Wellness Podcast

In this episode, I talk about my family's weekly tradition of Friday night movie night. I explain what we do and how it helps me to stay grounded and feel safe even in this crazy world we are living in these days. Action item: find an activity that can be YOUR Friday night movie night, with the following characteristics: 1) tradition/stability (something you do routinely at the same time/day etc. each week) and 2) bonding/community/connection (ie preferably something you do with other people). For extra credit, it can also involve 3) sharing/turn taking (switch off hosting a dinner, or whose house you go to, where you walk, etc.). I've noticed that I keep coming back to traditions on this podcast, and I really think they are important to help us feel stable, safe and well in the increasingly stressful, on the go, anxiety-filled world in which we live.

In this week's episode, I talk about a book I read over sabbatical, called The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, by Catherine Price. I define "fun" using Catherine Price's definition of playful, connected flow, give some examples of events in my life that were "so fun", and of some of my own "fun magnets" (family, friends, adventure, being outdoors, learning new things). The action item for this week is to make your own list of things that have been "so fun" in your own life, making your own list of "fun magnets" and then finding ways to easily add more true fun to your life and forget about things that OTHER people think are fun that you do not (I am NOT going to attend more parties this year)!

In this episode, I talk about the 3 things I did over my sabbatical that were not work and how we can apply them to our everyday lives! First, I got through a backlog of a ton of non-work to do's in my life (painting, getting a new air conditioner and furnace installed, etc.)- what you can do in everyday life is Power Hour! From the author Gretchen Rubin. The second thing was do more of what you love and less of what you hate. This is easier said than done but also can easily be done in small segments- go out and do that thing you've been wanting to do forever, and do it now! It will be worth it, I promise! The third thing was to REST but in ways that were restful to me, not watching TV or sleeping but painting and going for walks with my neighbor and gardening, for example. I realized that rest doesn't just mean sleep, but means stepping away physically and mentally from work and doing something that makes you feel refreshed, calm and not burned out!

Welcome back everyone! I'm back from sabbatical and here to talk about enjoying the little things in life. In this episode, I talk about my summer and how I (finally!) got the chance to enjoy the summer, for the first time since I was a kid. My kids and I partly used this list from Generation Wild: https://www.generationwild.com/the-list but also just made up our own fun things to do. Often cheap or free (like going to the pool or the library or riding bikes or picking apples from our tree), we just enjoyed the small things near and far, and this week, I want you all to try to do this as well! You don't need to make a list or even cross things off the list, the action item is simply: take a minute to enjoy something this week. You can write it down in a gratitude journal, or not. Today, I made friends with a random neighborhood cat and enjoyed some freshly brewed tea NOT from a microwave. Until next week!

In this episode, I talk about why it is important to say no (particularly at this time of year, when the holidays are upon us, as well as finals/end of the semester if you are in the academic or teaching world). I talk about Brene Brown's phrase, "clear is kind, unclear is unkind" and how we think that saying yes when we mean no (or just don't have time) is kind when really the opposite is true. If you know you are going to say no later, just say no now, it is better for you AND the person you are saying no to! I also mention the idea of future you (from both Glennon Doyle and Dr. Laurie Santos from the Happiness Lab), that when you are saying yes, think of future you as the same as current you- that is, not way smarter, faster at working, with a ton more energy- and if you wouldn't say yes to the thing today, don't say yes to it next week or next year! Action item: go through your schedule for the week and if there is something you know you can't do, say no now rather than waiting for later! Finally, I am going on sabbatical next spring, so this will be my last episode until Fall 2024 when I have students again!

In this episode, I talk about activity pairing, one of my favorite tricks for sticking to my habits. This comes from James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, and the idea is to pair two activities together to form a habit of doing them together. These can be one activity you love with one you don't love so much (ex: washing dishes with listening to your favorite podcasts) or an activity you already do every day with one you want to do (pushing the button on the coffee machine right before starting to meditate so that you get hot coffee as soon as you are done). I talk about why it is so important to do this, a possible down side, and my action item is to think of at least 2 activities that you can pair together and try it out! I also talk about Gretchen Rubin's book, Better than Before.

In this week's episode, I talk about triggers, or emotional responses to an object, person or memory that are more severe than what the event itself would call for. These can be due to events that have happened recently or past events that we need to work through but the key is that our response does not match the level of the original event (a 3 event calls for a 3 response- aw man, not a 10 response-yelling and swearing). Since our families often trigger us, I think right before the holidays is a great time to understand and learn how to dissolve triggers! Ex: when my kids don't listen to my husband, he gets more and more upset and yells (a maybe 2 event and a 8 or 9 response, let's say). Action item: To dissolve our emotional responses when triggered, we need to just take a breath between the event/trigger and our response. Meditating (and therapy) have helped me with this. Good luck with the holidays and we'll be back after next week! Take Deep Breaths!

In this episode, I give us all a 5-minute break! We sit up straight (but not too tensely) in our chairs, take deep breaths, tense all our muscles and let them go, hug ourselves, put our hand on our heart, do gratefuls, and then I let you go to either 1) watch a short funny tik tok video (or whatever video) 2) listen to a song and dance 3) chat with someone near you for 2 minutes. Have a great day and I hope this helps you all to take a short break today-it helped me!

In this episode, I define restorative rest as something that, when we finish doing it, we feel like ah, that was nice, rather than, oh man, why did I do that? I give examples of restorative rest (yoga, meditating, going for a walk/run around the block, making tea and texting a friend, listening to or dancing to a song, 10-minute nap, etc.) and explain that we can use the time in our day that we already use doing things that do not make us feel good to find time to rest each day. Action item: go back to week 2, list of things that make you feel better, and write/edit your list to find things that you can do instead of checking social media, bored eating or other activities that do not feel restful to you when you need a break during the day. With 5 minutes at a time, we can remember that what we do each day is what we do with our lives.

In this episode, I talk about the one thing that has really helped me to feel better on a daily basis. When I remember to do this thing, I notice it in my digestion, in my attitude, in my level of tiredness, and when I forget, I notice that I am sometimes even nauseous, more tired, even dizzy (especially in the summer). This thing is-you guessed it (or maybe you didn't)- drinking water! Here is the website I used (and also a general Google Search and my own life experience) for this epsiode: https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/water-essential-to-your-body.

Action item: listen for tips and tricks to drink more water throughout the day to feel better and be more healthy!