Harnessing mindfulness: A lesson in slowing down

/
Harnessing mindfulness: A lesson in slowing down

Last week, I headed into the heart of British Columbia, on a rock climbing trip.

At the outset, the trip was designed around the desire to take advantage of the warmer and drier climate of B.C.’s interior as a kick-start to the climbing season. Now make no mistake, I am not really a climber. At least, in the past seven years (or so), my love for riding my mountain bike has far eclipsed my desire to climb on rock. But in a previous time, climbing was something I loved to do. I was drawn to the presence that it required. For me, the perceived (and sometimes very real) risk of falling allowed me to access a quality of focus I struggled to connect with in the rest of my life. 

Read More

Feeling stuck? 5 steps for getting out of a rut.

/
Feeling stuck? 5 steps for getting out of a rut.

Do you ever feel like you are in a rut? Stuck in a pattern that feels old and out of date? The truth is that most of us, at some point in our lifetime, have felt like we are caught in a way of being that has felt limiting or even stifling to us. It can feel like we are in a holding pattern of sorts, a cycle of behaviour or experiences that don’t match the life we imagine for ourselves. We can feel misaligned or detached as aspects of our careers, our relationships, our lifestyle or simply our patterns and behaviours feel out of sync with what truly matters in our lives.   

Read More

Why self-care isn't selfish.

/
Why self-care isn't selfish.

When I was a young girl, my mother had a specific tree just behind our house where she would occasionally retreat to when she needed a break from being a full-time mother, trapped on a 100-acre farm with four boisterous children. It was her place of refuge. For a few short moments, with a cup of coffee and her thoughts, my mother would sit quietly, hidden under the droopy branches of a spruce tree.

Usually she was able to slip away while we were out playing or otherwise occupied, but a few times I remember my siblings and I running around the house and the forest, trying to find that special tree and our mother who had taken her brief reprieve from us. 

Read More

Tapping into the intelligence of our body.

/
Tapping into the intelligence of our body.

Last month I took a yin yoga teacher training course, despite the fact that I am an unlikely candidate for yoga training. After all, I own only one pair of yoga pants, I can barely touch my toes and for most of my life stretching has been low on the priority list. Yet there I was, for two weekends, immersed in learning everything I could about the philosophy, physiology and structure of yin yoga.

In Taoist philosophy, the yin yang symbol embraces the complementary forces of light and shadow, action and inaction, moving outward and inward. It is a symbol that reminds us of the balance that is needed in our lives. To embrace both of these forces is to recognize the changing (rather than static) and cyclical experience that is life. 

Read More

Why being alone terrifies us.

/
Why being alone terrifies us.

In 2014, a group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin explored whether modern-day North Americans are capable of being in a room—alone and without distraction—for 15 to 20 minutes. Their findings were resounding, but not surprising. While the studies showed that most of us prefer doing “something” rather than “nothing,” it also showed that many of us would prefer just about anything over the prospect of spending time alone. In one of the studies 67% of men and 25% of women opted to self-administer an unpleasant shock over experiencing 15 uninterrupted and non-distracted minutes by themselves (one participant actually shocked himself 190 times in the 15-minute time period).

Read More