Dec 13, 2024
by Carolyn McCarthy Photo by Judy Beth Morris On a recent morning in early November, my stomach was in knots. My head was spinning, a thought storm tumbling through. I’d managed to get myself out the door and was walking to yoga class, mat tucked under my arm. But my...
Oct 3, 2024
What happens when you take stock of your day, your life, your purpose? What is the nature of the language you use with yourself? Most of us tend to be harsh and critical of how we are conducting our life. We easily spiral into self-talk of “shoulds:” I should be more...
Sep 7, 2024
Something that occurs to me regularly at our mindfulness retreats is: “I never would have thought of this!”It never would have occurred to me that being quiet and sitting still with a group of people for days at a time would bring so much benefit. That it would lead...
Jun 6, 2024
After several very serious discussions and a thorough multi-year review of the evidence, the Mindfulness Northwest team has reached a clear consensus – there is an above-average overlap between mindfulness practitioners and birders. It makes sense! Mindfulness is a...
Mar 25, 2024
With deep gratitude to our long-time client King County, Washington, we are happy to share the following handouts on integrating mindfulness into your day, especially at work. Note that most handouts include interactive links to our website and other resources. They...
Mar 29, 2023
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Happy National Poetry month To you! If you’ve been in our classes or attended our retreats, you know that we celebrate poetry every month of the year. As Lucille Clifton says, “Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of...
Oct 3, 2022
The Mindful Check-In is a great way to shift into a deeper awareness of where your whole body-heart-mind system is “at” right now. Drop below the storyline with this powerful practice for taking a purposeful pause. You may find yourself coming out...
Sep 29, 2022
We all know those moments. We’re already wound up. Rushed. So much going on. And we’re also tired from an interrupted night of sleep. Or worried about a health challenge. Or a family member who’s back in that familiar crisis zone. We carry so much...
Sep 16, 2021
This is a brief mindfulness practice you can do in the middle of your days. There are many ways to support (and remember!) your natural human ability to deeply pause. A purposeful pause helps to create space in which you return to yourself, find more freedom in your...
Sep 16, 2021
The Self-Compassion Break is a core part of our Mindful Self-Compassion program. It helps you to understand the benefits of Mindful Self-Compassion as you apply the three aspects of MSC to a problem you're facing. In the Self-Compassion Break you explore (1) mindful...
May 5, 2021
Explore these videos on mindfulness practice at your own pace. Thanks to King County’s employee wellness program, Balanced You, for supporting the creation of these videos. Anchoring Meditation – 8 minutes Self-Compassion break – 6-minute...
Nov 5, 2019
Feeling alarmed? Getting reactive? Try STOP-ing. By helping you drop below the “story line” and into your lived experience, this brief practice may help you feel the space between stimulus and response. At the very least, it may prevent you from doing or...