News: May 2017

Less anxiety = a happier, healthier you

Everyone is stressed out these days. Work, politics, finances, family, relationships ... you name it. And with smart phones and social media occupying so much of our time, it's easy to forget to take time for ourselves. Some of us get so disconnected from ourselves that we don't even realize how anxious we are! This kind of lifestyle will eventually lead to pain, illness, and injuries. But this is easily prevented.

For simple, effective, and enjoyable anxiety-relief tips and techniques, watch the following YouTube video collaboration I did with Dr. Melissa West of Living Your Yoga TV.

Follow along with me as I guide you through a brief meditation and relaxing self massage to help you gain body awareness, ease pain, and release anxiety. Make this a regular practice. You can start small, with just 10 minutes a day of quiet time to yourself. If you stick with it, you will feel better, think more clearly, increase longevity, and improve your overall health and wellbeing. It's worth it!

Watch my video and feel your stress melt away.

Melissa offers another great tip for interrupting the anxiety cycle.

Massage therapy and recovery

Below is an excerpt from an article I wrote on the crucial role of massage therapy and nurturing touch in recovery from eating disorders and addictions. Click here to read the whole article.

We are living in a touch-deprived society. This dilemma is exacerbated for those with eating disorders.

Perhaps we fear touch because we've only known negative touch in our lives. For some, that may be as detrimental as physical abuse. For me, it was hospital needles piercing my veins, blood pressure cuffs squeezing my bony arm, and icy cold stethoscopes on my bare skin.

But without nurturing touch, we cannot thrive. Being deprived of touch is connected to depression, anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, and illness. The necessity of touch is most evident with infants, who can't survive if not cuddled, held, and stroked.

Throughout my years spent struggling with anorexia, I refused to allow touch into my life. If someone tried to hug me, my emaciated body stiffened up like a board. Perhaps it was my chronic touch-depravation that eventually led me to crave something as simple as a hand on my shoulder. With recovery came the realization of the necessity of touch. This was a key influence that finally led me to become a licensed massage therapist.

Read the rest of the article ->

What's new with me ...

I am excited to say that my book, Hungry for Life, has sold nearly 3000 copies!

In addition, I'm delighted to report that my YouTube channel has over 1100 subscribers and 110,000 views!

Jesse and I went to Sienna's "ballet recital." It was more like a bunch of 4-year-olds in tutus running around or staring into space. Sienna didn't stop talking for a second. Some memorable quotes:

Teacher (trying to get her students to be quiet): Take a big piece of chocolate cake and take a huge bite."
Sienna: "But it's not literally chocolate cake."

Teacher: (Trying to get everyone to sit still.) "Everyone sit with spoons in your bowls."
Sienna: "That's a synonym for sitting criss cross!"

See new photos and videos!