Beach Therapy

Hello friend💙 There’s just something special about seeing marine mammals at play. Connecting with nature helps reduce anxiety and depression, you might feel a smile forming, giggle, or even screech😊 Now that’s joy! And all it takes is to get out into nature🌊☀️

We have a tendency to predict and prepare for challenges rather than harnessing what’s good in the present moment. Most of our predictions and worries are inaccurate and therefore not helpful, yet they take up much of our mental effort.
A regular mindfulness practice can drastically shift our focus to experience more calm, joy, and compassion and get us out of the habit of reliving the past ‘storms’ and preparing for future ‘storms.’ Research shows that harnessing the present calm or comfort is how we can better cope with the storms.

Happy winter🌥️🌊💙

“Awe” is good for us! When we experience awe, we’re less depressed and less anxious. And we’re much more likely to feel awe in nature. Where do you feel awe?
This beautiful turban shell was the size of my palm, had a live snail in it, and was thrown back into the ocean💙

How and when do you make space for emotions? As we practice mindfulness, we’re able to recognize and identify moment-by-moment what we’re experiencing. However, we’re not usually equipped or able to sit with our emotions in the moment.

It’s important to set aside time to allow our emotions to exist, explore them, love them, and let them be. Whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, our emotions need space and loving kindness.

People often confuse healing with only having pleasant experiences. This unrealistic expectation contributes to our cyclical pattern of having an unpleasant emotion, questioning and/or criticizing that emotion, and then feeling more unpleasant emotions.

A more helpful practice is to allow all emotions to be present, which I believe will naturally increase our awareness of the pleasant as well as the unpleasant, while increasing our ability to cope with the difficult ones.

How do you stay grounded? Our minds are wired for us to be surrounded by natural environments. Being in nature lowers our blood pressure, anxiety and depression, gives us a sense of belonging, and increases empathy and awe. What can you do to help your mind (and body and spirit) feel grounded? I am grateful to start my day here, in my happy place, as a calm, clear, and joyful therapist😊

That’s all…promoting self-love in honor of Saint Valentine❤️

During the pandemic, our balance continues to tip, sometimes day to day, requiring more flexibility in our routines, thoughts, and expectations. Though structure in our lives provides the comfort of certainty and familiarity, too much rigidity can impede flexibility and might tip our balance.

It seems counterintuitive to go where it’s gray and cold, but we’re always better off outdoors when we’re dressed appropriately for the climate. My clients report feeling better even as they arrive for their session. They report elevated mood as they’re glad to be breathing in fresh air and moving their bodies. Some notice a change of perspective: When indoors, we might only notice the gray sky, whereas outdoors, though muted, the colorful palate
of nature is still there to enjoy.

Collecting these beauties has become my habitual mindfulness exercise between sessions. I love running my fingers through the sand, finding and examining each treasure, and arranging the shells in shapes or patterns.