Resources

The global pandemic brought unforeseen challenges in all walks of our lives. Starting from work environment changes, organizational restructuring, small businesses closing, job loss, child care, online learning, health concerns, social restrictions, the list goes on. The stress could be overwhelming at times.  Training our minds to be able to take a mental step back everytime our mind is racing with thoughts is a vital tool in managing stress. One of the ways to help train our mind to take that mental step back is to stop and breathe when our mind is racing. It’s a simple but effective technique.  […]

Slowing Down means fully focusing on one thing at a time and taking your time with everything you do. Our days are usually filled to an extent that we keep putting off things that we have always wanted to do. Are all the activities necessary? Do they bring us or our loved ones happiness? Following exercise, from the book Take Your Time by Eknath Eswaran, can help with training our mind to recognize the activities that are truly important to us. It helps find the time, that we are always lacking, to slow down. Remember to be kind to yourself […]

Training our minds to accept ourselves as we are is challenging because of our fear of judgement and our expectation of perfection from ourselves. As we start thinking about ourselves and the choices we have made or are making, the key is to not judge ourselves and to not expect us to be perfect. Reflection practice is an essential part of our journey of self-acceptance.  Each Reflection practice can be focused on what is on your mind. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

Most of us have heard from a priest or parent to find solace in prayer when you are worried or stressed. In this approach, a prayer does not mean a religious song. It could be any song or verse or passage that inspires you or holds deep meaning to you.  Repeating a song or verse while paying full attention to the words is training your mind, to move focus from the racing thoughts to the words that hold deep meaning to you.   For example, most of the time I recite the word “Om” because it has deep spiritual meaning for […]

When we are stressed not only our mind is racing from one thought to the other, we also unconsciously tend to tighten our muscles. It is the side effect of fight or flight response triggered by stress. For most people, with stress comes muscle aches and fatigue as well. Mindful Yoga and Tai Chi, these mindful balancing exercises are designed to be done slowly with complete focus on our movements, body and breathing. As we engage in these balancing exercises, they help train our mind to slowly shift focus from racing thoughts to our movements and breath; to slow down […]