own, and All We Have to Decide Is What to Do With the Time Given to Us

Love is a funny thing. Cognitively, I’m not sure I’m making the right choice, and it doesn’t help that my therapist has misgivings, too (although, bless that woman, she went out of her way to get me an emergency appointment before I left). After all, I love Squeeks, and I will never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her in my absence. How can I choose one over the other?

However, talking to the mat tells me that viewing it as a choice is flawed reasoning. Squeeks is older and has to follow a special diet (much like me), but she isn’t in immediate danger of departing this plane. Despite her age, she still runs around like a kitten sometimes. My dad is nearing the end, and this might be the last chance I have to tell him that, despite it all, I do love him. The trip is a hardship, but it isn’t impossible , which makes me feel like I must try.

It’s not that my love for either one is greater. Love is love, it is not quantifiable. This trip is a matter of answering the greatest need at this moment in time. I hope everything will go well, that I can give my dad closure and return to my beloved farm to find everything intact, Squeeks well, healthy, and happy to see us, nascent plants growing more than I could have imagined in my absence. But that’s all I can do is hope at this point and try to mindfully make the right decision.

But it’s hard. I’m being perfectly honest when I say the urge to escape, to dissociate, to seek that pleasant surcease of sorrow that accompanies intoxication, has rarely been stronger. And while cannabis remains illegal in many of the states we’ll pass through on our trip, alcohol is everywhere in America. That means temptation similarly lurks at every truck stop.

Making a Crisis Management Plan on the Mat

Even though I am blessed to have professional therapy, I still do much of my hard work on the mat. It’s very much my sanctuary, and it has seen a lot of hard use since that first sorrowful June when I lost my beloved Poe. Sometimes, I turn here for silence; other times, to take a hard look at myself and the role I play in my life’s events. Recently, I turned to it to make a crisis plan, which I’ll share with you — in case, dear reader, you should ever have to muddle your way through a similar tempting situation. It helps to have patterns, steps, to follow.

The first steps were the hardest because they involved reaching out for help. Asking for assistance, especially for my needs to be met, is a behavior pattern I never learned, and handling interpersonal interactions isn’t something my autistic brain does instinctively. I’m the sort who would rather dig a 10-foot trench through rocky soil with a teaspoon rather than say, “Hey buddy, could you lend me a hand or even a proper shovel?” My social anxiety is off the charts, reinforced by countless negative responses to my previous awkward attempts to get the help I need. However, part of my healing journey has entailed building a support system, so I forced myself to make two calls.

One was to my primary care physician for a short-term dose of Xanax. I’m not a fan of benzodiazepines, having had them prescribed in the past, but they are better than alcohol. While I’d prefer to go the natural “Cali sober” route, many of the states we have to pass through, such as Texas, still object to the “devil’s lettuce” for some unknown, unscientific reason, and while I don’t understand their laws, I have to respect them. I’m not yet far enough along in my healing journey to raw dog it without an emergency backup, I know it, and fortunately, bless him, my doctor agreed.

The second was to my therapist, whom I wasn’t supposed to see again until after I returned. She was gracious enough to squeeze in an emergency appointment and wise enough to ask me if we could bring my beloved on the call so that she could review my triggers and how to support me. Dear reader, if you live in Arizona, I can’t recommend Psychological Pathways highly enough. They also specialize in autism, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s.

I know a belief in “signs” defines logical reason and shouldn’t be relied upon when making decisions, but when I was a kid, magical thinking was all I had. I still feel comforted when the Universe sends me one (at least, what I interpret to be a sign, secretly, inside, where it can’t affect anyone else). I got one when my therapist introduced me to an intervention technique to use when my emotions became overpowering.

She called it “TIPS,” and, according to how she explained it, it goes like this:

First, stick your face in cold water or put something cold on your face while holding your breath for 30 seconds. This initiates the dive reflex, which tells your nervous system to slow everything down.
Then, do a high-intensity burst of exercise until you feel fatigued. She laughed at this point, explaining why it’s rare for her to encounter a patient who will actively use this intervention. I laughed, too, especially after hearing the final two steps.
Next, you do deep, rhythmic breathing. She didn’t say to include a stretch, but in my mind, deep breathing and stretching go together like peas and carrots.
Finally, you end with progressive muscle relaxation.

I laughed and then cried as she explained this to me. When she finished, I had to confess, “Other than the cold water trick, you’ve literally just described what I’ve been doing with the Only in Sedona Yoga’s Mindful Kids program. It starts with a burst of high energy exercise, followed by deep breathing and simple stretching, before ending with a relaxation technique such as progressive muscle relaxation, the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 grounding exercise, etc.” Although I’ve had to put that particular project on the backburner for now, it was a huge shot of validation that it’s not such a crazy idea to teach kids how to manage “big feelings” the healthy way by using their bodies.

Again, I know it’s not logical, but that moment felt like the Universe whispering, “You’re on the right course. All things in the right time. Keep sober. Keep going. You can do this, you can get through this and remain fully present.”

Working through the travel plans, including those for Squeeks, made me feel a bit better. The rest is a matter of noticing my triggers and taking myself out of the game, applying those interventions, to avoid impulsively acting on them. This trip will still be a challenge, but talking to my mat when those emotions come up has become enough of a habit that I’m fairly confident in my ability to be a decent travel partner, despite the sad reason for the journey.

This situation does illustrate why engaging in daily mindfulness practices is so crucial. Taking that time to come back to yourself, to center, isn’t easy, and it’s not instinctive for many, especially those who have had traumatic upbringings. Distractions like doom-scrolling while sucking down bottle after bottle of suds sounds so much nicer, easier, more relaxing than sitting with difficult feelings.

However, sitting with those troubling emotions is exactly what you have to do to process them and render them a temporary hiccup on your life’s journey. Otherwise, it’s far too easy for one negative event to spark an entire pattern, with poor coping choices spurring future adverse events, on and on in an ever-accelerating spiral of despair.

Being Gentle to Yourself and Talking to Your Mat for Solace

Even as I write this, I can hear the voices of what Dr. Daniel Fox refers to as “the family in your head” on his wonderful YouTube channel mocking me. “Do you really think anyone would want advice from a loser like you?” However, my intent isn’t to tell anyone how to live their life. It’s simply to offer what’s worked for me , as other people might find it useful. Just like Only in Sedona Yoga’s Mindful Kids is designed to be the intervention I needed in youth, but didn’t have, everything I do on our channel is just to guide. It’s my way of giving back and showing gratitude to all the guides, past and present, who have helped me on my own journey.

A large part of my healing work on the mat is reparenting myself. With that spirit in mind, here’s a step-by-step guide to what I do when the temptation to drink strikes due to overwhelming negative emotions that make it hard for me to cope.

1. Sweat Out Those Stress Hormones

Stress hormones start pumping when you’re faced with a difficult emotional situation that you don’t know how to handle. While some people thrive on this adrenaline rush, in others, especially those with a history of trauma, it can make clear thinking nearly impossible. You feel like a ticking time bomb in the final milliseconds of a countdown. Before you “blow,” do something that leaves you panting, breathless with exertion. I’m taking along running shoes, a jump rope, and my DailyBurn app. If I can’t run, depending on where we are, I can Rocky it out with the jump rope next to the campervan until I’m gasping for air.

Experiment with this step because everyone’s body is unique. You don’t want to keep going too hard for too long, as extreme exertion can increase stress hormones instead of dissipating them. Scientists are still puzzling out exactly the right balance, but it’s probably slightly different for everyone. Be mindful and tune into your body . If you find going hard helps, try doing so only to the point of breathlessness — not more than 10 to 15 minutes — and see how that feels. It may be that a brisk walk serves you better than a heart-pounding sprint. If that’s the case, roll with that.

2. Return to the Breath and Mindfulness of Your Body

It’s much easier for me to talk to my mat once I’ve made like a Taylor Swift tune and shaken off those excess stress hormones. Only then, I’ve found, can I reap the full benefits of deep breathing and mindful stretching.

Again, play with it, and above all, choose a style and speed of yoga that feels as cozy as a cup of hot cocoa on a snowbound day. It may vary, depending on how you feel at any given time. The most crucial factor is tuning into the breath, synchronizing it with flowing vinyasa movements or using it to sink deeper into a passive restorative or Yin posture.

3. Seek Stillness

Talking to your mat for solace concludes with seeking stillness. It’s practicing detachment, remembering that you are not your thoughts or your feelings, any more than you are your arm or your leg. You are a miraculous union of trillions of cells, of matter and energy, of stuff even the world’s most brilliant scientists cannot fully explain or most priceless instruments detect.

This step entails finding your calm center of awareness, after using your physical self to facilitate the process. Once there, returning your attention again and again to your breath, noticing when you get off course and simply noting what’s going on when you do, without any judgment, brings clarity. It’s like throwing a rock in a pond, then allowing the water to go still, the mud to sink, letting you see clearly to the bottom once more.

Talking to the Mat for Solace When Sad

Talking to your yoga mat when you’re sad will probably never become a standard Hollywood trope, like a troubled character walking into a bar and staring miserably into a bottle of Bud. However, it’s the healthiest method I’ve found for processing difficult emotions, including sorrow and grief.

Is it the easiest route? Absolutely not. However, you do have the power to manage overwhelming emotions. This particular method works for me, and so I share it here and do what I do in hopes that others may find similar solace amid difficult times.

Your Fascia and Restorative Yoga: A Match Made in Relief Heaven?

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:22:19 GMT

A closer look at how restorative yoga eases pain

If your knees, hips or lower back ache, the problem may not lie in your muscles or bones. The trouble may arise from your fascia, and restorative yoga is often highly effective in easing pain originating in this connective tissue. Learn how this relatively modern twist on the ancient practice of yoga could help you improve mobility and function — and, above all, feel better.

What Is Your Fascia?

Ligaments and tendons aren’t the only connective tissues in your body. Your largest one is your fascia, a system of connective tissue consisting primarily of collagen. It runs throughout your entire body, giving shape to your muscles like sausage casings while connecting your skin to the tissue underneath1.

One reason your fascia and restorative yoga are a match made in relief heaven is because this connective tissue can grow tight from lack of movement. Talking to your mat increases your activity quotient, but there’s another reason this practice can feel as heavenly as a massage.

Your Fascia’s Got Some Nerve!

Your fascia has a lot of nerve — roughly 250 million of them (but who’s counting?)2. It has 25 times more nerve endings than your skin and 1,000 times more than your muscle. Your nerves are responsible for sending pain messages, so when your fascia gets tight, the agony you feel can be intense.

Why Restorative Yoga Is TLC for Your Fascia

Another reason that your fascia and restorative yoga go together like peas and carrots is because it’s downright uncomfortable to perform some types of exercise when your body already aches. You might not feel up to running on the treadmill or even lifting weights, but sinking onto your mat may be more doable.

Restorative yoga originated as a method of helping those recovering from illness or injury. It’s safe to say it's designed for when you don’t feel your best. However, the biggest reason this practice often brings relief is it stimulates the magic juice that helps your fascia move with ease.

The Magic of Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is much more than an ingredient in your favorite skin cream. It’s the magic sauce that encourages your fascia to slide and glide. Yoga increases hyaluronic acid production, and boosting your production reduces stiffness, leading to improved mobility and function3.

Easing Fascial Adhesions

Increased hyaluronic acid production may also ease fascial adhesions. These occur when fascia sticks to itself or surrounding tissue, hindering mobility and often causing significant pain — remember all those nerves fascia has4.

Adhesions can result from inactivity but can also occur where you have existing scar tissue from old injuries. While you should always check with your doctor before embarking on any new activity, you might be surprised by how well restorative yoga eases that nagging ache in your hips or knees that you attributed to an accident years ago.

Tips for Your First Restorative Yoga Class

Restorative yoga has risen in popularity in recent years. However, if you can’t find a class near you, you can always tune into an online version. There are scores of restorative yoga videos on YouTube, including our Sober Saturday live streams , which we post publicly after each broadcast. The following quick tips can help you get the most from your session:

Dress comfortably. You can opt for traditional yoga attire or something looser, like sweats and your favorite tee. Although you might not feel comfortable going out in public, cozy pajamas are perfectly acceptable for home practice, as long as you can move. You can do many restorative poses right in bed (and we encourage wearing pajamas during our Sober Saturday show for that reason).
Invest in props. You can be creative here, using pillows and the tie from your robe instead of a proper bolster and straps. As you’ll be holding passive poses for anywhere from three to five minutes, grab several pillows or bolsters to support each part of your body in that perfect position. It’s also wise to bring a blanket, as you don’t burn many calories, and your body may cool as you relax.
Talk to your guide. This tip is especially crucial if you have pain or an injury. Your guide can suggest various modifications of each posture. Go early and check with them before class begins. While most guides circulate during live classes and make suggestions, its impossible to model every possible pose variation once class begins.

Your Fascia and Restorative Yoga

The aches and pains that distress you the most may arise from your fascia. Fortunately, there’s an easy, free way to get relief. Your fascia and restorative yoga are a match made in heaven. Check with your doctor, then get comfy, tune into a restorative yoga video, sink into your mat, and say “aah.”

References:

1. Sears, Brett. “What is fascia?” Verywellhealth.com . July 23, 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-fascia-5079645

2. Barclay, S. Jade, et. al. “Fascia as a regulatory system in health and disease.” Frontiers in Neurology . August 7, 2024. Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11346343/

3. Bhunia, Snehasis. “Regularity on following yoga therapy in daily life: A neglected domain of life.” Journal of Complementary Medicine and Alternative Healthcare. November, 2024. Retrieved from: https://juniperpublishers.com/jcmah/pdf/JCMAH.MS.ID.555856.pdf

4. “How does fascia affect your pain and mobility?” Somatic Movement Center . July 11, 2024. Retrieved from: https://somaticmovementcenter.com/fascia-mobility-pain/

6 Ways to Make Your Kids’ Favorite Childhood Comfort Food a Little Healthier

Tue, 13 May 2025 00:57:40 GMT

When nothing but chicken nuggies will do.

If your little angel turns up their wee nose at anything other than chicken nuggets, you might rightly worry about whether they’re getting all the nutrition they need. Fortunately, many kids grow out of temporary picky-eater phases, but others struggle with legitimate issues that can, unfortunately, transform family meal time into a battleground.

Waging an all-out war rarely ends well in either the short or long term, but a little creativity and love often pays off in a win-win. Here are six examples of how to create healthier kids' comfort foods, so you can join a happy clan at the table without a side helping of guilt for what you’re feeding them.

1. Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Did you know that whole grains combined with nuts constitute a complete protein? The problem with most standard PB&Js is that they are laden with simple sugar. Some comes from additives in the fillings.

Said fillings often sit between the equivalent of two candy bars, if you choose white bread made with bleached flour. Removing the fiber and nutrient-rich bran and chaff leaves little but empty calories behind and may add something you don’t want — alloxan. This byproduct of the manufacturing process contaminates many brands and can harm your pancreas , which produces your body’s insulin. Considering the rising childhood diabetes rates , you owe it to your kid to create a healthier version of this comfort food. Try:

Switching to a bread with a label reading “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat.” Choosing products that “contain whole grain” may mean only a smattering of the good stuff amid the bleached.
An ancient-grain bread like amaranth or quinoa.
If your child likes the occasional novelty but only one kind of bread, try making their sandwich with whole-grain muffins, tortillas, or flatbread instead. You can also try cutting the healthier bread into different shapes, using cookie cutters to create stars and hearts (while eliminating the darker crust).
When choosing peanut butter, seek brands with no added sugar. If your child insists on sweetness, try a honey-peanut-butter combo like honey-roasted Peter Pan or Jif Naturals.
When choosing a jam, opt for one with no added sugar.

2. Mac & Cheese

There are also scores of ways to transform mac & cheese into a healthier kids' comfort food that’s perfect for Meatless Monday or anytime your little one gets a hankering. You can even make a vegan version with cashew cheese. Although those easy-to-make instant cups are perfect for teaching your child autonomy with the microwave, they’re full of white flour and additives. Your healthy homemade version might include:

Veggie noodles have come a long way. Veggie Craft’s line includes rotini, shells, and spirals made from ingredients like peas, cauliflower, and sweet potato, with a taste and texture nearly identical to the noodles you remember from childhood.
Whole grain noodles might require you to adjust your cooking time slightly, but provide tons of filling fiber.
If your child will tolerate it, add some extra chopped veggies in with the noodles for fiber and bulk. Even adding a few shredded carrots to your typical instant mac & cheese cup improves your child’s fiber, vitamin, and mineral intake.

3. English Muffin Pizza

Mommy, wow — making that first English muffin pizza is like a rite of passage to becoming one of the “big kids.” Make it a healthier kids' comfort food with these tips:

Read labels. Some brands of spaghetti and pizza sauce contain tons of added sugar. Words like “high fructose corn syrup” mean stay away. Additionally, check out the fiber content — the more fiber a food has, the more slowly your child will absorb the sugar.
Choose whole-grain muffins.
Consider the other toppings. For example, processed meats are a likely carcinogen, according to the WHO. Consider an uncured, nitrate-free version to reduce risks. Pepperoni made from turkey is often lower in fat, but read labels. If possible, encourage your kids to add veggie toppings, such as mushrooms, zucchini, red pepper — really, any veggie they will eat can go on a pizza. After all, many folks insist pineapple does, and who knows? Your kids may find it delicious, too, adding fiber and bromelain to their meal.

4. Chicken Nuggies

Chicken nuggets, comparatively speaking, are a fairly healthy kids’ comfort food, but not when they’re deep-fried or overly fatty. Both red and white meats can contain saturated fat, which elevates heart disease risk, but you can keep yours lean and mean by sticking to the following tips:

Choose homemade nuggets as often as possible and bake them instead of frying them.
Look for whole-grain breading when buying store-bought nuggets.
Read labels, avoiding those with excess additives.
If making homemade chicken nuggets, choose whole-grain bread crumbs.
Grind some veggies into the bread crumb topping. For example, you might finely mince greens, carrots, or cauliflower to add to the breading.
Choose a lean cut of meat if making homemade nuggets.

5. Grilled Cheese

Fortunately, making this kid's comfort food healthier is as easy as switching to whole-grain bread. You can also try:

Try a spray of butter instead of the hard stick stuff. For example, Mantova ghee butter spray contains olive and avocado. Spritzing it on reduces calories and fat.
Include a few veggies in with the cheesy filling. Tomato is a classic choice, but you can try others, like peppers, even green beans cut thin, French-style.

6. Spaghetti

Switching to whole grain pasta not only benefits your kids. It provides the whole family with a fiber-filled punch of goodness. Your other options include:

Going wild with the pasta. Whole-grain is only one choice. You’ll also find noodles made from various veggies. Experiment to see which you like best.
Spiralize some veggies instead of noodles — or add them to your healthier noodle mix. Squash and zucchini work wonderfully.
Add extra veggies in the sauce, like shredded carrots, corn, or even finely minced broccoli.
Stick to tomato-based sauces instead of heavier creamy versions that can contain a ton of fat and other additives.

Making Healthier Kids Comfort Foods Is a Mindful Act of Love

Cooking can be a gloriously soothing, mindful activity. Experiment with various combinations of the above tips, or get creative and add your own.

Watch out for negative thoughts and frustration — please don’t vent them on your child. Remember, your little one may love some of these modifications. Others they may not like as much. Forcing matters at the dinner table can lead to disordered eating down the line, so avoid punishing your child if they refuse. It’s better to lose one small battle than wage a war that devastates your child’s mental health. Sometimes, you gotta say yes to the infamous arches.

Please remember that children can get eating disorders, too. For those with sensory issues, like many neurodiverse children, a forced meal full of unpleasant flavors and textures can be traumatizing, like physical pain. Avoidant-Reluctant Food Intake Disorder is something to discuss with your child’s physician, as it can cause deficiencies, but how you manage it can significantly impact your child’s worldview.

Should You Tell? It Depends on Your Child and Your Approach

Ideally, you invite your kids into the kitchen to help you with food prep. However, this world is far from perfect. Work from where you are. If your kids are accustomed to helping out at mealtime and ask about the changes, you have the perfect teachable moment for explaining why you’re making different food choices.

Otherwise, whether you tell or not depends on your child and your approach. For instance, a little one fascinated by playing doctor might respond well to a “food is medicine” approach. Conversely, a child frightened of trying anything new might do better if you don’t spill the beans (or greens) beforehand. They’ll let you know if they detect anything “yucky” — allowing you to approach the matter positively. “Oh, a red pepper slice? How cool! Do you like it?”

Healthier Kids’ Comfort Foods

That little ones can be picky eaters is no secret. Ensuring your child gets the nutrition they need when they insist on only their favorites can challenge any parent. However, these tips can help you whip up healthier kids' comfort foods so they can dig into their beloved classics without serving you a side order of guilt.

The Meaning of the Only in Sedona Yoga Closing Sequence

Fri, 02 May 2025 23:01:54 GMT

Why we seal our practice as we do.

If you watch Only in Sedona Yoga’s short programs designed to fit yoga into your daily life, you know that we end most flows with a specific closing sequence. If you’re ever wondered why, we’re here to spill the beans. It’s all a part of our mission to help you make mindfulness a way of life, stemming from our firm belief in the essential goodness of human beings and their ability to grow, change, adapt and treat each other with loving-kindness.

The Only in Sedona Yoga Closing Sequence Explained

The Only in Sedona Yoga closing sequence goes thus:

Tap your forehead for mindfulness of thought

Your lips for mindfulness of speech

Your heart in gratitude for your practice

This closing sequence is both a way to seal what you do on the mat and a reminder to carry the wisdom and sense of inner peace you’ve gained through your practice into your daily life. Yoga is unique. Although many come to the mat in search of the physical benefits, it’s also a chance to reconnect with all that makes you human, including your ability to reflect.

You’re an incredibly complex biological creature. You know you can build your muscles through physical exercise. However, you can also train your mental strength. This work only begins on the mat. Here’s how the closing sequence unites it with your life outside of asana practice.

Mindfulness of Thought

Mindfulness of thought is the hardest part of the Only in Sedona Yoga closing sequence. All of us are thinking all the time. Those thoughts have tremendous power. They’re even strong enough to influence how fast you heal from injury. However, many of these notions exist inside your head outside of your conscious awareness. They nevertheless influence what you do and how you act like the little man behind the screen in “The Wizard of Oz.”

Your work on the mat provides time for your brain’s default mode network to communicate, strengthening new neural connections. If you have a history of trauma, this network can become damaged , especially if you endured childhood abuse. As a result, you may often react to triggers without fully being aware of your actions or how they impact others. Such reactions are often knee-jerk, maladaptive and leave you dripping with regret and shame.

Your work on the mat helps you develop that necessary pause between a stimulus (trigger) and your reaction. Tapping your forehead at the conclusion of each flow is a gentle reminder to stop and count to ten before impulsively doing or saying something you’ll live to regret. This change doesn’t happen overnight, but it does get easier with practice, which is why its a crucial part of our closing sequence.

Mindfulness of Speech

We tend to underestimate the power our words and actions have on others, especially if we have a trauma history, feel small and insignificant, or both. However, hurting another living person is like crumpling up a piece of paper. Try as you might to smooth it out again, it remains changed.

I have enormous guilt here. As an autistic person, the echoism is strong in me, and lets just say some of the language I have parrotted since childhood isn’t very kind. I’m still prone to letting my anxiety and frustration show in my communication, and my battle to learn to express myself without spitting bullets at others remains an ongoing battle.

Tapping our lips to remind us to be mindful of our speech is a recognition of our energy, our power. It’s a self-check, reminding us to use it wisely, kindly, and containing it when we cannot.

Gratitude for Our Practice

Being a good human is hard work. As much as we might like to think of ourselves as tough, unshakable and stalwart in our convictions, the truth is, our external conditions affect us just as we impact them. It is very much a give-and-take, and you don’t get to pick all of your circumstances. Being immersed in the wrong ones, especially in youth, can slowly make us into people we don’t want to be.

However, wise teachers throughout the ages have found ways to build our sense of self, to strengthen who we are inside and become who we want to be in the world, despite its heavy winds. By tapping our hearts in gratitude for our practice, we give silence thanks to every yogi, sage, meditation guide, and other healers who have spread their wisdom so that we may benefit.

Tapping your heart in gratitude for your practice is also a way to thank yourself for your dedication. Pushing through mental resistance, even long enough to do a 10-minute vinyasa flow, takes discipline. Thank the guides who have brought this wisdom through the ages, and thank yourself for being wise enough to heed it.

Can Mindfulness Change the World?

We at Only in Sedona Yoga believe the answer to this question is yes. Greater mindfulness can change the world. That’s what inspires all of our programming, from our short weekly flows designed to help you fit your practice into busy days, to our Mindful Kids program, our meditations and our sober Saturday hangouts.

The world today moves at a breakneck pace. It also advertises endless mindless distractions, from doom-scrolling social media to Netflix binges that can go on for days, thanks to the ability to stream multiple seasons of your favorite show. It can seem as if modern life demands that you’re either firing on all cylinders or numbing yourself. It gives short shrift to building mental strength and resilience.

However, how many times have you thought, “if only?” How many times have you realized that had you simply slowed down and thought things through, you’d have done things much differently? While mindfulness practice isn’t an impenetrable bulwark against life’s storms, it can develop an inner center of calm that helps you navigate.

Helping people slow down and become more mindful is the core of Only in Sedona Yoga’s mission. Imagine what could be if more people took the time to pause and mindfully respond instead of knee-jerk reacting. Imagine what could be if more people began from a point of peace instead of anticipating conflict? By building peace inside yourself, you inspire greater peacefulness in everyone you touch. That’s what we’re confirming when we seal our practice with our closing sequence.

Carrying Your Practice Forward Into Daily Life

Only in Sedona Yoga’s closing sequence is more than a set of gestures. It’s a meaningful way to seal your practice and carry the spirit of peace from your mat into the greater world around you. Thank you for reading, and stay mindful.

What Is Your HPA Axis and How Does Yoga Affect It? (Updated for 2025)

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:44:56 GMT

Yoga can calm this neural channel that can affect your mental and physical health

Quick — visualize your stereotypical yogi. You probably imagined somebody serene, calm and gentle, patient with others, slow to anger and striving to live in harmony with all other living creatures. You didn’t picture someone throwing a gravy boat during Thanksgiving dinner in a pique of rage.

Now, mindfully explore this stereotype and ask yourself why it came to be. Is it more likely that only people who are innately placid and good-natured who feel drawn to the practice? Or could the combination of soothing (albeit sometimes challenging) movement and meditation impact the biology of the brain, resulting in behavioral and temperament changes?

It might seem like a chicken-or-egg question, but scientific data suggests that it is not. Multiple neurobiology studies indicate that the ancient practice of yoga results in physiological changes that do much more than tone your thighs or stretch your tired hamstrings after a hike. They influence how your brain and nervous system operate — in positive ways that can counteract some of the toxicity so many of us experience in daily life.

One such structure that yoga impacts is your HPA axis. What is your HPA axis and how does yoga influence it? Let’s take a closer look.

What Is Your HPA Axis?

The term “HPA axis” stands for hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. In a sense, it’s a type of neural pathway — one that everyone has. However, how it functions depends on myriad factors, including your unique genetic code and environmental influences. The latter category covers a lot, including everything from the foods you eat and medications you take to your daily experiences as you navigate through life.

Environmental influences also explain much of yoga’s therapeutic effects. Here’s the beauty part of the human body, and one that I’ll emphasize time and again in articles as a trauma survivor: any part of your anatomy that can change for the worse because of adverse experiences can likewise improve with positive ones.

Anything that can be damaged can also be healed.

To understand your HPA axis function, it helps to break it down to its component parts.

1. Your Hypothalamus

Your hypothalamus is one of several glands in your brain responsible for how your body responds to environmental stimuli and changing situations. You can think of it as the “supervisor” in charge of all the others that release various hormones into your bloodstream to carry out important jobs. It also acts as a bridge between your nervous and endocrine systems, telling which glands to secrete which hormones and in what amounts to navigate the external world while avoiding harm.

If your body was a home, your hypothalamus would be your master control panel for operating your smart home system. Like an operator at an old-style switchboard, it attempts to keep your body in homeostasis — a stable state where everything runs smoothly. It regulates heat and cold through shivering and sweating and plays roles in the following processes :

Thirst
Appetite
Growth
Weight control
Salt and water balance
Sleep-Wake cycles
Sex drive
Childbirth
Breast milk production
Emotions

Those with trauma histories should also note that the hypothalamus plays a crucial role in your body’s fight or flight response in two ways: by telling your adrenal glands to release cortisol and activating your sympathetic nervous system. Its job is to allocate your body’s resources appropriately to help you survive the crisis.

When your body perceives a crisis, your hypothalamus suppresses reproduction and growth functions. It stimulates energy mobilization in your liver and creates vasoconstriction, or the tightening of your blood vessels to raise your pressure and deliver the good stuff to your peripheral muscles so that you can fight back or get out of Dodge in a hurry.

Finally, your hypothalamus makes dopamine, often called the brain’s “reward” chemical. This neurotransmitter partially explains the gland’s affect on your overall mood, although several other factors also play a role.

2. Your Pituitary Gland

Your pituitary gland is part of your endocrine, or hormonal system. It sits at the bottom of your hypothalamus and is connected to that gland by a thick cluster of blood vessels called the pituitary stalk or infundibulum. It’s responsible for producing several hormones , including:

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH): Stimulates the production of steroid hormones such as cortisol in the adrenal glands. During a crisis, your hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone that tells your pituitary to produce ACTH.
Vasopressin: Controls water balance.
Follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone: Controls the menstrual cycle.
Growth hormone
Oxytocin: The so-called “cuddle” hormone that produces positive, safe feelings. It also tells your uterus to contract when it’s time to give birth.
Endorphins: Cause the so-called “runner’s high,” increasing pleasure and reducing pain.
Enkephalins: Similar to endorphins in function.
Prolactin: Causes milk production and breast enlargement.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone: Tells your thyroid how much T3 and T4 to release.

3. Your Adrenal Glands

Your adrenal glands sit atop your kidneys, which are located along your back directly below your ribcage — they aren’t quite as low as many people think. It produces two types of hormones : catecholamines and steroid hormones.

Catecholamines, which include adrenaline (epinephrine) or noradrenaline (norepinephrine), arise from physical or emotional stress. Steroid hormones, including cortisol, affect several bodily systems, including your immune system and inflammation levels.

Adrenaline is a powerful but short-lived hormone produced by your adrenal medulla . Think back to the last time another vehicle swerved too close to you in traffic, causing you to take immediate evasive action. That flush you feel fading in the moments after narrowly avoiding a collision is your adrenaline fading and your noradrenaline returning your body to homeostasis.

Cortisol, however, is a much longer-lasting stress hormone produced in your adrenal cortex. It controls your body’s use of fuel — fats, carbohydrates, and proteins and maintains fluid balance. It also suppresses inflammation, aids in blood pressure and glucose regulation, and helps manage your sleep-wake cycles or circadian rhythm.

Please note that when it works as intended, cortisol tames inflammation. Your body generally produces just enough of it, assuming that your stressors fade away like hungry lions departing in the distance to chow down on a zebra instead of you.

However, when stress becomes chronic, you can develop resistance to cortisol’s effects. Your body’s chemicals don’t work in isolation — they require receptors. Constant exposure to a flood of a particular substance deadens these receptors, meaning that the hormones or neurotransmitters that once influenced their function no longer have much effect.

Think of it like resistance to alcohol or drugs. Those that habitually use too much become numb to the effects, requiring more and more of the abused substance to produce the desired effect. Cortisol causes a similar issue, but since this hormone influences functions like your metabolism, inflammation and immunity, resistance can result in unpleasant health woes like weight gain or loss, more frequent illnesses and widespread chronic pain.

How Does Yoga Affect Your HPA Axis?

Phew! That was a lot of science to absorb. Now that you understand the various parts of your HPA axis, what happens when it gets activated? Furthermore, how does yoga affect this critical neural pathway?

Signs You Have Triggered Your HPA Axis

Your body will feel it when your HPA axis becomes activated. However, how you respond depends in large part on your trauma history.

You now know how the system works in a healthy individual, but exposure to trauma creates physiological changes that alter its response. For example, people with CPTSD might not seem — or internally feel — as reactive to external stimuli as others. Anhedonia describes the inability to feel pleasure, but it’s more accurate to say your system becomes so overwhelmed from constant bombardment that your typical emotional channels shut down.

As a result, you take little joy in your triumphs, and many issues that may cause others significant stress may seem to roll off your back like nothing. However, when something does activate your stress response, it goes into overdrive. You might explode at a relatively minor inconvenience, flying into a rage or conversely, lapsing into a deep depression. The shame you feel over your behavior compounds the problem, and you can chase your support system away with rash, irrational acts.

Here’s the beauty part, though. Ask yourself, how did your HPA axis become dysfunctional in the first place? Through practice — the repeated strain of various traumas across the course of untold years. That’s where yoga can help. It begins to retrain these very real, very valid, physiological processes by temporarily removing you from the chaos of the outside world and transporting you to a sanctuary of self-care where calming and relaxing are the aims of the game.

Please note: You don’t have to have a trauma history to reap these benefits. However, time on the mat helps anyone build resilience, the ability to bounce back from stressful scenarios when they occur. Everyone has some degree of strife, but keeping your physiology working smoothly supports emotional regulation, letting you respond appropriately when life inevitably happens.

Therefore, you might want to “talk to your mat” when you experience the following:

Rage: A nger is always a signal, but relatively few insults in life merit violent reactions like yelling and screaming. It’s never justifiable to belittle or insult someone, and physical harm should remain in the sole province of self-defense. If something triggers intense anger on you, a vigorous yoga flow can help you dissipate that excess cortisol by letting your fight-or-flight response act as nature intended — in a controlled, safe way that harms no one, including yourself.
Panic: Here, too, more vigorous styles like vinyasa and Ashtanga are your friends. They manage your fight-or-flight response and the resulting hormonal storm that can cloud your judgment.
Overwhelm: Yoga can seem like one more chore when you already have a tight schedule. However, that can be when you need to talk to the mat the most. Chronic stress contributes to long-term imbalances and can numb your HPA axis response to normal stimuli. As a result, you might start to shut down emotionally, but numbing your feelings is never the answer. It adversely affects your mental health and eventually your physiology, as, like Bessel van der Kolk says, your body keeps the score. Gentle, restorative or Yin practices are best when overwhelm strike, as these classes feel more nurturing when you’re frazzled. They also provide silent space for processing your emotions mentally while training your physical self to relax and not become swept away by their power like a swimmer in a rip tide.
Worry: Worry is a wasted emotion — but try telling yourself that when your mind spins with “if onlys” and rumination. It can even be dangerous, blinding you to the real-life dangers in front of you while you remain lost in thought. However, your thoughts arise from electrochemical impulses in your brain and body. When you can’t find peace through mentally rehashing scenarios you often cannot change, you can quiet the physiological storm that makes it harder to think clearly.

How Yoga Calms an Overactive HPA Axis

Yoga calms an overactive HPA axis by impacting the following things in your body.

1. Cortisol Levels

When your HPA axis gets activated, it tells your adrenal glands to excrete more cortisol. Moderate exercise is perhaps the best holistic way to moderate your levels of this hormone. You don’t want to go too hard, as overly intense training can result in an increase. However, low-intensity work like yoga doesn’t spike cortisol while you train and produces a lasting calming effect afterward.

2. Your Vagus Nerve

Your vagus nerve is the longest of your 12 cranial nerves, and it plays a crucial role in your body’s relaxation response. It carries messages between your brain and various body parts. Yoga gently massages your vagus nerve, as does deep breathing. Coordinating your breath-body movements helps you to relax.

When your HPA axis gets activated, it’s like stepping on the gas and putting the pedal to the metal. Yoga hits the brakes and puts the car in reverse. It shows your body — not through words but gentle action — that everything is okay, you’re safe, and it’s time to relax.

The Long Term Effects of Yoga on Your HPA Axis

Here’s where yoga has perhaps the most profound effect on your HPA axis. Over time, the practice teaches you how to experience stress without becoming activated — at least to the degree where you feel like everything is spinning out of control.

Even in restorative yoga, it’s sometimes challenging to hold certain postures for a long time. While you’re always free to exit out if you experience discomfort, staying the course and breathing through the pose retrains your body on how to handle stress. Instead of flying into a panic or coping through maladaptive means like reaching for the bottle, you learn to pause, breathe and reflect before acting.

It takes time to retrain your HPA axis — but yoga is a practice. It’s also the ideal way to get your daily movement while practicing gentle self-care. I can’t describe how liberating it is when you free yourself from the very real, yet very harmful, body responses that make it so hard to think when stress, panic and anxiety strike, too often leading to actions that make a bad situation worse. You take control, not your learned responses. It’s empowering.

Yoga and Your HPA Axis

Your HPA axis plays a crucial role in your body’s fight-flight-freeze response. However, chronic stress and traumatic experiences can damage how this system works. When it malfunctions, it can adversely impact your mental and physical health by driving you to unhealthy responses and behaviors.

However, yoga can repair your HPA axis with patience and regular practice. It provides an immediate panic intervention and retrains your nervous system over time. If you want to exercise better control over stress and anxiety instead of letting them run your life, it’s time to talk to your mat!

You Are Not the Person You Were — and That’s a Good Thing (Updated for 2025)

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:34:06 GMT

You are being reborn every day at the rate of 100 billion new cells

Yoga and meditation can be extremely healing practices for trauma survivors. With time and practice, they can rewire your brain, undoing the damage caused to regions like your hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. They certainly helped in my recovery — and the other day in meditation, I had a revelation that I immediately had to share.

You are not the person you were when the trauma occurred.

Not in a figurative, metaphorical sense. In a very real, literal, physical one.

That means two exciting things:

You are already reborn
Through your work on the yoga mat, you are creating yourself and a whole new, beautiful life.

The Endless Cycle of Death and Rebirth Is Happening Right Here, Right Now

The recent loss of a beloved family member shook me deeply. I’ve taken comfort in studying the Buddhist philosophy of death and rebirth. One of my favorite ways to self-soothe is to wander the Sedona red rock wilderness while listening to dharma talks.

I was listening to a recording by Thich Nhat Hanh that I had listened to before but which always brings me comfort. Plus, you always learn something new.

I heard him say, “The cycle of death and rebirth is happening right now.” I heard him mention how the cells of your body continually die while new ones are born — billions of them daily — but we do not die when a single cell perishes.

Previously, I had always taken those words in terms of comfort. The spirit, the energy continues in the patterns we establish, long after the body descends into dust. I hadn’t connected it with trauma.

For whatever reason, my mind was on the topic that morning, and the revelation that followed stopped me dead in my tracks and brought a bit of water to my eye.

I’m a sexual assault survivor. However, at that moment, I realized something more. The “me” that endured the attack no longer even existed.

I’m not talking metaphorically. 1011 of your cells die and are replaced by new ones each day. They’re replaced by brand-spanking new ones, as pure as those in a newborn infant. One hundred billion brand new cells.

Cells my assailant had never touched.

I am quite literally no longer the woman he assaulted.

Now, that’s a comforting thought!

But I Thought Nerve Cells Didn’t Regenerate?

One of the first things you learn about healing trauma through yoga is that “memories” get trapped in your somatic nervous system. Neurons are a unique kind of cell. For decades, scientists preached one mantra: nerve cells do not regenerate.

If neurons don’t regenerate, and trauma gets trapped in your nervous system, then how on earth can you say that you aren’t the same person? After all, you still have nerves, so it must mean those cells remain the same, right?

Not necessarily.

New research into the brain shows that neurogenesis does, in fact, occur. It slows down as you get older, and the process becomes murky in people with dementia, but you continue to make new nerve cells until at least age 97, and probably your entire lifespan.

It gets better. Guess what part of your brain is responsible for neurogenesis? The trusty old hippocampus, a critical part of your HPA axis and a primary player in memory formation. It’s also one of the principal brain structures affected by regular yoga practice.

By engaging in calming, soothing meditative practices on the mat, you’re allowing those new neurons to be born into a welcoming, positive headspace. Continued work on the mat nurtures them as these baby neurons form new connections in your brain. I can’t pretend to understand how it all works. Even neuroscientists can’t. However, the implications give me hope.

What Does All This Mean for Your Yoga Practice and Healing Trauma Through Yoga?

I’ll admit, I was a member of the “nerve cells don’t regenerate” school of thought, and spent the rest of that morning’s wanderings knee-deep in TED talks from various neuroscientists about the issue of neurogenesis. My brain raced through the implications as I listened to one highly educated researcher explain practical lifestyle tips for encouraging your brain to grow new nerve cells.

My soul, however, was skipping along and rejoicing. I knew yoga healed. I feel the results every day, as I gradually become less reactive, less impulsive, and less able to be blown over by fate’s slightest whim. However, I also know that subjective feelings are lousy scientific evidence.

Here I had proof. It matters little that it might not be 100% true — I have no idea at the rate specific cells are replaced, how many I still have from that day, etc. Nowadays, I feel like I can feel the precious new baby neurons growing as I flow through the asanas.

Researchers remain unclear on exactly how yoga impacts your hippocampus, but fMRI studies of yogis and meditators show a decided bilateral increase in volume in this brain structure. I now think of talking to my mat as taking a prenatal vitamin! Only, the baby I’m creating is me, reborn and renewed, as I nurture my brain with the ideal environment for neurogenesis to occur.

The best part? When you talk to the mat, you go deep inside yourself. This exercise can be scary, but it can also help you mindfully answer the question, “Who am I? Who do I want to become?” Your answers, as you flow through asanas and meditate, become who you are — not only in a spiritual sense but a very real, physical one. You are guiding your body’s rebirth.

I’m not going to pretend this process isn’t hard or doesn’t require ongoing mindfulness. Every mother knows that bringing new life into the world entails pain — but it is worth it. Talking to your mat is creating that new life. What do you want to become?

You Are Being Reborn Right Now — You Are Not the Same Person You Were When the Trauma Happened

If you are a fellow trauma survivor, I hope this revelation comforts you as much as it does me. You are not the same person you were when the trauma happened. The process of death and rebirth is happening in the here and now — you have brand new cells all over your body, including neurons.

Through practice, you can influence the neurogenesis process. Who do you want to be? Decide, and give new life to yourself by talking to the mat.

You Can’t Control the World: Developing a Locus of Control on the Mat

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:23:56 GMT

How do you develop "the wisdom to know the difference" the Serenity Prayer speaks of?

According to psychologists, developing an internal locus of control benefits your mental health. However, the idea that you are in charge butts heads, sometimes violently, with reality. The truth is that none of us controls the world, but we are all a part of it, with varying degrees of influence.

Resolving this seeming contradiction — what we do with our energy, how we use our influence, limited as it may be by the world’s other realities — is some of the toughest work we do on the mat. It pushes the notion of “union” in yoga to the nth degree, challenging us to meditate on this seeming nonduality. Where do “we” end and the rest of the universe begin? Who are “we,” anyway? Furthermore, where is the line between accepting the things we cannot change and finding the courage to act on those we can?

The Only in Sedona Yoga crew can’t pretend to have all the answers. However, we can share what we’ve learned from talking to the mat. Here are insights into how to use your practice to develop a healthy locus of control and improve your mood and mindset.

What Is a Locus of Control, Anyway?

According to the American Psychological Association, your locus of control refers to your perception of the degree of control you exercise over the conditions of your life. People with an external locus of control view their life outcomes as arising from circumstances beyond their control. They’re prone to reactivity and can end up feeling disconnected, floating in the wind like that plastic bag in the Katy Perry tune.

Those with an internal locus of control, conversely, perceive their life outcomes as arising from their actions, abilities, and choices. Research suggests that those with an internal focus of control are happier and even enjoy better physical health on average.

Having an external locus of control can lead to seriously problematic behaviors. Perhaps the most egregious is ascribing everything in your life to forces beyond your control means looking outside of yourself for something or someone to blame when things go south. Constantly pointing fingers can shatter otherwise supportive relationships. It can also prevent you from seeing the answer to your woes when what you need is to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Searching for someone or something to blame wastes valuable energy, energy you could often better use seeking solutions. While blaming others is a convenient way to absolve yourself, it also prevents you from ever making the necessary changes to improve your life. If everything is someone else’s fault, then how can you possibly fix it? Pointing fingers brings temporary, superficial relief, but also denies your ability to be an active agent of change. Deep down, part of you sees through this self-delusion. The maladaptive belief that there is nothing you can do leads to a depression that eats at you like a self-swallowing snake. In an attempt to escape these negative feelings, you may turn to drugs and alcohol, which inevitably make any problem worse.

Hello? Lovely Theory, Locus of Control, but Reality, Anyone?

Here’s where my autistic little brain used to always kick up dickens. Like many autistic people, I am extremely prone to black-and-white thinking, a revelation exposed by the mat (of course). When I began my Only in Sedona Yoga journey, I had an extreme external locus of control. I was poor, I did live in the one wealthy nation on earth that doesn’t provide basic healthcare for all citizens, I had spent every dime I had ever had trying to get to the bottom of symptoms that seemingly had no answers. I had worked hard, I had tried my best, and yet, my life was still falling apart.

I got so hung up on the dichotomy — if all the above things were true, then how could I be in any way responsible for the mess my life had become? — that I gave away my power to change what I could. I cast myself into the role of helpless victim, where I remained trapped. That is, until a simple Spanish phrase entered my mind one day while talking to the mat: Por que no los dos?

The reality is that all of us, every single human being on this planet, from those with great influence to those who lack two cents to rub together, face circumstances beyond our control. None of us really knows how life got here, what happens when we are gone, or the true nature of the universe. Trying to figure out the truth of everything is akin to the three blind men describing an elephant by touching only a small part. The one touching the ear describes it as a hand fan, while the one who feels the tail says an elephant must be like a rope.

We are not the whole; we cannot control the whole, but we are a part of the whole. We, as complex, thinking, mindful human beings, have control over our energy. We can, most likely to a larger degree than any other living creature, exercise considerable agency over our thoughts, our words, how we relate to others, and how we move through the larger world.

It took time, but I began to use my time on the mat to seriously examine what I could do differently. The process wasn’t easy, but it was transformative.

Factors That Influence Your Locus of Control

Unfortunately, the people who could benefit the most (like me) from developing a stronger internal locus of control are often those with the deck most stacked against them. Several factors can influence how your locus of control develops, and taking it back can be a bigger struggle if any of the following apply:

You have a trauma history: Those who have experienced trauma often struggle with an external locus of control. After all, something outside of their control shook their world. It’s particularly acute among those who have experienced sexual trauma , as such individuals may no longer feel safe in their own bodies and lack confidence in external justice systems, and their concerns are often valid. Even experiencing vicarious trauma can nurture an external locus of control, and who among us can do much about the horrors we see on the news, like war, starvation, and the desecration of our planet?
Genetics: Some researchers believe that genetic factors may influence your locus of control.
Your upbringing: If your parents continually denied accountability and instead sought outside forces to blame, you’re more likely to unconsciously imitate their pattern, even if you don’t consciously start out with the thought, “It’s always somebody else’s fault.” Furthermore, those raised with overly controlling parents are more likely to exhibit an external locus of control. Their parents may have consciously or unconsciously reinforced the deep belief that nothing the child did would lead to their needs being met, leaving them with an internalized victim mindset.

I don’t know what my genetic profile says, but two of the three decidedly applied to me. I couldn’t change the past. My question then became, “Okay, but what can I realistically do right now to change my circumstances for the positive?” Fortunately, I was at rock bottom with nowhere to go but up. I didn’t intend to develop an internal locus of control of the mat, but it happened when I was willing to take a hard look at myself and the role I played in my problems.

The Serenity Prayer, Addiction, and Changing What You Can

Many people who have struggled with various addictions, like me, find solace in the Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change

The courage to change what I can

And the wisdom to know the difference

Meditating on this simple prayer made the meaning of the phrase por qué no los dos clear to me. Yes. There were forces outside of my control that had power over the events of my life. However, I also had an influence, one which I had willingly surrendered to despair and addiction. What would happen if I took that power back? How might things change? I decided to approach it as a scientific experiment.

As I repeat on the show and will do again here in the interest of full disclosure: I am not a therapist, doctor, or researcher. I am a sick person fighting my way back to wellness, sharing what I have learned in my journey with the hope of helping others.

Since I didn’t know much about psychology, I decided to start with what I did know. Out went alcohol and at least ten prescription medications — I don’t even remember what all I was on anymore, but I had a drawer full. Instead, I white-knuckled sobriety solo. Instead of seeking chemical oblivion to manage my feelings, I spent hours doing restorative yoga while listening to medical lectures from esteemed universities and mental health lectures from licensed mental health practitioners on YouTube.

Coping With Difficult Realizations

I’m not going to lie — this process was soul-shattering. Watching professional therapists role-play certain toxic personality patterns confirmed that I had, indeed, been on the receiving end of some seriously messed-up stuff.

However, it also didn’t take me long to realize that I also displayed many of these maladaptive traits. With each long, tearful mat session, it became increasingly clear that I had also been toxic and was as capable of doing harm as those who had harmed me. How could I possibly blame anything outside of myself for having no support system when I was the one pushing would-be helpers away with my words and behavior?

I couldn’t.

Realizing the role you play in your life’s troubles can hurt. It can foster a deep depression, and you may wish to have therapeutic support throughout the process.

The only way out, though, is through. And here’s the truth: you cannot go back and undo your past. What you can do is avoid making the same mistakes by acting more intentionally and mindfully in the future. Doing so is a behavior you can train and improve with practice.

That, for me, was the beginning of developing my internal locus of control on the mat. Quiet introspection while soothing my nervous system was the beginning of the wisdom to know the difference for me. No, I couldn’t control everything, no one could, but by mindfully controlling my response instead of a knee-jerk reaction, I could influence my life’s trajectory.

The only way I have found to maintain this internal locus of control is through daily mindfulness practice. Fortunately, it also makes me look forward to my time on the mat. It’s the ultimate safe space to be alone with my thoughts, free from judgment and outside influences. Reflecting on what’s happening and the role I play in it can be painful, but also empowering.

Truth is, we all make mistakes, but we can all learn and grow from them, too.

Tips for Developing an Internal Locus of Control on the Mat

The following tips come straight from my personal experience. I hope they help you. If you have other advice that you find useful, please feel free to share it in the comments section of this article. Pass on your wisdom, too. Here’s what I find most helpful for tough mat sessions:

1. Get in the Right Headspace

I have a lot of nervous energy, especially when the going gets tough. It’s why I so often acted out maladaptively in the past. When I get highly stressed or emotional, it feels like I am a powder keg trying to cross a minefield of lit matches without exploding. As such, I used to do a full hour and a half of Ashtanga before sinking into a restorative yoga practice. You might also dispel that fight-or-flight juice by going for a run, hitting the weights hard, or even weeding the garden with a vengeance before hitting the mat. Anything that dispels stress hormones works.

2. Practice Detachment

As I often say on the show, you are not your thoughts and feelings, any more than you are your arm or your leg. Like the greater Universe surrounding us, these are all parts of your “whole,” but they are not the “whole” — remember the elephant story? However, we often assume what we think and feel must be real, be true, be us. Use your mat time to practice detachment.

What does that look like? What I sometimes do is imagine a little neutral scientist in my head. Their job is simply to observe, jotting down each thought or emotion without judgment before flipping to a new page in their little spiral notebook. The tricky part is avoiding rumination. That’s why turning the page is so crucial. Simply notice, then flip before you start to form a chain of thoughts or emotions. If an intrusive thought comes to mind, avoid giving it weight by turning to a new page.

3. Stay Open-Minded and Return to the Breath

Your mat is your safe space. No one is going to judge you for what’s going on silently in your head. If tears come, allow them. Simply observe, as you do every other thought and reaction.

However, if emotions threaten to overwhelm you, return to the breath. Don’t stuff uncomfortable thoughts and feelings back down, as repressing them only allows them to continue to influence you behind the scenes. Instead, shift your awareness to your inhales and exhales. In doing so, you teach yourself to sit with discomfort. Sitting quietly and breathing through the storm slowly loosens its grip on your psyche. The rain may still fall, but you learn it will not kill you.

4. Exercise Self-Compassion

Finally, be good to yourself. Doing this work on the mat is hard. It may be the toughest process you ever undergo. Therefore, treat yourself like you would a good friend.

Therapeutic support may not be as far away as you think. Numerous mental health apps today allow you to chat with a licensed practitioner. If difficult feelings come up, having someone you can speak with to help you process them helps many people, and a caring friend or family member can be every bit as good as a licensed professional.

Use your judgment. If you don’t have anyone — or even if you do! — plan something nice for yourself after each tough session of talking to the mat. Perhaps follow your practice with your favorite hot tea, a nice bath, or even escaping into your favorite television program.

5. Be Patient

Developing and maintaining your locus of control takes daily practice. You didn’t come by who you are today overnight, and you aren’t going to change yourself overnight. However, dedicating yourself to your work on the mat will give you a better sense of what you can’t change. More importantly, it teaches you what you can influence, which is often more than you think. A simple change in attitude can have ripple effects that improve multiple areas of your life. You also enjoy the true confidence that only comes with knowing you’re doing the best you can with what you have at the moment.

Developing a Locus of Control on the Mat

You can’t control the world. No one can. Everyone is a part of a greater, collective whole, the truth of which no one fully understands, no matter what they claim. We are all blind people struggling to define an unseen elephant.

However, discovering what you can control, what you can change, can transform your life. Assuming responsibility for what lies within your influence calms many a chaotic wind and can help you manage the gales with greater confidence and grace. Developing the wisdom to know the difference between what you can control and what you can’t is among the most important work you can do on the mat, and cementing a strong internal locus of control makes life’s inevitable hurricanes far less frightening.

How to Personalize Your Yoga Practice: 4 Tips

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:07:36 GMT

Keep it safe and make it special <3

If I could make one impossible wish come true as a yoga guide, it would be to have the magical ability to demonstrate every variation of every pose in the short time allotted. That way, you could find the perfect variation for your unique body. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet figured out a way to slow down time, and most folks don’t have hours to spend on the mat, even if they wanted to. That’s why learning how to personalize your yoga practice is so crucial.

Personalizing your yoga practice means performing asana variations that are safe and work for your unique and beautiful self. You can also set the mood, making your practice a much-anticipated celebration of your health. Here’s how.

Why You Should Personalize Your Yoga Practice

Every body is different. Your pose may not look exactly like everyone else’s in the class — and guess what? That’s okay. Everyone has unique variations in bone length, hip configuration, even muscle and connective tissue differences that can change over your lifetime. The bottom line? The same pose variation that works for one person might not work for you. It might not even be safe.

Fortunately, yoga has an extremely low injury rate. Most people find that the benefits in improved physical and mental health far outweigh any risks. However, sprains, strains and occasionally more serious injuries may occur, which is why many guides avoid headstands and other advanced moves in typical classes.

Pain most often strikes when you strain to get into a pose. Most poses should make you feel a nice stretch, but back off immediately if you sense sharp pain or even considerable discomfort. If possible, ask your guide about variations that may work better for you.

However, even the most skilled guides cannot show every variation or assist every student with needed adjustments within a brief class time. That’s why taking matters into your own hands and choosing the pose variation that works for your unique and beautiful self is so crucial.

Permission to Go Renegade Granted: Don’t Wait for Your Guide

Yes, you have permission to go a bit renegade in your next yoga session. For example, I tend to keep my back relatively straight when doing Janu Sirsasana , even though another name for the pose is head-to-knee. That’s because I have severe degeneration in my lumbar spine. Sometimes, I’ll even use a bolster to support my lower back, although many of my students take the more traditional form.

Other examples of modifying poses include (but are in no way limited to):

Using blocks or a wall in standing forward fold to support your lower back.
Using a strap in dancer pose to help support the rear leg
Stepping back into plank instead of hopping back when doing sun salutations in vinyasa, power or Ashtanga classes
Lying on your side and using a strap to stretch the front of your thigh as an alternative to half-saddle .

…But Be Polite

That said, there’s a difference between keeping your spine straight in Janu and taking the front center spot in a vinyasa class, only to do a completely different routine. That doesn’t mean you have to hide in the back. There are only a few of those coveted “shy kids” spots, and your modifications might inspire another student. Just remain mindful and don’t intentionally distract from the group experience. If you’re unsure, go a little early to talk to your guide before class.

4 Tips for Personalizing Your Yoga Practice While Keeping It Safe

The following four strategies can help you personalize your yoga practice and protect your safety. As a bonus, you’ll probably enjoy the time on your mat even more.

1. Tune Into Your Body

Your interoception refers to signals originating from inside your body , including those from your muscles and connective tissues. People perceive and describe pain differently. The standard advice is to stop if you feel “bad” pain, but what is that? Many describe it as “sharp” or “intense.” My neurodiverse self describes it thus: If holding the pose is making you want to scream or cry tears of frustration, you are straining way too hard, hon. Back off and be gentle with you!

Part of the “union” of yoga is getting back in touch with your body’s cues, which people nowadays so often learn to ignore. Please avoid throwing kindling on your internal shame fire by mistakenly thinking, “I must do the pose this way, or I’m not doing it right/challenging myself enough/getting the full benefit.” You reap many more rewards from your practice when you move safely, enabling you to stay on the mat and off the disabled list.

2. Keep It Soft and Loose

I was a group fitness instructor for years before getting sick, and I incorporate many of the safety techniques I learned teaching other disciplines into each yoga class I guide. One of them is keeping your joints loose and soft. Locking your elbows or your knees can damage these areas, sometimes causing pain to radiate to your shoulders, hips or back.

Additionally, take your time transitioning between postures. Choose a slower-paced class if you’re new.

3. Use Props

You have your formal yoga props, like blocks and straps, and your more informal variety, like walls, chairs and even big, squishy stuffed animals. Use any you like to personalize your yoga practice. For example:

Use blocks to support your back in standing poses, especially if your fingertips don’t quite reach the floor.
Use a strap to extend your reach in poses. For example, grab one during a single-leg hamstring stretch to play with the extension of your leg if your hands don’t reach your ankles.
Sit on a block or a bolster to change the angle of seated poses, such as tailor pose or seated forward folds.

4. Talk With Your Doctor

Even though many doctors get little formal training in kinesiology in medical school, many study it in pre-med. Plus, your doctor should understand your existing medical conditions enough to let you know which moves are safe and which you should avoid.

Elevating Your Personalized Yoga Practice

Personalizing your yoga practice doesn’t stop with making the moves safer. If you want yoga to become your healthy go-to coping mechanism, you also need to make it fun and enticing. How you do so is a matter of personal preference — I’ve occasionally had a blast doing yoga dressed in camo on the bare earth in the middle of the forest. However, these general tips can spark your creative juices:

Dress the part: Some people love high fashion, and if being a member of the Lululemon set makes you smile, then invest in some stylish yoga duds. Others value comfort, like a super-soft set of kundalini-style clothes or even your favorite pajamas.
Lighting: Banish the harsh fluorescents. If practicing in the sun, you may relish the light. The same goes for practice near a window. Otherwise, dim the lights, use some of today’s new LEDs to set a mood or perhaps add a few candles, electric or soy/beeswax.
Scent: While you should always be careful with aromatherapy if you have pets, a little essential oil, even dabbed right under your nose, a bit of mist on your mat or from a diffuser, if safe in your space, helps set the mood.
Ritual: Your yoga practice is sacred, so enhance your space for it however you wish. If you practice in a public studio, invest in a mat that showcases your personality, along with some matching props. If you practice at home, invite any sacred objects you hold dear into it, be they religious/spiritual in nature or pictures of loved ones and favorite places.

How to Personalize Your Yoga Practice

Personalizing your yoga practice protects your safety. You are a unique living being. Reflect it in your flows by choosing variations of each pose that work for your body and leave you saying, “aah.” Investing in the right clothes and props supports your positive new addiction and keeps you looking forward to talking to your mat every day.

Gratitude: The Antidote for Toxic Positivity

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 17:19:21 GMT

Here's how to handle it kindly when well-intended words hurt

Do the phrases “cheer up,” “everything happens for a reason, “ and “look on the bright side” have the opposite effect, making your mood darker, not lighter? Even well-intended statements can raise your hackles, leaving you feeling like you’re swimming in a sea of toxic positivity. However, gratitude can be your liferaft and the ultimate antidote. Here’s why.

What Is Toxic Positivity, Anyway?

While there’s no official dictionary definition of toxic positivity, the crucial element that makes it so harmful is that it ignores reality. It’s like sprinkling unicorn glitter on a steaming fresh pile of doggie doo-doo. It doesn’t clean up the mess, it doesn’t prevent you from stepping in it, and it doesn’t make anything better . If anything, it makes things feel worse. There you are, at your lowest, and now you have to summon up the energy to smile and say, “Yeah, that’s much prettier,” while you’ve still got a disgusting pile of dung beneath all the sparkles.

Toxic positivity minimizes your situation and the pain it causes. It dismisses your emotions and ignores the fact that trauma impacts the same brain regions as physical pain, leaving an indelible mark on your lived experience. Toxic positivity feels like sitting in a physician’s office awaiting a diagnosis and having the doctor emerge with balloons and a big smile, “Congratulations! It’s cancer! But it will all be okay — isn’t that great?”

Do People Mean to Be Toxic?

Well-intended but dismissive positivity can turn toxic in a second, more insidious way. It can strain the relationships, the connections with others you need to make it through difficult times. Because here’s the thing — most people who engage in toxic positivity don’t mean you any harm. Although it’s impossible to know what another person is thinking, many are simply responding in the way they learned to react in such situations, echoing phrases they’ve heard others use.

Sure, there are those intentionally manipulative sorts, but most folks genuinely want you to feel better. They just don’t know what else to say. Therefore, to avoid the second arrow of toxic positivity, accepting their words with grace is the best course for keeping the relationship intact.

I know. It sucks. There you are at your lowest, and you have to be the bigger person. Yeah. Yet if you don’t want an argument or, worse, a severed relationship, on top of your current woes, receiving their words with grace and forcing a “thanks” with as genuine a smile as you can muster avoids adding unwanted conflict to your poo pile.

Why Gratitude is the Antidote for Toxic Positivity

While you should be kind to people, even the toxic positivity crowd, that doesn’t mean internalizing what they say. The outside world may invalidate your feelings and experiences, but you can validate yourself. Remember, you can silently resolve to keep your distance from the speaker as much as possible, at least until you feel up to a genuine smile. Doing so can be a powerful act of self-compassion if their words wound you, even if they were well-intended.

However, there’s always something for which to give thanks, no matter how small. Gratitude springs from a fountain of authenticity and honesty. Authenticity and honesty are pivotal to me as an autistic individual, but everyone can detect the scent of BS, which inevitably weakens the impact of the statement on the listener and fosters mistrust. I explained it to my therapist like this:

Toxic positivity was someone saying, “Everything’s going to be fine! You’re healthy (I was not, a direct denial of my reality). You’re smart. Something will come up (when rent was due in two days — yeah, I’m sure I’ll find the perfect job and receive a paycheck in that time).”
Genuine positivity was me saying, “It’s a beautiful day. These wildflowers are gorgeous. I’m grateful to feel the sun on my skin, to have eyes to see and legs to walk. I’m going to show my appreciation by doing something positive and life-affirming, like going on a hike after submitting a few job applications.”

The latter statement is true — without denying my lived experience or minimizing a horrific situation. However, it redirected my attention to something truly positive. There’s nearly always something real you can give thanks for, even if it’s being alive and conscious to draw another breath long enough to pet your beloved cat.

Validating yourself and practicing gratitude after exposure to toxic positivity can sometimes be transformative. It contributed to how Only in Sedona Yoga came to be.

In my darkest hour, someone said to me, “Oh, cheer up! You live in the most beautiful place on Earth. How bad can it be?” While I didn’t appreciate their dismissiveness, it sparked the beginning of an idea.

“Wait a minute,” I thought. I did live in a stunning location. How could I share that enchantment with folks who might never get to visit while contributing something worthwhile to humanity? Marrying my experience as a yoga guide and group fitness instructor with the jaw-dropping backdrops all around me seemed natural. I had no idea I’d end up healing myself along the journey — perhaps that’s an example of the power of genuine positivity.

How to Focus on Gratitude: 3 Exercises to Try

You don’t have to search too hard to find people telling you to practice gratitude, but what does that look like? Here are some exercises to tune into what makes you thankful, either as an antidote to toxic positivity or simply to redirect rumination and negative thoughts toward something genuinely positive.

1. Journal

The fabulous thing about journaling is that you can throw the rules of writing out the proverbial window. Journaling might look like:

Writing a list of things for which you give thanks
Drawing a picture of something or someone you love and are grateful to have in your life
Cutting pictures out of newspapers, ads, magazines, etc., collage style. Whether you add descriptions is up to you.
Writing a letter to your higher power or future or past self describing what makes you smile.
Listing the hardships you have overcome in the past and applauding your strength.

2. Somatic Expressions of Gratitude

If you’re like me and feel literally everything in your body, somatic expressions of gratitude may raise your mood and vibration. For example:

Put on your favorite tunes and break into ecstatic dance or go for a run or hike to give thanks that you can move. If you need something slower and more indulgent, try a relaxing restorative yoga session, such as Only in Sedona Yoga’s Sober Saturday series.
Create a gift for someone you are grateful for. Ninja-level — do this for yourself. For example, the other day, I used my writing time to pen a poem that was bursting to come out of me instead of working on an article. You might knit yourself a new scarf or blanket, arrange flowers in a decorative vase to decorate your table, or paint a new picture to hang on your wall.
Volunteer. Oodles of studies support the health benefits of volunteering , and it’s a surefire way to remind yourself that while things may be bad, other people are also struggling. Plus, you build your sense of agency , reinforcing the idea that your actions make a positive difference. This latter is crucial for good mental health, as it battles maladaptive thoughts like “nothing I do even matters.”

3. Phone a Friend

A genuine connection with another human being can be incredibly healing. Instead of calling someone to vent, think of someone whose presence in your life makes it better. Give them a call simply to let them know that you appreciate them. Doing so shifts your awareness and strengthens your friendship. They may even reply by sharing how grateful they are to have you in their life, leaving you both feeling better than before your chat.

Gratitude Is the Antidote to Toxic Positivity

Toxic positivity can feel like nails on a chalkboard when you’re in a dark place. However, it’s important to remember that most people don’t mean to raise your hackles — they simply don’t know what else to say. Fortunately, you can self-soothe after such encounters by remaining calm, kind, and in control, then validating yourself through gratitude.

Gratitude is the antidote to toxic positivity because it doesn’t minimize or dismiss what’s wrong in your life. Instead, it gently redirects your attention to what is right with it. Gratitude improves your reality without denying it. Try one of the exercises above to lift your spirits the next time someone’s well-meant but invalidating words leave you feeling worse, and help yourself feel better.

Are You Getting Enough Iron?

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 16:19:29 GMT

While you should discuss iron supplementation with your doctor, is it time?

A recent review published March 30, 2025, in JAMA reveals that 14% of adults in America have iron-deficiency anemia. Most of them are women, and expectant mothers are among those most at risk.

Iron deficiency can fly under the radar, undetected, but nevertheless take a toll on your overall health and quality of life. Here’s what you need to know, including tips for getting enough iron in your diet and knowing when to call the doctor.

Why You Need Sufficient Iron

Iron plays various roles in your body. Perhaps its most important task is for making hemoglobin , a protein in red blood cells that carries life-giving oxygen to every cell. That’s why fatigue is often a hallmark of iron deficiency. Without it, your cells can’t “breathe” efficiently.

Iron also assists with several other processes, including:

Storing oxygen in the myoglobin of your muscles and enabling them to function well during physical activity.
Creating various enzymes that produce energy and hormones and encourage DNA synthesis.
Assisting in immune function.
Encouraging brain development and growth in infants and children.

Symptoms of Iron Deficiency

You already know that fatigue is a hallmark of iron deficiency. Other clues that you may need to increase your intake include:

Headaches
Irritability
Depression
Muscle cramps
Rapid heart rate
Pale skin
Feeling out of breath from mild exertion
Changes to nails and toenails, developing ridges or spoon-shaped nails
Pica or the desire to gnaw on non-food substances
Restless leg syndrome

Who Is Most at Risk for Iron Deficiency or Anemia?

Sorry, ladies. Those who can menstruate and get pregnant run the highest risk for iron deficiency. According to the latest JAMA review, as many as 84% of pregnant women develop iron-deficiency anemia, including those in high-income countries. Roughly 38% of non-pregnant, reproductive-age women have an iron deficiency, with 13% having iron-deficiency anemia.

Other risk factors include inflammatory bowel disease, chronic health conditions such as kidney disease, regularly using aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS, like Motrin), and following a vegetarian or vegan diet.

The last item is crucial to note. Iron comes in two forms — the heme form found in animal products and non-heme iron found in plants. While you can get sufficient iron intake from plant-based sources, your body isn’t as efficient in absorbing it. Plus, some iron-rich foods also contain antinutrients. For example, spinach’s high oxalic acid content may prohibit you from absorbing some of the good stuff that made Popeye’s biceps bulge.

Does this mean you have to choke down the occasional burger, even if you’re a devout vegan? No, but you may wish to talk to your doctor, especially if you experience symptoms of iron deficiency.

13 Ways to Boost Your Iron Intake Through Diet

Adding more of these “lucky 13” iron-rich foods to your diet is a good way to fight deficiency. It’s especially important if you lack access to regular medical care and blood tests to check your levels. Iron supplements can be dangerous, but increasing your intake through food is safe.

Mindfully tune into how you feel as you increase your intake of the following. If you are among the cruelty-free set, simply skip over the first four items on this list and focus on plant-based sources.

1. Beef Liver

Beef liver is perhaps the richest food source of iron available. According to Google’s AI, a 3-ounce serving contains 5.56 milligrams of the stuff, compared to 1.56 milligrams in a broiled steak. Other organ meats, like sweetbreads, even brain, are also high in iron.

Are you on a tight food budget? Chicken livers come prepackaged at less than $2 a pop at some locations and are nearly as high in iron as beef (I can’t say I’m a fan, but my beloved adores them).

2. Red Meat

Red meat is another excellent source of iron if you consume it. Of course, everything is a delicate balancing act. According to the World Health Organization, red meat is a possible carcinogenic , so restricting your intake to once or twice a week is wise for your health. It’s also beneficial to the environment to limit your intake. That said, enjoying the occasional burger with lettuce and tomato might be wise if you show signs of deficiency.

3. Oysters

Oysters are high in iron and offer additional benefits. They’re also rich in omega-3 fatty acids , the good fats necessary for brain and heart health that many Americans don’t get enough of.

Oysters are amazingly versatile. You can eat them raw, grill them or bake them. While fresh oysters can be a bit hard on the wallet, you can find the canned variety for less than $5 on your grocer’s shelves.

4. Eggs

There’s been enough talk of egg prices of late, so we won’t go there — but you should know that “henfruit” is rich in iron. Each egg delivers approximately a milligram, along with valuable omega-3 fatty acids. If you can find a farmer friend with backyard chickens, you have access to one of the leanest sources of multiple valuable macro and micronutrients around.

5. Beans

The musical fruit leads the vegan options for getting enough iron. Fortunately, they’re also plant-based protein powerhouses that can also help you meet your daily quota of that macronutrient. Additionally, they contain oodles of filling fiber to nurture your beneficial gut bacteria and keep you feeling full.

6. Chickpeas

Many of the plant-based iron sources listed here are also high in protein, and chickpeas are no exception. They’re a super-easy addition to salads and soups. Alternatively, whip up a batch of hummus to use as a sandwich spread or dip for chips.

7. Lentils

Lentils resemble oblong peas and come in various colors, including green, brown, and red. They’re a familiar ingredient in soups and many Middle Eastern and Asian dishes. You can also use them to make a killer high-protein-and-iron trail mix , which is beneficial as exercise can tax your body’s iron stores.

8. Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are another trail mix favorite that are also a tasty, high-iron snack by themselves. Eat them with or without the shell. Consuming the outer husk only delivers more iron and filling fiber, plus they take longer to chew. The latter factor may assist with your weight loss efforts if you tend to pack on unwanted pounds from grazing — reach for a pack of pepitas or pumpkin seeds instead of chips.

9. Spinach

You knew Popeye’s favorite power-booster would make the list. Even with oxalic acid, spinach still delivers a hefty dose of iron in each serving. Plus, it’s easy to sneak into other meals if you aren’t fond of deep, leafy greens. Add a few leaves to your next sandwich or wrap instead of iceberg lettuce, and shred some into spaghetti sauce.

10. Broccoli

Broccoli is another great source of plant-based iron. For a high-iron vegetarian meal, whip up some broccoli cheddar soup. You can even make a vegan version incorporating spinach instead of cheese for an added boost.

11. Quinoa

Quinoa is an ancient grain that even folks with Celiac disease can often tolerate, as long as it isn’t cross-contaminated or prepared on the same equipment as gluten-containing products. It has an impressive nutritional profile, including plenty of plant-based protein and 2.8 milligrams of iron per serving. The cooked stuff is fantastic in soups or salads, and you can find quinoa pasta, bread, crackers, and tortillas.

12. Molasses

While regular molasses contains up to two milligrams of iron per serving, the blackstrap variety contains up to eight. While it’s not very sweet, you’ll often find it as an ingredient in barbecue sauce. Read labels before mixing up your next batch of wings and boost your iron intake nearly effortlessly.

13. Dark Chocolate

How sweet it is to get your daily dose of iron. The more cocoa solids your dark chocolate has, the more of this nutrient it contains. Do you really need any other reason to indulge?

When to Call the Doctor

While it’s highly unlikely that you will ever experience such severity outside of a famine, iron deficiency can be fatal if left unaddressed. Your doctor can detect iron deficiency with a blood test, and you may need a supplement, depending on your lifestyle. Please let your physician recommend the best course of treatment. It’s unwise to begin supplementing without medical supervision.

Jennifer’s Personal Tip for Iron Supplementation

Not to get too gruesome, but should I ever need to audition for a remake of “The Exorcist,” forget the fake “pea soup.” Taking iron on an empty stomach is enough to make me vomit.

Fortunately, I’m not alone in this reaction. I consider it one of nature’s safety measures. Taking too much iron can damage your health, and many experts advise that you only take a supplement if your doctor recommends it. Otherwise, side effects may include stomach damage, even organ failure, and death. You’re much better off upping your daily intake through your diet if you suspect your levels are low — that’s why we provided a handy foods list.

Are You Getting Enough Iron?

According to a recent JAMA review, a significant percentage of Americans experience iron deficiency. Some go on to develop anemia. Improving your intake can benefit your overall health, especially if you menstruate, are in your reproductive years, or are pregnant.

However, you should only take an iron supplement under your doctor’s supervision. Instead, strive to improve your intake through diet. Add more of the above foods to your meal plan and mindfully tune into the effects on your body and mind. ~ With love, J.

(Is Someone or Something) Messing With Your Interoception?

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:20:18 GMT

You have more than five senses. Let's learn about one of your several "sixth senses," interoception.

How do you feel? It seems like an easy question, but it’s harder to answer honestly than it seems on the surface. Various factors may mess with your sense of interoception — and it’s a two-way street. Your interoception can also impact you in ways you fail to recognize.

Your interoception is one reason why mindfulness practices such as yoga are so vital to maintaining your sense of self and positive mental health. Let’s take a deep dive into this “sixth sense” and understand its effects on your daily life a little better.

What Is Interoception?

If someone asked kindergarten you how many senses you had, you may have cheerfully responded “five.” Sight, sound, touch, taste and smell are great for a quick grounding exercise , but in reality, there’s considerable disagreement in scientific circles about how many senses humans truly possess.

How, for example, do you know that you’re hungry or need to use the bathroom? The answer is your sense of interoception. Interoception is one of several senses beyond the “big five.” It refers to your perception of sensations arising from within the body. Some define it as your ability to “read” the messages your nerve receptors send your brain.

It seems simple to interpret messages like, “I’m thirsty” or even, “I don’t feel well.” However, the human brain can get up to some interesting mental gymnastics, and the words, attitudes and reactions of other people can cause vital information to get missed or misinterpreted. It’s a lot like being on a call with a bad Bluetooth connection and seven screaming toddlers in the background. You might kind of get the message — but there’s a lot of room for error that can impact your health.

4 Things That Can Mess With Your Interoception

Have you ever noticed how you can “push through” physical discomfort sometimes, but not others? It could be that your pain is more intense at times. It could also be other factors messing with your sense of interoception. Remain open when considering these factors that may intervene with the messages various nerve receptors send to your brain.

1. Being Busy or Stressed

Being busy or stressed can mess with interoception in seemingly contradictory ways. Many people have temporarily forgotten hunger, for instance, when they’re too busy to eat. You may not notice your body’s signals at all while in a flow state. Conversely, each pang becomes more intense when you’re famished but the boss says no snacks at the register.

Consciously ignoring your body’s interoceptive signals temporarily is something nearly every child learns as part of basic toilet training. However, problems can arise when you get so good at ignoring these sirens, you fail to tune into genuine danger. Like someone who lives in a bad neighborhood, you can grow so accustomed to the sound of blaring squad cars, you barely blink till the cops break down your front door.

Unfortunately, despite “time-saving technology,” people’s lives are busier than ever — economic leaders seem determined to invent all sorts of organization apps and gadgets rather than simply allowing people more time to manage the realities of modern life. Everything has become a competitive race to an imaginary top. Because of this toxic societal mindset, stress is a constant companion for many of us. It’s natural to fall out of tune with your body’s internal clues when your mind already overflows with lengthening work days and to-do lists that never end.

You might think that the last thing you have time for is sitting quietly and coming back to yourself. However, it can be one of the most powerful moves you make for your emotional and mental health. It’s why Only in Sedona Yoga features numerous short flows of 10 to 15 minutes. That’s all it takes to tune into your interoception and listen to what your body is telling you.

2. The Words and Treatment You Receive From Others

When Ed and I started Only in Sedona Yoga, I was in such a profound state of burnout that my body was shutting down. I experienced migraines so severe, I would black out. Often (and worse), I skated on that edge, too incapacitated by nausea and vertigo that I felt like I would collapse at any moment. I have mild forms of various autoimmune conditions, which would all flare. It was like having the worst flu of your life while being pounded by a sledgehammer — and the worst part? No one would believe me about how severe my symptoms were.

Yes. I look healthy. Even before I fully took charge of my wellness through mindful activity, diet and other lifestyle changes, I followed the “rules” for positive wellness — I ate healthy, I exercised. I tried . However, even though I went to lengths many would classify as dramatic, the treatment I received from others made me doubt myself. The rare days when I felt as healthy as I looked came with a heaping side portion of guilt. Was I faking, after all? Was I, just maybe, exaggerating how bad my symptoms were?

These thoughts only lasted until the next attack hit. Then, there was no mistaking it. I was sick and needed help.

My experience is familiar to countless other people with chronic illnesses, especially women. Consider this: One out of every ten women has endometriosis. It’s far from rare. However, it takes the average woman seven to ten years just to get a diagnosis , let alone treatment. It’s only going to get worse considering the Trump administration's removal of health information from national health databases.

What matters is how this dismissal and invalidation messes with your interoception. You know when something goes amiss with your body. It sends you signals. However, when other people gaslight you, telling you that you’re fine when you know you are not, it can make an already bad situation worse.

At best, you may struggle with guilt if you do choose to pursue treatment. At worst, you might ignore those nagging symptoms until they become untreatable. How many souls have received a stage four cancer diagnosis when doctors could have treated and removed the tumor before it spread had they only listened to their patient’s symptoms and ordered the right tests instead of dismissing them as “stress?”

Invalidation of your interoceptive cues can come from anywhere — your boss, your spouse, your parents and even your doctor. It takes enormous strength to say, “No, this is truly happening inside my body,” when everyone around you is telling you that it isn’t. The problem gets worse if you have few resources, the people around you also struggle, and no one will simply admit, “we don’t have the money to fix this.” Others may try to get you to dismiss your internal cues not out of malicious intent, but because the hope that it will all be okay, somehow, is all they can genuinely offer.

Listen to your internal cues, anyway.

3. Your Mood and Mindset

One of the most harmful forms of medical gaslighting is when people say, “You’re making these symptoms up for attention.” Please, let me be clear — no one fakes being sick for attention. If we were able to “just be normal and lead a happy life,” that’s what we’d be out doing. We wouldn’t be waiting for hours on hard plastic chairs beneath fluorescent lights in offices that smell of sanitizer and despair, only to be scolded and dismissed during the two minutes we (finally) get with the doctor.

That said, it is also crucial to recognize that your mood and mindset can mess with your interoception. Overreacting to your internal cues can be as harmful to your overall health as ignoring or minimizing them.

Everyone has experienced the effect of mood and mindset on their interoception. For example, your shoulders can ache from hard labor, but when your favorite song comes through your earbuds, your energy levels lift, and you put more spring in your steps as your perception of pain decreases.

However, dark moods can also make existing pain cues feel worse. The connection between mental and physical disease exists for multiple reasons, including:

Physical illness can lead to job loss and economic despondency, even homelessness in some countries like the U.S., and this reality is enough to make anyone depressed.
Physical illness often leads to isolation from family and friends, robbing you of your support system when you need it most.
Other people may invalidate or minimize your symptoms, making you feel even more isolated.
Many of the same brain regions “light up” in response to both physical pain and mental trauma. It sets off a cascade of many of the same physiological responses. For example, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, and you produce more stress hormones like cortisol. It’s one reason researchers believe such a strong link exists between childhood trauma and chronic illness.
Your perception that things will never improve can make the pain seem worse than it is, even intolerable. As a result, you get caught into a sucking vortex of negative thoughts followed by increased symptoms.

Where it gets really complicated is when these factors interplay and feed off of each other. For example, you may interpret your pounding heart and chest tightness as a heart attack — and you should always get such symptoms checked by a doctor. However, your fear of the bill or copay could make you vacillate on seeking treatment. Your heart rate and stress levels continue climbing until you finally break down and reach out for care.

All these competing factors can make it hard to discern when the something messing with your interoception is, in fact, your own mind. Here’s where grounding, mindful practices come into play. If sitting quietly for five minutes and practicing deep breathing eases your symptoms, that’s a powerful clue. If they persist, it may be time to call the doc.

4. Being Neurodiverse

The final wrinkle that can mess with your interoception occurs when you’re wired just a little bit differently from the average bear. As someone who is now diagnosed autistic, I can tell you that’s exactly what much of my life experience has been like. It’s not that I feel totally alien; it’s more like being a diesel engine in a world of gas-powered cars.

Neurodiversity is a broad spectrum, and here, I can only rightfully speak from my experience. My sensory experience is incredibly rich — but also painful. While my vision isn’t so hot, other senses are at least twice as keen to make up for it. My hearing, sense of smell and touch are incredibly sensitive. I’d dare to say my interoception is extra-sharp, too.

Conventional wisdom says that autistic people struggle with interoception , and I suppose, in one sense, I have. However, mine aren’t the “usual” variety. Many people are familiar with cases of people playing video games for hours, even days, without eating, drinking or using the bathroom — they’re so out of touch with their interoception that they do the deed right in their chair. In my case, I feel everything so much that it can interfere with my ability to function. If I am in sensory hell, everything else is a no-go.

Telling me I am exaggerating or cannot possibly be as sensitive as I am changes nothing. Saying, “it can’t possibly bother you that bad,” is like saying, “you can’t possibly have two arms,” while I’m using both of them to juggle. My sensitivity is my reality, but I can no more take my nerves out of my body and place them in yours than I can pluck out my eyes and let you see through them. That doesn’t make my experience less real. You can’t see or touch electricity or the Bluetooth waves that connect your devices, either, but they don’t cease to exist simply because they lie outside the limits of your perception.

Suffice it to say that folks with any type of neurodiversity — and there are probably many more than have been officially diagnosed, not less — are more prone to letting what’s going on both inside and outside of their bodies mess with their sense of interoception. They may misread internal cues or not know how to deal with them in a socially appropriate way. Alternatively, they may miss them altogether. However, being aware of this reality makes it easier to discern the truth amid the often confusing messages.

How Your Interoception Can Mess With You

Your sense of interoception can mess with you if you don’t tune into it. While my own lack of awareness may stem from my neurodiversity, the root cause matters less than the impact ignoring my interoception has had on my life.

Your sense of interoception, like nearly everything in nature, is a two-way street. Just as your mood and mindset can affect your perception of pain and discomfort arising from internal signals, those internal alerts can impact your mood and mindset. That’s what makes body scans such an incredible grounding and pain-relieving technique. You might not realize your headache originates from your tightly-clenched jaw until you breathe awareness into it. You might not even recognize how your pain is making you irritable until you snap at the wrong person and create a rift in a valued relationship.

Awareness is key, which requires daily mindfulness practice. Fortunately, tuning into your internal cues — without judging, just listening to what your body is telling you — becomes easier with consistency. That’s why it’s not enough to indulge in the occasional yoga class. However, a few minutes of daily mat work makes checking in with yourself a matter of habit.

How to Listen to Your Interoception

Learning to listen to your internal cues is crucial to fixing what’s messing with your interoception. The exact method you use may vary. Mindful activities can include any of the following and countless more, so choose an activity that calls to your spirit, such as:

Yoga
Meditation — guided or silent
Walking meditation
Gardening
Ecstatic dance
Drumming

Even simple acts, such as repetitive chores or playing with your pet, can create the right conditions for tuning into your sense of interoception. The idea is to find an activity that relaxes you while allowing you to practice detachment. Reminding yourself that your thoughts and feelings are not you, but only a part of you, like your arm or your leg, empowers you to examine what’s going on inside without judgment. Calm observation helps you avoid catastrophizing or minimization.

The last part is crucial. Once you feel sufficiently calm and detached, scan through your body. What do you observe? Is it something that warrants further attention? If you do detect discomfort, avoid jumping to conclusions about possible causes. Instead, take careful notes as you notice. Is the pain dull or sharp? Does movement help or make it worse? You might even keep a journal after each session to get into the habit of recording your check-ins.

Doing so enables you to recognize patterns. It can also help if you need to go to the doctor at some point. The ability to say, “I have been experiencing X symptoms for X number of days/weeks at this level of severity” can hopefully expedite the diagnostic process.

What’s Messing With Your Interoception?

Humans have more than five senses. One which often goes uncounted is your sense of interoception, your ability to interpret signals stemming from inside of your body. Multiple factors can mess with your interoception, but educating yourself lends understanding.

Engaging in regular mindfulness practices sharpen your sense of interoception, allowing you to better tune into what’s going on inside of you. This recognition can make you happier and possibly improve your overall health.

Top 10 Book Recommendations for Those Healing by Talking to Their Mats

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 14:12:15 GMT

Even if you can't access a therapist, help may be a bookshelf away.

Among the things I value most about my therapist are her awesome book recommendations. As someone who is neurodiverse, I process information best when I have time to learn and absorb it independently. Sometimes, I even read while I talk to my mat!

In that spirit, I wanted to share ten of my favorite books that have helped me immensely in my recovery process. These all hold coveted spots on my Kindle, and I hope you’ll find them useful in your healing process, too.

1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD

Traumatic stress doesn’t only live in your brain. It remains trapped in your body, but healing practices, including yoga, can help release it. Bessel Van Der Kolk is a pioneer in dealing with PTSD and CPTSD. Learning about how what happens to you affects your physical self can deepen the work you do on the mat.

2. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate, MD

What causes addiction? Gabor Mate digs deep beyond the physiological reality and social stigma surrounding addiction to answer what causes people to get hooked in the first place. The answer is an attempt to escape the pain of trauma, often repeated trauma. Mate’s approach begins with self-compassion and the understanding that such individuals have so often lacked.

3. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith Herman, MD

Herman does a phenomenal job of explaining how coercive control creates trauma and drawing parallels between violence inside the home and in the larger political arena and world. Her female perspective is a necessary breath of fresh air in a male-dominated profession. It’s a must-read for everyone, especially for female victims of sexual assault who feel their experiences often go unvalidated.

4. Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery From Psychological Abuse by Shannon Thomas, LCSW

Toxic people don’t only harm with their fists. Repetitive mind games can cause severe trauma, and the pain often compounds when outsiders fail to see the problem. From the outside, it looks like a healthy family or workplace, but this hidden abuse silently torments victims. The book includes a reflective journal to help you to break free.

5. Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body by Peter A. Levine, PhD

Trauma can cause lifetime problems that often manifest in mental illness and can progress to physical disease. Peter Levine digs deep into the physiological roots of your emotional reactions, helping you renegotiate and heal traumas through the somatic self. It includes methods for identifying and working with your symptoms to treat trauma at its source.

6. Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma by Peter Walker, LMFT

Complex PTSD isn’t recognized as a unique disorder as of yet in the DSM, but it holds its own unique category in the ICD-11. Unlike PTSD arising from a singular traumatic event, CPTSD arises from prolonged entrapment in an inherently unsafe situation where the traumas never stop. It may occur from prolonged child abuse, domestic violence, indoctrination into a cult, or other false imprisonment, and it takes a unique toll on your psychological makeup. Walker offers real-life examples and practical exercises for returning to your sense of self.

7. The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining Emotional Control and Becoming Whole by Arielle Schwartz, PhD

People with CPTSD often feel as if something is fundamentally wrong or broken with them. Finding healing isn’t easy, especially in a nation that paywalls access to basic healthcare. However, if you can get your hands on this book, you’ll unlock exercises, the introduction to various types of somatic therapy, and countless journal prompts that you can use with your therapist — or without one — to further your healing.

8. Somatic Therapy for Healing Trauma by Jordan Danin, LP

What is somatic therapy? Hint: If you’ve ever tuned into one of Only in Sedona Yoga’s videos , you’ve engaged in it! However, it’s much more than only yoga, although that is one of the many techniques you’ll learn about in this book.

9. Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom by Daniel J. Siegel MD and Jack Kornfield PhD

For many people, their healing journey contains a spiritual component. Siegel and Kornfield do an incredible job of explaining the science of mindfulness, how it intersects with the latest neurobiological research and offers practical insights into ways to make every day of this crazy existence a little happier.

10. Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body by David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper, PhD

Far too many trauma survivors don’t feel safe anywhere, including in their own skin. This book is all about reclaiming your right to self by talking to your mat. With an introduction by none other than Bessel Van Der Kolk himself, the authors take a science-based approach to using this ancient practice to create a lost sense of safety.

Top Ten Book Recommendations for Healing by Talking to Your Mat

The ten books above have transformed my life for the better. I hope they do the same for you. I’ve intentionally kept my description of each brief, but I consider each one essential reading.

We at Only in Sedona Yoga believe healing is possible, and the power to do so ultimately comes from inside of you. While it certainly helps to have more resources at your disposal, it is absolutely possible to start on your journey with little more than a library card and a genuine desire to create a happier, healthier, and more peaceful existence. You deserve to feel your best, so give yourself the gift of inspiration today. May these books be as useful on your journey as they have been on mine.

Probiotics: Why You Need Them and How to Get Them Deliciously

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:12:38 GMT

Getting your probiotic intake deliciously may be among the best ways to nurture your overall physical and mental health

Could a basic bottle off your grocer’s shelves benefit your mental health as much as a good therapy session? While science may never answer that question, it has amassed a host of data on the perks of probiotics for your physical and, somewhat surprisingly, mental health.

We at Only in Sedona Yoga want to be clear — we are not researchers, doctors, or scientists. Please discuss any dietary or supplement changes with your doctor.

However, we firmly believe in spreading useful health information to empower our viewers to feel their best. We consider it especially important in a country where countless citizens lack access to traditional medical care. While taking certain measures may not cure, they may help — and helping folks is what we’re all about. Let’s dig into the perks, and how to get your probiotics deliciously.

What Are Probiotics?

An entire universe exists within your intestines. Your interior landscape abounds with living organisms, some of which benefit your overall health, others which can harm it. This microcosm is similar to Planet Earth — some of the things you do to your gut promote life, while others wreak considerable damage. Just like saving the planet, there’s only so much you can control, but probiotics are among your greatest allies in creating a healthy intestinal environment where the good bacteria, or living organisms, can flourish — and so can you.

Every body contains certain probiotic colonies from birth. Countless factors, from your genes to your mother’s diet, delivery method , medication use, and exposure to environmental contaminants such as microplastics may affect it. Once you are born, your microbiome changes in response to your diet and lifestyle. Factors that may change your gut composition by decreasing the balance of good (or life-supporting) bacteria and increasing the harmful strains include:

While these factors can deplete your stash of good bacteria, leading to adverse health impacts, you can restore your levels. One way to do so is through a diet full of probiotic-rich noms. These foods contain actual living organisms to replenish the stash in your gut. A single cup of yogurt once a month won’t do it — you need to consume probiotics regularly to maintain the benefit.

That’s why getting your probiotics deliciously is so important. When doing so becomes a treat, it’s easy to increase your intake.

Serious Perks of Probiotics Everyone Should Know About

Fixing your gut could be among the most powerful moves you can make to improve your physical and mental health. Check out these impressive studies and what nurturing the right balance of healthy microorganisms in your intestines can do.

Mental Health Benefits of Probiotics

Scientists continue to uncover more about the gut-brain axis seemingly every day. However, numerous studies suggest that probiotics may help with multiple mental health conditions, from depression and anxiety and even including disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. For instance:

Research on mice shows that those who have their gut bacteria removed demonstrate a marked increase in anxiety. However, adding a specific probiotic metabolite increases activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with your fight-flight-freeze response. Mice so treated displayed fewer anxious behaviors.
A recent meta-analysis of multiple studies on the effects of probiotics on mental health found that probiotic use led to a considerable reduction in depressive symptoms and a moderate decrease in anxiety symptoms among participants. Another meta-analysis found that certain strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium led to a significant decrease in depressive symptoms.
A comprehensive meta-analysis found that probiotics helped reduce many of the behavioral symptoms in those on the autism spectrum. As someone who is autistic, my insider’s perspective is that they do so by reducing the crushing anxiety so many of us with slightly different wiring systems deal with all the time. While I can’t speak for all autistic individuals (the old saying, “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met…one autistic person” definitely holds), reducing life’s inevitable emotional waves from tsunamis to much more surfable swells inspires me to keep buying kombucha and kefir.
Another meta-analysis of research performed on those with schizophrenia found that probiotics significantly reduced PANSS scores and gastrointestinal symptoms while improving insulin levels and resistance. Researchers believe supplementation may help behavioral disturbances and related physical health impacts.

Physical Health Benefits of Probiotics

Keeping your little gut critters balanced on the inside seems to make you happier and more well-adjusted on the outside, but the goodness of probiotics doesn’t stop there. You may also see the difference on the scale and in the mirror. They may even ease some of your nagging aches and pains and protect against chronic disease. Consider the following:

A 2024 systematic review found that probiotic use in the absence of dieting led to weight loss in 66.6% of the reviewed studies and reduced waist circumference in over 80% of participants.
Another study involving 58 women prescribed a probiotic and prebiotic regimen had considerably higher beneficial bacteria levels in their gut at the study’s conclusion, along with statistically significant improvements in body composition and obesity measures.
A 12-week study on those aged 12 to 30 with acne vulgaris found a significant reduction in the number of acne lesions with few, if any, side effects.
Studies on rugby players show reduced muscle soreness and improved sleep quality following probiotic use.
A recent meta-analysis of athletes such as marathoners and triathletes found that regular probiotic use mitigated muscular stress and damage.
Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of countless diseases, including heart disease. One recent study found that probiotic use had an anti-inflammatory effect in women with high blood pressure, altering several inflammatory markers.
According to a recent review of the research, probiotics may play a role in preventing and managing diabetes.
A recent study of over 36,000 individuals found that regular low-to-moderate probiotic intake significantly reduced the risk of cancer mortality , with no association found at higher doses. While you don’t want to do too much of any good thing, you don’t have to worry too much about accidentally going overboard.

5 Ways to Get More Probiotics in Your Life Deliciously

Sure, you can take a probiotic supplement, and many do. We’d recommend discussing the best one with your doctor, as there are multiple beneficial strains, and finding the right formula can take time.

However, we find it best to get our probiotics through food and drink, and doing so has added delectable flavor to our lives. You can find probiotics in fermented foods and drinks, with each variety offering different strains.

Fortunately, more and more prepacked foods now contain various probiotic strains, perfect for those with hectic lifestyles. Here’s how to get more probiotics in your life deliciously, even if you don’t have much time. Getting healthier isn’t a sacrifice — it’s a gift to yourself!

1. Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha

You’ve heard us mention this brand countless times on the show , and that’s because they are simply amazing. This magical brew is key to my recovery and sobriety, not only because it is rich in probiotics but because it’s also delicious.

Unlike regular kombucha, which uses black tea and sugar, producing an unpleasant vinegar-like aftertaste, Wild Tonic uses honey and green tea. The magical ingredient is their Jun culture, full of delicious probiotic goodness your belly loves. That’s it, other than their other plant-extracted, natural flavors, such as lavender and blackberry mint. Blending it all together with owner Holly and her team’s special touch of love results in a heavenly smooth, slightly sweet, and ultimately refreshing beverage that’s like a spa getaway for your tongue and insides.

While once hard to find outside of the desert southwest, Wild Tonic has exploded in popularity for good reason. You can find it at select retailers out here, such as Whole Foods, Natural Grocers and even some convenience stores. The easiest way to get your fix is to go to wildtonic.com and use their store locator — they can ship nationwide. We always keep it in stock here at the ranch to offer to our yoga retreat guests.

2. Wildbrine Fermented Foods

While many minds turn to yogurt for gut health, countless fermented foods also contain various strains, providing yet another way to get your probiotics deliciously. You can ferment anything from cabbage to carrots at home with sufficient practice, but when you need convenience, Wildbrine has you covered. They offer a variety of kimchi, sauerkraut, pickled veggies, and specialty blends, like their organic fermented coleslaw, the perfect healthy side for your next summer picnic.

Wldbrine comes ready to eat — simply twist off the top and dig in with a fork. Of course, you can also add their foods to various recipes. Get ready for baseball’s opening day with a full lineup of veggies and whole-grain chips perfect for dipping in keto-friendly, spicy probiotic spinach artichoke dip. You’ll find their foods at health food stores like Natural Grocers and Whole Foods and other select retailers like Target.

3. Miko Brand Miso Soup

Why do the Japanese live longer? Many factors may contribute, but one may be the practice of enjoying a bowl of miso soup any time of the day — breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Preparing a bowl of Miko Brand’s Instant Miko is as easy as mixing up a packet of ramen, only with benefits for your gut health.

The probiotics in miso soup come from fermented soybeans, which make up the rich broth. The umami flavor blends perfectly with other healthy staples like green onions, daikon radishes, tofu, carrots, and seaweed. Plus, research suggests that eating a clear-broth soup such as miso before a larger meal results in consuming fewer calories overall. Thus, adding miso to your life may benefit your weight loss efforts in two ways.

You can find Miko Brand at select Costco locations, specialty Asian markets, or by ordering it through Amazon. It’s a great, inexpensive, and healthy prepper food that won’t go bad and requires no refrigeration, unlike many probiotic-containing meals.

4. Forager Cashew Milk Yogurt

Nearly any brand of yogurt is probiotic — manufacturers today add the good stuff in after pasteurization to further protect human health. However, some use a further heat process that kills these strains, too, so be sure to read the labels. Alternatively, simply reach for Forager. It’s dairy-free, and although living organisms can’t technically be considered vegan, it’s the next best thing. Plus, these microorganisms will enjoy happy lives in your gut, where they may just uplift your mood, too.

Reach for a flavored version for a quick snack. Use the plain, unflavored variety as part of a healthy salad dressing mix or an alternative to mayonnaise in wraps and sandwiches. You can find Forager at many traditional grocery stores, including Fry’s, Safeway, and Albertsons.

5. Nancy’s Organic Kefir

What is kefir? If you’re a member of the Only in Sedona Yoga crew, it’s the most convenient and easy way to get several probiotic strains. Technically, it’s a fermented milk drink that has the taste and texture of liquid yogurt. It’s a simple way to get your probiotics deliciously. Knock back a cup of this in the morning as a healthy breakfast alternative as you race out the door.

Even though kombucha and kefir feature different bacteria strains, some varieties of the latter can still leave a slightly sour aftertaste in your mouth. Nancy’s is the exception. It contains just the right hint of sweetness with zero vinegariness. You can find their products at Whole Foods and many traditional grocery stores, and their creamery in Oregon also offers bulk ordering for those in the food service industry.

Get Your Probiotics Deliciously

Probiotic-rich beverages and foods are way tastier than taking a pill. You benefit from the additional nutrients and calories while gently restoring your intestinal microbiome. Doing so could work wonders for your physical and mental health.

What are some of your favorite ways to get your probiotic fix? Experiment with the suggestions on this list or share your most beloved brands on our YouTube channel in the comment section. Restore balance to your belly and improve your overall wellness by enjoying your daily probiotics deliciously.

Practicing Yoga When in a Flare: 6 Tips From a Fellow Spoonie

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:24:57 GMT

Be Kind to Yourself When You Hurt

Those with chronic illnesses know it isn’t pretty when flares strike. It’s not just the pain but the brain fog, the fatigue, the sheer exhaustion of having to push through your daily duties when you’re nowhere near your best. Probably the last thing you feel like doing is practicing yoga when in a flare, but doing so can sometimes help.

That said, listening to your body during such times is more crucial than ever. Self-compassion is the name of the game, as is mindfulness. I treat my flows as healing therapy when my chronic conditions act up, and doing so has helped immensely. Here are six tips for nurturing yourself on the mat when practicing yoga in a flare.

1. Choose the Right Style

The good news is I’ve been working hard doing interior and exterior cleanups to fund the Only in Sedona Yoga dream. The bad news is that this shift to manual labor made many of my mild autoimmune conditions stop in to say howdy do. I’ve been trimming trees and making beds with a slipped rib and screaming arthritis.

Suffice it to say, I haven’t been practicing the Ashtanga primary series much. However, gentle restorative yoga has been my solace. Restorative yoga arose as a type of healing therapy. It focuses on using props and long, slow passive poses to encourage wellness. It’s the perfect form of yoga to practice when in a flare.

This style, along with Yin, helps bathe your fascia in hyaluronic acid, a natural lubricant produced by your body — it’s far more than a face cream ingredient. It contributes to wound healing , cellular metabolism, and inflammation, and encouraging its flow through your fascia may ease pain and lower disease risk.

Your fascia is connective tissue that surrounds nearly every structure in your body, and guess what? It is rich in nerve tissue, containing 25% more nerves than your skin and 1,000 times more than your muscles.

Hyaluronic acid helps by keeping your fascia moving smoothly. However, it can also work like glue when you don’t move, increasing pain. That’s why long, slow practices like restorative yoga and Yin are so beneficial, even though you don’t burn tons of calories or break a sweat. When you’re practicing yoga in a flare, skip the power and vinyasa classes in favor of a restorative flow, such as our Sober Saturday program.

2. Use Props

Many restorative yoga poses build on the inspiration of B.K.S. Iyengar, who was famous for using props to achieve perfect body positioning. Props are also perfect for practicing yoga in a flare. For example, on a good day, I can lie back in half-saddle without assistance, but when my knees are screaming at me, a bolster takes off the pressure, allowing me to relax in the passive stretch without discomfort.

Surround yourself with the following before you begin your practice so you don’t have to reach for them:

Bolsters
Pillows
Blankets
Blocks
Straps

Tune into your body when using your props. Please don’t wait for your guide’s instructions to reach for them. While I try to mention using them, it’s impossible to go through every possible asana variation when leading the class — it would quickly turn into a lecture, and we’d never get through the poses. Use props whenever you feel you need to. Remember, the goal is to encourage healing, so use what you have on hand to find the perfect positioning for the medicine to work.

3. Dress Comfortably

Have you ever tried pulling on a pair of tights with your hands aching from an arthritis flare? It isn’t fun. If that step makes the deciding difference as to whether or not you practice, slide into some cozy sweats instead and go.

Heck, even practice in your pajamas. I’m a big fan of that. Of course, my autistic self is also a big fan of wearing pajamas for any occasion — why people insist on wearing uncomfortable clothing at all is a mystery my grey matter will apparently never solve — but the point is to be good to you. If you aren’t quite as bold as I am to walk into the studio in your jammies, move on to the next tip.

4. Switch Up the Scenery

Spoon theory became popular among the chronic illness crowd, but the fact is, we all have a finite amount of energy. You have even less when in a flare because your body’s defense system is already at work, taxing your reserves. You might have sufficient juice to talk to the mat, but getting dressed and driving to the studio takes more oomph than you can muster.

Instead, practice at home. Practice in bed, even. Only in Sedona Yoga is one of countless yoga channels on YouTube, and you can find the perfect flow without leaving your home.

Another thing that feels glorious — if weather permits — is taking your practice outside. This trick works best on warm days, which we have in droves here in the desert southwest. However, if it’s hot where you are, practicing in the sun can feel heavenly on aching joints. The warmth radiating from the earth below is a bonus. It’s like yoga on a heating pad.

5. Keep It Short and Supported

You might get on your mat and decide it feels so cozy that you want to stay awhile. Alternatively, you might find that a shorter session is all you can take. A 10-to-15 minute session is fine if that’s when your body cries “hold, enough.”

What if the mere thought of getting on the floor — or back up from it — makes you ache? Try a chair yoga class , no mat necessary. You can even do it at your desk at work for a midday refresher.

6. Make It an Immersive Treat

Little touches mean a lot when you don’t feel your best. If you have a kind, supportive partner, you might ask them to set the mood for you, dimming the lights, putting on some soft music, and making your practice space inviting. If you have the energy, doing it for yourself is like saying “I love you” to your soul — which can go surprisingly far in helping you feel better.

Also, consider bundling your practice with other healthy treats. Perhaps follow your flow with a warm bubble bath or a nurturing, wholesome, and anti-inflammatory meal. What would you do for your BFF if they were ailing and you had the time and means to help? Do that for yourself. Everything in your body works together, and your emotions very much influence your physical state — so be good to you. The world can be hard, but you can be kind to yourself.

Practicing Yoga When in a Flare

Flares can seem inevitable when you have a chronic illness. While no one tool works for everyone, healing restorative yoga helps many cope with their conditions and achieve at least partial relief. It nurtures your body and encourages the right physiological conditions for things to calm down, dialing down the red alert signals. Being mindful and self-compassionate is key to practicing yoga when in a flare and feeling better by talking to your mat.

How are you kind to yourself when in a flare? Let us know in the comments! Thank you for reading.

Stealth Mindfulness: 4 Sneaky Times to Squeeze in Your Practice

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 14:11:06 GMT

Practicing mindfulness need not mean adding to your to-do list

Does it sometimes seem like you’d lack time to breathe if it wasn’t an automatic function, let alone think? You aren’t alone if you scoff at the idea of squeezing one more thing into your schedule. Modern life, unfortunately, leaves little time for mindfulness — but what if you could get your fix without a single change to your daily routine?

You can. Here are four stealth ways to squeeze in mindfulness practice without making it another chore on your to-do list. Trying them might even make your daily life happier.

1. Mindfulness of Waiting

You make a mad dash into the store on your way to work. Unfortunately, there’s a line at the only open register. The individual in front of you laboriously pages through a veritable atlas of coupons before pulling out their checkbook — checkbook! — while you silently fume. However, will getting anxious or even angry speed up the transaction?

You can’t control some external circumstances, no matter what you do. What you can manage is your response and emotions to them.

The reality is, you have a few minutes to wait. Put them to good use instead of wrecking your mood and mindset by getting angry and carrying that negative feeling forward into the rest of your day. Instead, look at your circumstances as a positive — you have the perfect opportunity to squeeze in mindfulness practice. Here are three exercises to try:

The Alphabet Name Game: You may have played some variation of this game on road trips, but it works just as well in the checkout lane. There are also several variations. Starting with the letter A, challenge yourself to find at least one item within eyesight beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. If you want to add a twist, list multiple items until you run out of “A” before proceeding to B.
The Grand Grocery Remodel: How does the atmosphere of your favorite grocery store impact you? Tune into your senses. Is the lighting too bright or just right? The music? The other aesthetics? What improvements would you make if you designed the store?
The Story of Random Strangers : While you don’t want to be rude and stare, it’s not hard to catch a glimpse of what’s in other shopper’s baskets. What can you discern about their lives, based on what you see?

2. Mindfulness of Commuting

Your car is another place where you spend considerable time waiting. Yelling at bad drivers may feel cathartic but can be downright dangerous when tempers flare. All the screaming in the world won’t clear that traffic jam up any faster, so use this opportunity to squeeze in mindfulness practice. Here’s how:

If behind the wheel: You need to remain observant — but that’s the perfect chance to tune into what’s happening in your immediate present. Do so by counting cars. Observe the make, model and color of the vehicles around you. As a bonus, you’ll be a far more useful eyewitness should a fender bender occur.
If commuting by bus, train, rideshare, etc: Hello, guided meditation. Now’s the perfect time to don your earbuds or headphones. The brighter and larger they are, the clearer “do not disturb” message you send to other passengers — although you may wish to keep your eyes open to maintain situational awareness. Practice your soft gaze, as slightly lidded eyes encourage introspection while keeping you alert to nearby goings on.

3. Mindfulness of Eating

By now, you might have heard of the mindful chocolate exercise, but there are nearly countless ways to practice mindfulness while you eat. Doing so could make a bigger difference in your overall health than a shelf of diet books. Research suggests that those who eat mindfully carry fewer excess pounds while enjoying better diet quality. Here are three ways to do so — even if it’s a microwave Ramen night:

Single ingredient focus: The ingredient can be one in the recipe or an extra you add. Observe the taste, color and texture of your food before adding it, then after. How does it change? You can even experiment with technique. Do you prefer adding the flavoring packet directly to the noodles after they cook, like a spice, or making them into a broth?
Perfect pairings: It’s not only wine that can complement a meal. Can you tame that too-hot salsa by adding diced sweet peppers, maybe cucumbers? If your food is slightly too hot, sour, salty or sweet, what can you pair with it to adjust the overall taste for your palette?
Timing is everything: How do you know when those scrambled eggs have reached the perfect consistency? When your pasta is al dente? Tune into the sensory clues that alert you “it’s ready to eat.”

4. Mindfulness of Transitions

While everyone knows moving is stressful, even smaller changes, such as shifting from one activity to another, can create tension. Neurodiverse individuals often feel the change more acutely — I know, I am one — but mindfulness during these shifts can help. It can also improve your mood and mindset. Here’s how:

Work your interoception: While you might have learned about the five senses in school, many scientists argue that humans have many more. Interoception is your perception of feelings arising from inside your body. Take a minute or two — you might set a timer — and check in with what’s going on in your physical self. Are your teeth clenched? Your shoulders scrunched? Do you feel queasy in the belly? Acknowledge and validate these sensations without judging them or attaching them to any external event. The non-attachment is a key element. “Oh! I have some butterflies. Interesting” is much different from “I always throw up before parties.” The latter creates an unconscious expectation that you will always vomit, while the former simply acknowledges the reality of this present moment.
Check in with the Big 5 (plus 1): Even if humans have additional senses, most are familiar with the five basics, and you can use them to ground yourself in the here and now. Stopping to list five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste is a well-known grounding exercise among psychologists.

The “Plus 1” is a twist I added, as anxiety is my biggest mental bugbear. I don’t know how much is trauma and how much is autism, but I know from mindfully tuning in that transitions make me feel inherently unsafe. After doing a quick 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, my question to myself becomes, “What’s making me feel unsafe right now? After all, if there were an immediate threat, my legs would already be running for the door. I’d be reacting to danger, not thinking about it.

Often, the answer to what’s making me feel unsafe is simply the transition itself, with all its associated uncertainty. My question then becomes, “What can I do right now to make myself feel more safe?” The answer could be anything from looking at a picture of my cat to adjusting my outfit for comfort. For example, I’m famous for wearing Bearpaw slippers instead of regular shoes because the sensory discomfort of aching feet adding to the anxiety I already feel overwhelms me. I know this, and while the slippers don’t eliminate the mental discomfort, they preserve enough of my internal resources so that I’m able to cope with it more effectively.

Squeezing in Mindfulness Practice Can Become Your New Healthy Addiction (It’s Fun for Kids, Too)

Squeezing in mindfulness practice with these mini mindfulness breaks help you observe the world in a new light, seeing things as they are instead of through the lens of whatever’s cluttering your mental space at the moment. As with most healthy habits, they work best if you practice them often. You might even want to write a few of the exercises on index cards or put Post-Its on your dash to remind yourself that you can do something besides fume when stuck in traffic.

These exercises are also helpful to teach your kids. Present them positively, making them into games. Will playing the alphabet game in the checkout aisle distract your tyke from the dazzling array of fascinating chocolates stores inevitably make you pass? Maybe, maybe not — but you are teaching your child a valuable coping mechanism they can use for life.

Squeezing in Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness need not mean spending hours on the yoga mat or zafu. It’s more of a mindset shift, a coming back to the present, of taking charge of your mental energy instead of letting external circumstances blow you around like a discarded plastic bag in the wind.

Squeezing in mindfulness practice is a powerful way to reconnect with yourself and who you are as a human being, anytime and anywhere. It’s like a free antidote to the modern way of life that so often treats people as mere tools, cogs in a machine. Practicing mindfulness reminds you that you are alive. What actions can you realistically take in the here and now to make that existence more pleasant? Try these exercises and see what they reveal to you.

When Mindfulness Doesn’t Work

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:05:55 GMT

What can a yoga guide say to those who claim "mindfulness simply doesn't work" for them? As always, compassion reigns.

Ah, the internet — that magical place where people put everyone and everything on blast. Mindfulness is no exception. While some folks hail it as a miracle cure, others claim it just doesn’t work for them.

As in many controversies, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. Furthermore, people can observe the same experience from multiple perspectives. One of my guiding principles is non-interference, meaning when I see such posts, I don’t argue but scroll by with a nod. However, as a yoga guide, I feel compelled to address what people might mean when they say mindfulness doesn’t work and offer insights from my experience.

Mindfulness Is Not a Miracle Overnight Cure

Few people would be more shocked than me if a single yoga class eased chronic aches and pains or led to a psychological breakthrough. It would be the equivalent of a well-worn path appearing through dense forest after only one set of feet trod the earth.

Mindfulness can change your thinking patterns, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Think of your mind like a garden, your thoughts like plants. When left alone — when you don’t engage in any mindful practices — thoughts appear nevertheless, just like wild growing things do. These thoughts influence how you feel and behave.

Over time, the connection between certain thoughts, feelings and behaviors grows stronger. The repeated, if unintentional, linking between these ideas and subsequent actions carves neural pathways in your psyche, the same way that multiple sets of tramping feet will eventually create a well-worn forest trail. It’s how seemingly innocent choices, such as reaching for a drink after a stressful day, can transform into maladaptive coping mechanisms. Each time you make the same decision, you coach your body and mind, “This is how we manage uncomfortable feelings.” As a result, turning to the bottle at the first sign of discomfort becomes reflexive, mindless.

Return to the forest path analogy. Even if you stopped using a given trail today, it would take quite some time for it to grow over. In the meantime, you’d still need a way to get from point A to point B. Doing so would mean bushwhacking through countless weeds — it likewise takes time to create a new way to go.

Your mind is no different. I’ve been practicing yoga and meditation on a daily basis for the past six years. Guess what? I still battle maladaptive thoughts, and the resulting feelings and behaviors. I’m far from perfect.

However, I’m miles apart from where I was when I started my mindfulness journey, and the difference in how I feel is profound. As an undiagnosed autistic until the age of 52 and a survivor of both “big T” and “little T” trauma, I am no stranger to severe anxiety, panic attacks and meltdowns. The sheer magnitude of my fear used to drive me to impulsive, often destructive acts or leave me utterly prostrate in a substance-induced stupor in an attempt to self-destruct.

While I still experience anxiety and even panic attacks today, there’s a world of difference in the quality and magnitude of the experience. Instead of them controlling me, I remain largely in the driver’s seat. I still feel intense discomfort — but I’m also able to step back and look at the situation as a neutral, third-party observer. Doing so enables me to choose healthy coping mechanisms, such as talking to my mat, instead of instinctively and impulsively reaching for the bottle.

Doing so makes the difference between handling a negative situation and making it worse. However, building this ability took time and work. It took a lot of talking to the mat before choosing that coping mechanism to become nearly as instinctive as wanting to drink. Even today, walking the healthy path is a conscious choice. Yet I know following the unhealthy one is going to take me somewhere I don’t want to go and reinforce habits I don’t want to build.

That’s why I talk to the mat daily — to keep on my level, to tend my new garden pathway. It’s why Only in Sedona Yoga focuses on short flows you can fit into your daily life without rearranging your routine. Your mindfulness practice need not take much time, and I’m living proof you don’t need a fancy retreat for it to transform yourself. However, you must be consistent in tending to your mental plant collection, addressing those weeds they arise so you don’t end up back in a tangle. Mindfulness is less of an overnight transformation than a lifelong coping mechanism, but the results make daily practice more than worth it for me.

Mindfulness Isn’t a Miracle Cure for Disease

Just as thoughts can arise from seemingly nowhere, so can disease. While experts can sometimes pinpoint cause and effect, such as the link between asbestos and mesothelioma, it’s often impossible to know which of millions of events caused a problematic gene to “switch on” or cluster of cells to mutate. While certain factors may contribute to the etiology of certain conditions, association is not causation — while many smokers develop lung cancer, for example, others do not.

Multiple studies highlight mindfulness’ efficacy at improving the symptoms of various diseases. For example:

An 8-week mindfulness program reduced stress and symptoms while increasing brain matter volume in patients with MS.
Mindfulness practice can reduce the insomnia, stress, depression and anxiety cancer patients experience and lessen the nausea and fatigue associated with chemotherapy.
Mindfulness can decrease caregiver burden in those caring for adults with chronic diseases.

Results like these have countless bloggers recommending mindfulness as a successful intervention, which it is. Unfortunately, the overly positive tone of some publications can create false expectations in readers. It’s a short mental leap from “mindfulness helps” to “mindfulness cures.” As a result, when some practitioners remain sick even after spending time practicing yoga or sitting in quiet meditation, they jump to the conclusion that mindfulness doesn’t work at all.

“Better” is not “perfect,” but it’s still an improvement. Discarding mindfulness altogether because it fails to cure disease is a lot like turning down a glass of water when you need a full liter to rehydrate yourself. That sole cup might not fulfill all your needs — but it can give you sufficient energy to make it to the next oasis. Likewise, practicing mindfulness can provide enough relief and mental clarity to facilitate attending multiple doctor appointments and taking medicines as prescribed.

When Mindfulness Practice Becomes Rumination

Does mindfulness have a dark side? It depends on your perspective. If your time on the mat dissolves into rumination, it can harm your mental health. Since everything is connected , these adverse effects may even have a physical impact , given sufficient time.

What is rumination? The dictionary defines it as a cognitive process that involves repeatedly dwelling on negative thoughts, emotions and experiences. It may look like:

Repeatedly blaming a particular person or institution for your circumstances, fantasizing about their demise or plotting revenge
Emphasizing only the negative aspects of an unfortunate event while refusing to acknowledge the positive. For example, repeatedly telling yourself, “I’ll never find another job like that” after getting laid off while dismissing the opportunity you now have to find something higher-paying and better aligned with your career goals.
Echoism, or the ceaseless repetition of a singular negative thought, such as, “I’m worthless,” “I destroy everything I touch.”
Yielding to passive acceptance of unacceptable circumstances. Unlike radical acceptance, which invites you to see the situation clearly, as it is, yielding to passive acceptance is the mental equivalent of saying, “nothing will ever get better: there’s no hope of a positive outcome.” It’s the death of hope rather than a path to creating it.

I’m admittedly as prone to rumination as anyone, and I’ve had a lot of practice at it. The best way I have found to move past it is to shift your focus. That may take the form of switching to a guided meditation form, such as yoga nidra, or simply returning your awareness to counting your inhales and exhales each time your mind begins to wander.

Another trick I use is tiring myself out a bit, letting my body naturally channel the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol before entering contemplative practice. When I first began my healing journey, I’d often practice vigorous Ashtanga before each restorative session. It was the only way my neurodiverse, traumatized self could ease my discomfort enough to sit quietly with my thoughts. Nowadays, I rarely need this extra step, although I do strive to get my heart pumping daily to keep my hormone levels in check.

Keeping your mindfulness sessions short can help. So can having a trusted friend or therapist at the ready to help you process any big feelings that arise. You may even wish to begin your mindfulness journey under the tutelage of a trained guide as part of a comprehensive mental health program if you have the means and access to one.

Does Mindfulness Work for Everyone?

I’m a strong proponent of mindfulness. Talking to the mat worked for me when literally everything else I tried had failed. That said, I am one person. It would be disingenuous in the extreme to make a blanket generalization like, “sure, mindfulness works for everyone — try it!”

I love mindfulness because it is accessible to anyone, regardless of your socioeconomic status or where you live. For many in the United States, it’s the ideal intervention, as it doesn’t require deductibles, copays or even a yoga mat to begin, let alone preapproval from the folks at Aetna or United Healthcare. That said — it might not be right for you. I’m also a huge proponent of abandoning practices that don’t work, so if you find it harmful, don’t do it. It’s as simple as that.

Still, it’s worthwhile to consider your options, what you’ve tried and why it may not have worked. It may be that you simply need to dedicate a bit more time to tending your mental garden before you reap the rich harvest. You might need different tools — some respond best to vigorous vinyasa in the sun while others sink into their zafu as if born to it. Be realistic about your expectations. Even by tuning into what techniques do and do not work for you is ultimately, well, practicing mindfulness. Feel free to muse on that inherent contradiction as long as you like.

With love and hope for healing always ~ J.

Cibola Pass to Jordan Trail

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:22:24 GMT

This short 2.25 mile hike is perfect for when you find yourself in Uptown Sedona with a spare hour or two.

What do you do when you find yourself in Uptown Sedona with time to spare? You could hit one of the many shops or, better yet, swing by the Sedona Heritage Museum to learn the story of this Wild West town. Of course, if you’re the outdoorsy sort, you can also take a quick hike, like Cibola Pass to Jordan Trail.

This short trek is perfect for squeezing in amid other activities. The 2.25-mile loop averages just over an hour to complete for most folks, making it perfect for when you have a bit of time but not enough for a longer excursion. It’s moderate — you’ll get a bit of up-and-down. We always recommend trekking poles for various reasons, and a good set will help you balance when ascending a couple of steep, if brief, slopes and rocky scrambles.

You’ll enjoy sweeping views of Steamboat Rock as you hike Cibola Pass to Jordon Trail, and if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the moon over it. You’ll reach an overlook about a half mile into your hike that’s perfect for practicing a few yoga poses and stretching those tight hamstrings and quads before proceeding up the hill. It levels out quickly, providing moderate dips and ascents for the rest of your trek.

This hike sparkles in warm weather thanks to the abundance of trees and shade, but it’s beautiful in the winter, too. Cibola Pass to Jordon Trail is a happy little jaunt that will lift your spirits while elevating your heart rate and making you feel alive and in touch with nature’s beauty.

If you go: To reach the Cibola Pass to Jordan Trail trailhead, follow Jordan Road in Uptown until you reach a “T.” Note the trailhead sign and turn left. Continue past the Jim Thompson trail sign down the dirt road to the main parking area. We highly recommend using a high-clearance vehicle with skid plates to reach the upper lot. You’ll also find the Brin’s Mesa trailhead — Brin’s Mesa, Jordan Trail, and Cibola Pass share the same trailhead.

Is Berberine a Brain Breakthrough? Here’s What You Should Know

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:16:37 GMT

Berberine is often billed online as the "herbal Ozempic," but could it also work wonders for your brain health?

Recent research suggests that a humble herbal extract, berberine, may offer substantial benefits to those with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s exciting news for anyone concerned about their cognitive health.

What is berberine, and should you add it to your regimen? Based on the research, several Only in Sedona Yoga crew members will be adding it to our regimen. We’re sharing what we know with other curious souls to help you make the best decisions about your health.

Requisite disclaimer: The folks at Only in Sedona Yoga are not researchers, doctors, or scientists. We are fellow souls on a healing journey, sharing what we know to add to the collective knowledge base and empower others who may lack access to traditional healthcare modalities. We always recommend consulting with your doctor.

What Is Berberine

Berberine is a naturally occurring phytonutrient in certain plants, including many in the Berberis species, which gave the substance its name. Phytonutrients are plant chemicals with various effects on human health. They also give plants their hues, and berberine is mellow yellow, quite rightly. This particular substance has oodles of potential benefits, including affecting your gut microbiome, which can impact anxiety — but more on that shortly. First, a news brief.

How Does Berberine Affect Alzheimer’s Disease?

According to a 2025 study published in the journal Nature , berberine shows neuroprotective effects against Alzheimer’s disease. It may also modulate the course of the disease by blocking amyloid plaque formation and inhibiting a precursor protein.

Berberine is an important plant alkaloid used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases. It recently made headlines as the “herbal Ozempic,” but its protective role against Alzheimer’s disease could be even more beneficial.

Why? Experts estimate that 44 million people worldwide already struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and project that this number could soar to as many as 135 million by 2050. A hefty percentage of such folks lack access to traditional medical care, including right here in the United States, where a full quarter of adults regularly skip needed appointments due to financial inequities. Herbal remedies, by contrast, are affordable and accessible to many more people.

Questions Remaining About Berberine and the Brain

The 2025 research involved network pharmacology in mice. Therefore, many questions remain about if and how the benefits transfer to humans and how widespread and reliable they may be. Some of the inquiries science has yet to answer include:

What’s the right dose of berberine to take, and how often? Daily? Several times per day? Weekly?
How does berberine interact with other Alzheimer’s treatments you might use?
Does berberine help with other forms of cognitive dysfunction, such as the dreaded “brain fog” experienced by folks with chronic pain disorders such as fibromyalgia? For example, could it help those with long Covid regain some of their previous sharpness?

3 Benefits of Berberine Backed by Research

Berberine isn’t only good for your brain. Given the interconnected way your multiple bodily systems work together, it’s not surprising it has other perks, some of which you may have read about in the news. Berberine may also confer the following benefits to some users.

1. The “Herbal Ozempic”

According to Dr. Eric Berg , a nutritionist, researcher, and chiropractic doctor who runs a YouTube channel with over 13 million subscribers, berberine achieves similar results as metformin when used in patients with diabetes. He explains that berberine works on insulin resistance, with the desirable side effect of many users losing weight thanks to getting their blood sugar under control.

If you already have diabetes, you should work carefully with your doctor before starting berberine, as you may need to adjust your medication. However, more than 98 million Americans — more than one in three — already live with prediabetes, often without realizing they are at risk. Berberine may be an effective intervention to prevent advancing to full-blown disease, especially when making dietary and exercise changes simply isn’t practical.

2. May Protect Against Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

A 2024 review of clinical trials published in the Journal of Translational Medicine suggested that berberine reduced several parameters for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It did so with negligible side effects — some participants reported mild gastrointestinal distress. The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has risen by 50% in recent decades and often co-occurs in people with Type 2 diabetes.

3. May Benefit Heart Health

Heart disease remains the number one killer worldwide. Another 2024 study showed that berberine works through several channels to restore heart function and improve outcomes in patients with atherosclerosis. Approximately 26 million Americans live with this type of heart disease, affecting their arteries. Could a berberine supplement reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke? Possibly.

Should You Add Berberine to Your Supplement Regimen?

Based on the groovy benefits above, it seems like adding berberine to your supplement regimen is an easy “yes.” However, anything that can affect positive changes in your body can also bring those that aren’t so pleasant. For example, given berberine’s effect on your blood sugar, it’s a must to work in tandem with your doctor if you already take medication for diabetes. Pairing the two could cause your levels to plummet dangerously.

Potential Side Effects of Berberine Supplementation

Side effects of berberine i nclude gastrointestinal bloating , diarrhea, and constipation in some users. That’s because it works on your intestinal microbiome. Many researchers believe its mitigating effects on Alzheimer’s disease occur through the gut flora , and using the herbal extract can ease intestinal inflammation and reduce gut permeability.

Ultimately, what you choose to put into your body is up to you. Upon reading the possible benefits, I immediately decided to try it, as has my life partner and occasional cameraman. We’ve both experienced significant brain fog issues of late that could be due to COVID-19, stress, or both — we simply don’t know. However, we’re curious to find out if berberine will help. We’ve just started our regimen but will check back in two months with the results.

Berberine Brain Breakthrough

Could berberine be a safe, effective, herbal-derived remedy for Alzheimer’s disease? Could it be a brain breakthrough for other forms of cognitive impairment? Recent research suggests that it looks promising.

Given berberine’s many benefits, keeping a supply on hand is wise. Learning what plants you can extract it from and how makes you a ninja-level herbal prepper. Will you add berberine to your supplement regimen? If you do, please share your experience below and contribute to the healing community.

Removing the Second Arrow

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 19:06:07 GMT

Removing the Second Arrow

How Yoga Helped Me Overcome Trauma and Housing Loss and Discover Who I Was at Last

By Jennifer Stanely

I fear I may give the wrong impression when I say that yoga helped me overcome homelessness and my biggest adult trauma on the show, especially if your brain is wired like mine. You might think, “Oh, she started a yoga studio that was so successful that she dug herself out of the hole.”

Yeah — the reality is nothing like that. As I write these words, we have yet to make a profit, yet my life has improved beyond my wildest dreams. No, yoga did not transform my financial situation. What it gave me was something far deeper and more powerful than money: The emotional and spiritual healing space I needed to get over my past trauma, the resulting alcohol abuse, and my own toxic behaviors that led me down a path of ruin in the first place.

I want to share my healing journey of the past few years to set the record straight. I also feel my story could help others because, even though I’m now more privileged than I could have ever dreamed of a few years ago when writing “Welcome Home, Poe,” I didn’t have these advantages during my healing journey. I mostly had a yoga mat and YouTube, which is why I now use these mediums to try to give back as best I can for the many blessings I have received.

I hope that sharing my story will lend similar glimmers to those who read these words while in a dark place. I also want to add to the collective knowledge base. Autistic individuals are more likely to experience homelessness for many reasons, and there’s also a lot of misconceptions about how we think and feel. I’m not a scientist or researcher, but I can offer my first-person perspective, which can perhaps inform earlier interventions and support so that others don’t experience my suffering.

While there are sadly no guarantees, it’s been my experience that mindful practices like yoga can help you overcome hardship. It isn’t easy. However, by engaging in this daily routine and practicing self-compassion, you can transform past, negative, ingrained reactions into thoughtful, intentional responses to life’s inevitable hardships. This is how yoga helped me overcome the trauma of my past, my housing battle, and adult trauma, and discover who I truly was at last.

Just the Facts, Ma’am — a Brief History of What Happened

I’ll skip the gory details. Suffice it to say I had an, um, interesting childhood (“interesting,” here, means, “traumatic, confusing, lonely, and terrifying”). I was raised in an extremely narcissigenic environment. I’m also a late-diagnosed autistic, and what I didn’t know then was how profound my social deficits were — and in my case, they truly were deficits, not mere differences, given their impact on my life trajectory.

I reached adulthood not fully understanding how to be a human, let alone an adult one. My gender protected me, as early marriage spared me from having to master skills like how to balance the checkbook and ensure the bills got paid on time.

Sadly, I also had no idea how to be a good partner. A series of shattered relationships, many of which mirrored the abusive, toxic patterns of my childhood, nearly ruined me. The guilt I feel for my role in these partnerships will never fade. To my exes: I am sorry.

As the years passed, I developed far worse health problems than the migraines I endured since a car accident at 17. I now know that autistic people are more prone to certain chronic health disorders. Back then, all I knew was that my body was falling apart. It was interfering with my ability to work and support myself, even as I tried different jobs, went back to school, and tried to do everything, anything, to stop my decline.

But every time I went to the doctor, I was shamed for “exaggerating” my symptoms. Only, I wasn’t faking or seeking attention. Visiting physician’s offices is sheer hell on my sensory issues, but I was trying to do what people tell you to do when you’re sick.

Those with chronic illness know that office visits can be a lot like going to the mechanic. You gotta limp the car to the shop first, and, of course, the worst of the “funny noises” never occur while the expert is under the hood. While doctors discovered things like white matter damage, an arachnoid cyst, mitral valve issues, they insisted these findings didn’t explain my inability to function. It didn’t help that my partners dismissed my needs and fears as often as my doctors.

Don’t even get me started on the American healthcare system and how it destroys finances. As a result, every bank account and every 401k from every job I had ever managed to hold onto for more than a few months was already drained when the first housing crisis hit. When it did, I was living alone for the first time in my adult life.

What Tim Fletcher calls my Big T Adult Trauma appeared in the form of an unpaid sewer bill on a townhouse I had rented with an ex but lived in solo after the split. He was responsible for paying the bill but hadn’t, apparently ever, and I had forgotten it existed. He didn’t tell me he had neglected it, and of course, I wasn’t exactly a whiz at the executive function part of adulting. So it sat unpaid — until the city threatened to put a lien on my landlord’s property for the unpaid amount. As a result, I received an out-of-the-blue eviction notice months after splitting up.

Long story short, I had 48 hours to come up with $3,000 to pay the city or get out. And I had no money. I had nothing left after years of navigating American healthcare. My only alternative was to hit the streets with what I had — three cats and a Jeep that didn’t even lock. My ride still lacks a driver’s side window today, courtesy of another bad ex who punched it in. He never replaced it, and I scrape by with a scrap of fiberglass to this day.

Saving that temporary roof traumatized me and kicked off years of housing insecurity. Of course, a few months later, amid the pandemic, my landlord raised the rent. Being forced to move as the first vaccines hit was also life-shattering. However, my property management company assured me that my new building had remained under the same stable ownership for years, and I would be safe.

Not quite.

A few months later, that stable, long-term owner sold to a foreign corporation. My rent went up again, this time by $1,200 a month.

It was a lot to deal with. I almost couldn’t cope with the sewer bill. I almost didn’t. I almost ended my life then. But I didn’t. Something — to this day, I don’t know from what inner or outer wellspring it came from — stopped my attempt.

And I am so grateful. Because during the intervening years, despite the subsequent housing shakeups, I gained an absolutely invaluable coping skill that made subsequent catastrophes more bearable.

Only in Sedona Yoga Is Born

Walking away from the cliff’s edge after the sewer bill trauma didn’t solve my problem of needing more money. Although I worked, I was unable to find anything in my hometown at my price point. I also lacked the requisite funds and a trustworthy enough car to relocate. To top it off, my credit was not good. It was a trifecta of poor fortune I had no idea how to handle.

However, before truly talking to my mat, I had long done yoga as a form of physical exercise. I first earned a fitness instructor’s certification at 16 and have taught various class formats for much of my adult life. I had stopped teaching as I got sicker, but I still had the knowledge base. I noticed other people seemed to attain success by instructing such classes online, and I figured I could record videos when I felt good. Also, in practical terms, I had what I needed to get started with zero capital. So, with the help of my amazing partner, Ed, we launched Only in Sedona Yoga.

I have to laugh when I look back at how grandiose my delusions were. Back then, I genuinely thought I was poor because I was just lazy. Even though I had worked multiple jobs and gone back to school to try to save myself, that childhood refrain remained in my head: “If I just put my mind to it.” If I worked really hard, I would achieve overnight success, get Ed and me the financial resources we desperately needed, and launch my nonprofit, just like that.

Yeah.

Remember what I said about having been raised in an extremely narcissigenic environment and being autistic?

Delusions? I had them. My entire adult life, no matter what I did or accomplished, inside, I always felt like a failure, a loser, a fraud, and a fake. I manifested these qualities externally as well, for which I feel incredible guilt. Deep down, I’ve always believed my hardships were my fault, and in many ways they were . I just wasn’t able to connect the dots between my outward behaviors, my seemingly constant troubles, my past, and my neurology.

I’ve often described my autism as being punished my whole life for not being able to see the board — but nobody ever suggested that hey, maybe I needed glasses. As it was, I had to find my own specs. For that, I have my yoga mat to thank. While my endeavors, as of this writing, have yet to bring financial rewards, they provided something much deeper.

Yoga Mats, Psychology and Autism, Oh, My

As I worked to build Only in Sedona Yoga, I spent a lot of time on my mat. Hours upon hours of practice, first to get myself limber enough to perform many of the poses — my flexibility lagged over the years and I was nearly 50 when we started. However, that time was necessary. It taught me without words how yoga is much more than a physical discipline, but a mental, emotional and spiritual one. It truly does mean “union” in more ways than I can express in what is already a lengthy tale.

During this time, I also got sober. I look back with shame at how much I used to drink, how badly it made me act, and how poorly it affected my psyche. Alcohol was a constant in my household, and in my adulthood, no one close to me ever suggested I had a problem with booze. On the contrary, people often plied me with drinks to “make me loosen up and have fun,” as ordinarily, I’m quiet and avoidant AF. My intimate partners often drank as much if not more than I did, making me feel like I was rocking it in comparison. Boy, was I stupid.

What finally convinced me to put the bottle down was watching Doc Snipes , one of my favorite “ Doctor YouTubes ,” and learning how it affected my various neurotransmitters. I didn’t want that.

Fortunately, it wasn’t physically hard for me to quit drinking or put myself on a rigid, straight-edge-style program that my inner autistic child no doubt loved. At the time, the intended purpose was to show my doctors that no, I was not faking my symptoms. My goal was to eradicate anything that could damage my health. I ate a strict, primarily plant-based diet free of the ultra-processed junk that passes for food these days. I got off ten different prescription medications, keeping only one to help with sleep.

I used the time I no longer spent drinking and doom-scrolling for yoga and digging into my other new special interest: figuring out why I was so messed up. I spent hours on my mat, practicing yin and restorative poses while watching various licensed mental health professionals on YouTube.

The journey began with Dr. Daniel Fox’s YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. I came across the first video quite by accident. It dealt with borderline/narcissistic relationships, and it was like viewing my past partnerships on screen.

Explaining how my autistic brain works is a bit hard, but I see patterns. It takes me a loooongg time to grasp concepts at times, but once I do, I don’t just see that narrow portion of the idea I was taught. It’s like a whole new universe opens up, and I see how this new knowledge connects to everything else, giving me a much deeper understanding. It also makes me a whiz at standardized tests. I’m not quite Rainman in that I can count the toothpicks at a glance, but I could tell you exactly what pattern they fell into and recreate that design with a new box without looking back at the original.

The emotions I went through watching this video were intense. It was also chocolate ice cream with pickle sauce. I could see the patterns of behavior that my parents and past partners had were toxic AF, which was like, “Hooray, all this time, I knew it was wrong and bad, but I didn’t know why. They kept telling me they were right and I was wrong, but their behavior was actually toxic! Man, I feel validated, yay!”

At the same time, I could also see that I had acted just as toxic , which filled me with deep, immense shame. I had also uttered many of the same phrases in my adult life, flung many of the same insults, engaged in the same passive-aggressive actions.

The difference was that I had never harbored the malicious intentions that those with certain personality disorders presumably have. I manifested many of the behaviors, not because I was scheming or trying to one up anyone. I was trying to meet my sensory needs and imitating the only patterns I had ever learned. When something had gone wrong in my household growing up, there was no sober discussion of how to manage the resulting emotions or even the situation itself. There was screaming and chaos, substance use and hurtful words, unjustified blame and painful blows.

I now know that autistic people often engage in copy-and-paste behaviors to mask their differences and try to fit in. However, this mimicry is utterly unconscious and forget about controlling something if you aren’t aware you’re doing it. Echopraxia — the unconscious imitation of other people’s facial expressions and physical movements , and echolalia — the meaningless recitation of words in familiar patterns, often to relieve stress — are exceedingly common. And my favorite role model, whom I imitated the most, was not mentally healthy.

Please note: I’m not trying to escape the blame I deserve; I'm only trying to understand. I know I have said and done lousy, unforgivable things for which I will always feel deserved guilt, and I accept it. In my estimation, the pain it makes me feel doesn’t nearly repay my karmic debt. At the same time, knowing autistic traits run in families makes forgiveness possible. Did my dad truly believe in the hurtful things he said and did, or was he copy/pasting the toxicity he himself experienced? I may never know, but understanding my own pain and why I behaved so badly makes me less critical of others, even if I don’t accept their behavior.

I can also see why many autistic women are misdiagnosed with personality disorders. I at first suspected my issues were due to BPD. In a way, I guess I have my relative poverty and lack of early healthcare access to thank for never getting that particular misdiagnosis.

What made me suspect something else was afoot was that everything I had learned about personality disorders suggested that they were ingrained. One does not simply decide to stop behaving badly. Just like people didn’t merely stop drinking after learning how it affects your neurotransmitters. These weren’t in line with the stereotypical patterns of human behavior as I was coming to understand them. What was going on?

Then, I watched Dr. Kim Sage , read the book “ Unmasking Autism ” and a host of others, and, just like Saul on the road to Damascus, the scales fell off my eyes. Finally, someone handed me that long-awaited pair of glasses and the entire world sprang into focus.

So many of my struggles from my earliest memories all of a sudden made perfect sense. My pattern-recognizing mind did its thing, and all the mingled horror and ecstasy puzzle pieces of my experience fell into place. I saw the problem. I also saw how I was already, unconsciously, working to make it better, and how my new conscious knowledge could inspire my continued growth.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Meanwhile, while I was undergoing my internal transformation, the clock was ticking. Even though I had survived the eviction notice and subsequent rent increase, I nevertheless had one year from December of 2021 to find another place to live. I think we all remember what was happening in the real estate market then, as the ripple effect continues today, affecting countless suffering souls while governments do little but treat the most vulnerable with increasing cruelty instead of aid.

That’s what I mean when I say yoga helped me go from homeless to housed, and I feel shame and must sincerely apologize if I’ve made a misimpression. No. I wasn’t literally sleeping on the sidewalk. I was, however, next door to it and terrified, the kind of terror that makes it impossible to eat, sleep or think straight, that leaves you endlessly nauseous and shaking. The kind of terror I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I had messed up adulting so badly that I had no resources left to stop this horror from happening, not even a proper vehicle to live in or good enough credit to get one. I had no money left to move, nowhere to go and there was nothing in my hometown for rent for people of my income level.

I also lacked one other critical element, one that sounds hopelessly stupid in retrospect but was insurmountable at the time: I had no idea how to ask for help.

Asking for help wasn’t a behavior I ever learned to copy/paste. Such behavior was considered the ultimate in shamefulness in my family of origin. Admitting vulnerability or fallibility meant risking rage, ostracism, verbal abuse, screams, tears, and, sometimes, physical violence. Also, I literally don’t know to this day how to handle certain interactions. What words do I say? How am I supposed to behave? Like an actor in a play, I wouldn’t only have to be told “reach out for help,” but to rehearse my lines and ensure my audience could understand my delivery.

I tried to get help in my way, acted out plenty, and ineffectively, bemoaning my fate on social media — but it quite literally never crossed my mind to start a GoFundMe. The farthest I got was calling 211 at one point. I quickly got the impression that having any income disqualified me from aid, and in my defensive reaction, I said thank you and hung up instead of inquiring further.

The idea of reaching out to other adults certainly also didn’t occur to me because as an undiagnosed autistic person, I had never established a sense of myself, let alone one of community. When I was a kid, if you needed something, by golly, you worked for it, and that’s what I kept trying so desperately to do, in any form, even when it traumatized me. I wonder how many of my family’s generational troubles spring from the same dynamic, the same inability to reach out and form the connections with others we all need in this crazy world.

However, fate intervened. I met an incredible man who would go on to change my life. At the time, he was stationed overseas. We met when he was home on leave and spent the next several months falling in love over the phone. We spent hours talking, never judging each other. With him, I felt the sense of connection I had been so desperately missing without knowing it. Meeting in person cemented our union, but our souls had already bonded while we were half a world apart.

I honestly don’t know if I would have made it had we not met. He helped me with expenses and renting a temporary space. One of my happiest days was buying Lora, my camper, to live in. Having that stability is what allowed me to continue my healing journey. While I had a Plan B, C, and D when we met, they would have been far less pleasant, and I’m so forever grateful he gave me the space, grace, and comfort I needed to continue to heal.

Additionally, my beloved is also neurodiverse. Communicating with him is like magic. All the frustrations I had formerly felt trying to talk with neurotypical people just — didn’t happen. I understand him. He understands me. We take each other’s moods in stride. We don’t beat each other up or criticize each other for being human. It’s glorious.

He’s also survived past abuse. Our relationship is a beautifully, continuously woven tapestry of love and healing together. We help each other improve in so many ways.

With his help, I also started therapy and obtained my autism diagnosis — at age 52. Fortunately, though, I feel no bitterness over not knowing earlier, only joy at having the right answer at long last.

I always felt “different.” Even going through the autism evaluation stirred childhood memories of when I was four. My mom wanted me admitted to kindergarten as I would be five soon. I was taken into a room with a giraffe and given an oddly similar test, after which, they labeled me as “gifted.” Not quite, doc, but hey, at least you picked up that there was something way back when.

Removing the Second Arrow

From an outsider’s perspective, life probably looked at least somewhat okay during these years. Inside, emotionally, it was a storm, one that still rages within me, although the winds have gone from Cat-5 hurricane force to mild tropical storms. You guys, I don’t know how to express it in neurotypical terms, but all that stuff psychologists say trauma does to your brain? It’s real. It’s so real, and I feel it every day. I literally feel it, like any other physical pain. Trauma’s grasp on me is slowly loosening, but healing isn’t an overnight process. It takes time, especially if you endured years of abuse, invalidation, and dismissal.

Even though I no longer wanted to participate in toxic behaviors, I still had a whole lot of big feelings from my childhood and adult trauma that I had no idea what to do with. I missed so many essential lessons for autistic kids. Not just how to balance the checkbook but how to identify emotions beyond feeling “good” or “bad” and what coping strategies to use to handle them.

I shudder to think how easily I could have destroyed my recovery by engaging in toxic old patterns. And it’s so hard not to sometimes. My learned reactions are — not good. And being autistic, I already have to go through a layer of mental math to process any social interaction to begin with. Then, I must pass my words through the trauma filter, “Is the harsh way I’m phrasing this reflective of the harshness of the reality or only hinder communication with someone who has never experienced such traumas?” I’m the first to admit, I don’t always get it right.

However, I continued to cling to my yoga mat and YouTube, and I put those bad boys to work pretty much every day. Although I eventually eased my monk-like routine, daily mindful practice is a must for me. And while nothing soothes me to sleep like a good yoga nidra body scan at midnight, the only way I can ease my “big feels” long enough to sit with them is to add a bit of physical movement to mitigate those cortisol levels and promote clarity of thought.

I think that’s one reason the mat worked so well for me. The other is that it is a judgment-free zone to practice mindfulness. To be autistic is to endure constant judgment, often harsh. You don’t smile right or often enough, you don’t look people in the eye, or seem fake when you do (for years, I used the “stare at their forehead” trick until I read this made you look like you have the psychopathic glare!). You never talk enough or always talk too much. When you do speak, you’re too blunt and direct. Everything about you seems to subtly rub neurotypical people wrong. While I hate the “othering” dynamic, some neurotypicals aren’t at all subtle about pointing out your differences and mocking or outright hurting you for them. There’s a huge overlap between autism and PTSD for a good reason.

Spending time on the mat lets me work through my ugliest of uglies without anyone judging me for making the wrong facial expressions. I can cry, scream, surrender hopelessly in child’s pose, even sob and rock myself in cradle, and let myself feel that shame, that guilt. I lay down the burden of what has been done to me and what I have done to others and go through that baggage, taking however long it takes to iron each shirt and return it to the correct drawer.

I sometimes refer to my time on the mat as “removing the second arrow.”

According to the Buddha, in life, you will sometimes encounter arrows or negative events. They can pierce you and wound you. However, getting hit by a second arrow hurts even worse.

That second arrow is your reaction to traumatic events. Yes. Many, many bad things happened to me in life. But I followed every one of them with a second arrow — my poor reaction. That’s what ultimately caused my suffering.

Spending time on the mat let me reparent myself, teaching myself healthier coping skills. So when future arrows came — like a $1,200 rent increase — I was better psychologically equipped to deal with them without turning to the bottle and having a full-on meltdown.

Engaging in this practice daily kept me from going off the rails during this tumultuous time, even though on some days, I came so, so close. Even though I was only a secondary player, relying heavily on my man to secure permanent housing, we were very much partners every step of the way — and there were many roadblocks in this market.

Now my challenge becomes figuring out how to use my blessings to help others, which is what I’ve always dreamed of doing. Only Sedona Yoga provides a good starting point, and I’m excited to see what good eventually grows from this endeavor. In the meantime, I’m determined to keep working that soil, planting seeds, and tending my weeds on the mat, just as I clear them from the little acre I hope will someday grow sustainable foods for my family and others.

Rebuilding My Mental Health and Finding Myself by Talking to the Mat

My process of healing and becoming better on the yoga mat is by no means over — the process is as endless as the life cycle itself. What my journey has also taught me so far is that there is no perfect time to change your life. Change starts with deciding you want it, that the old patterns are no longer tolerable. It’s an ongoing process that requires constant work and upkeep, but it pays off in rewards beyond measure.

I certainly don’t want to give literal thinkers — like me — the wrong impression. No, starting a YouTube channel didn’t magically fix my financial woes. Much as I hope Only in Sedona Yoga will flourish and grow, I have no idea what will ultimately come of it. I hope building it in a spirit of advancing mutual healing will result in even more and more goodness, maybe even fulfill my original dream. However, if my words or work on the mat help even one other soul, I have succeeded in life beyond measure.

I can’t go back and undo the years before I began talking to my mat in earnest. I can’t make younger me get sober earlier so I might have realized what was happening more quickly. What I can do is take what I have learned these past years and use it to help others who might be in similar dark spots.

That’s what Only in Sedona Yoga is all about. Guiding yoga classes on YouTube and in person helps me in my healing journey. I can only hope it helps others remove their second arrows, too. I’ll continue doing it in that spirit for as long as I am able and hope sharing my story can help others find strength. You can have a rough start in life. You can experience trauma. But you can also overcome it with mindfulness, self-compassion, and love.

Yoga and Bone Health

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:46:10 GMT

Written by Jennifer Stanley.

Your bones are among the toughest structures in your body, but they’re still living tissue. You can damage them or make them stronger, depending on your life choices. If you’re an older adult, maintaining your skeletal health is one of the best things you can do to prevent physical decline, especially if you’re a menopausal or postmenopausal female (like myself). Can yoga improve your bone density and strength?

You might have guessed the answer to that question is yes. While many physical activities improve bone density and prevent the weakness that typically accompanies aging, yoga has unique advantages. Here’s what you should know about yoga and your bone health.

Bone Health Trouble as You Age

Nearly everyone has an older friend or relative who has “shrunk” with age. Osteoporosis affects roughly 10 million Americans. Please don’t think this disease only strikes after retirement. One in three adults over the age of 50 has some reduction in bone density , called osteopenia. This condition elevates your risk of break, the recovery from which can keep you off your feet, weakening the rest of your skeleton.

Osteoporosis doesn’t only bend your spine and make you lose inches. Partially broken and collapsed bones in your spine can cause excruciating pain that hinders your mobility. This limitation also creates a negative cycle, where inactivity continues to reduce your remaining bone density further.

What Causes Osteoporosis?

It might surprise you that your skeleton continues growing after you reach full height. Bone is living tissue, meaning each day, some cells die and are replaced by new ones. Osteoporosis occurs when the rate of replacement fails to keep up, causing your bones to weaken with time.

Certain factors increase your osteoporosis risk , including:

Sex: Osteoporosis strikes women more frequently.
Age: Osteoporosis tends to get worse with age.
Family history: Your risk increases if one of your parents has the disease.
Hormone changes: Low estrogen or testosterone increases risk.
Diet: Low calcium and vitamin D intake in youth may increase your osteoporosis risk.
Other medical conditions: Those with rheumatoid arthritis, endocrine diseases, cancer, HIV/AIDS and anorexia face elevated risks.
Medications: Certain prescriptions may raise your risk — talk to your doctor.
Lifestyle: A sedentary lifestyle increases risk as exercise improves bone density but a lack of movement weakens them. Furthermore, chronic alcohol and tobacco use heightens risk.

Traditional Treatments for Osteoporosis

Doctors typically treat osteoporosis by prescribing medications that either slow the rate of bone loss or help you rebuild new tissue. However, they’ll also recommend lifestyle modifications. You’ll need to take extra precautions to lower your fall risk, as your bones will break more easily.

Other lifestyle modifications include improving your diet and getting regular, moderate exercise. That’s where yoga comes into play. Here’s how this activity can improve your bone health.

How Yoga Improves Bone Health

Yoga improves your bone health in several ways. It’s a weight-bearing exercise that doesn’t involve impact, making it accessible for those with joint conditions who find other exercise forms intolerable. Furthermore, it strengthens and maintains flexibility in surrounding connective tissues, improving mobility even in those with arthritis.

Its most profound effects may come from balancing various body chemicals that promote tissue healing, including your bones. Cortisol plays a crucial role in healing, but if your body is already burnt out from an overabundance of it, you could have a longer recovery time.

1. What Science Says About Yoga and Bone Health

Several studies support the use of yoga for improving bone health. One recent study, the results of which are slated for publication in 2024, shows that this practice improved both the mental health symptoms and bone density of adolescent females with eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa harms bone health by depriving the body of the necessary nutrients for maintaining your skeleton.

Many earlier studies suggest the efficacy of yoga as a preventative medicine against osteoporosis. A 2023 meta-analysis of 39 trials featuring over 2,000 participants found that this practice may be an effective therapy , particularly in the following areas:

Improving bone density
Bettering bone mineral content
Helping the function of the lower extremities
Reducing pain and fear of injury
Increasing quality of life

Nor must your practice take much time to produce results. One earlier 2016 study showed that just 12 minutes of daily practice reversed osteoporotic bone loss.

How long should you hold each pose? An even earlier 2009 study suggests that bone cells begin to create new bone after 12 seconds and stop after 72 seconds. A nice hatha vinyasa to restorative flow contains the perfect balance of holds and active movement to rock bone density as long as you hold each asana for roughly 30 seconds.

2. Yoga and Thinning Bones: Poses to Avoid

While medical science encourages yoga for bone health, there are some postures you should avoid, especially if you have a bad back. Please avoid the temptation to push yourself , especially if you have a trauma history and your adaptive response is to endure what you should not.

In general, you should avoid moves that focus heavily on flexion and extension. Doing so can lead to injury , which can keep you from the mat. You also want to avoid deep twists. Finally, remember, everyone’s bone and muscle configuration varies, so don’t force. Use extreme gentleness and caution with the following poses:

Forward folds: Keep your weight on your toes while simultaneously focusing your attention on the hamstrings. The emphasis is not to get your hands to touch the floor but to open up the big muscles on the backs of your legs. If you feel any tugging in your lower back, straighten it by pressing your palms against your calves or thighs.
Drop-backs: Drop-backs are an Ashtanga move that those with degenerative discs should avoid.
Wheel: I’m a fan of a rock star or wild thing, a gentler way to get into a backbend. Camel and sphinx are also safer alternatives.
Seated forward folds and butterfly: These moves can put tremendous pressure on your lumbar spine. The best advice is to keep your back straight, making your body resemble more of a tilted letter L rather than rounding through the spine. My preferred alternatives these days are to perform forward fold standing or supine leg raises.
Twists: In general, easy seated or supine twists shouldn’t cause pain as you only twist to your level of comfort. Use caution with Matsyendrasana twists and bound twist poses that put external rotational force on the spine.

3. General Tips for Practicing Yoga With Thinning Bones

When practicing yoga with thinning bones, keep mindfulness at the forefront of your practice. Sure, it’s fun to jump back into plank, but not at the risk of an achy back for a week or more afterward.

Keep your practice low impact and modify poses to suit your unique body. The beauty part about yoga is that unless you’re doing a completely different routine in the front row of a crowded studio, you’re free to add variety. In fact, it’s encouraged — part of mindfulness practice entails tuning into sensory cues, including the interoceptive ones from within.

Inversions are a tricky vixen. In some patients, they ease pain, but many find the risk of neck injury not worth it. I personally avoid inversions, not because of my spine but because going upside down does something very wonky with my equilibrium. However, others choose to incorporate them as the benefits they receive from easing spinal compression outweigh the risks. You can also invest in specialty headstand trainers or take to the sky with aerial yoga for the spinal perks.

Your Bone Health and Yoga

Yoga can play an important role in helping you maintain bone health as you age. The weight-bearing component increases density, while non-impact flows protect joints damaged by arthritis or disease.

Keeping your bones healthy through yoga is an excellent choice to make as you age. Doing so reduces your risk of fracture and the lowered quality of life that often follows injury. Whichever style you choose, adding yoga to your life can lead to healthier bones

Coming to Terms With Death on the Yoga Mat

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:41:24 GMT

The veil between the living and the dead is particularly thin for me this year. However, by deeply meditating on death, we learn the secret of life.

My world shattered this past summer. Poe, the hero of my first fiction book but a very much real-life cat, crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Anyone who has lost a beloved knows the devastation.

Poe was much more than a pet to me. Yes, he was a cat. But he also saved my life. He came into it in my darkest hour, giving me one bright thing to look forward to every day. That little bit of goodness — seeing his cute, cropped ear arrive at the back door for food, gradually gaining that little feral’s trust — was the only thing that held me back from crossing the bridge myself.

I had lost everything: my health, my ability to work, and with it, my life’s savings. I also lost a marriage, much of my mind, and was about to lose housing for the second time in my life. In desperation, I turned to the only profession you can do lying in bed, no degree or certification necessary. The degradation and self-loathing I felt made me honestly believe the world would be better off without me in it. The only thing keeping me here was a little cat who needed me.

And now, he is gone. But he is also always with me.

Coming to terms with his death was the worst pain I’ve ever felt, and I’ve been through quite a lot. While some people turn to their family or the church, I went back to my healer for solace — my yoga mat. Here is what I learned through my meditations.

What Happens After We Die?

I can’t answer that question. Anyone who says they know is either deluded or intentionally trying to manipulate you, absent proof; no one can raise Lazarus and interview him. All any of us can do is make a reasonable guess, based on what we know of what science knows.

Many people claim to know what happens after we die. And, please understand, my purpose in writing this piece isn’t to convince anyone about what the afterlife is like or challenge anyone’s religious beliefs. Death forces us to confront our beliefs, to either find solace in them or come to a deeper understanding. It pierces the veil of our illusions, our fear, our desolate sense of loss, of never again, is a perception. We might turn to what we believe, but we realize belief isn’t knowing .

Death is the great equalizer, but it affects us all differently. Still, every human who has ever existed has wondered: what happens next?

We know the physical body decays, but what about the stuff that animates us? The unique cosmic soup that makes up who we are? Where does the ephemeral force that pushes the flower through the green fuse go when our bones become so much compost?

I thought of this question and the river analogy as I stood cleaning Henry’s tank, where Pleck still swims and Goldie once did. He was yet another family member, a goldfish, who passed away just yesterday, throwing me back into what some Buddhist traditions describe as the bardo, that mysterious limbo that skirts the line between life and death. As I refilled the tank, I watched as the water poured from the faucet into the bucket. I considered leaving the water running between dumps, but out of conservation concerns, I did not.

However, that simple act made the mental connection. Where does each drop of water go once it flows from the faucet to the sink? It’s not gone, yet you can no longer taste it, touch it or perceive it with any of the traditional five senses. Yet you know it still is — somewhere. It’s like Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of when he makes the allusion to the cloud. Where does a cloud go when it disappears? We do not say a cloud died. We know it is still there, only it has become something else.

Each human being is a unique biological creation that can only exist during this moment in time. They’re living flesh made of matter. Evolution shows it — while many people contain traces of Neanderthal DNA, for example, a full-blooded Neanderthal would have a pretty difficult time of things today.

Who you are biologically depends on your DNA, but that isn’t the whole story. The science of epigenetics shows us how our life choices can influence our physical manifestation. Each tiny choice we make, from what to eat to how we relate with others, turns some genes on and others off, increases levels of some chemicals and decreases others.

But there is something else, too. The decisions we make aren’t mere outputs of our biology: anyone who has kicked an addiction knows it takes a tremendous amount of free will to say no when every dopamine-drenched cell in your body screams, “Yes,YES! And right NOW!”

Often in defining our limitations, we find our freedom. Humans are finite, bound by time. They are also mortal, bound by flesh. That mysterious force, the energy behind all of this, driving the green fuse through the big bang flower is the third portion, that which we don’t understand.

Humans Have Limited Perspective

Because we are bound by time and biology, we cannot possibly know everything or see all there is. All we know is what we can perceive through our senses. We now know there are many more than five , but every human has the same ones in varying amounts, and even that can change slightly throughout life. For example, our time-sense is limited by our biological mortality, which is why the last five minutes of class last forever to bored schoolchildren but each passing day seems progressively shorter as we age and things start moving way too fast.

We know that other living creatures have differing perceptions. I remember many times gazing into Poe’s eyes, wondering how he saw the world. He was so good, so patient, so pure, never lashing out in anger, although his life had been every bit as harsh as mine in its own way. Like me, he had been abandoned, discarded, left to survive or perish alone despite being very small and utterly unprepared for the task.

I don’t know how he perceived the world, but his example showed me that I could endure suffering with the same grace. That was Poe’s greatest gift, and the part of him that will forever live on: he showed me you do not have to carry forward the evil energy that flowed onto you undeserved.

You don’t have the power to know everything in this life; no one does. You may never know why horrific things happened to you or those you love. But where your freedom, your choice comes in while you live is to not carry that energy forward. You are an alchemist while you live and breathe; you determine how you interact with the other energy directed toward you. If it is dark, you can join that sinister chorus — or you can choose to be loving and kind in spite of it, sending that energy forward instead of more negativity.

That choice, that energy, is the third magical element that makes people, well, people. We are time-bound, interdependent on everything else happening in the brief 60 to 100 year span where we live and breathe. We are biology-bound, and how we treat our body influences how we act and the choices we make, but they can only influence.

That third element, the part that decides, that’s how we take the energy that came before and push it into the future. Poe did it so beautifully. He took everything evil that was done to him and despite it all, was the most loving of cats. And in doing so, he brought out the love in me, love that was buried deep behind walls of defensiveness and ego. He changed the energy of hate into love and showed me how to do the same. See the interconnectedness, how one act of love can create a ripple effect? Our energy, made material through our choices while we live, creates it.

What that third element, that green fuse force is, we may never know. Our perception may be limited by time and biology to prohibit it — I don’t know. However, we know it exists. And despite external influences like work pressure and internal forces like biology, we still use it to make independent choices, thus creating our future, and, through extension, humankind’s collective future.

Energy Is Never Created Nor Destroyed

An old Chinese experiment proved years ago that humans do have an energy field. While Western minds might find the idea of a bodily energy field curious , the stuff of a Sedona aura reading, it’s an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Although scientists haven’t classified exactly what it is, some of it appears to be a sort of near-infrared radiation.

I remember saying in a yoga class or meditation once that you are your own nuclear reactor of energy. It turns out, that analogy isn’t too far off the mark.

Western minds accept Einstein’s theory of relativity, but few mindfully meditate upon it. However, every school child who has taken a basic physics or chemistry course knows that energy is never created nor destroyed. It changes form, true, like Thich Nhat Hanh’s cloud, but it doesn’t disappear.

Much of the stuff that is in you, at the elemental level , has existed for millions of years, nearly since the beginning of time. You might not feel that way when you climb out of bed feeling creaky in the joints, but it’s true when you get super teeny tiny, smaller than even the most microscopic cell.

You need the unique combination of those elements to make what you think of as you, well, you. That’s why you are one of a kind. There are so many infinitesimally small elements that come together, and that precious combination only happens once. That’s why life is something to cherish, why it is so very wrong to take it, and why death affects us so profoundly. Once someone is gone, they are truly gone forever.

What, Then, Remains?

The loss of a one-of-a-kind, precious thing that cannot be replaced is enough to drive anyone to madness. Yet, have you ever looked around in the aftermath of death and noticed how life goes on? It stuns you — how can this possibly be? How can others enjoy their lives and possibly be happy? Don’t they know the loss that just occurred? That everything just ended?

Only, everything didn’t end. Life goes on because the essential elements that create it remain. The raw material doesn’t go anywhere. It still exists, as does the energy created through it. And if the clay remains, and if that clay is what’s necessary to create the animated form we think of as life, it only makes sense that life will rise again from it. It will never be exactly the same as what came before — but it will be similar.

Everything exists in an intricately linked system; understanding that helps you care for it by performing your role in it to the best of your ability.

Nor does the energy every living creature transmits during their time here cease to exist. It, too, goes on. Sometimes, it is destructive — we see this as war and murder and oppression continue — but the energy continues to flow. The good also continues — we see this in schools, street and town names, things that honor the efforts of those who have passed, in the way each new scientific achievement builds from the previous ones. It continues in each new generation.

Even stars, when they burn through their energy reserves, don’t disappear. They become black holes, and what those mysterious beasts are, no one knows any more than they know where the energy driving all of it came from originally. Some scientists believe they go to infinite multiverses, a universe of universes, going on and on forever like an ever-growing chain. It’s fun to conjecture about what might be, but we have to stay grounded in what we know here on earth.

Every hour, every minute, every second, someone dies. Yet every hour, every minute, every second, someone is born. It’s the transition between death and life — the loss of consciousness — that no one understands. Perhaps that’s a part of the beauty of life’s design — you have to be conscious to experience it. In nature’s infinite mercy, she only allows us mortals to perceive the decay of their bodies for so long before sweet oblivion takes over. What happens next, no one knows for sure.

Many people believe the energy goes forward, changing into yet another form. Many children have memories of past lives when young that they forget as they age, just as older adults forget much of their youth as time passes. I was one of them. I was raised in a conservative Catholic family where even the mere mention of reincarnation would have been laughable (and diversity was not permitted in my family, so I’m pretty sure my toddler-self didn’t encounter anyone with a different belief system). However, my past life memories felt as real to me at age three or four as memories of the past few years do to me now.

Death could be the Universe’s ether, a way of blocking pain when it is too overwhelming for this mortal body to bear. It’s like needing to be put unconscious to undergo surgery, only the transformation happening is that force seeking yet another green fuse to push open a flower. If having your knee or abdomen cut open is too painful to bear while conscious, imagine what it must feel like to shatter at the elemental level.

Pain is sometimes necessary — but most of us seek to avoid the worst of it. Pain avoidance lies at the heart of every addiction, and both physical and emotional pain affect the same parts of your brain. It’s what makes broken-heart syndrome a very real phenomenon. Are the twin energies traveling together to whatever comes next, or is the phenomenon simply a physiological overload of stress on your cardiovascular system? Maybe it’s both. We don’t know. We only know what we can measure, what we can perceive.

We do know that the Universe provides the ultimate ether as the elements that make up our physical selves break down. It’s why we say death is sometimes merciful in the case of people enduring long-term pain. Suffering can only happen while you are conscious, while you live.

Death Unites Us in Our Shared Humanity

There’s one thing all humans intuitively understand about death, and that’s its finality. When someone dies, they aren’t coming back to this life where you can see their smiling face, hear their comforting voice or feel the touch of their hand — or fur. They have shattered and spread while we remain whole, except for the empty space next to us where they once sat.

We all know this truth, and none of us know for sure what happens next. I know I have my beliefs, but I’m also very aware that they are just that — beliefs. Even though I try to look at things from a scientific perspective, I’m also aware that I’m limited in my perception. And filling in the blanks is very dangerous, so dangerous it sparks wars, destroying precious, unique lives, robbing people of those they love, robbing us of our very humanity.

People can now look to artificial intelligence to see what happens when people fill in the blanks of what they don’t know with random ideas. AI hallucinations can sometimes be amusing, but it doesn’t take a genius to see the dangers inherent in letting that information disseminate to the public as truth. While computers can compile research from what’s already known and scan information way faster than any humans, they can’t design and conduct replicable experiments to separate truth from fiction.

It’s more vital than ever that people examine their beliefs about death in the light of what we do know, not what we don’t. Humans have created more powerful weapons than ever, capable of obliterating thousands of lives with a single bomb. These weapons would not even exist if people saw through their illusions and admitted that they don’t know what comes next. If each of us truly sits and takes time to reflect on life, how unique it is based on all we know, how each individual life is a one-in-a-Googol chance, we wouldn’t destroy it so carelessly. We would protect it as feverishly as we now protect our homes, gold or national pride.

Murder, be it in war or in the street, is destroying something irreplaceable. It may come back in some form — but it will never be the same. And you don’t only kill the dead, but a valuable part of the living by taking from them something you can never give back, something reparations can never repay.

When you stop and reflect on life and death in light of what we know — not in light of your belief system — you see how deeply wrong it is to destroy even one life. Because here’s the thing: we all experience death. That sense of loss you have when someone you love dies? The enemy you wish to kill has loved ones that will experience that same sense of loss. What if they are to act on their feeling of revenge and not forgiveness? You see how war continues forever in some regions, as world leaders continue watering seeds of hate, spreading it to others.

When you reflect on life and death in light of what we know, not what you believe, you realize that if you want your children born into a peaceful world, then you must work for peace in every word and deed while you are here on earth. Maybe it takes going to a retreat and sitting down with your enemy in deep meditation. It’s certainly better than snuffing out hundreds of innocent lives with one bomb while you sit detached, discussing “strategy.”

No matter how strategically you plan, carrying forward that energy of hate will carry forward war and destructive energy. If you want peace for future generations, you must work toward it now, here, while you live, even when it is hard and violence seems easier. Life is how energy changes. There is no other way to create a peaceful future that we know of today.

I think about this now as I write these words. What drives me? It is the hope. The hope that people will read these words and reflect mindfully. That they will influence others to walk the path of peace and love.

Perhaps it's good that humans don’t know what happens after we die. All we know, collectively, every single one of us who has ever experienced a devastating loss, that there is no other pain like it. Even if you don’t die of broken-heart syndrome, you often wish you did.

Can we use that shared pain to unite, not divide us? After all, if no one knows what happens after we die, we should all collectively fight to prolong life as long as possible, not destroy it. I don’t know what that looks like — if it means forcing warmongers into meditation retreats or simply keeping up the loving education — but I know what it doesn’t. It doesn’t look like getting so caught up in your egotistical beliefs about what might happen after death that you destroy life here on earth.

Life Is Our Miracle, Our Chance to Change Our Energy

Death, in its utter mercilessness, can be a great teacher. It can teach us how to be more merciful, how to tread lightly with one another’s hearts. Instead of hastening each other to earlier graves, not only through war, but through overwork, bad habits and dangerous practices, we can nurture each other through this life. And, as each of us nears our time of transition, we can offer comfort and solace, easing their passage with love.

We know that matter is never created nor destroyed. What continues is what we do with the energy we are given throughout our lives within the boundaries of our bodies and time. It is a heavy responsibility, but also a great gift. We create the future, with each choice, with each word, each connection we form with others, each contribution. What we want that future to look like depends on every one of our choices — we are all interdependent.

We can use death to bring people together instead of dividing us. Perhaps no place is as steeped in death and the bardo than the Middle East. As I took a necessary break in writing this article this morning for a mindful walk, I listened to a dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh, which is my practice for calming my mind.

He spoke about having Israelis and Palestinians come together at Plum Village to meditate together. At first it is hard to simply sit and to deeply listen with those you do not even consider people, but enemies, demon-creatures you must destroy. Yet, by the end of ten days, all participants hold hands during walking meditation and break bread together at meals, joyfully, freely, because they recognize their shared humanity. They realize that all of them have suffered the same traumas, in the same way. There might be different actors, but death is death, pain is pain, suffering is suffering.

That is what I mean by death is the great equalizer: It unites all of humanity in suffering. Yet, while we still live, while we still breathe, we have the power to change that. Each person who refuses to carry forth the energy of war means that one less child of the future generation will be born into a war-torn world. Each time you hold back an angry, harsh word meant to hurt, each time you restrain your hands from harming another living creature, you change that energy.

Try a little experiment sometime. Get mindful enough that you notice when a situation between you and another living being can potentially turn negative. Then try manifesting the energy of understanding, of peace, of letting it go — perhaps make a joke. What could have ended up in an argument can instead unite and bond you with another. It all depends on how you choose to use your precious energy, that stuff that we can’t define with time or biology but know exists while you live and breathe in this form, here and now. Doing so creates the future you want to see and shifts that energy for those who catch it. Negativity can be contagious, but so can positivity.

It all begins by reflecting deeply on death and marveling at the priceless secret it reveals: energy and matter may continue, but each unique life only exists once. Let’s use that shared experience to bring us together, and make this kingdom here on earth happy. We know that creating a brighter today begins with each one of us; let’s do the work, beginning with deep mindfulness and listening to each other, finding our shared humanity, even in the suffering of death.

When Poe died, it brought everyone in our little Only in Sedona Yoga family together. He transitioned to what’s next surrounded by everyone who loved him and a caring team who delivered him with utmost comfort. None of us can avoid death. But we can all work together to make it possible for everyone to have such a peaceful passage. That is where our beliefs come in, not as a cudgel to destroy other human life but to ease the transition from here to whatever comes next.

Coming to Terms With Death on the Yoga Mat Means Coming to Terms With the Unknown

I don’t know what happens after we die. No one does. Living with the unknown is hard. As someone with severe anxiety, trust me, I feel it in every fiber of my being. Fear is an ever-present beast I wrangle, and no fear is greater than that of not existing. However, one thing managing an anxiety disorder teaches you is how to act in spite of “I don’t know.” How to find healthy ways to connect with other humans and handle the negative feelings inside of you that can lead to contention with others.

I do trust in energy being never created nor destroyed. It is. It simply is. And because it is, we are. The energy that animates each one of us, that puts us in the driver’s seat of this human body we inhabit for a brief moment, has existed since the creation of the Universe — nay, even before, for what did that energy come from? Nothing truly dies, but everything changes.

You can’t step into the same river twice, and you can’t hold someone in the earthly realm once their energy has gone from their mortal flesh to wherever it goes next. But you can treasure it while it’s here, and you can continue to spread the love they brought you long after they’re gone.

The day before we put Poe to sleep, I spent the entire day with him just lying in bed. Just loving him. Petting his fur. Feeling him breathe. Building the love energy between us, the same love energy that sends tears rolling down my face as I write these words, sobbing the same desolate, inchoate cries from the depths of my being.

And when the grief gets too much and the emotions overwhelm and I feel like I myself may die, I remind myself that what I am feeling is the love we created while he lived. The emotions are powerful because the love we created is powerful. That lives on through me. It makes me conscious that the choices I make daily reflect that love, my actions reflect the effect he had on me, and I want to honor his memory by being the best me I can be. I want to take the lesson of peace he taught me and share it with the world. I can think of no better way to honor his legacy.

I can’t pet Poe anymore. I can’t see him. But oh, how I can feel the love we shared. And I can spread that love forward in what I say and what I do.

Doing so might not answer the question of what happens after we die. Every day, I wonder where my beloved Poe is now. Every day, the raven whispers, “Poe is nevermore.” I know that is true in one sense. But to that raven, I quoth back, no, Poe is forevermore. His love was his legacy. All of this, all of us, all of existence, is forevermore. What that existence will look like, though, depends on the decisions we make while alive.

Poe’s brief, shining moment shows us how to make that existence, our brief time here, beautiful.

Can You Improve Your Emotional Regulation Through Your Diet?

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:35:26 GMT

Wouldn’t life be easier if everyone got along? Sometimes, the cause of stress-producing conflict is an unfair world, but other times, the issue lies squarely with you and your maladaptive reactions to tense circumstances. I’m no stranger to this phenomenon, and emotional regulation is admittedly among my biggest challenges.

I’m also a fan of holistic medicine, which treats the whole patient versus beating symptoms into submission solely through allopathic means like prescription medications and surgery. Various factors influence your overall health and how disease manifests in your body and mind. While it’s often impossible to pinpoint a singular cause for your troubles, addressing each of the varying contributing factors can often bring considerable relief.

One example of this is how your diet can influence your mental health. Although a steady diet of salmon and spinach salads won’t cure anxiety or depression, ensuring your body has the right nutrients to produce various neurotransmitters in the right amounts can make a surprising difference in your mood and outlook. Can you improve emotional regulation through diet? Cleaning up your plate can’t hurt — and may help.

What Is Emotional Regulation?

Emotional regulation refers to your ability to use positive coping strategies to diffuse or moderate negative emotions. One example is hitting the gym after a tough day at work to burn off your frustration on the punching bag instead of turning your temper on your spouse or children.

Why does it matter? After all, this is America! Shouldn’t we all be free to express all our emotions, good or bad? Emotional regulation is crucial because acting impulsively in a pique of rage, frustration, or despair often makes a bad situation worse. You could shatter fragile relationships beyond repair and even harm yourself and others — for example, by driving erratically after an argument and causing an accident.

Emotional regulation shares much in common with maturity and is a critical component of it, but it doesn’t necessarily improve with age. There are older Americans in their 80s and 90s who still struggle with dysregulated emotions. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter how old you are. You can always take proactive measures to improve your emotional regulation, including adopting healthier daily practices , like cleaning up your diet.

Personal Aside: The Intensity of Dysregulation

If you follow Only in Sedona Yoga on YouTube (shameless plug: please like, subscribe, and share), you know that I talk to my mat to regulate my emotions. However, mindful movement alone isn’t always enough.

As someone with a trauma history , I learned some pretty downright horrific, let alone maladaptive, stress responses as a child and never unlearned them as an adult. When tough times struck after becoming ill with mysterious symptoms, I became horribly dysregulated. I lashed out at others, including those who only wanted to help (I’m so sorry, guys). While I complained of lacking a support system, it’s no wonder they left, considering I occasionally fired potshots over their bows.

I also hurt myself. When I was dysregulated, my emotions were so intense that I couldn’t see two fingers if I held them up right in front of my nose, let alone possible solutions to the problems I faced. That frustration added to the negativity, creating a rolling spiral that crushed everything in its path, including my spirit. However, in a panic to do something, anything, to save myself, I made some terrible decisions.

These days, I’m much, much better at not letting my negative emotions result in impulsive, erratic acts that make already bad situations even worse. I share this personal aside because I want you to know that you are not alone if your feelings sometimes feel so powerful, so intense, you have to act and act right beeping now , if only to make the voices in your head stop screaming.

However, there is hope. With time, I have gotten much less reactive. The emotions that once threatened to drown me now only go up my nose and burn my throat a little. I’m much better able to manage them, and you, too, will regain that feeling of control with time, practice, patience, and compassion toward yourself. Talking to the mat is responsible for a lot of my healing — but diet also plays a role.

Is Diet Alone Enough?

Let’s be clear: improving your diet can help with emotional regulation. It will not, however, transform you from the pre-ghost version of Ebenezer Scrooge into the new and improved one by itself.

Improving your diet is one piece of the holistic healing pie. However, you might notice two significant improvements after a few weeks of changing your eating patterns if you’re anything like me:

The fire cools: Strong, dysregulated emotions are like wildfires, burning you from the inside until you take some action to douse the flames. Over time, an improved diet can decrease the intensity of these blazes so that you don’t have to fight as hard. You might still have moments, but they occur less frequently and blow over more quickly.
The sky brightens: Sometimes, addressing a nutritional deficiency alone is enough to change your mood dramatically. Other times, the effects are more subtle, but the overall improvement in your outlook aids in making other healthy decisions, like sticking to your yoga program, that further accelerate healing.

How Diet Affects Emotional Regulation

Diet affects emotional regulation in several ways: through managing inflammation levels, preventing nutrient deficiencies, and nurturing a healthy intestinal microbiome. Here’s a closer look at each function.

1. Inflammation and Dysregulation

Generalized anxiety disorder is my bugbear, but I’m not alone. Rates of this disorder and depression increased 25% during the recent pandemic , during which substance abuse also rose. One way that diet affects mental health is by increasing or decreasing systemic inflammation. Systemic means it affects your whole body — including your brain.

For example, researchers have found an association between systemic inflammation and increased anxiety levels. Healthy foods, like the ones listed in the last part of this article, decrease systemic inflammation. Conversely, ultra-processed foods laden with white sugar, bleached flour, and unhealthy fats increase it.

2. Nutrient Deficiencies and Mental Health

As previously noted, deficiencies in certain minerals, such as magnesium, zinc, and selenium, can adversely impact mental health. While eating foods high in these substances helps, a well-rounded diet is equally important. Various micronutrients go into manufacturing neurotransmitters and maintaining bodily structures, and in general, the more brightly colored whole foods you include, the better —- it ensures sufficient intake of everything.

3. Your Microbiome and Mental Health

Researchers have found an association between disruptions in the intestinal microbiome and the following mental disorders:

Anxiety
Depression
Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder
Autism spectrum disorder
Eating disorders

Your intestinal microbiome refers to the colonies of beneficial bacteria lining your intestines. They help you digest and much more. For example, you make 95% of your body’s serotonin in your gut, and many researchers believe these pint-sized powerhouses send messages to your brain, influencing mood.

9 Best Foods to Improve Your Emotional Regulation Through Diet

The best foods to improve emotional regulation through your diet, therefore, address these three factors. Here’s what to add more of to boost your mood and outlook.

1. Nuts

Nuts are among the best sources of those miracle mental minerals: magnesium, selenium, and zinc. Although they’re often salty-tasting, they contain oodles of potassium to mitigate the impact on your blood pressure. They’re great for solo snacking as an alternative to chips, and you might be surprised by the prices — many varieties are roughly equivalent in price to junk food these days. Choose health and nutrition over inflammatory snacks.

2. Seeds

Seeds are also mental miracle mineral sources, but they are especially beneficial to women. That’s because they contain lignans, phytoestrogens that may balance female hormones and decrease period-related anxiety and depression. Flaxseed is particularly beneficial and may help post-menopausal women reduce their breast cancer risk.

3. Fatty Fish

Fatty fish makes this list because it is your best source of omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers associate deficiencies in these substances with various mental disorders , including anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. Although you can find omega-3s in foods like flaxseed, only seafood contains DHA and EPA , two forms of omega-3 your body struggles to make from plant-based sources.

4. Yogurt

It’s time to nurture your microbiome. How do you do that? With probiotics and prebiotics. Prebiotics refer to a type of dietary fiber these microscopic bacteria love. Probiotics are the organisms themselves, which exist in fermented foods like yogurt. Although you are born with a stash of them, they deplete over time — add more through diet. Other probiotic-rich, fermented foods include:

Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Miso
Kombucha
Kefir

5. Berries

Berries are a rich source of anthocyanins. These antioxidants occur in red and blue food and are particularly good for combating inflammation in your heart and brain.

6. Broccoli and Leafy Greens

Broccoli and deep, leafy greens are nutrient powerhouses. They contain many of your B vitamins, iron, and filling fiber to nurture your microbiome while keeping you fuller for longer. A salad with nuts, greens, berries, and a yogurt dressing is a lovely lunch for improving your emotional regulation through diet.

7. Whole Grains

Whole grains complete the B-vitamin puzzle. However, it’s crucial to read labels, ensuring they read “whole grain” or “whole wheat.” Be wary of combos — a label that says “wheat flour” and “whole wheat flour” may contain only a smidgen of the good stuff.

Why does it matter? The nutrition and fiber you want are in the bran and germ, which manufacturers strip away when processing flour. As a result, eating refined flour is akin to consuming sugar for its effect on your blood glucose, which can increase your Type 2 diabetes risk.

8. Turmeric

Turmeric is a miracle spice. However, it works best with its inflammation-fighting sidekick, black pepper, as the piperine increases your body’s ability to use the curcumin in this root herb by 2,000%. Add a bit of each to your morning tea. As a bonus, adding turmeric’s anti-inflammatory power to your daily routine could ease chronic pain.

9. Green Tea

If coffee makes your anxiety worse, try green tea. Although it has some caffeine, it pales compared to a cup of joe — about 15 milligrams versus 200. Additionally, green tea is a fabulous source of EGCG, an antioxidant that may ease depression symptoms and make you less impulsive if you have certain mood or personality disorders.

Foods to Avoid to Improve Your Emotional Regulation Through Diet

The foods you should avoid to improve your emotional regulation through diet include most, if not all, ultra-processed foods, as they increase inflammation. You should also avoid any that cause a food allergy , even if your physical symptoms seem mild — get mindful and journal about how you feel after suspect meals if uncertain.

For example, stay clear of the following as much as possible:

Processed convenience meals
Fried foods
Many snack foods, such as chips, pretzels and crackers
Many baked goods, especially those with bleached flour and lots of sugar
Candy

Holistic Healing: Improving Emotional Regulation Through Diet

A holistic approach to health requires you to examine multiple factors that give rise to unwanted symptoms. While fixing your diet alone is unlikely to cure your mental health symptoms, you can improve your emotional regulation through the foods you choose.

Feeling dysregulated and out of control is scary and can lead to increased stress and strife in your life. It only makes sense to keep yourself as balanced as possible through any means available to you. Add more of these nine foods to improve your emotional regulation through your diet and mindfully tune into and perhaps journal about how you feel. The difference may impress you.

14 Alternatives to Bleached Flour (and Why You Should Try Them)

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:29:41 GMT

This article first appeared on LivingWithHM.com

There’s a Type 2 diabetes epidemic in America. Nearly 100 million of us live with prediabetes or the full-blown condition, and what’s scary is that many don’t know their risks.1 However, it’s one of the most preventable illnesses, and you don’t need any special skills, oodles of money, or even regular healthcare access. You must, however, know what to avoid. You already know about sugar, but did you know that bleached flour is just as bad, possibly worse?

Furthermore, this stuff lurks in many products, including packaged convenience foods. However, you can learn to avoid it. Best of all, there are plenty of alternatives, many of which will elevate your baking if you live for the kitchen — all while improving your family’s health. What should you try and how will it affect your food’s taste and texture? How can you keep it convenient?

We have your answers. Dig into these 14 alternatives to bleached flour while protecting yourself against what’s arguably America’s top health risk.

What’s the Problem With Bleached Flour?

The problems with bleached flour are twofold. One, it has less of the good stuff your body needs. Two, it may contain traces of a toxin your body doesn’t.

1. Bye Bye to the Good Stuff

Bleached flour comes from wheat. “Hey, wait,” you might think, “That’s a plant-based, healthy food!” That’s correct — in its original form. Wheat consists of three layers:

Bran
Germ
Endosperm

The manufacturing process of bleached flour begins by stripping away the bran and germ. Guess what? That’s where a considerable portion of the nutrients and fiber lie. You miss out on vitamins, but that’s not all.

Fiber helps flour digest more slowly, preventing the steep blood sugar spikes that can predispose you to Type 2 diabetes over time. When you take that away, what remains is a fast-absorbing substance that’s nearly the equivalent of a spoonful of sugar. Yikes.

Then, manufacturers add bleaching agents like benzoyl peroxide directly with the flour and mix gaseous bleaching agents like nitrogen peroxide and chlorine into the freshly-milled stuff.2 That creates another problem.

2. Hello to Alloxan

When you mix chemicals with food, you create byproducts. One of these is alloxan. What’s that? It’s a substance that scientists use to degrade the pancreatic beta cells in laboratory mice.3 Researchers have found trace amounts of this stuff in several brands of bleached flour. Why is it so bad for human health?

Your pancreas is where you make your insulin, particularly your beta cells. That’s right. Each time you eat bleached flour, not only do you spike your blood sugar, predisposing you to Type 2 diabetes. You also consume a chemical that damages the organ responsible for combating these spikes. Statistics suggest the results are not good, leading to increased disease.

How to Recognize Flour on Food Labels

One problem with avoiding bleached flour is you’ll seldom see those two words used on nutrition labels. Instead, you’ll see “wheat flour.” What happens when the average consumer reads, “wheat flour?” That’s right. They think it’s healthy.

Not you. Like Jellystone’s Yogi, you’re smarter than the average bear. But what should you look for?

Instead, look for the words “whole grain” or “whole wheat” on the label.

Pro-tip : The words “contains whole grains” can be misleading. Read the label. It might say wheat flour and then whole wheat flour, indicating that you have a mix of bleached and unbleached stuff in there. You’d have to write to the manufacturer to discern the precise ratio. Stick to whole grain only.

Where Flour Lurks in Food

Bleached flour is everywhere in Western diets. The statistics begin to make sense. Unfortunately, you have to read the labels of more than your loaf of bread. Bleached flour may lurk in the following:

Baked goods
Snack foods like pretzels and crackers
Breading: Processed convenience foods are often full of the stuff — more on this in the FAQs section.
Pasta
Gravies
Cereal
Sauces
Meat Substitutes: Pay attention, vegans and vegetarians.

14 Alternatives to Bleached Flour to Experiment With

Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of alternative flours to play with when you cook at home. You’ll also find these used in more healthy convenience foods as people educate themselves and demand alternatives, although you might pay a steeper price. The DIY method keeps your costs low and doubles as a valuable prep — it’s much easier to store flour than fresh bread.

How to Use Flour Substitutes

Please note that alternatives to bleached flour will vary slightly in taste and texture from what you’re used to. However, change can be a good thing. You might find that you like these alternatives better!

Plus, you get another bonus. Remember, bleached flour removes the filling fiber that keeps your appetite at bay. Switching to alternatives will keep you fuller longer, which can stretch your food budget and maybe even help you drop a few unwanted pounds without trying.

Your best method? Experiment! Play with different alternative flours to find your favorites or create a signature blend of two or three favorites. Start with easy swaps, like the breading on oven-baked chicken, and progress to baking.

Here are 14 alternatives to consider.

1. Whole Grain Flour

Whole grain flour doesn’t strip away the bran and germ, giving you much more nutrition. You also maintain the filling fiber that keeps your blood sugar under control, lowering your Type 2 diabetes risk.

2. Almond Flour

If you want to eat more nuts and seeds for your mental health, consider doing so by substituting almond flour. Bleached flour can increase systemic inflammation, which researchers consider as a factor in some anxiety disorders.4

However, that’s not the only reason almond flour benefits mental health. Nuts are high in magnesium, a mineral that may ease symptoms of anxiety and depression.5

3. Spelt Flour

Spelled flour comes from an ancient grain. However, it still contains gluten, so pay attention if you have celiac disease or an intolerance. It’s a primitive relative of modern wheat.

4. Brown Rice Flour

Brown rice is a whole grain while white rice is not. Read labels to ensure you get all the nutrition and fiber.

5. Amaranth Flour

Amaranth is another ancient grain, one preppers in the southwest rejoice over. It grows well and quickly and the leaves are also edible. However, manufacturers grind the grain into a slightly flowery, nutty flour.

6. Oat Flour

Oat flour may or may not be gluten-free, depending on the manufacturing process. If you have a severe intolerance or celiac, look for the words “manufactured in a dedicated gluten-free facility” to protect yourself.

7. Chickpea Flour

Are you a vegetarian or vegan who needs a protein boost? Look to chickpea or garbanzo bean flour. It’s chock-full of the muscle-building macronutrient.

8. Rye Flour

Rye flour has a slightly more bitter taste than wheat. It’s a great source of multiple B vitamins.

9. Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is popular for baking and frying. It has a slightly sweet taste that’s heavenly in muffins or panko breading.

10. Buckwheat Flour

Buckwheat is another alternative to bleached flour that vegans should embrace. Why? It’s one of a handful of plant-based foods that’s a complete protein, giving you all nine essential amino acids your body can’t make itself.6

11. Sorghum Flour

You might recognize this flour from gluten-free labels. It’s a popular alternative to wheat in commercial products prepared for this crowd.

12. Millet Flour

Millet is a small, yellow grain that tastes vaguely reminiscent of corn. As such, it’s great for baking and breading and makes a lovely blend with other alternative flours.

13. Cassava Flour

Cassava is a South American tuber that’s somewhat similar to a sweet potato. It’s used as a staple in many countries and makes flour akin to potato flakes — but more finely ground.

14. Nut Flour

Various nut flours abound, such as hazelnut, macadamia, walnut, and pecan. Although they can be pricey, they’re also full of magnesium and other minerals like zinc and selenium to boost mood and mental health.7

FAQS

Here are your answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about alternative flours.

1. Do Alternative Flours Taste the Same as Bleached Flour?

Bleached flour is bland because manufacturers strip away the stuff that provides flavor. Alternative flours each have their own unique taste. Some varieties, like sorghum, have more of the neutral taste preferred in baked goods, but others add a new twist.

Your best bet is to experiment. You can blend several alternative flours in varying ratios until you find a taste and texture you fall in love with. You might even create unique combos for different dishes, such as almond flour, millet, and sorghum for baking and a coconut-spelt blend for coating fried chicken.

2. Do You Substitute Alternative Flours in the Same Ratio in Recipes?

In general, alternative flours measure up scoop for scoop with unbleached flour. There’s no need to adjust your recipe. You can swap them out cup for cup.

3. What’s the Healthiest Alternative Flour?

Is this a trick question? Just kidding. The healthiest alternative flour for you depends on your unique body and needs. Some blends are higher in protein, making them attractive to vegans, while others contain trace minerals your body needs.8

4. How Do I Avoid Bleached Flour If I Rely on Convenience Foods Because of My Busy Lifestyle?

It’s a tough question. More healthy convenience foods now contain whole grains, but you must read labels. While microwaved meals might cost more, you can often find bread, crackers, and pasta made from whole grain.

Combine that option with snack foods that resemble their natural forms. For example, nearly every convenience store sells mixed nuts, string cheese, and a few assorted fruits. Hit up bulk health food stores when you have time to stock up on non-perishable, natural snacks like trail mix and dried fruit and veggies. These cost more upfront but won’t go stale.

Resolve to Try These Bleached Flour Alternatives

You now know that alternatives to bleached flour play a valuable role in the fight against Type 2 diabetes. One possible reason the condition has reached epidemic levels is because of the adverse health effects of the white stuff.

The sooner you experiment with whole grain and alternative flours, the more quickly you’ll find the varieties you love. Resolve to try these bleached flour alternatives this year and slash your risk of what may be America’s number one health threat.

References:

1. About Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes | National Diabetes Prevention Program | CDC . 15 Nov. 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/about-prediabetes.html

2. “Flour Bleaching | Baking Processes.” BAKERpedia , 10 July 2018, https://bakerpedia.com/processes/flour-bleaching/

3. Ganga, S., et. al. “Dark Side of White Flour — Maida.” Indian Association of Health, Research and Welfare. 2020, 11(1-3), 100-105. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341394368_Darkside_Of_The_White_Flour_-_Maida

4. Guo, Bingqi, et al. “Neuroinflammation Mechanisms of Neuromodulation Therapies for Anxiety and Depression.” Translational Psychiatry , vol. 13, Jan. 2023, p. 5. PubMed Central , https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02297-y

5. Nazarinasab, Masoumeh, et al. “Investigating the Effect of Magnesium Supplement in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder under Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment.” Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care , vol. 11, no. 12, Dec. 2022, pp. 7800–05. PubMed Central , https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1164_22

6. “13 Nearly Complete Protein Sources for Vegetarians and Vegans.” Healthline , 21 Apr. 2020, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/complete-protein-for-vegans

7. Totten, Melissa S., et al. “Trace Minerals and Anxiety: A Review of Zinc, Copper, Iron, and Selenium.” Dietetics , vol. 2, no. 1, Mar. 2023, pp. 83–103. www.mdpi.com , https://doi.org/10.3390/dietetics2010008

8. Barnes, Mia. “What’s the Healthiest Flour Alternative?” Body+Mind Magazine , 6 Oct. 2021, https://bodymind.com/whats-the-healthiest-alternative-flour/.

Remembering Poe Cat

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:19:24 GMT

Our beloved Poe cat ascended to his next adventure on June 26, 2023. We honor his passing and remember this special family member. Poe cat gave Jennifer a reason to continue during her darkest days. You can honor his legacy by buying a copy of his book by clicking here . All proceeds benefit RAICES.

*****

How do you write a eulogy for the “person” who saved your life? It doesn’t matter if he had four legs instead of two. Little Poe cat had more humanity than most humans I know.

Perhaps it’s best if I keep this as he would have wanted: short and sweet. He was the most loving soul who ever lived, but he was also simple. The smallest things delighted him: the warmth of home, the caress of a caring hand, nourishing food in his wee belly.

Many thanks to all of you who offered words of comfort during this time of grief. You have no idea how much it helps to know that Poe cat was so loved. He may have begun his life in this world homeless and alone, but he spent his final moments surrounded by his loving family and a caring veterinarian team.

Many thanks, too, to the Universe and the folks I work with for giving me this time to spend with him and grieve. Although his last days contained more pain than I would have wanted, they were also filled with love. Our last Sunday together, we laid in bed the whole day, just being with each other. I can’t tell you how precious the gift of those final hours was.

And his legacy will live on. Before he passed, Poe gave me the title of the second book, something I’ve been struggling with since its conception. Poe, Onyx and Squeeks will likely complete sometime in 2024. It will be the second book in his legacy and charitable quest.

Poe came into my life when I had nothing to live for. Every day was pain. Still, every morning, I looked forward to seeing him on my porch, to guessing how many cans of Sheba he would devour, to seeing how close I could get without scaring him. Every day, we built a bond of trust, even as the rest of my world collapsed around me.

I firmly believe that little angel stayed in my life just long enough to make sure I would be okay. He was a true angel in material form. I don’t know the secrets of life and death — these things remain a mystery to us all for good reason. However, I do know that energy is never created or destroyed, and that little guy powered enough love energy to heal the world. I have no doubt his spirit is off being someone else’s angel at this very moment.

I also don’t know what the future will bring for sure. I only know he showed me the way. I have big plans for the nonprofit I’ve been dreaming of building that are all inspired by him, but I don’t know if it will ever come to fruition. I know I’m assembling the parts, with Poe’s love and guidance, and it gives me a reason to go on, a purpose, something to work toward.

Poe taught me so much. He taught me how to persevere in the face of overwhelming odds. He taught me how to accept suffering with grace, and how to look for the beauty, the goodness, the compassion and caring in life when it seemed like there was none. He was the gentlest soul I have ever known, and taught me how mildness can in reality be great strength, far more powerful than harsh and angry words. Most of all, he taught me that love is the most binding glue, the real reason we all are here, and the one thing that goes on long after we are gone.

If a cat can attain Buddhahood, I have no doubt in my mind. Poe was a Buddha.

Safe travels, wise and dear one.

Thank you for your many lessons.

Your legacy will live forever.

So will my love for you, my son.

Mindful Eating: Yoga at the Table

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:15:19 GMT

Written by Jennifer Stanley

While everyone is different, a near universal experience as you grow your yoga practice is becoming more mindful in daily life, not just on the mat. It’s one reason talking to the mat is so powerful — it brings about deep change from the inside. Many yogis engage in mindful eating, tuning into what you take into your body and why.

Mindful eating can lead to unexpected benefits, like weight loss. It might even help you uncover hidden health issues like food allergies, giving you the power to address them and improve your well-being. Perhaps the most important perk, though, is that this practice enhances your enjoyment of every meal — and shouldn’t life be about feeling good while being kind to ourselves and others? Here’s why mindful eating is yoga at the table and why you should embrace it.

What Is Mindful Eating?

Think about the last time you ate. Was the urge driven by genuine physical hunger, your appointed lunch hour’s arrival, a special celebration, or a need to distract yourself? Do you remember what you ate, why you chose it, what nutritional value it provided and how the flavor and texture felt on your tongue?

You might come up with some of these answers even if your last meal consisted of a bag of chips at your computer. However, you could answer each one in detail if you ate mindfully. The process entails remaining fully present in the moment, treating each dining experience like a rich and joyous celebration of being human — which it is.

Mindful eating begins with the selection and preparation of your meal to the enjoyment of the dining experience. It’s your chance to dine like the French, who believe you should savor meals and the human relationships that bond over them. You can even think of it as a small act of rebellion against a world that wants you to hurry up and be more like a machine. Food reminds you that you are a living creature, an integral part of the miracle of creation, not a robot.

The Many Benefits of Mindful Eating

Mindful eating does much more than serve as a testimony to the human spirit amid a high-pressure world. It also benefits you. Consider the following perks before deciding you simply “lack the time” to tune into your meal.

1. Gain Awareness of Your Body’s Natural Cues

Millions of Americans struggle with obesity. One reason for the soaring rates is that far too many of us eat mindlessly, grazing at our work desks and pulling through whichever fast food joint is the most convenient when we’re too wiped out from our busy day to cook dinner. This sacrifice comes at a steep price — losing touch with the ability to tell when we are hungry and when we feel full.

Mindful eating rebuilds your relationship with your body’s hunger and satiety cues. Over time, you gradually get better at checking in with yourself before dining.

Doing so gives you greater agency over your behavior. When you recognize that you aren’t digging into the cookie tray out of hunger but rather because they look so good, you must try a sample, it’s easier to stop at just one.

2. Develop a Deeper Appreciation of Food

You might say grace, but when was the last time you genuinely felt thankful for your food? If you haven’t felt physical hunger for some time, you might have lost touch with the simple joy eating brings. It is participating in the cycle of life.

As you tune into your meals, you gain a deeper appreciation for the taste and texture of certain foods. You’ll also learn more about your likes and dislikes. For example, perhaps you always hated the mushy, overcooked asparagus of your childhood but find you love it lightly sauteed with a little olive oil.

3. Cultivate Gratitude and Ease Negative Feelings Around Meal Time

The next time you eat, check in with your emotions. What are you feeling? You might be surprised what a bit of mindful exploration unearths.

For example, you might notice that you feel vaguely guilty for grabbing that bag of chips instead of a healthier snack, especially if you struggle with weight or medical issues. Mindfully explore how you could manage that emotion. You might:

Opt for something healthier, reminding yourself that you aren’t depriving yourself forever, simply making the best choice for you at this moment in time.
Remind yourself that life is about balance and allow yourself a small indulgence, resolving to make healthy choices 80% of the time but permitting space for being human.
Either way, cultivate a sense of gratitude — you can take your choice of snack. Focus on that abundance and give thanks that you have multiple options.

It’s much better than digging in with mixed feelings, mindlessly snacking, then becoming overwhelmed with guilt as you scrape the final salty bits from the bag’s bottom. Becoming aware of your emotions around food may, with time and practice, ease the symptoms of eating disorders and aid in your remission.

4. Enrich Your Relationships With Family and Friends

The fabulous thing about the French is they don’t let life’s other demands stand between their celebrations of friendship and family — which inevitably include food. Meals are an event to savor mindfully, often spanning more than an hour, as people take time to put their forks down, engage in conversation and celebrate their connection.

One of the biggest drivers of the mental health crisis in American society is loneliness and the lack of a sense of connection. The statistics are particularly dire among younger people, as nearly 50% of those aged 18 to 24 reported anxiety or depression symptoms in the past year. Giving people back the time to gather at the dinner table might combat some of them, helping people reconnect and build community.

5. Recognize Which Foods Work Well for Your Body

Guess what? Your physiology is unique, and everything you eat affects your chemistry for better or for worse. Mindful eating allows space to observe how you feel after eating certain meals.

Doing so can help you identify food allergies and sensitivities that affect your well-being, even if they don’t quickly lead to fatal illness. Some intolerances surface as little more than a general feeling of malaise, gastrointestinal distress or an altered mood — the only way to notice and identify the culprit is to pay attention and experiment with eliminating problematic versions to see what brings relief.

6. Control Your Health and Weight Without Stress

Personal aside: I wish I could have back all the energy I wasted worrying about my weight when I was younger. I tried one diet after another, when what I really needed to do was tune in mindfully to what I was putting in my mouth and its effect on how I felt instead of seeking outside validation that I was “doing it right.”

Diet books can be valuable sources of information that provide insight on how various foods affect the human body. However, they aren’t a replacement for knowing yourself, and they aren’t always reliable. For example, we might not have soaring Type 2 diabetes rates had people mindfully tuned into how they felt after overindulging in ultra-processed, high-carb snacks simply because they were labeled “lite.”

Furthermore, there’s a lot that goes into what you eat and why you eat it — physical hunger might not even make your top three list. Taking time to listen to these compulsions is a must for feeling more in control over what you choose to eat and why.

How to Have a Mindful Meal: A Script

Want to make your next meal a mindful one? Here’s a script to follow. Please don’t get too hung up on the details — what matters most is remaining in the present moment and mindfully tuning into each step. Here’s what to do:

Start with planning your meal. What’s on the menu? Explore what factors you consider. If you’re like most mere mortals, your cravings probably top the list — what are you in the mood for? How can you satisfy that desire while meeting your nutritional needs and creating a dish that tastes great on your plate?
Amass your materials. Pay attention to the ingredients you use and the cooking method. Are you sharing your meal with others? Consider inviting them to help you prepare the dishes. Explain you’re doing mindful eating and why and invite them to explore.
As you cook, ask yourself various questions. How does heating change the texture and consistency of the food? How do the colors and flavors blend? Set your table with care when there’s a break in the stove action. How can you make it inviting, so people want to join you at the table? Add aesthetic touches that delight your soul.
When you sit down to eat, take a moment to mindfully express gratitude for your meal, either out loud or in your mind by observing a moment of silence. Resist the urge to immediately dig in. Instead, plate your meal as if you were serving it at a fine restaurant. Observe how you feel as you anticipate the first bite. Is your mouth watering? Inhale the aromas of your dish and nibble and sample before digging in.
As you progress through the meal, remain in the moment. Savor each bite. Put your fork down between mouthfuls and enjoy the company, too, chatting or genuinely, deeply listening to what they share. You might be surprised at the complexity in a seemingly simple dinner when you treat the occasion with respect and honor, like the French.
As you finish eating, give thanks once more. You might want to vocally thank any companions. Tune into how you feel. Hopefully, you are pleasantly sated and also full from the camaraderie you shared or the pure self-love you poured into making a special dish for yourself.

Mindful Eating as an Extension of Your Practice

The mindfulness you develop on the yoga mat spills over into daily life, making each moment richer. Everything becomes an extension of your practice, including meal time.

Mindful eating is like practicing yoga at the table. Although you aren’t doing physical poses, you bring the same energy of awareness and loving-kindness to mealtime, creating a positive ripple effect that may go on to transform your life in other, magical ways.

When Trauma and the News Don't Mix: 10 Coping Tips

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:10:56 GMT

Written by Jennifer Stanley

A viewer recently wrote, “I’m a veteran with PTSD, and lately, events in the news are highly triggering. Can you help?” I felt this question to the depth of my soul. I’ve also been having a hard time with the state of the world, and it’s been triggering some intense panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms in me, too.

Although I’m not a veteran, I live with and love one. Therefore, this question hits home in that way, too, as we struggle to help each other process the events around us. I’m not writing as a doctor or scientist, simply someone with my own skeletons who cares for someone with a similar history. Here are the coping tips we use to stay sane — including two I want to try — to stay centered when trauma and the news don’t mix.

1. Find Support

A good support system can be hard to find but is essential for counterbalancing the negative stimuli bombarding you daily. Although it’s tempting to isolate yourself, engaging in avoidant behavior can lead to loneliness — and missing out on the good things life has to offer that counteract the bad.

Fortunately, you can find online and in-person support groups. Reddit is a surprisingly good resource, and apps like 7 Cups let you connect virtually from wherever you are.

Furthermore, there’s no shame in reaching out for professional help. One of the bravest things you can do is admit you need assistance. If you have coverage and can afford the copay, a therapist can be an excellent sounding board even when you aren’t in a full-blown mental health crisis.

2. Turn Off the News

Here’s a huge tip, and one I admittedly struggle with as someone in a media-related profession. People today have 24/7 access to nearly everything happening in the world, but that’s not necessarily a good thing if you’re coping with a trauma-related or anxiety disorder.

Fortunately, you can learn to tune out, although it can seem difficult at first. Consider cutting the cable cord and investing only in apps for channels you want to watch — you can save a bundle while eliminating the temptation to let CNN play in the background. Use apps such as Freedom to block access to certain apps at particular times or even cut off your internet access completely while you reset your nervous system.

3. Exercise

When something triggers you, your HPA axis sets off a cascade of events that results in adrenaline and cortisol release. These two stress hormones give you the energy to get up and go, but you can develop a tolerance over time, contributing to numerous health woes from anxiety and depression to Type 2 diabetes.

Dissipate these chemicals the way nature intended before they can affect your psyche. Your body can’t tell the difference between a brisk run around the block and fleeing a hungry lion. Movement mitigates your stress hormone levels, making you feel more relaxed, calm and focused.

4. Yoga

Mindful movement also matters. Yoga is one of the best tools for healing trauma that gets trapped in your somatic nervous system — the cells all over your body, not just your brain. Through talking to the mat, you gain awareness of how it manifests. From there, you can breathe into tight muscle areas, consciously relaxing them.

The information superhighway in our bodies runs in both directions. Signals from the body can relax and calm the mind just as thoughts originating in the brain can prompt physical changes. Healing yourself through mindful movement can be a powerful act of self-compassion that’s as rewarding as a warm hug or a spa day, sending your nervous system the message that you’re okay, you’re safe and you’re loved.

5. Focused Meditation

Many people recommend meditation for stress. However, for some, sitting quietly spurs rumination, leaving them feeling worse than before they took to the mat or zafu.

When the world’s stress triggers a trauma reaction, your goal is to bring your nervous system back into balance, not figure out the answer to every problem — an impossible task. Instead, used focus meditation techniques such as the following to shut out the negative stimuli making you feel tense:

Breathe and count backwards from ten: Consciously slow your breathing as you count in your mind. You might even repeat the numbers in your mind as you inhale and exhale — ten, two-three-four, ten two-three-four-five, nine, two-three-four, etc.
Light a candle and set a timer: For thirty seconds to several minutes, mentally describe the flame, being as detailed as possible as you slow your breath.
Scattergories list: Choose a neutral topic and a letter — such as “a boy’s name” and “A.” For 30 seconds to several minutes, mentally list as many as you can think of, inhaling on one name, exhaling on the next.

6. Diet

Can food affect your mood? You betcha. There’s a huge link between anxiety, depression and systemic inflammation , and certain not-so-healthy snacks add to that burn, such as:

Sugar
Bleached flour
Unhealthy fats
Processed meats

However, there’s a positive side. Just as the above foods can make you feel worse, getting more of the following can improve your mood and mindset:

Omega-3’s: Found in fish and certain plant-based foods such as flax seeds and hemp seeds. Many Americans don’t get enough and eat too much omega-6 , increasing inflammation. The ideal ratio is close to 2:1, although the average is closer to 16:1.
Magnesium, selenium and zinc: These minerals, found in nuts, seeds and many other plant-based foods like spinach and whole grains are necessary for making various neurotransmitters.
Brightly colored fruits and vegetables: These contain various antioxidants, which whisk free radicals out of your body before they can damage your cells and spur inflammation.

7. Supplements and Herbs

Several over-the-counter remedies, including herbal supplements, can help you feel calmer and improve your mood and mindset, including the following:

Chamomile
Lavender
Lemon balm: Can worsen anxiety in some.
Kava: Generally boosts mood but can cause a mild dissociative feeling in some.
Valerian: Use caution with this herb if also taking benzodiazepines.

Also, some people report relief from the following supplements:

L-theanine: This amino acid is found in tea and helps some feel calm.
GABA: You can buy supplements of this neurotransmitter that acts as the brain’s natural valium, although you might not absorb enough to make a substantial difference.
Theobromine: Found in chocolate and said to boost mood while providing energy.

8. Therapy

You don’t need to be in a mental health crisis to seek out therapy. In fact, it might be better to seek it when you aren’t in danger of a meltdown or behaving in a manner that could harm you.

Why? It takes a while to find the right fit, requiring the luxury of time you don’t have when you feel overwhelmed and intent on self-harm, if only to put a stop to all the negative stimuli bombarding you.

9. EMDR

EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. During a session, you recall a traumatic event as the therapist creates sensory input, such as having your eyes follow a light rapidly back and forth. This combination crosses certain “wires” in your brain, weakening the connection between the painful thought and the physical cascade it sets off, prompting panic.

Therapists typically perform EMDR, but it requires additional training. Ask if your provider has the requisite experience or seek a referral from your primary care provider.

10. Ketamine

Research shows that ketamine therapy can correct some of the structural brain changes that accompany trauma, contributing to the flashbacks and other symptoms of PTSD. It weakens your amygdala’s response to the trauma script that goes off in your mind when you feel triggered.

Those seeking this treatment should do so under the guidance of a professional team with experience in using the correct dosage and guiding you through the experience.

Keeping Your Balance When Trauma and the News Don’t Mix

The suggestions above can help you keep your balance when dire news stories activate your trauma response and leave you feeling panicked, miserable, anxious or depressed. They aren’t magic cures, but they can provide the strength you need to create a rich and meaningful life despite outside chaos. You can use these tools as proactive measures to protect your mental health or help you get back on track if currently suffering.

Remember, destroying yourself won’t solve the world’s problems. Nurturing and healing yourself so that you can be the best version of you that you can be can help you contribute to the solutions. o=

Loving-Kindness Meditation for Yourself and the World

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:04:47 GMT

Written by Jennifer Stanley

You don’t need anyone to tell you that the world is an increasingly hostile place. News of war and violence scream at you from headlines daily, even if you do your best to avoid them — they show up in your email, on gym televisions, on your Uber driver’s satellite radio.

It’s enough to make anyone feel more than a little hostile themselves.

However, yogis know peace begins within, by cultivating mindfulness and taking responsibility for what you can control — yourself. You can calm your body and mind through breath and movement, and in doing so remain serenely courageous through chaos.

Better, you can begin to shift the energy within you towards that of peace, creating a ripple effect that spreads to others, as attitudes are contagious. Practice this loving-kindness meditation for yourself and send good vibrations to a world that sorely needs them.

Postures for Sitting or Lying in Meditation

The best posture for this loving-kindness meditation or any meditation session is whatever makes you the most comfortable. There is no one “correct” meditation posture — it’s highly individualized. However, here are some classic poses to consider:

Vajrasana: This kneeling posture is similar to the hero's pose in yoga. Kneel on the floor, allowing the feet to separate. This pose may help with keeping your spine straight if other seated meditation postures
Sukhasana: This easy seated posture is similar to the criss-cross-applesauce pose you might have used as a kid sitting on the floor. Simply fold your legs in front of you, legs folded, with one slightly forward.
Lotus or a variation: Lotus is an advanced meditation posture that can help with spinal alignment, but it isn’t kind to everyone’s knees. You can also take a half-lotus, crossing only one leg on top of the other with the ankle toward the groin.
Savasana: Some people prefer to lie down during meditation (I’m one of them). If taking corpse pose or savasana, try keeping your head straight, as letting it fall to one side encourages sleep. It also helps to place a pillow or bolster beneath your knees, especially if you have lower back, hip, or knee pain.

Setting the Mood for Your Meditation

Experienced meditators can reach a contemplative state nearly anywhere, but most mere mortals do best in an environment conducive to relaxation. Dim the lights, perhaps using colored LEDs to create a rosy glow. Adjust the temperature and have a blanket handy, as you often become cool when seated or lying for extended periods. A little aromatherapy doesn’t hurt — rose, ylang-ylang and lavender are good scents to use for this meditation, as are any scents you find relaxing and nurturing.

Suggested Guided Loving-Kindness Meditation

Begin by taking several slow breaths, elongating your exhales slightly. You can center your awareness by counting backward from ten as you count your inhales and exhales, such as this: “Inhale, ten, two, three, four,” and, “exhale, ten, two, three, four, five.” Continue breathing this way until you reach one, repeating if necessary until you feel calm and relaxed.

Pro-tip : it sometimes helps to burn off physical energy before sitting in meditation. Going for a run followed by a stretching cooldown or practicing an invigorating vinyasa routine into deeper restorative stretches can mitigate stress hormone levels and get you in a better mindset — try it if you feel too restless to sit.

Once you feel a sense of inner peace descend, draw your awareness to your heart chakra, the center of your chest. Explore the sensations there. Can you feel your heart beating for you?

Next, visualize someone you love dearly. It may be a pet — I often reflect on the pure love that Poe , and all beloved pets, teach. Let that feeling of love build and grow.

As your aura of loving-kindness grows, extend that feeling of acceptance and compassion to yourself. Picture a rosy glow filling every cell of your body, energizing every fiber. Gradually extend this sense to others, beginning with those nearest and dearest to you. Visualize the light of love spreading to your neighbors, colleagues, and even those people you find distasteful.

Continue letting this feeling of loving-kindness grow and emanate from you. Visualize it spreading so that it envelops the entire world, entering the hearts of those engaged in war and violence and transforming them with awareness. Imagine a planet in peaceful coexistence as if it were reality.

Gradually reconnect with the world around you by wiggling your fingers and toes as you exit your meditation. Take several deep, 3-part breaths, letting first your belly, then your diaphragm, and finally your chest expand before parting your lips and sighing your exhale. Blink your eyes open and smile warmly at the world.

Spread Love to Yourself and the World With This Meditation

You can repeat this meditation any time the world’s ugliness tears at your soul. Think of it as defensive armor for your soul, safeguarding against the bitterness that can easily creep in when news of death and despair bombard you.

Peace and loving-kindness begin within each one of us, and you can’t spread what you don’t feel. By generating compassion for ourselves and others on the mat, we can’t help but carry that emotion forward into daily life, spreading serenity, acceptance, and joy to everyone we touch.

Ease Into Your Meditation With a Little Yoga for Peace

Do you need to burn off a little restless energy before meditation? Try this yoga for peace routine to gradually calm your central nervous system and induce a more peaceful mental state in yourself before spreading it to others.

Can't Sleep? Try This Evening Ritual

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:55:29 GMT

Written by Jennifer Stanley

Is there anything more frustrating than tossing and turning? You know it’s going to affect you the next day. Worse is when you can’t sleep for several days in a row, stumbling through waking life like a zombie but cursing the sight of your bedroom ceiling through your open eyelids at night.

Although scientists don’t fully understand why living creatures need sleep, they’re certain of how badly it affects you when you don’t get enough. You become more accident prone, and your risk of various diseases increases. Plus, it wreaks havoc on your mood and leaves you snapping at loved ones.

As someone who has struggled with insomnia, I understand its impact. While nothing health-related is guaranteed, certain habits and practices can nevertheless make it easier to get your Zzz’s. Try parts or all of this evening ritual the next time you can’t sleep or, worse, suffer a stretch of insomnia.

Start With Your Daily Routine

How you pace your day influences how well you sleep at night. In general, you want to tackle your toughest mental and physical activities soon after waking, taking on less stressful stuff as you get closer to bedtime. Recently, some people have reported terrific success using the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep rule.

What Is the 10-3-2-1-0 Sleep Rule?

Dr. Jess Andrade, sports medicine physician, explains the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep rule as a guide of activities to cease at specific intervals before bedtime to encourage more restful sleep. It works like this:

Stop drinking caffeine 10 hours or more before bedtime. Caffeine blocks your adenosine receptors , a body chemical that builds up over the course of the day, making you sleepy.
Finish your last big meal at least three hours before bed. Digestion can stimulate you, keeping you awake, and lying down too quickly after eating can trigger gastric reflux.
Stop all work activities at least two hours before bed and begin your evening ritual.
Turn off all screens at least one hour before bed, as it stimulates your mind and the blue light can keep you awake by affecting melatonin.
How many times do you hit snooze? Zero! That’s a big goose egg. Studies suggest hitting snooze doesn’t add to quality sleep and may extend morning grogginess , a condition called sleep inertia.

The Role of Exercise

What about exercise? Doesn’t a good daily workout help you get more rest? Yes, and exercise should absolutely be a part of your routine — with one caveat.

Three hours before bed, cease all heavy physical activity. You can still include a gentle, soothing yoga routine, such as the one below, to ease you into dreamland. However, save anything that exerts your muscle power or gets your heart pumping for early in the day, as it keeps your core temperature elevated and revs up your metabolism, which can make sleep elusive.

Your 2-Hour Evening Ritual Wind-Down

Commit to yourself that the two hours before bed is your sacred time. I know, I know, I know. I’ve been there, too. Sometimes, you work a 12-or-more hour day or have errand after errand keeping you busy until bedtime.

Guess what? That’s not a problem if you tumble into bed exhausted. However, if you find yourself unable to sleep after ten to 15 minutes, get up and begin your evening ritual.

Why? It’s all about engaging the parasympathetic side of your autonomic nervous system, baby. That’s the part that governs unconscious processes , which has two sides. When the sympathetic, or fight-or-flight side, remains overly engaged, it can keep you counting sheep even when you’re physically exhausted. Your parasympathetic side is your rest and digest, and that’s what you want to engage when you can’t sleep by practicing one or all of the following activities.

1. Make and Review Your List

Often, what keeps your head spinning are the thoughts of everything you have to do. The best way to set it and forget it is to make or review tomorrow’s to-do list. Get those “I can’t forget to’s” out of your head and into your planner. Then, let go of guilt, knowing you have done your best for the day and have a solid plan for tomorrow.

2. Read Something Uplifting

Reading is a great way to calm your nerves, but your choice of material matters. Scrolling through social media is a no, as is tuning into the news. Instead, escape into fiction or dig into a non-fiction interest, like books on bushcraft or gardening.

Pay attention to your device. Kindles and phone readers are handy for car dwellers and those living tiny as they take less space than books. However, blue light is a sleep killer — use twilight mode or invest in a reader that cuts this frequency.

Listening to a story is another option. There’s no shortage of podcasts available free on YouTube.

3. Sip Some Herbs

Certain herbs can help you sleep. A nice cup of tea, perhaps with warm milk, can ease you into dreamland. If you prefer plant-based milks, try a variety with soy or another version high in tryptophan , as that’s the magic stuff scientists believe creates the sleepy effect. Herb tea blends to try include the following:

Valerian
Chamomile
Passionflower
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Skullcap
Kava

What about a nightcap? You should avoid the sauce. Although alcohol binds with your GABA receptors to relax you into sleep, your body ramps up glutamate production a few hours after you stop drinking to rebalance your neurotransmitters. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter — you end up waking up halfway through the night unable to get back to sleep.

However, many people, including myself, report considerable success with indica strains of cannabis. Consider giving it a try if it is legal where you live.

4. Set a Cozy Mood for All Your Senses

While aromatherapy won’t cure a heart defect, there is ample scientific evidence to suggest it influences how your body works. It’s particularly handy for creating the right sleep conditions. A few spritzes of lavender on your pillow or from a diffuser can make a big difference. Pleasing fragrances help relax you, creating a spa-like atmosphere.

Sight and sound matter. If you’re a shift worker, use blackout or bed curtains — or both — to create a cozy, dark cave for slumber. Noisy roommates? Hang some tapestries and blankets to improve soundproofing, seal the crack beneath your door and invest in a white noise machine. A soft set of headphones designed for sleep let you tune into a sleep hypnosis or yoga nidra recording while tuning out the outside world.

5. Take a Bath

Warm water encourages muscle relaxation. If you’re fortunate enough to have a tub, put that puppy to good use. Go all out, including Epsom salts for extra relaxation and maybe a touch of lavender bubble bath.

One of my favorite things? Take a speaker into the bathroom with you and tune into solfeggio tones while sinking into the bath. Something about the combination of healing frequencies and water is infinitely soothing and does seem to ease minor achiness.

6. Relax Your Body

While you don’t want to do any hardcore exercise, the right type of yoga can ease you into dreamland. Either restorative or yin is a good choice for easing minor aches and pains while calming your nervous system and engaging that parasympathetic side to encourage sleep. Only in Sedona Yoga has an entire line of evening yoga videos that take only 10 to 15 minutes and are especially designed to soothe you into slumber.

7. Rest Your Weary Mind

Finally, the right meditation can engage your nervous system’s parasympathetic side and help you rest. YouTube is a veritable treasure trove of fabulous sleep meditations and yoga nidra recordings designed for this purpose. One of my favorites is the rotation of consciousness — I’m often asleep before I finish my left side, but it works.

Try This Evening Ritual When You Can’t Sleep

It flat out sucks when you can’t sleep. Insomnia can impact your health in many adverse ways while making you feel all-over miserable.

Try this evening ritual the next time you can’t sleep. A better night’s rest could be a matter of adopting the right practices.

Seeking a great evening yoga routine? Try this one to soothe yourself into slumber tonight. Namaste!

Should Yogis Be Vegetarian?

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:48:41 GMT

Yoga is much more than a practice to many. It's a way of life, a spiritual discipline, affecting multiple decisions, including what to eat. Many yogis opt to become vegetarian — should you follow suit?

A plant-based diet has multiple advantages. Many people also consider it more ethical, as it is kinder to animals and treads more lightly on the planet.

However, diet is an intensely personal thing, one that involves more than merely staying alive. Food forms an integral part of many family and cultural celebrations and even some Buddhist monks will eat meat offered to them under certain circumstances. Should yogis be vegetarian? The choice is ultimately yours, but here are some things to consider.

Yoga History, Religious Origins and Vegetarianism

Yoga shares ancient historical ties with both Buddhism and Hinduism, faiths that embrace vegetarianism in some respects. Many members of both faiths refrain from eating meat to practice non-violence toward other living things.

Although the Buddha cautioned that the yogi refrain from eating flesh, wandering monks could eat meat offered to them as long as they did not see, hear or suspect the animal was killed for them. For example, it would be acceptable to accept a chicken dinner if the fowl had died of natural causes.

Furthermore, many yogis commit to eating sattvic food for the physical, mental and spiritual health benefits. Sattvic food is a part of the Ayurvedic system and emphasizes fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains, while avoiding meat, caffeine, refined sugars and overly spicy or processed foods. Although those who practice a sattvic diet may consume dairy, they exclude eggs.

Reasons to Become a Vegetarian Yogi

If you’re on the fence about going vegetarian, here are three reasons to consider switching.

1. Practice Non-Violence Toward All Living Creatures

Yoga creates a reverence for life. Even if you don’t practice Buddhism or Hinduism, choosing to forego meat can be a highly spiritual decision.

The deliberate killing of an animal creates pain and fear and thus, suffering. Many yogis who wouldn’t personally go hunting or fishing choose the vegetarian path, as they recoil at the thought of such violence.

2. Demonstrate Loving-Kindness Toward Planet Earth

Food production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. According to the 2023 Nature Food study, cutting current meat consumption by half would reduce the food industry’s contribution to a changing climate by a quarter.

Furthermore, cattle farming contributes to deforestation, especially in the Amazon. The earth needs more trees, not fewer. Plus, acreage used for growing cattle feed could just as easily grow nutritious food for humans, reducing world hunger for a fraction of the environmental cost.

3. Enjoy Impressive Health Benefits

Copious scientific evidence supports the health benefits of a plant-based diet. According to the American Heart Association, a diet rich in vegetables and fruits lowers the risk of:

Heart disease
Strokes
Obesity
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Type 2 diabetes
Many forms of cancer

The Many Flavors of Vegetarianism

Yogis who choose vegetarianism have several options. Vegans are the most restrictive, eschewing all animal products, including clothing made from silk or leather or animal byproducts like honey.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy and eggs but no meat, while pescatarians enjoy fish and seafood. There are also twists --- some people consume dairy but not eggs, for example.

Reasons to Include Meat in Your Diet

That said, not all yogis are vegetarian. Many choose a flexitarian option, cutting back on meat but still consuming it on special occasions. Others find that consuming animal products is the most convenient and cost-effective way for them to manage their health. Here are two reasons to keep an open mind.

1. Practice Acceptance for Individual Differences

Eating meat has been part of the human experience for millions of years , long before they evolved into modern-day homo sapiens sapiens . Some scientists argue that we never would have evolved such large brains had we not snacked on the occasional antelope leg. However, other scientists refute this assertion — the debate rages on.

Whatever evolution may show, many of us grew up eating meat. It’s part of our family celebrations and may play a role in cultural events.

Saying no to a slice of mama’s famous meatloaf when you fly home for a rare college break can feel sacrilegious and lead to hurt feelings.

Saying yes to certain meals can bring you closer with those you love, bask you in pleasant nostalgia and comfort you like a hot bowl of beef stew on a cold, winter’s day.

2. Support Those With Certain Medical Conditions

Everyone’s body reacts differently to various foods. Just as there are some people who are allergic to meat , there are others who could find themselves nutritionally deprived on a purely plant-based diet. It’s not that they’re allergic to every variety of veggie, fruit or nut, but health conditions may limit their options.

For example, people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis may struggle to absorb certain nutrients. Plants can sometimes contain antinutrients that further inhibit digestion, making it tougher to get the nutrition they need from such sources.

Furthermore, people with anemia, which depletes iron, or pernicious anemia, which makes getting B12 problematic, should talk to their doctors before starting a vegan or vegetarian diet. It’s harder to absorb plant iron than from a meat-based source, and nearly all naturally occurring B-12 comes from animal origin.

Finally, parents should think twice before allowing children to practice a vegan diet, as they need certain nutrients for their growth and development. Those who lack the time or the money to do the homework involved with getting a full array of amino acids should also hesitate, although a lacto-ovo or pescatarian diet may be appropriate.

Should Vegetarianism Be a Part of Your Yoga Practice?

Many yogis extend their practice well beyond the mat. It is a way of life that encompasses every arena, including what they eat. Many yogis choose to be vegetarian, although not all do.

Should you become a vegetarian yogi? Only you can decide for sure. Cutting down on your meat consumption is a good way to practice compassion for animals, yourself and the planet, one that deserves your mindful thought and attention.

Spring Into a New Style of Yoga

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:40:56 GMT

Written by: Jennifer Stanley

Spring reminds everyone of renewal, that the eternal cycle of life begins again. What better time to freshen up your practice by trying a new style of yoga?

Even if you’ve been talking to your mat for a while, there’s always something new to learn by trying a new guide or style. Doing so prevents boredom and moves your muscles in different ways, improving your total fitness and flexibility.

What new style of yoga should you spring into this season? Here are eight classic styles to consider, along with some modern twists to elevate your practice.

8 Styles of Yoga to Spring Into This Season

Many people come to yoga by searching for such a class offering. However, there are multiple styles of this ancient form. Knowing a little bit about the various styles makes it easier to find the right offerings for you when taking classes online or when out of town. It also eases some of the fear factor when you know what to expect. Here are eight styles you should recognize.

1. Hatha

Hatha yoga derives its name from the Sanskrit words for “sun” and “moon,” symbolizing the union between opposing forces. It has become somewhat of a catchall term in recent years, and may describe a fairly intenses class or a more sedate one. You’ll move through a series of standing and seated poses, complemented by breathwork.

Hatha yoga is what many people envision when they picture a yoga class. However, it’s crucial to go early the first time and talk to your guide. They can often give you a much better idea of the level of intensity to expect and can recommend modifications for poses if you have specific health concerns, like a bad knee or shoulder.

2. Vinyasa

Some guides dub vinyasa yoga “flow” yoga because this style will keep you moving. Like Hatha, it unites breath and various postures but in a faster, more continual pattern, performing flowing motions or vinyasas as you shift from pose to pose. Such guides often use the term “vinyasa’ to mean both breath-body unison and the various asanas making up Surya Namaskar or sun salutation A.

If you like cardiovascular activity, this style of yoga might suit you best. It’s also fabulous for easing nervous tension that makes you feel keyed up.

3. Ashtanga

Ashtanga is an ancient, formal yoga style that consists of six series of increasing difficulty. Many students never progress beyond the primary and intermediate series, as the final four involve considerable gymnastics.

Like vinyasa, Ashtanga keeps you moving — many people consider it the original vinyasa style. A full session generally lasts an hour and a half or longer, although many guides offer half series for the time-crunched.

4. Power Yoga

Power yoga is fantastic for challenging yourself. You’ll test your strength and cardiovascular capacity as you flow from one pose to the next, holding some for extended times and interjecting calisthenics for building muscle.

This style is a relatively modern twist, meaning that guides have a lot of leeway. Some get creative, including weights in their routines for those who want an extra bit of sculpting.

5. Hot Yoga

Hot yoga adds a temperature element, which may help you stretch. Heat relaxes muscles and makes them more elastic , which may help you get deeper into poses.

Traditionalist guides who stay true to the Bikram model, which imitates the condition of the Indian subcontinent, heat the room to 105 degrees Fahrenheit at 40% humidity. However, other teachers may only dial up the heat a few degrees.

6. Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini yoga is a highly spiritual style that incorporates mantras and sound. In general, you’ll spend less time in physical poses, placing a higher emphasis on breathwork and mental strengthening.

The word “kundalini” means “coiled snake” in Sanskrit. It refers to the vital energy coiled at the base of your spine , which this practice seeks to unfurl.

7. Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga began to help those recovering from illness or injury. It’s fabulous for engaging your parasympathetic nervous system and inducing relaxation. It also works your connective tissues, as you generally hold poses longer in this style.

This style of yoga often makes extensive use of props. You can use bolsters, straps, blocks, pillows, blankets — anything that increases your comfort and healing.

8. Yin Yoga

Yin is another great style for those who want a more mellow yoga experience. You’ll hold poses anywhere from two to five minutes as you work deep into the fascia and connective tissues to stimulate hyaluronic acid production and ease minor aches.

This style can challenge your patience. There’s often little talking — some advanced classes are entirely silent. However, Yin yoga is ideal for finding inner serenity and getting to know something about yourself.

Modern Twists to Spring a Fun Twist Into Your Routine

Yoga is a dynamic practice. Many guides have tried fun new twists. If you want to shake up your routine, seek one of these fun varieties near you.

1. Yoga on a Paddleboard

If you thought Dancer pose challenged your balance, wait until you don’t have a stable surface. Yoga on a paddleboard will work your core strength in a whole new way as you struggle to stay on the “mat.” However, falling off only means a pleasant dunking, making this fun new modern twist a fun one to spring into when temperatures hit triple digits — as they often do by April in places like Phoenix, AZ.

2. Yoga With Cute Critters

Pets make everything better, including yoga. These days, you can find everything from yoga with cats at local Humane Societies to yoga with goats at area organic farms. Such classes are also fun ways to reward your kiddos and spark their interest in a healthy practice they can use as a coping mechanism for life.

3. Aerial Yoga

Have you always dreamed of running off to join Cirque du Soleil? Aerial yoga is the next best thing, as you’ll practice various poses while suspended form straps from the ceiling. Experience the thrill of flying and stretch your body in whole new ways. You might even master inversions at long last.

4. Acroyoga

If you miss your high school cheer days, give Acroyoga a try. This modern twist on yoga pairs you with a partner, making it a great activity if you and your spouse want to strengthen your bond. It includes elements of gymnastics and feels a lot like play — bring your sense of humor.

Find a New Style of Yoga This Spring

Maybe your usual practice feels stale. Perhaps you simply want to add to your knowledge base by trying something new. Discover your favorite new style of yoga this spring and keep things fresh as you embrace the change of seasons.

5 Best "Dr. YouTube" Channels When Therapy Is Out Of Reach

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:33:13 GMT

In a perfect world, everyone would have access to the mental health care they need. Unfortunately, reality tells a different tale. Rates of mental illness continue rising despite reaching crisis levels even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the barriers to care are higher than ever for millions.

However, mental health issues don’t mysteriously “go away” if you lack therapy time, money, or both. Even those with means often struggle, as finding the right therapeutic match isn’t easy. What can you do in the meantime?

Put this glorious tech humanity now has to its highest and best use, that’s what. Requisite disclaimer: the advice in this article is no substitute for in-person mental health care . However, the five mental health professionals below have created a world of fabulous content to help you heal — please take full advantage of the fruits of their labor.

Barriers to Mental Health Care (That People Often Don’t Discuss)

When you need mental health care, you go to a therapist, right? Not so fast, there, pardner.

First, let’s look at some numbers:

According to the folks at Bankrate, the average cost of a single therapy appointment in 2023 ranges from $100 to $200 .
Many types of therapy, including for childhood trauma, require a minimum of 12 sessions , sometimes more.
According to the Peter J. Peterson Foundation, a center dedicated to our nation’s fiscal growth, 22 million Americans were uninsured in 2022.
Among those insured, 43% of those with employer plans , 57% of those with Marketplace plans, and 51% of those on Medicare still can’t afford the care they need, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

The money issues above are only a part of the reason why some people roll their eyes and give dismissive “yeah, sure” replies to well-meant suggestions of “just go to therapy.” There’s also the time factor. Despite technology’s promise, the work week hasn’t gotten shorter or easier for most workers. RTO means adding another hour or two of commute time. Add child-rearing duties or simply the need to exercise, meal prep, and clean house, and only a few precious free minutes remain before bedtime.

Another issue? Mental health woes sap your energy, y’all. Anxiety has two speeds — panic and the exhausted collapse that follows. Depression can make simply getting through the workday seem like mucking the Augean stables. As much as you need it, attending another appointment can seem like a bridge too far. While you shouldn’t use fatigue as an excuse to skip therapy, you sometimes need a totally effortless way to nurture your mental health.

Finally, finding the right therapist is hard — and ending up with the wrong one can leave you feeling worse. For example, neurodiverse individuals may struggle with certain therapeutic modalities that help others. Furthermore, the American obsession with a “quick fix and return to productivity” means far too many doctors turn to psych meds as a first line of attack, leading to unacceptable side effects in some patients.

The good news? The barriers to mental health care are not insurmountable. The bad? Overcoming them can take years , during which time you still have to pay bills, raise your kids, and get along with your spouse — all the things that go much more smoothly when you have positive mental health. What can you do in the meantime? Dr. YouTube can help fill the gap with insight, advice, and coping tips.

5 Best YouTube Channels to Improve Your Mental Health

What channels should you subscribe to and hit the bell to get every alert? The five below are among the best. Full disclosure — neither Living With HM nor Only in Sedona Yoga or Talk to the Mat have any affiliation with these folks. However, they have helped me transform my life when I couldn’t afford care. I share them here because I know they can help others, too.

1. Doc Snipes

If I had to award one Dr. YouTube the GOAT (greatest of all time) award, it would be Doc Snipes. I began watching her videos when she primarily focused on continuing education for counselors. Her channel now contains a wide variety of content aimed at therapeutic professionals and laypeople alike, making it perfect for those just beginning their mental health journey or wanting a deeper dive.

What makes her sparkle most are her videos on neurobiology and how various neurotransmitters interplay to affect mood and mindset. It’s not just the info dump — it’s the practical tips on how to holistically improve your levels to boost your mental health outcomes. If you want a deep dive into what alcohol does to your serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA, for example, you will learn it here.

Her trauma work is extensive. For me, learning how it affects the physical body is key because that’s what I have to work with. As I often mention, I am not a doctor, counselor, or scientist — I’m a chronically ill person doing the best I can to heal myself while helping others. However, I have been a fitness instructor since the age of 16, so I built upon that skill in healing myself. It’s what inspired Only in Sedona Yoga — teaching online classes is my way to use my skills to give back. You’ll often hear Doc Snipes mention yoga as one of the best ways to retrain your nervous system . I can back that assertion from personal experience.

2. Tim Fletcher

Tim Fletcher is part therapist, part preacher, and all-around amazing at explaining and dissecting complex trauma. His 60 Characteristics of Complex Trauma series is incredibly in-depth and enlightening, explaining many of the behaviors that make human relationships so maddening and complicated.

What makes his work sparkle is that he explains how trauma results in many of the self-defeating behaviors seen in those with certain personality disorders without ever using those terms or shaming those who engage in such acts. While he condemns the bad behavior, he explains its roots, inviting you to mindfully explore why you act the way you do — even when it results in more pain and trauma from broken relationships, lost jobs, and addiction.

Tim Fletcher is also a preacher, but please don’t let that scare you away. His YouTube videos divide the presentation between the trauma part of the lecture and the Christian part, giving you plenty of time to exit stage left if you have some religious trauma you’d rather not reactivate. If you do prefer a Christian-centered approach, you’ll feel right at home as he ties in Bible passages with the concepts learned in the science half of his Friday night lectures.

3. Dr. Daniel Fox

Dr. Daniel Fox is the first person to send me down a mental health rabbit hole, and I honestly have to thank him for also being the first person to spark my journey of transformation. What makes him sparkle is his work with personality disorders, especially BPD and NPD.

It was his video on relationship patterns between BPD and NPD partners that made me stand up and pay attention. It was like watching my life on the screen — and to me, it was also the first time I had heard anyone describe these behaviors as toxic and offer alternative ways of being. What a concept!

Dr. Fox has various workbooks. I bought both the Borderline Personality Workbook and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Toolbox (the latter is more aimed at clinicians). I can’t recommend the BPD workbook enough for folks wanting to try CBT and especially DBT techniques but can’t afford therapy. It’s also a great tool for developing greater mindfulness.

4. Dr. Kim Sage

I’m loving Dr. Sage right now because she understands neurodiversity and complex trauma. While those aren’t her only areas of expertise, she has a wealth of information on both. She’s been instrumental in helping me figure out why, although DBT was a godsend in many ways, getting in my higher mind all the time leaves me so exhausted. I don’t always process the world exactly like others, so I have another step — masking.

For example, to me, it makes all the sense in the world to break up a stressful work conference with a spontaneous group yoga and meditation session to ease tensions and facilitate negotiation. If I stood up, doffed my shoes, and struck a tree pose in most work environments, I’d be ridiculed if not fired on the spot — even though my suggestion stems from a place of science mingled with empathy.

Dr. Sage creates a welcoming, inclusive environment. She especially sparkles at explaining how neurodiversity expresses itself differently in those assigned female at birth and the influence of cultural forces on complex trauma.

5. Dr. Ramani

Would any list of YouTube mental health professionals be complete without Dr. Ramani? This amazing professional wins the validation award from anyone who has suffered the psychological consequences of living with someone with narcissistic personality disorder or even a few of the maddening traits. You’ll find yourself screaming, “yes” at the screen multiple times as she confirms “It’s Not You” — also the title of her latest book.

What makes her sparkle are her pinpoint examples of what narcissistic behavior looks like in action. It’s useful for anyone driven mad by the behavior with a nagging sense that it isn’t right — but who doubts their perception because of the narcissist’s talent at gaslighting. It’s also helpful for folks who engage in these learned behavioral patterns because that’s all they know, helping them see the impact of their actions on others and inspiring change.

What’s also great about Dr. Ramani is her realistic approach. She understands that people remain in narcissistic relationships for various reasons and that, “just leave” isn’t always a viable option. Her work provides the daily validation you may need to cope if you choose to stay, helping you to remain true to who you are inside, even when those around you engage in infuriating behaviors.

What Are the Best Mental Health Channels on YouTube?

Doc Snipes, Tim Fletcher, Dr. Daniel Fox, Dr. Kim Sage and Dr. Ramani are five of the best mental health channels on YouTube, especially for those recovering from complex trauma. While subscribing alone is in no way a substitute for care, the information and healing tips they provide can bridge the gap and help when in-person professional care remains out of reach for any reason.

These five channels have helped me transform my life. I hope their expertise can similarly guide you on your journey. With love and hope for healing, always. ~ J.

Curious About Yoga for Your Recovery?

If so, sink into this hatha-vinyasa to restorative yoga session, burn off a little excess nervous tension and soothe your CNS by finishing with longer, slower floor-based stretches.

6 Sedona Solo Hiking Safety Tips

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:23:46 GMT

I’ve been hiking in Sedona for so long, I sometimes forget that I’m in one of the wildest areas of the nation. It doesn’t feel that way at overflowing trailheads, but occasionally, the solitude of more distant treks reminds me of my mortality and the importance of taking safety measures when solo hiking.

Solo hiking can be an introvert’s dream. Who’s to laugh at you for trying to talk with one of the area’s many ravens or lingering too long watching bees play among the desert globe mallow? You can set as vigorous or idle a pace as you like and whistle the whole way without getting on anyone’s nerves.

However, you have to protect yourself. How? Here are six Sedona solo hiking safety tips.

1. Leave a Flight Plan

Your first and most vital Sedona solo hiking safety tip is to let someone in civilization know where you intend to go and when you expect to return. Providing the trail names can help, as can sending your GPS coordinates via your smartphone. If you don’t show up when anticipated, your buddy back home can direct rescue crews where to look.

If you’re not the most tech-savvy but can text pictures, do so. You’re not only sharing your journey — you’re creating an electronic record of where you’ve been in case people have to search for you.

2. Carry Plenty of Water

We can’t emphasize this next tip enough: please, carry plenty of water with you when you hike. This advice goes double if you’re from a less arid region, which is nearly everywhere. The desert is no joke, and it will dry you out like one of Georgia O’Keefe’s beloved cattle skulls.

If you watch Only in Sedona Yoga, you might have noticed I carry a 46-ounce Yeti cooler with me everywhere I go. We love this company for keeping you hydrated. They recently premiered their Rescue Red line, honoring wilderness first responders — what better way to stock up for your trek while honoring those who make your favorite pastime safer?

Another recommendation: invest in a camelback. You have an extra stash of water conveniently on your back, keeping your hands free. You can also add Molle bags for storing supplies.

How much do you need? A good rule of thumb is a half liter for each hour , but you might want to double that in the summer months. Many Sedona trails feature little to no shade, and you will dehydrate faster than you think.

3. Dress for the Occasion

Sedona weather is…interesting. I once considered it predictable. Then this past winter happened.

Suffice it to say you could experience anything from a foot of snow to triple-digit temperatures depending on the time of year. Please dress accordingly, layering in cold weather to keep you comfortable as you start to sweat:

Inner layer: Forget cotton long johns and use merino wool, silk, or a synthetic blend to wick sweat away from your body.
Middle layer: Your insulation. Here’s where you pile on the cozy Sherpa fleece to protect you against frigid temperatures, although many people get by with a lined vest in a typical Sedona winter (this past 2022-2023 one was not).
Top layer: The final layer protects you from snow and wind, so look for something that repels the elements.

Another must-have is a good pair of hiking boots. Before I found mine, I’d often head out in the easiest shoes I could kick off to get a better grip on the rocks barefoot. However, there are a lot of mighty sharp things in the desert, and hiking in flip-flops isn’t a good idea even on the paved portion of the trail at Red Rock State Park.

Find a pair that fits. It might mean going into men’s sizes if you have big muppet feet like me, but it’s well worth the comfort on the trail. You need to keep your feet feeling fine and healthy to hike you out of any jams you accidentally get into.

4. Consider a Signaling Device

If you stick to the more popular trails, you won’t have too many worries about getting lost. However, it is easy as heck to take a detour on a side trail that looks like the real deal, only to end up in the middle of nowhere with zero idea where you are.

Pro-tip : You will not always have cellphone reception out here. It’s just the way it is.

Therefore, consider carrying a signaling device, just in case. A small pocket mirror does the trick in a pinch. Those with deeper pockets can invest in a handheld GPS that sends an emergency signal to a specified contact or the authorities with a touch of a button, but such tech can set you back several hundred dollars.

5. Gear Up

I used to head out on solo hikes with little but a desire to be outdoors and a prayer.

I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

Nowadays, I wouldn’t dream of heading out without my gear belt. It’s a tactical belt containing survival essentials like a multitool, knife, whistle, bear spray, compass, and basic first aid. In all my years of hiking Sedona, I have never once needed it. However, I take great comfort in knowing that it’s there if something should go awry when solo hiking.

6. Learn Basic Survival Skills

All the gear in the world won’t do you a lick of good if you don’t know how to use it. That’s why the final Sedona solo hiking safety tip is to master some basic survival skills.

At the very least, you should know:

How to start a fire without matches
How to perform basic first aid
How to find water in a pinch
How to avoid wild animal encounters

Many survival kits come with flint and steel fire strikers. You can also use your signaling mirror or even a soda can. The American Red Cross offers basic first aid and CPR classes — you might have to attend a session for your job. However, you should take advantage even if it isn’t required.

To find water in a pinch, your best Sedona bet is to head to the base of one of the many mountains. Water rolls downhill, and digging into the soil a few inches sometimes reveals a stash. Extreme adventurers might want to learn how to build a solar still in case they get caught out overnight — the desert isn’t as rich in dew as some areas.

Animals you’re likely to encounter on a Sedona solo hike include:

Coyotes: They will generally leave you alone. However, fight back if they become aggressive, throwing stones and smacking them with your backpack.
Javelina: These spotted peccaries will generally leave you alone if you give them the same courtesy. I once encountered a troop while solo hiking and simply went in another direction without incident.
Bobcats and mountain lions: You’ll rarely see a mountain lion. Bobcats are more prevalent, sneaking into residential areas at times. Make plenty of noise as you hike along and stay on your feet if you encounter one, waving your arms to make yourself look larger. Do not get on the ground. Cats don’t consider 2-legged creatures prey, but the bets are off if you crouch.
Bear: You’re more likely to encounter bear further north, but there has been the occasional report of one spotted on the trails. Make plenty of noise to alert them to your presence and don’t let Fido run ahead of you — he could lead a not-so-gentle-Ben right to you. Keep your pets leashed for their (and your) safety.

Sedona Solo Hiking Safety Tips

Solo hiking in Sedona can be an intense, spiritual experience. However, it is a wilderness, and you must take appropriate measures to protect your safety.

Follow these six tips to stay safer on your Sedona solo hike. You’ll enjoy your trek more when you feel secure.

Cool aside: The day after writing this article, I came across a woman hiking solo. She had barely begun but was ready to turn around because the trails looked way too remote for her east-coast eyes. Fortunately, I set her on the right path for the Big Park/Middle Trail Loop , which connects back to Bell Rock Pathway, and she was able to get her miles in. If you see us out on the trails during your Sedona visit, please stop and say hi! ~ J.

Lazy Sunday at Cathedral Rock

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:30:57 GMT

No Sedona trip is complete without a visit to perhaps it’s most famous rock formation — Cathedral Rock. I headed out soon after the rangers reopened it in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic . I thought that it would be empty, but the parking lot was packed before 8 a.m. Granted it is nearly summertime in the desert, and things get toasty quickly. However, word to the wise: go early.

Update, November 14, 2022: Visitors can now visit the trailhead more conveniently by taking the Sedona shuttle. You will need to do so if you arrive after the trailhead parking shuts down at sunrise. You can find information about the Sedona shuttle here .

The trip up Cathedral Rock Trail isn’t entirely for the faint of heart. You can climb all the way to the spires, but doing so will require using hand-carved holds in the rock at one point and copious butt-sliding if you hope to descend safely. The rapid altitude change will increase your heart rate better than any stair-climbing routine. This hike is not for those with severe vertigo or other disabilities. Fortunately, while I have both, I’ve learned to work my way around them — at least most of the time. Today was one of my better days, which made me smile because I love a good rock scramble before breakfast.

Don’t let the climb keep you away from this legendary landmark , however. You can enjoy breathtaking views from Templeton trail, which takes you around the rock. While it isn’t wheelchair-accessible unless you have a four-wheel drive on your device, it is a flat, pleasant stroll. It doesn’t get nearly as crowded as the ascent, so you can free yourself from the madding crowds and enjoy the beauty of nature. Along with the sides of the Cathedral formation, you’ll spy Courthouse Butte and the rabbit ears.

Because I am a plant geek, I stopped to snap a few pics when a red hue more vivid than the rocks caught my eye. I was delighted to find a Parry’s agave towering nearly as tall as the surrounding trees. In case you were wondering, yes, you can use this plant to make tequila. That got me dreaming of a margarita and a siesta, so I headed back to my Jeep. My trek lasted only two miles, but you can follow Templeton trail for much longer. I elected to cut through Easy Breezy to return to the trailhead.

Reader note: All photos on Only in Sedona are free to use! Please do us a favor and link back to us if you borrow any. Thanks!

Jim Thompson Trail

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:28:27 GMT

Are you seeking a mostly flat but gently rolling 5-mile hike with breathtaking views? The Jim Thompson trail will not disappoint you. You can cut the trek in half by parking a vehicle at either end, or you can do the full out-and-back journey. You won’t break too much of a sweat, but your jaw will drop more than once.

The trail was named after the first European settler in 1887 , who needed a road between his property and what later became the town of Sedona. Today, horses still roam the pathway that their ancestors walked — I didn’t see any in the flesh, but the way was littered with apples of the dung variety.

After the first half-mile, you come to a gate. Don’t worry — it doesn’t do an effective job of keeping people out. However, on part of your trek, you feel as if you’re walking directly up to the red rock walls. I found this extremely soothing, especially because our little town is on shelter-in-place restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You do cross a few small streams in wetter weather. Sedona’s winter has been wet and cold, so I crossed one or two. In the summer months, these will transform into arroyos — a fancy Spanish word for a bone-dry wash.

From the trail, you can catch a glimpse of Chimney Rock and Summit. You can also see Cathedral Rock off in the distance. Most strikingly, you catch a glimpse of Snoopy sleeping peacefully on his red rock dog house. Aw!

Before you know it, you wind your way behind the back of Ship Rock, one of the most recognizable formations in Uptown as you head toward Oak Creek Canyon. Later, as you approach the Midgely Bridge end of the trail, you get to see it from the other side.

You don’t pass by many steep ledges, so no worries on this trail if you have a touch of vertigo. However, there are one or two spots where you can stop and have a picnic. That is, assuming that you can have contact with other folks in the outside world.

Finally, as you near the trail’s end, you can catch sight of Midgely Bridge. If you take two vehicles, you can park one at the Jim Thompson’s trailhead, located off Jordan Road in Uptown. The other party can park at the Midgely parking area. I am loving life solo at the moment due to the quarantine, so I turned around and went back. Five miles in the sun felt glorious after being cooped up in the house all week.

If you go: From Cottonwood, take Highway 89A north to Jordan Rd. in uptown. Follow the signs to the Jim Thompson trailhead parking area. The road in is a wee bit bumpy. You don’t need 4WD, but it helps. Alternatively, stay on Highway 89A north, cross Midgely Bridge, and park in the adjacent area. Both lots tend to get crowded when the nation isn’t in shutdown, so go early.

Reader note: All photos on Only in Sedona are free to use! Please do us a favor and link back to us if you borrow any. Thanks!

Outer Limits to Cockscomb

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:25:14 GMT

I hadn’t planned to add another 13.1-notch to my belt this weekend, but I’m glad that I did on this hike. Outer Limits is a newer 6.1-mile trail that you won’t find on many maps — including those on the trailhead. I couldn’t even locate it on Google Maps, though I’ll keep you posted if that changes.

Update, November 14, 2022: You can now find this trail on many updated maps.

The trail runs from the Cultural Park/Girdner Trailhead. It takes you all the way over to the Cockscomb rock formation , so named for what it resembles. The trail itself is 6.1 miles. Once you reach the intersection of Cockscomb, you have another nine-tenths of a mile to the Aerie Trailhead parking area.

Although it was February 15, not 14, when I made my trek, Mother Nature nevertheless generously blessed me with the first spring flowers — and the heavenly sound of bees returning. The pretty pink flowers of this species of manzanita attract the little buzzers. It’s funny — bees used to frighten me a bit. Now that I know how crucial they are to the ecosystem, I smile every time I catch a buzz — of the auditory variety.

The trail looks easy enough as you enter the woods. However, you do cross Dry Creek, which entails some significant hill climbing. Given the length, I’d rate this hike on the challenging side of moderate. It’s decidedly a favorite of the mountain bike crew — I was the only pedestrian I met. Everyone else had pedal power to cover the substantial mileage.

Still, you will find plenty of places to stop and rest — and boost your intake of vitamin D , the sunshine nutrient.

Pro-tip : Take plenty of water and snacks, particularly if you attempt this during the warmer months. I quickly lamented having only one thermos of herbal tea and a handful of nuts. By the time I finished my adventure, I was ready to eat the proverbial horse and dangerously thirsty.

Yet another sign that spring arrives early in the desert — Dry Creek lived up to its name today, unlike on other adventures when it ran strong. Today? If it weren’t for the way Mother Nature carved the trench, you’d never know a river ran through it. Once you climb up and away from the riverbed, you can see across the small town to Courthouse Butte in the Village of Oak Creek.

When I finally reached my destination, I had a decision to make. If you’re a tourist to our little neck of the woods, you’ll soon learn the wild west can welcome you harshly at times. While I wanted nothing more than to dial a ride from the parking area, cellphone reception out at the distant Cockscomb is iffy at best. Either way, I was looking at doubling the length of my journey. Did I want to travel home on pavement or dirt? If I could surround myself with trail dust like Pigpen from “Charlie Brown” fame, I would. However, if I ever find a 13.1 sticker, I’m displaying that puppy on my Jeep proudly.

Getting there: From the south, Cottonwood direction, take Hwy 89A north to Cultural Park Road. Turn left and park in the dirt parking area at the Girdner trailhead. Outer Limits starts on the left side of the dirt road past the gate. Alternately, take Dry Creek Road to Boynton Canyon Road. Turn Left on Aerie Road and park at the Aerie trailhead.

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Adobe Jack, Grand Central, Manzanita, Javelina and Crusty

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:22:45 GMT

A stunning hike with unmatchable views.

What started as a 1.5-mile hike ended up taking a hair over five today. I was happy as the proverbial mollusk at slightly getting lost in the woods. Plus, with views this jaw-dropping, who wouldn’t want to spend some time soaking in all the good stuff.

The trail starts with magnificent glimpses of Thunder Mountain to the west and Ship Rock to the north. The first part of the path features rolling hills. You’ll elevate your heart rate slightly, but you won’t feel a hardcore burn. These trails see their fair share of biker traffic, so please remember to follow proper etiquette rules and give a friendly greeting to all you pass — it’s a small town, and we’re chummy like that.

Today’s journey led from Adobe Jack Trail to Coyote. From there, we took Grand Central Trail to Manzanita. We took a detour on Javelina and completed our loop by exiting Crusty back onto Adobe Jack. The entire trek lasts approximately three to four miles, but I was unable to get an exact estimate. Followers of my other blog know I have a lively host of health conditions, and so does my hiking partner. He has to slow down, and I have to keep moving. As a result, I doubled back several times. I didn’t mind a bit!

Along the way, you’ll enjoy views of some of Sedona’s most famous red rock formations. You’ll catch a glimpse of Marg’s Draw, where you can hike near the well-known Snoopy Rock. You’ll see Elephant Rock minus her impressive trunk. On parts of the trail, you can spy the spire of Chimney Rock , and on the way back, you’ll see Sugarloaf summit.

If you decide to recreate this hike, make sure that you eat first. Crusty Trail takes you right past Mariposa Restaurant on the return trek, and you’ll smell the heavenly aromas from the grill. It doesn’t matter if you’re a vegetarian — the scent will make you drool. Chef Lisa Dahl isn’t a local legend for nothing. She makes me want to become a better blogger so that I can enjoy her culinary creations more often.

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Scorpion-Pyramid Trail Loop

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:20:02 GMT

Are you seeking the ideal medium-length hike? Do you want a trek that will elevate your heart rate without making it pound out of your chest? Perhaps you merely dream of the opportunity of photographing one of Sedona’s most iconic rock formations without encountering too many fellow souls? If so, try the Scorpion-Pyramid Trail Loop.

This loop comes in at a hair over 4.9 miles — almost a perfect quint. You’ll go up and down a bit, but you won’t encounter any places where bouldering becomes necessary. You will, however, lose your breath from the stunning views.

You’ll encounter plenty of places to rest and enjoy a snack , so bring your favorite trail food with you. You shouldn’t need to refuel, but cashews taste better in the wilderness. During the colder months, why not pack a picnic lunch? Chances are, Yogi and Boo-Boo won’t appear to swipe your basket!

You have two choices of where to park. If you park at Sedona Red Rock High School, you’ll get the full excursion. You can also park at the trailhead at the base of the Red Rock Loop Road. If you enter through this direction, you’ll cover a tad less than four miles total. The ascent is far less vigorous on the Pyramid side of the trail. If you want to blast your hamstrings and quads, go the opposite direction for a steeper climb. Don’t worry — the exertion still ranks as moderate.

You’ll see the backside of Cathedral Rock , quite possibly the most photographed formation in all of Sedona. Many photographers shoot this vortex from the opposite angle. Dawn’s early sun typically blocks out decent photos from the east, but given the overcast weather, the rocks obliged by striking a pose.

On the way back, enjoy views of the Rabbit Ears out in the distance. Whenever you’re in West Sedona, you can get your bearings by looking for Thunder Mountain. It’s nearly always ubiquitous in the northwest.

Getting there: From Cottonwood, take AZ 89A North to Upper Red Rock Loop Road. Turn right and park at the high school OR follow the road to the parking area at the base of Red Rock Loop Road.

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Lizardhead Trail to Dry Creek Vista

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:17:50 GMT

If you travel Dry Creek Road on a popular day, you’ll see cars lined up for what seems like a mile in each direction near Vultee Arch Road. If you want to beat what author Thomas Hardy referred to as the madding crowd, and you don’t mind walking an extra mile, Lizardhead Trail offers a way in minus the traffic.

You’ll find the slightly hidden trailhead just past North Shores Drive. You’ll quickly come to a fork. If you go right, you’ll follow the Upper Lizardhead trail until it loops back. As of right now, the return fork lacks a sign, so I suggest going to the right. You’ll get your heart pumping a bit on the ascent.

If you have vertigo, there are a few spots that might leave you shaky at the top. My advice? Keep walking and don’t look down. Of course, you can also take the lower Lizardhead trail proper. It’s relatively flat and simple to follow.

You’ll pass the ubiquitous Thunder Mountain, which is visible from almost anywhere in Sedona. Here, you can see the top peaking over a hill and saying hello.

The entire Lizardhead loop, upper and lower, is only 1.2 miles. I hadn’t planned on a long hike, but I always feel bummed when I’m off the trail so quickly. However, if your objective is to reach Chuck Wagon Trail, the Vista, and perhaps continue to Devil’s Bridge, you’ll enjoy plenty of adventure further along.

The views from the vista don’t disappoint, though. Even if you turn around, you get to enjoy breathtaking scenery.

I did the reverse of what I recommend. I entered via Lizardhead trail and returned by climbing over the top. However, I could have hopped on Girdner Trail and gone that way as well for a longer trek. Are you starting to see the way the trails connect?

You get a great shot of the “lizard” as you ascend on the way back. Personally, I think the formation looks more like a turtle. When you reach the apex, you can barely catch a glimpse of Cathedral Rock hiding behind Summit and Chimney Buttes.

Getting there: From Cottonwood, take Hwy 89A North to Dry Creek Road. Turn left on Dry Creek Road. You’ll find small places to park just east and west of North Shore Drive.

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Girdner Trail to Two Fence

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:15:24 GMT

I love lazy Saturdays. Okay, so my weekends are rarely that restful — but would you kick it inside on the couch if you lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth? I hope not!

Girdner trail is a medium-difficulty number in West Sedona. You’ll start at the same head where Stirrup and Saddle Up Trail make their way in (or out, depending upon your direction) to the wilderness. From the trailhead to the exit onto Dry Creek Road at the Two Fence trailhead, you’re looking at a 4.9-miler.

You’ll cross over the creek, and if the waterway isn’t living up to its name , it can be tough to see where to go. On this day, the water level was low enough at the crossings to pose no difficulty. I was delighted. It was cold, and I wasn’t looking forward to wet socks. Instead, I found myself singing “Just Around the Riverbend” from Pocohantas.

You’ll enjoy magnificent views as you gaze westward toward Boynton Canyon. You’ll see Cockscomb in the distance — another trail that sees relatively little tourist traffic. If you want to take off with your dog and not encounter another soul, I recommend both treks. I only met with one friendly fellow hiker on my adventure.

Do you see the mesa in the distance in the above picture? That’s Doe Mountain, which is another breathtaking hike — literally. There’s one spot on the ascent that I’ve nicknamed “Vertigo Point.” Once you push past it, though, you can hang out and have a picnic at the top. But I digress. Back to Girdner.

The trail was named for a family of ranchers who lived in the area. If you follow it to the end, you’ll emerge in the Seven Canyons wilderness. I hung a right turn at Two Fence because I arrived at the trailhead on foot. If you have a second driver, it’s worth it to hike 3/4 mile to the end so that you can shuttle yourself back. Of course, you could also turn around and go back the way you came.

People get crafty in the desert. I stumbled upon this rock sculpture a nature artist built. It looked lovely framed by Chimney Rock and Thunder Mountain in the background.

You’ll pass several other trails along the way, including the part where Stirrup and Saddle Up intersect. I’m dying to explore the AZ Cypress Trail myself. However, I hadn’t come equipped with food or water, only my two feet. The views on the exit didn’t disappoint.

Getting there: From Cottonwood (south), take Hwy 89A north to the stoplight at Cultural Park Road. Turn left and park in the trailhead parking past the community college.

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Stirrup to Saddle Up

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:12:08 GMT

Saddle up, pardner! There’s a new trail in West Sedona. It’s relatively short — the direction I took only has you wandering in the woods for a mile. Still, when you see a path so shiny and fresh out of the box, it doesn’t have a completed sign yet, you take it!

The trail goes up and down a little bit. It’s enough to elevate your heart rate, but not enough to make you break a sweat on a 50-degree day. Along the way, you enjoy stunning views of Thunder Mountain and Cockscomb in the distance. In wet weather, trickling creeks will play relaxing spa music to accompany your journey.

I turned on Saddle Up. You’ll usually figure out the reason for the name of this trail quickly enough. From the apples, I’d say it sees regular equine traffic. If you retrace my steps, you’ll exit in a residential neighborhood. If you’re not from around these parts, it can prove tricky to find your way out. You could reverse your route, of course. I recommend staying straight on Stirrup, though, until it connects with Girdner further up. You’ll get a significantly longer hike, but you’ll exit the woods along the parking area on Dry Creek Road.

Getting there: Take Highway 89A north from Cottonwood. Turn left at Cultural Park Drive to the Centennial/Girdner Trailhead parking. Take Girdner trail to Stirrup.

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From Sugarloaf to Chimney

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:10:05 GMT

Are you looking for a flat roughly 2 1/2 mile hike that keeps you close to the heart of West Sedona? If so, you can trek from Sugarloaf to Chimney Rock or vice versa using a combination of the Teacup/Thunder Mountain/Adante trails.

Views of Thunder Mountain greet you as you enter from the Sugarloaf parking area. You want to follow the path to the first signpost junction. Hang a right, and you’re headed toward your destination — but I suggest a side trip up Sugarloaf summit first. It only adds .3 miles to your trek, and it blasts your hamstrings — scaling a mountain is way more fun than hitting the Stairmaster! More importantly, you enjoy spectacular views.

Once you’ve sunned yourself like one of the many Sedona geckos at the top, it’s time to pick your way back down and head to Chimney. The nice thing about this hike is, even if you get turned around in places, it’s hard to get lost. Merely head toward the rock with the flue-like spire at the top, and you’ll eventually reach it.

The hike is as flat as you can find around these parts. If you’re a trail runner or biker, it won’t give you any challenges. You’ll pass a few interesting formations along the way. Sometimes, you pause to photograph a random rock and prickly pear — why not? These cacti are gorgeous any time of year, but especially in the spring, when they come alive with blooms.

As you near the end of your trek, you’ll see Summit Rock approaching. Like Sugarloaf, this mountain is a short heart-pounder that will *switches to infomercial voice* give you that toned, sexy derriere you desire. However, my dinner was calling me, and since I had arrived on foot, I still had to run home. I opted to scale Summit another day. I took one look back at Sugarloaf from where we came and exited the parking area, stage right.

Getting there: Take Highway 89A north from Cottonwood. Turn left on Coffee Pot drive. Turn left at the stop sign at Sanborn Drive. Turn right at the stop sign at Little Elf. Follow the brown hiking signs to the Sugarloaf/Teacup trail parking area.

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Slightly Snowy Sacred Seven

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:07:35 GMT

If it’s Sunday in #Sedona, you have to hit the trail. At least, you do if you’re me. It’s like going to church. It doesn’t matter if it’s simmering or frigid. Today was slightly chilly — but they make sweatshirts for that. Besides, we were only off for a short hike (1.4 miles round trip).

We decided on a pleasant stroll to the Seven Sacred Pools. We took advantage of the single parking spot that remained. Word to the wise — if you hit this trail, prepare to arrive at sunrise during the warm months. We got lucky today due to the chilly temps.

On the way out, we passed Devil’s Kitchen, a giant natural sinkhole — notice the grand piano? It’s humbling to think about how the folks who heard the crash and witnessed the haze must have reacted in the face of nature’s power.

We could see the snow still sitting over Eagle Rock in the distance. The contrast of white against red rocks never gets old.

In no time at all, we reached the pools. If you go in the springtime, sometimes you’ll see ranitas , or baby frogs , swimming in the water. They’re so tiny and wee that they can fit on the tip of your pinky nail!

It started to cloud up as we left, making the rocks glow like so many copper ceilings. All in all, it was just another Sunday in paradise.

Getting there: From Cottonwood, take Highway 89A North to Soldier’s Pass Road in West Sedona. Turn left at the light and follow Soldier’s Pass for a mile and a half to the trailhead parking. The lot is small, holding only 10-12 vehicles, so get there early in pleasant weather

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Ledge-N-Airy Peace and Quiet

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:05:15 GMT

Sometimes, you want to get away from what the writer Thomas Hardy would dub the madding crowds. If solitude is your yen, I recommend Ledge-N-Airy trail.

This is a soft, sweet trail that doesn’t climb too quickly or possess too many ankle-twisting rocks. You won’t need a hiking stick if you typically use one.

Heading out, you enjoy lovely views of Cockscomb. You can take the nearby Outer Limits trail if you want to hike over to it. However, that is a trek for another tale.

Around the 2-mile mark, I started wondering about the name of this trail. I didn’t see much of a ledge at all. I guess this one qualifies.

Never fear, though, if you get a touch of vertigo (I sometimes do!). This picture represents how close you’ll come to cliff-walking, which isn’t very close at all.

Since I arrived at the Girdner trailhead via shank’s mare, I decided to head back when the trail began angling toward Highway 89A. On the way back to the trailhead, you’ll catch some spectacular views of Thunder Mountain in the rising sun.

Getting there: From Cottonwood, head north on Highway 89A to the Cultural Park stoplight. Head west past the college where you’ll find parking. Proceed through the green gate to the Centennial/Outer Limits trailheads. Follow the Outer Limits trail for approximately one mile to the first junction of Outer Limits/Ledge-N-Airy.

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Leaf Peepin'

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:02:54 GMT

If you’re a transplant from New England , you know what leaf peepers are. You can keep the tradition alive out west, too!

You wouldn’t think October could be this cold in #Sedona, Arizona. However, if you want to beat the crowds, the early morning offers a taste of winter that will leave you dreaming of hot chocolate by the fireplace.

Or…if you’re a spooky little girl like me, you see this sign while you’re shivering and start having visions of The Shining . Whatever.

West Fork welcomes you like a fairy tale any time of year, though. There are no trolls tripping or trapping around these parts! Nothing broke the early morning reverie — save chattery teeth and murmurs of, “brr.”

The ruins of the Meyhew Lodge, where famous folk once rested weary heads , look lovely framed by late autumn leaves.

We wanted to venture farther. However, as we rounded the creek, the wind blew cold. The problem with living in paradise? It’s easy to nope your way out when your hands turn blue.

It was way too lovely to head home, so we sought a warmer trail. Midgely offered a ready pull-out point, and my feet were happy to hit red earth once again.

The sun now rose high enough to let nature showcase her colors. And she did.

The woods were lovely, dark and deep. But we had promises to keep — and empty coffee thermoses — so we headed back. We stopped to snap a picture of Steamboat Rock along the way.

You can’t beat colors when it comes to #Sedona. Add in a little fall beauty, and the results are pure magic.

Getting there: To reach West Fork, take Highway 89A toward Flagstaff. You’ll pass Slide Rock. Continue north for approximately three miles. You’ll see the paid parking on your left. To return, park at the pullout before you cross back over Midgely Bridge into uptown. Follow the southbound trail.

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Fay Canyon in the Morning

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 22:00:23 GMT

Do you want an easy hike that will make your jaw drop without leaving you panting? Well, hang your Red Rock Pass from your rearview mirror and head to breathtaking Fay Canyon!

The parking lot for the trail lies across the street, so don’t let the sign reading “Fay Canyon,” yet pointing to the roadway, fool you. Hopefully, you wore high-profile boots. The first part of the trail is sandy, and you’ll feel like you’re walking on a beach, not heading to the mountains.

The trail is a bit of a Sedona rarity — you experience very little elevation change. While you’ll hit the occasional rocky patch, you won’t encounter any areas where you need to boulder. Always wear suitable hiking shoes — this is the wild, wild west, and we have snakes. Big ‘uns. However, if you want to practice a bit of grounding , this trail offers plenty of silty softness without a ton of thorns (or goat heads — shudder).

It’s impossible to lose your way on this trail — it’s wide and well-maintained. You’ll find a number of smaller side trails, but most lead to nowhere. However, some give you a bit of a rock scramble where you can get some great views. You can also warm your freezing paws like twin five-legged lizards.

If you head out early in the summertime, you’ll enjoy the heavenly shade. Please note that this area is located in a heritage site. You might stumble upon some ruins — look, don’t touch! Other hikers have spotted bears in the area. If you pack a snack, cool, but take your trash out with you. This is not only the kind thing to do — it protects these majestic creatures. When bruins become accustomed to human food, authorities need to euthanize them to protect visitors.

You can’t miss the end of this trail — you’ll see the sign. However, if you want to enjoy more spectacular views, you can do a bit of bouldering over the rocks littering the finale. The entire walk is only a hair over a mile one way. Even if you’re a novice, you can tackle this canyon hike in under an hour — but we suggest giving yourself more time to take in the view. Who knows? The spirits of your ancestors may bless you with a rainbow.

Getting there: From Highway 89A, take Dry Creek Road to the first stop sign. Go left. Head to the next stop sign at the crossroads of the Enchantment Resort/Boynton Canyon Rd. Turn left. Follow the signs to the Fay Canyon parking area. You will need a Red Rock Pass to park. There is an enclosed port-o-san-style trail toilet in the parking area. Gas up before you go — the last gas station is Speedway just north of Dry Creek Rd. on 89A.

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Lasso, Axis and Getting a Little Lost

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:58:06 GMT

If there’s one thing I love to see, it’s a sign like the one below telling my feet that they have a new trail to explore. This West Sedona loop is the perfect mile-ish long trek for when you want to get out there, but you don’t feel like schlepping trail mix and an extra water bottle with you.

To begin your trek, you’ll take Stirrup trail off of the Girdner trailhead. I have to warn you that you might see crowds of tourists gathering now with all the new trails opening in the same area.

Don’t worry — there’s plenty of room for all. I didn’t encounter a single soul other than chickadees on my outing. It’s still possible to get lost in your head, pretending that you’re an explorer from yesteryear charting previously unknown territory. Plus, as long as you follow proper trail etiquette , any greetings you do exchange will be pleasant.

I made a mental note of this little clearing. Yours truly is a bit of an odd duck. Like many Sedona peeps, I’m into holistic healing, and I practice yoga often. This dell looks like the ideal place to roll out a mat — or get my hands in the good, red earth — and strike a few poses.

This particular arroyo was dry, although I learned on my next hike that the wet winter weather hadn’t missed red rock country entirely. Had this been a lengthier hike, I would have stopped here to contemplate things like why life exists and how it originated. However, since I wasn’t yet sure how short my trek would turn out to be, I kept walking.

Lasso led to Axis, and before I could say, “Jiminy Cricket,” I saw the Cockscomb peeking at me just over the hill. However, my course turned back toward home, and before I knew it, I came to the junction of Girdner trail , which led me out of the woods.

Since the Lasso-Axis-Girdner loop only lasted a hair over a mile, I was back out the next day to explore another trail off of Stirrup called Roundabout trail. Stirrup to Roundabout to Girdner is approximately two miles all total, but I took the scenic route down Saddle Up before doubling back. However, it’s worth the additional mileage to see straight across town to the Village of Oak Creek, where you’ll find Cathedral and Bell Rock, as well as Courthouse Butte.

Here’s where things started getting a wee bit sloppy. As I hit somewhere around the 2.5-mile mark, I heard the unmistakable sound of rushing current.

I’m all about a refreshing quad and hamstring workout, but even atop the trail ledge, the ground became a quagmire. I’m pleasantly surprised that I still have both of my running shoes after this adventure. The goop nearly sucked them right off my feet in several areas. What does this intrepid explorer decide to do? Get closer to the water, of course!

Dry Creek was anything but dry. If it hadn’t been cold enough to cut my exhaled breath with a knife, I would have enjoyed searching for crawdaddies the way I used to do as a kid. I’m hoping this watering hole stays filled during the summer months.

Roundabout Trail circles a quarry where they mine the decorative flagstone you see on many home’s patios in the region. I wonder if they charge a premium for magical vortex rocks? People travel to Sedona from all over the world to visit our spiritual oasis — undoubtedly, some of the power remains trapped in the stone.

My journey took me four miles, and I felt satisfied I had gotten my vitamin D intake for the week. However, it’s impossible to leave any Sedona trail without feeling a bit wistful. I take comfort in knowing that when I’m ready, Mother Nature will welcome me back with her healing arms.

Getting there: from the south, take Highway 89A north to the light at Cultural Park Road. Turn left and go past the college to the trailheads. You’ll find a dirt lot and a gate. Walk past the gate, and you’ll find the Centennial/Roundabout/Outer Limits trailheads to your right and the Girdner and Stirrup trailheads to your left.

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Woods Canyon Trail

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:55:38 GMT

I've had cats all my life, and I've seen a lot of hairballs. They generally fill me with dismay when they show up on my living room rug, especially when I'm strolling around barefoot in the dark.

However, it's rather cool to run across a giant one on the trail. A cat is a cat is a cat, and mountain lions also preen themselves — and hack up the results. It was the closest I've been to one of these majestic creatures, and while I generally prefer to keep my distance, it's always exciting to learn something new. Fortunately, my guide today was well-versed in the Sedona desert. You can enjoy the video below to learn more about these fascinating animals.

Woods Canyon Trail is a 10-mile out-and-back trail , although you can turn around at any point. It's moderate, with some mild up and downs. However, much of the trail is an easy stroll. You won't enjoy much shade for much of the initial few miles, so save this hike for the cooler months or hit it in the morning before the heat becomes obnoxious in the summertime. As always, bring plenty of water.

Although there was water — and waterfowl — in the creek today, it's often dry in the summer months. An early season snowstorm and plenty of rains made this a lovely break spot for ducks on their way south for the winter. Sadly, we didn't have any birdseed or corn to share, although it's okay to give these critters a handful of your trail mix. Just stay away from bread.

It's a piece of cake to find the trailhead. Take the 1-17 to Sedona, exiting on SR-179. As you enter the Village of Oak Creek, look to your right for the ranger's station. Park on the south side, and you'll see the trailhead. You know you've gone too far if you pass the first traffic circle.

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Brins Mesa Trail

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:52:34 GMT

Decisions, decisions, decisions. You’ll face them if you head north on 89A to uptown, arriving at the multiple trailheads off Jordan Road. You’ll park in a lot that’s home to four of them: Jim Thompson, Brins Mesa, Cibola, and Jordan Trails. Jim Thompson greets you as you enter — proceed to the secondary parking area to access the other three.

Whichever entryway to Red Rock Country you choose, you’re in for some amazing views. All of uptown lies at your feet, surrounded by soaring peaks like Thunder Mountain, Coffee Pot/Eagle, and Steamboat Rock, to name a few.

While some of the trails allow mountain bike traffic, others do not. Please obey all relevant signage. Those that forbid the practice are hot spots to visit when festivals come to town if you want to get away from the 2-tired set.

This trail is moderate, with just enough up and down to get your heart pumping. There are a few good climbs, so bring your trekking poles if you need a little extra knee or lumbar support to make it up steep grades.

You’ll find a few spots to stop and enjoy a picnic if you bring some snacks with you. However, this trailhead’s proximity to uptown dining makes it a snap to stop for a casual lunch or dinner after your trek. Try the Cowboy Cafe or Sound Bites Grill for gourmet lunch burgers in a laid-back atmosphere or make reservations at Elote for a south-of-the-border-inspired dinner you’ll rave about to the folks back home.

Top 5 Things to Do on Your Sedona Vacation

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:49:22 GMT

A Sedona vacation is glorious any time of year. With the film festival arriving for its annual visit , you might be planning a trip over the following weekend or two. What else should you do on your vacation besides watch the best in Indie goodness?

There are plenty of options to explore. What are some of the “must sees” every visitor should experience at least once? Here are the top five things to do on your Sedona vacation.

1. Climb to Cathedral Rock’s Spires

Of all the rock formations in Sedona, Cathedral Rock is perhaps the most well-known. While you can see its towering spirals from multiple area trails both in Sedona proper and the Village of Oak Creek, many people enjoy the photographic majesty that comes from climbing to the top, especially as the sun prepares to set.

This excursion is so popular, you won’t be able to park at the trailhead anymore, thanks to the overwhelming number of visitors. What to do? Simple! Hop aboard the Sedona shuttle for a convenient ride to the parking lot and start your trek.

2. Take a Pink Jeep Tour

What if you want to see the area’s famous rock formations, but you aren’t much for hiking or mountain biking? Climb aboard a Pink Jeep tour. You’ll benefit from spectacular views as your guide regales you with area lore and legend. It’s a fantastic way to gain quick insight into area history while engaging in adventure.

For the ultimate in fun, take the Schnebly Hill Road excursion. You’ll see countless famous formations like the cow pies while jostling your way over rocks that earn this trek a “must do” spot on Wrangler forums.

3. Meditate at the Chapel of the Holy Cross

Did you come to Sedona to get in touch with your spiritual side? Millions of visitors do. One of the best places to meditate regardless of your faith is the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

The church offers adoration, Confession, and Mass for the Catholic faithful , but visitors of any background (or none) will adore spending time here. The sweeping vista from beneath the crucifix soothes the weary soul. The gift shop contains spiritual mementos to let you take a piece of your journey with you.

4. Have a Splash at Slide Rock

If you visit Sedona from June through September, you will feel the heat. What’s the best place to cool off? What about a natural waterslide?

Slide Rock charges a separate entry fee, so have extra cash ready unless you have an AZ state parks season pass , which gets you admitted for free. It’s definitely a worthwhile investment, especially if you live the RV lifestyle — you could spend a lifetime in this great state alone and not experience all of its wonder.

5. Dine at a Dahl Restaurant

If you’re a Sedona local, you know the name Lisa Dahl. Even newcomers may recognize this famous chef, as she’s appeared on popular Food Network shows like “Beat Bobby Flay.”

Dining at one of her restaurants is a delight. You can choose from a fine dining experience to casual eats at one of the following establishments:

Cucina Rustica: Fine Tuscan dining.
Mariposa: Eclectic fine dining with a Spanish flair.
Dahl and Diluca: The best in fine Italian cuisine.
Pisa Lisa: Casual pizza and ice cream, now in two locations — West Sedona and the Village.
Butterfly Burger: Indulgent gourmet burgers in a hip, laid-back atmosphere with a fantastic bar.

Top 5 Things to Do on Your Sedona Vacation

Do you have an upcoming Sedona vacation planned? Do you want to hit the most popular attractions?

Fill your itinerary with these top five things to do on your Sedona vacation. Enjoy a relaxing, spiritual escape amid a red rock wilderness like none other on earth.

Little Horse Trail to Chapel and Chicken Point

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:47:05 GMT

The day dawned crisp and cold, but I was glad of the early start. There, through my windshield, I saw the nirvana I sought that winter morning — a coveted parking spot at the Little Horse trailhead.

This location has become more popular in recent years, but fortunately, you can catch the Sedona shuttle if none of the limited parking slots open up when you arrive. It’s the perfect jumping off spot for several area trails, especially now that there is no parking off Mystic trailhead.

Why should you take this hike when you visit Sedona? In short, the views. You’ll take in spectacular vistas, including Cathedral Rock, arguably the most photographed site in town, Courthouse Butte, Bell Rock, Castle Rock and the Seven Apaches. Lee Mountain lies to your west, fronted by spectacular red rock spires and popular landmarks like the nuns — which you’ll pass on this trek.

My path followed Little Horse trail to the junction of Chicken Point and Chapel Trails. Chicken Point is one of the most popular 4-wheeling sites in Sedona — in one photo below, you can almost see the tiny figures of tourists listening to their guide regale them with area lore. The area is named, like many other Sedona spots, for a rock formation. However, it’s arguable that the name also refers to how you might feel braving the narrow trail that circles it on a mountain bike.

Cool random Jenn fact: I once took my Jeep here — but didn’t tackle the slope. I was “chicken.”

If you go beyond Chicken Point, you’ll hit the trails off Broken Arrow, including Mystic, High on the Hog, Hog Heaven and Twin Buttes. I chose to double back, as it was Sunday and I wanted to take me to church.

Chapel Trail leads to the famous Chapel of the Holy Cross, and it’s arguably an easier, if longer, way to reach it than trudging up the steep slope. It was so crowded, I assumed they had Sunday services and hung back, although had I known it was the usual overflow of tourists, I might have browsed the gift shop.

Both Chapel and Chicken Point trails take you less than ¾ of a mile from the junction, which is roughly 1.75 miles from the Little Horse trailhead. From my Jeep door and back again, I traveled exactly five miles on the dot, out and back.

If you go: Take Highway I-17 north and exit on SR-179, Sedona. Travel through the Village of Oak Creek and follow the 179 past Bell Rock. Little Horse Trailhead will be on your right before the main traffic circle at Cathedral Rock. Alternatively, travel just a bit further to catch the shuttle (to the left) if the parking lot is full.

Reader note: All photos on Only in Sedona are free to use! Please do us a favor and link back to us if you borrow any. Thanks!

Bell Trail to The Crack

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:23:59 GMT

If you seek Sedona area swimming holes, you'll quickly discover that Slide Rock gets all the love. However, if you're the rugged sort who doesn't mind a vigorous hike to reach refreshment, there are more private spaces.

Perhaps the best of them is The Crack. Reaching it isn't for the faint of heart, as the last mile winds along a cliff face that has you scrambling over boulders while risking a sheer drop to the river below.

My beloved and I took off, determined to reach this serene spot on the first hot day of the year, after a winter so cold, it made the North Pole jealous. It probably wasn't the wisest choice, given that I'm in need of a total knee replacement. Then again, I'm not known for making smart decisions, and I was armed with a trusty broom handle as a trekking pole.

The first two and a half miles are a breeze. You'll start at the historic Bell trailhead, where a marker teaches you about area history. Along your way, I delighted in the first emergence of spring wildflowers — the season promises to be epic with all the wet weather we've had.

If you look carefully at some of the rocks, you'll notice petroglyphs. It makes sense, as you aren't far from V Bar V Heritage Site , where you'll find a glut of stone art and helpful guides to explain the rich symbolism. Every time I gaze at the spirals, I'm convinced the ancients understood much more about the true nature of the universe and time than we modern folks with all our science.

Look upward, and you'll see the steep cliffs from which early hunters drove their game. They then gathered and butchered their catch along the plains, securing enough meat in one outing to last the entire winter.

The road gets rougher when you reach the Wet Beaver Wilderness intersection of Bell Trail and Weir. To reach The Crack, continue along Bell Trail. You'll notice it starts to climb.

When you come around the first prominent red rock feature you see, the vertigo fun begins. This was my least-favorite part of the hike; in some sections, I grumbled and muttered curses under my breath that would make a sailor blush. Balance is not my strong suit, and walking along a sheer cliff face always makes my stomach drop. Doing so with a bum knee was not my idea of fun.

However, I soon forgot my misery when we reached The Crack at last. The water was fresh snowmelt, so I didn't take the plunge. However, other swimmers did, as you can see from the photos.

Fortunately, you don't have to complete the full eight miles — four in and back — if you want to get wet and head out early this season. The snowmelt has created several tidal pools further down the creek. At one such spot, we witnessed a pair of lovers who looked like they were exchanging private vows, so we left them to their couples' solitude.

The first part of this trail is easy, although it offers little shade. The last mile, however, qualifies as difficult. If you wear swim shoes, ensure they have good grips. A pair of trekking poles (or a repurposed broom handle) can help you with balance.

Reader note: All photos on Only in Sedona are free to use! Please do us a favor and link back to us if you borrow any. Thanks!

Spring Foraging: How to Identify and Use 5 Tasty Sedona Wild Food

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 23:29:30 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Once upon a time, humans eagerly awaited the end of the winter’s cold to gather the warm season’s first green shoots. Most modern humans today perform their spring foraging at the nearest supermarket. However, it helps to know how to supplement your diet the natural way, especially given sky-high grocery inflation.

If you thought the desert was a lousy place to forage, think again. Sedona’s high desert forests come alive with tons of tasty vittles. Here are five tasty wild Sedona foods you might encounter on your spring foraging trip.

Why Learn to Forage?

Learning to forage is a valuable survival skill. People in the modern world have divorced themselves from their food sources, but knowing what plants around you are safe to eat comes in handy in a SHTF scenario.

Foraging adds variety to your diet, especially if your budget doesn’t allow for many fresh, organic groceries. It also introduces you to exciting new flavors — there’s so much more to the world of edible foods than is found on your grocer’s shelves.

Finally, learning to forage in the spring is fun. It’s the perfect way to bid adieu to cabin fever, and slowing your walking pace as you search for tasty treats keeps the activity accessible for people of all ages. Take the kiddos and enjoy an educational afternoon filled with sunshine that doesn’t feel like “school.”

5 Plants You Might Encounter

If Spring Foraging Near Sedona

There are dozens of edible plants which grow wild in the forests surrounding Sedona. Here are five of the most recognizable and popular varieties among the foraging crowd.

1. Prickly Pear

Multiple parts of this cactus are edible — you may have seen nopales at your local grocery if you live in the desert southwest. Nopales are the edible leaves or paddles of the prickly pear. They’re popular in Mexican cuisine, showing up grilled in salads or mixed with scrambled eggs. They’re low in calories and packed with nutritional benefits, including a healthy dose of potassium for heart health and lowering blood pressure.

Nopales aren’t the only delicious part of the prickly pear cactus. The red berries make a fabulous jam or are strained into a juice that’s popular among bartenders — prickly pear margarita, anyone?

2. Lamb’s Quarters

There’s no shortage of wild greens in Sedona, and lamb’s quarters is among the tastiest and most nutritious. Although the plant is native to Europe and Asia and considered an invasive weed in the United States, it holds up to the desert heat better than spinach and even has medicinal properties.

You can eat the leaves raw , sauteed or steamed. Add them to soups and stews for extra fiber, chlorophyll and flavor. Chewing the leaves into a paste makes a soothing poultice for sunburn and insect bites.

3. Amaranth

Amaranth is a super useful plant in several respects. The leaves make a lovely addition to nearly any salad. You can eat them raw or cooked to get a nutritious punch of vitamins A , C, K and folate.

The seeds make a tasty, gluten-free flour. Roast the seeds for a few minutes, allow to cool, and grind into a fine powder.

4. Mesquite

Mesquite trees are one of Arizona’s most ubiquitous growths, and they’re a rich source of food and nutrition in the desert. The brown, skinny seed pods are edible raw by removing the seeds and chewing on the pulp.

You can also make the dried pods into a nutritious flour. Toast them in low heat for about two hours before allowing to cool and grinding to a fine powder. A coffee grinder or blender makes short work of the tough pods.

5. Banana Yucca

Banana yucca are among the first harbingers of spring. The long stems send up shoots of white flowers that later become the signature fruit. The fruits were favorite foods of the Apache and Navajo. They removed the seeds, roasted them and made the pulp into cakes.

The roots of the yucca plant are called cassava. Although inedible raw, it can transform into delicious fries when cooked.

Tips for Safe Foraging

In an ideal world, you could munch on any tasty plant you wanted upon crossing its path. However, pesticides are a reality of modern life. Although most foraged foods found in state and national forests should be safe, proceed with caution when doing so in developed areas.

Furthermore, ensure you correctly identify plants before consuming them. Although identification apps are helpful, they are far from foolproof. It’s a smart idea to take a class or head out with an experienced forager the first time or two to hone your eye.

Spring Foraging for Sedona Greens

A spring foraging trip makes for an engaging, educational day. It gets you out in the sun, enjoying the beautiful Sedona scenery. It’s appropriate for people of any age and hones a useful survival skill. Most importantly, it builds a deeper appreciation for the cycle of life and the miracles all around you.

5 Most Romantic Sedona Hikes

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 23:29:30 GMT

Spring is perhaps the most popular time of the year to visit Sedona. It’s also the best season for romance. Whether you drive up from Phoenix for the weekend or fly in from distant lands, you’ll find plenty of quiet, out-of-the-way hikes to traverse with your sweetie that offer just enough solitude to encourage intimate conversation.

Sweating it out together in the wild is among the best of dates, as the slight adrenaline rush encourages strong feelings toward your partner. It’s even more so when you top off your hike with a candlelit meal. Where should you go? Here are five of the most romantic Sedona hikes and where to dine afterward.

1. West Fork

West Fork gets a ton of tourist traffic, but the busiest time occurs in the fall when folks flock in from the Valley to witness the leaves change color in the fall. In the spring, you don’t have to contend with the peepers , although you should still get an early start to find parking.

This 8-mile trek is fairly easy to moderate — there isn’t much climbing to challenge your athleticism. However, you will cross the creek several times, so please bring waterproof shoes and extra socks, especially if venturing out in early spring mornings when winter hasn’t yet given way to the sun. Bring a camera, as there is plenty to shoot, from the ruins at your journey’s beginning to spectacular red rock wall landscapes contrasted against the waters.

Post-Hike Dining: The Table at Junipine

Say hello to a genuine farm-to-table experience. The Table at Junipine features produce grown on-site mixed with wild-foraged Sedona plants and ethically harvested meats. Menus vary by season, but there are always plenty of small plate offerings to encourage sharing.

2. Slim Shady and Made in the Shade Loop

Head to the Village of Oak Creek for this 2.8-mile loop hike that’s just challenging enough to work your hamstrings and quads, rugged enough to make you feel a little lost, and close enough to nearby buildings to rest your adventure on a firm sense of security.

What makes it sparkle? Go in the early dawn hours so that you arrive along the highest portion of the Made in the Shade loop and watch the sun rise over Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. It’s especially breathtaking in the spring as Nature mingles the red rocks and golden sunrise among sprays of wildflowers.

Park at lower Bell Rock trailhead and make your way across the street to start your journey. Although Slim Shady sees a fair amount of mountain bike traffic, thanks to being a handy connection trail between Red Agave Inn and the many trail systems around Cathedral Rock, the Made in the Shade portion offers blissful quiet.

Post-Hike Dining: Hideaway House

Drive just past Tlaquepaque from the Village to find Hideaway House. The restaurant overlooks Oak Creek with impressive views, and it’s still chilly enough in the spring to enjoy a bowl of their carmelized onion soup . The menu offers various delicious healthy choices at prices that won’t break the bank.

3. Airport Loop

For a fabulous, nearly 360° look at many of Sedona’s most famous red rock formations, take on Airport Loop with your beloved. It’s short enough to do in under three hours without hoofing it too hard, making it the perfect romantic hike if you only have time for a day trip. Finding parking can be challenging at the lower lot, which only has a few spaces. Proceed to the top and pay the small fee for plenty of room, heading down the shorter View trail to reach the Loop.

Although there’s ample room along the ledge, the trail may offer challenges to those with vertigo. However, it’s easy, with only a slight climb at the end, making it suitable for most folks with a moderate fitness level.

Post-Hike Dining: Mesa Grill

Chef Mercer Mohr has created a mountaintop haven for foodies with Mesa Grill. Although elegant, the offerings are also accessible — think a wide range of juicy gourmet burgers. Their vegan burger bowl with hemp seeds is a must-try, and it’s wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, tree nut, animal product, and GMO-free. However, those with a where’s the beef attitude can dig into the white cheddar or aviation classic.

4. Schuermann Mountain

Here’s a Sedona hike that sees way too little love for how gorgeous it is. Granted, the ascent up the steep slope on the first part of this hike daunts some, but you hardly notice how breathy you get. Why? You walk through aeons of geological time, watching the rocks transform from the signature Sedona red limestone to the darker basaltic lava of this old volcano.

Once you reach the top, take the shorter hike to the overlook, where you’ll witness a sweeping vista of nearly every famous red rock formation in Sedona. Ending the out-and-back experience here takes you slightly longer than two miles. Got more time? Continue the trail across the plateau, where you’ll find little sun in summer, but enjoy many a gorgeous view.

Post-Hike Dining: Steakhouse 89

If you dig old-style steakhouses with classic dark interiors and live piano music , make reservations at Steakhouse 89 for after your hike. Although upscale, the atmosphere is also warm, welcoming, friendly and accessible. They also have an extensive wine menu for those who enjoy the pairing experience.

5. Baldwin Trail

Baldwin Trail wins the prize for my (Jennifer’s) sweetie’s favorite romantic Sedona trail . This 3-mile hike provides gorgeous views of both Oak Creek and Cathedral Rock. Much like the Made in the Shade/Slim Shady Loop, this trail offers just enough challenge to get you slightly breathy without leaving you marathon-drained upon completion.

This trail explodes with wildflowers in the early spring. It’s also fairly popular, making it an excellent choice for hikers who don’t feel all that secure finding their bearings in the wild.

Post-Hike Dining: Cucina Rustica

Cucina Rustica lies just off Verde Valley School Road in the Collective along Highway 179. The interior is a step into Old-World elegance — you’ll feel as if you are dining in a Mediterranean palace. The staff goes above and beyond to delight you, the wine list is extensive and the offerings are delicious. Their seafood selections are particularly magical.

Most Romantic Sedona Hikes

Hiking is among the most romantic of dates. It gets your heart pumping and can offer the slight adrenaline rush that ignites passion or the lengthy private time that encourages deep conversation. It’s also budget-friendly without sounding like a “cheap” date — and the Only in Sedona crew finds it among our top favorite activities besides stretching on the rocks.

If you do have a bit more in the kitty, a romantic lunch or dinner ends your hike deliciously. Whether you come only for the trail or stay for a great meal, you and that special someone can strengthen your bond among the magical red mountains of Sedona.

Make a Difference: Recycling Works Best When You Do It Right

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 23:29:30 GMT

We at Only in Sedona try to encourage good environmental stewardship however we can. Sedona is like no other place on Earth, but humans won’t be able to visit this or other magical spaces if climate change continues unchecked. One of the best things anyone can do to green their footprint is recycle. However, you have to do it right for it to count.

Waste management is, admittedly, a tough problem in the United States. Many places lack convenient recycling receptacles, making the burden harder on consumers. The rise of single-stream muddies waters further. You can make a difference by recycling — here’s how to do it right.

1. Separated Is Best

Many communities have implemented single-stream recycling programs. While these benefit consumers — simply toss all your waste in one bin — they aren’t as good for the planet. Why?

The problem is cross-contamination. When you throw everything in one bin, food and grease get everywhere, and tiny shards of broken glass and plastic bags jam machines. An entire load may end up contaminated by a bunch of broken eggs. According to the National Waste and Recycling Association, contamination now leads to 25% of recyclable materials ending up in landfills, when a decade ago, it was only 7%.

Sedona does offer single-stream recycling, but we also have a sorting center. Sedona Recycles is located at 2280 Shelby Drive and takes multiple materials, including numbers 1, 2, and 5 plastics, paper, steel, aluminum, cardboard, and glass. They also take other materials, like batteries, at this location only. If visiting the city, help us stay green by saving and sorting your recycling and dropping it off before you depart. Plus, a donation is a nice thank you.

2. Clean and Tidy

Can you recycle pizza boxes? It all depends on how coated they are with grease. Those laden with drippings and leftover cheese belong in the trash, although you can separate the lid and recycle that if it remains clean.

Food particles can also jam machines and hinder recycling efforts. The good news is, you don’t have to take a scrub brush to every can. But if recycling other materials, such as convenience food trays made of recyclable plastic, rinse them under the faucet to remove baked-on particles and remaining gunk before tossing them in the bin.

3. Keep the Hat on Your Bottles

Tiny objects can also clog recycling machines. In general, you should avoid tossing anything smaller than a credit card in the bin to prevent it from jamming up the works. That leaves a tricky problem: bottlecaps.

The trick is to keep them on the bottle. You should have no trouble doing so with milk jugs and the like. What about all those metal caps from the last time you kicked back a brewski? While made of recyclable materials, they can jam machines. However, you can always save them to make a groovy craft or take them to a scrap metal salvage center to be melted down and made into something new.

4. Ban Plastic Bags and Broken Glass

You can recycle plastic, so there’s nothing wrong with tossing those grocery sacks in the bin, right? Wrong.

The bummer about plastic is that very little of it is recyclable. In general, the higher numbers — 3 through 7 — require specialized equipment that many facilities stateside simply don’t have. Those plastic shopping bags are nightmares for several reasons:

They take energy and fossil fuels to produce
They take forever to biodegrade — up to a thousand years , and even then, microplastics remain.
No, you cannot easily recycle them. And you should never throw them in the sorting bin.

When you throw plastic bags in with the rest of your recycling, you guessed it — it jams and breaks machines. That results in even more stuff in landfills.

Some grocery stores have drop-off bins where you can return plastic bags for shipping to specialized facilities for recycling. Safeway in West Sedona is one such location. Still, it’s dubious how long such programs will last and how much actually gets recycled — instead, bring cloth or opt for paper. While paper uses trees and takes energy to produce, you can reuse it as a trash bag, eliminating that plastic waste, too.

Finally, broken glass is a no-no. One, it clogs machines. Two, it can endanger workers who may cut themselves while doing their jobs.

5. Advocate

Waste management in the U.S. needs significant reform if we’re to do our part to address climate change. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to improve without a huge public demand for improvement. In our economy, gigs go to the highest bidder while everyone wants the cheapest price, regardless of the cost to the planet. Of course, without Mother Earth, there won’t be an economy to worry about.

Therefore, pressure your public officials. We at Only in Sedona dream of a world where public streets have more than mere rubbish bins. We want public recycling bins and compost bins and well-serviced and functioning facilities. That costs money, and the government will not appropriate funds for that purpose without strong consumer demand. You can:

Attend local city council meetings when waste management is on the agenda and voice your opinion live
Write letters to the editor of your local paper
Contact your state representatives
Contact federal officials. Although they are not directly involved in local waste management, they have much to do with funding various projects.

Recycle Right to Make It Count

You want to do your part to keep the earth cleaner. Doing so is a noble goal, and you don’t want to unwittingly worsen the waste management problem. Follow these tips to recycle right and get involved in the battle to keep your favorite public lands green and protected from the damage of climate change.