June 30, 2025

#327 Create Calm with Your Teen

44 minutes

Do you feel like your home energy often mirrors your teen’s mood—and not in a good way? What if you could shift the atmosphere in your home without saying a word?

In this episode, Colleen O’Grady talks with Lisa Danahy, yoga therapist and founder of the nonprofit Create Calm, about how moms can bring more peace and regulation into their homes—and themselves. With decades of experience in education and yoga-based therapy, Lisa explains the role of the autonomic nervous system and the vagus nerve in our stress responses, and why physical practices—not just mental strategies—are the key to resetting our emotional states. She offers practical techniques like “Yoga Jacks,” “Washing Machine Twists,” and a rhythmic finger-tapping affirmation practice that moms can use to regulate themselves—and invite their teens to join. They also dive into the power of co-regulation, why mindfulness isn’t about control, and how big energy doesn’t have to lead to big drama.

Lisa Danahy (C-IAYT, YACEP, MS) is a powerful educator and entrepreneur. Her non-profit, Create Calm, has facilitated cultural shifts and deep healing for thousands of students, teachers, and families in hundreds of schools and community organizations across the country since 2016.

With an MS in Yoga Therapy and BA in Psychology, over 30 years as a school administrator and SEL curriculum developer, and certification as an advanced educator and trainer, Lisa is highly skilled at creating accessible, evidence-based, successful curricula for behavioral and emotional regulation, as well as physical and mental health. She is the author of Creating Calm in Your Classroom.

Key Takeaways:

Your calm is contagious. You don’t need to fix your teen’s mood. When you regulate yourself first—through breath, movement, or mindfulness—you model what emotional balance looks like and help them get there too.

Energy is meant to move. Whether it’s stress, anxiety, or frustration, Lisa offers easy movement practices like “Washing Machine Twists” that help shift big energy safely out of the body.

Start where you are. You don’t need a yoga mat or a quiet room. Mindful movements and breath can happen in the kitchen, before you walk in the house, or alongside your dysregulated teen—with or without their participation.

Learn more at: https://createcalm.org/

Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/create_calm_yoga/

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By Colleen O'Grady LPC, LMFT, author, speaker & C-Suite Radio

4.7

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