mental health

Fear seems to be running rampant in the U.S. these days. Fear of the future, fear of other people. As Elizabeth Gilbert says, the Land of the Brave has become the Land of the Very Anxious. I get it.

From letting you stop to smell the roses to being an exercise far gentler on your knees and ankles – more and more experts are now advising regular walks rather than punishing runs!

Stress. I have yet to meet someone who is not dealing with it. Who of us is not worried about money, our health, or how to juggle all of our time? We all experience stress on a regular basis, and it is unfortunately difficult to avoid in our fast-paced, money-driven Western society. Stress can come in a variety of ways and in different levels of intensity.

Anything from an unbalanced diet to negative thought patterns can cause someone to feel ungrounded. If you are often stuck in your head or regularly eat a low-calorie diet, getting grounded should be a top priority.

Although mostly unrecognized as a “sport” until recently, snow sports such as snowboarding and skiing provide many benefits—both physical and mental.  For some, snow sports are a great way to spend time with friends and enjoy a day out on the slopes.

Now that there are apparently several more weeks of winter (thanks, Mr. Groundhog), it is the perfect time to find creative ways to incorporate more green into your life. Not only is a thriving, jungle-like terrarium lovely in the colder, winter months when we’re all too ready for spring, but a cleverly crafted terrarium can bring joy throughout all of the seasons.

My last year in college I ran to my school’s mental health clinic because I couldn’t contain the anguish. Perhaps it was the fact that there were no jobs available and I was freaking out about my loans, or the fact that I was having a tough time keeping up with my bills even though I seemed to cut every corner and flat-out refused to have any extraneous fun on most days. I did, however, have a history of depression as a child and the school’s counselor gave me some good tips.

I don’t want to “adult” right now. By that I mean I don’t want to be responsible, I don’t want to run any errands, I don’t want to show up and engage in life. What’s interesting is I don’t want to go somewhere else; I don’t want to swim with dolphins in Maui, for instance. I want to withdraw completely. In yoga, the term for withdrawal is pratyáhára.

We are ever so often our own worst enemies. It is in the very nature of human beings to contradict ourselves. We get in the way of that which we most deeply desire, and for this reason we live in a state of conflict. We are all a walking paradox in our own right. Perhaps in bringing light to this issue we can move beyond it, and in that come to actualize ourselves as one unified force of consciousness.

Why do we get in our own way?

You’ve set out with determination and focus to follow-through with your New Year’s resolution. That, in and of itself, is an accomplishment – way to go! Now, how will you ensure that you maintain the same motivation and drive that you currently have as the year progresses? Without an answer to this question, your resolution is, well, not a resolution…