mindfulness

Is stress the new tobacco?

Post image for Is stress the new tobacco?

by Yaffa Maritz

The last couple of weeks were particularly stressful for parents like me. As an ‘average parent’, I try to keep updated on all of the latest parenting tips and research bits out there (even though my youngest is now a senior in college, parents like myself, unlike old dogs, are forever trying to learn new tricks)!

First, I was challenged by Amy Chua’s eloquently written article, which bore the unforgettable title, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal.  With great authority (after all, she is a law professor at Yale)  she told me (and million of other confused parents) how to raise successful children and never look back.

Readers who enjoyed this post may also enjoy:

{ 1 comment }

Stop the holiday stress – take a mindful pause!

by erica rayner-horn M.A. December 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Stop the holiday stress – take a mindful pause!

In this long holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Year it is easy to become overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted as we add all the extra activities of shopping, cleaning, cooking, parties and entertaining to our usual lives. As delightful as many of the events of the holidays are for some, they can also be times [...]

Read the full article →

The time in between

by Yaffa Maritz December 6, 2010
Thumbnail image for The time in between

While in my last yoga class, I made a special effort to follow the instructor’s directions.  I tried my best to perfect my poses, concentrating on “warrior one” and “warrior two”, moving from “hero pose” to “down facing dog”, braving the “crow pose” and gearing up for my final twist (The names of the  poses [...]

Read the full article →

Thanksgiving meditation on gratitude

by Joel and Michelle Levey November 24, 2010
Thumbnail image for Thanksgiving meditation on gratitude

In this season, we are reminded to pause and become more mindful of the ordinary gifts and blessings of our lives that we often overlook or take for granted.   Both ancient teachings and modern medical research agree that one of the quickest and most direct routes to restoring harmony and balance in our lives is [...]

Read the full article →

Alexythymia and mindfulness of feelings

by Joel and Michelle Levey November 18, 2010
Thumbnail image for Alexythymia and mindfulness of feelings

The term alexythymia was first used by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Peter Sifneos in an attempt to describe a problem shared by a large proportion of patients suffering from various stress-related medical disorders. Looking at the Latin roots for the word we discover that “alexy” means “no words, and “thymia” means “for feelings.” 

Read the full article →

Mindful of emotional feelings

by Joel and Michelle Levey October 25, 2010
Thumbnail image for Mindful of emotional feelings

Another powerful mindfulness practice is to simply and directly be mindful of emotional feelings.  Every experience or encounter in our lives has a feeling tone to it – pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral – and a word that best describes the quality of feeling we are left with. 

Read the full article →

The story of Umani

by Yaffa Maritz October 19, 2010
Thumbnail image for The story of Umani

Not many people know the story of Umami and yet it is folded into our everyday experience. It is the very essence of tasty food. It is the secret behind what makes food delicious ( In fact Umami means Delicious in Japanese!). Here is the story in short. In 1907 a Japanese Chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, [...]

Read the full article →

Listening to your Heart

by Joel and Michelle Levey October 15, 2010
Thumbnail image for Listening to your Heart

Throughout the day we live in the rhythm and pulse of our breath and beating heart.  Bringing mindful awareness into the inter-phase between these two core life rhythms can be a profoundly centering… balancing… harmonizing… and focusing discipline. Here’s how this works:

Read the full article →

‘I do it myself!’

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom September 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for ‘I do it myself!’

My son is two and a half.  He is curious.  He is funny.  He is forever asking questions.  Sometimes, though he drives me crazy! Even though I am well aware that it is ‘age appropriate’ it can absolutely drive me crazy when his insists to doing everything by himself.

Read the full article →

Being mindful and your inner smile

by Joel and Michelle Levey September 1, 2010
Thumbnail image for Being mindful and your inner smile

Change is in the air! As you prepare to start a new year at preschool and shift into a new rhythm of life and work, it’s a perfect time to refresh your engagement with mindful being. Sense the shift in nature all around you – the quickening of cool breezes and the first turnings of [...]

Read the full article →

Wisdom for Megan

by Courtney Martin August 25, 2010
Thumbnail image for Wisdom for Megan

What is the one thing no one ever told you about mothering  that you wish they had? Read on for a list of advice from a number of moms I talked to. *That you have an excuse to reprise the daily dance contests you had as a child (Beat It!) and get to watch Star [...]

Read the full article →

Attention Seattle Parents – this workshop will empower you!

by Community of Mindful Parents May 5, 2010
Thumbnail image for Attention Seattle Parents – this workshop will empower you!

Hey mindful parents! I am teaching a course focusing on how to cultivate compassion in children and I would love for you to attend.  This workshop is great for anyone who has an influence on a child.

Read the full article →

Character Corner: Decisiveness — musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie April 13, 2010
Thumbnail image for Character Corner: Decisiveness — musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

Five year old Briana labored over small decisions, whether it was what to wear to school or which flavor of ice cream to eat.  She so wanted to choose the very best one that she bogged down.  When there was no hurry, she eventually made her choice, but when time was an issue, her indecision [...]

Read the full article →

Kindness makes the world go round!

by Yaffa Maritz April 11, 2010
Thumbnail image for Kindness makes the world go round!

That is what I felt when I had the gathering in my house last weekend of 10 ANGEL AGENTS, as I call them. This gathering was to launch “The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy” an idea that Courtney Martin, a young successful writer from New York had couple of years ago.  Since then, she has [...]

Read the full article →

Can you teach your children to be lucky?

by Christine Carter April 2, 2010
Thumbnail image for Can you teach your children to be lucky?

This article is reprinted from Christine Carter’s blog about raising happy kids, which can be found on the Greater Good Magazine website. Are you one of the lucky people? You know, one of those people that always seems to be in the right place at the right time, that is lucky in love and has [...]

Read the full article →

Slow down, we move too fast

by Yaffa Maritz March 23, 2010
Thumbnail image for Slow down, we move too fast

Story number one: My mother lives in Israel and every year I go see her, as she is in her late 80’s and cannot travel anymore.  Last visit, I noticed that the aging process has left obvious footprints on her physical being.

Read the full article →

Tantrum at the market

by Christine Carter March 18, 2010
Thumbnail image for Tantrum at the market

Click here to learn more about The Science for Raising Happy Kids and the Half Full Blog “Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.” –Author Unknown My point in writing the Bad [...]

Read the full article →

Aiming for later

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom March 12, 2010
Thumbnail image for Aiming for later

It’s hard to think about later when your child is screaming for cookies in the market.  When the baby wakes again in the night and you’ve just fallen back asleep, so tired your skin aches.  When you absolutely must get out the door and your four year old can’t remember where he put his shoes– [...]

Read the full article →

The challenge of mindfulness for Mothers

by Mara Applebaum February 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for The challenge of mindfulness for Mothers

Modern women still feel the centuries of social command to be selfless and all sacrificing for the sake of their children. Yet mindfulness is impossible without a sense of oneself. Earlier generations of women — our own mothers and grandmothers — had fewer opportunities to develop their own identities or to even know how they [...]

Read the full article →

“Where did I come from?”

by New York Times Family Column February 21, 2010
Thumbnail image for “Where did I come from?”

Question: My older daughter was conceived through IVF (in vitro fertilization). Shortly after her birth I began wondering when she might ask the inevitable question, “Where did I come from?” What would you say?

Read the full article →

Reflections on The Mindful Brain written by Daniel Siegel

by Community of Mindful Parents February 18, 2010
Thumbnail image for Reflections on The Mindful Brain written by Daniel Siegel

Welcome to a journey into the heart of our lives. Being mindfully aware, attending to the richness of our experiences, creates scientifically recognized enhancements in our physiology, our mental functions, and our interpersonal relationships. Being fully present in our awareness opens our lives to new possibilities of well-being.

Read the full article →

Toddler resists naps

by New York Times Family Column February 17, 2010
Thumbnail image for Toddler resists naps

Question: My 3-year-old son now resists a nap until late afternoon. Of course that affects his behavior. (We also have a 5-month-old baby boy, which is part of the problem.) If our 3-year-old eventually puts himself down for a nap in late afternoon, bedtime is a nightmare.

Read the full article →

Compassion in action

by Yaffa Maritz February 10, 2010
Thumbnail image for Compassion in action

In a previous post (Getting through giving) I discussed how giving, rather than getting is key to our well being both as individuals and as a society.  Since then, it seems that everywhere I look, I see the emerging  trend of communities  coming together to celebrate the art of collaboration, support and compassion.

Read the full article →

Peering in

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom February 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for Peering in

Yesterday I watched the Superbowl. This doesn’t sound like a big deal—me and millions of other Americans, right?  Wrong.  I have hated watching sports for most of my life.  As a kid, I whined so much on Sundays that there was nothing to watch it’s a wonder I don’t recall upsetting my parents.  In those [...]

Read the full article →

A child’s ‘big emotions’

by New York Times Family Column February 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for A child’s ‘big emotions’

Question: How do I help an almost-6-year-old learn to handle disappointment and frustration? This is a child with big emotions, both positive and negative. Nearly every time he doesn’t get his way, he instantly gives in to his impulse to stomp, throw something, cry, scream, and sometimes hit and push.

Read the full article →

Mindful Food Selection

by Beverly Pressey February 5, 2010
Thumbnail image for Mindful Food Selection

As mindful parents, I imagine that you have tried to decipher a nutrition label on a food package in order to determine if the product was healthy or not.  Odds are that after studying this label you were still unsure.  You may be unsure because most consumers in the United States don’t have a visual [...]

Read the full article →

Learning to walk

by New York Times Family Column January 29, 2010
Thumbnail image for Learning to walk

At about 12 months, as a child focuses her energy on the big developmental step of learning to walk, her emotional controls may be disrupted.

Read the full article →

Do you lie to your children?

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom January 14, 2010
Thumbnail image for Do you lie to your children?

I don’t believe in lying to my children.  I know that plenty of people do though. There is the occasional white lie, (I will buy that for you another day)  the ‘magic lie’, (the tooth fairy gave you that money) and even the bold face lie (there is a hidden camera in there and I can see whatever [...]

Read the full article →

Fattening up babies?

by Beverly Pressey January 13, 2010
Thumbnail image for Fattening up babies?

We are so obsessed about weight in this country.  Even babies are targets. Babies are supposed to have visible body fat.  It is normal for a baby to have several chins, a neck that is hard to find, and rolls of fat at their thighs, wrists and elbows.

Read the full article →

Don’t hide that squash!

by Beverly Pressey January 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for Don’t hide that squash!

Many parents hide food in order to get their children to eat what they think is healthy.  There are even several cook books that will assist you in these efforts.  What does hiding food accomplish?  On the positive side it allows parents to feel better about the healthy foods their child unknowingly eats.  All other [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Back to top