LYW MAINSTAYS | Earlier this week I heard a critique on therapists, namely, that all therapists do is… talk. It’s true in your typical psychotherapy session, yes, you will talk and therapists will listen, but it isn’t exactly what it seems. We do this because we know that talking and listening heals. Each plays a part in helping therapists and clients develop trust and a bond to usher in healing. Many times this is all that is needed, a warm, committed witness. Other times, something else is looked-for too. I found this in my own practice. Clients wanted to know how to prevent future set-backs or longed for a life they knew how to live. They wanted a road map. The Mainstays philosophy is that roadmap with the ultimate destination of finding your true north. Enjoy the ride, dear!

M O V E M E N T | Developing your Intuition. Yesterday, I went for a walk for nothing but the urge to move. I didn’t know where I was going, how long it would take, or even why I felt the urge in the first place. I just knew I needed to move. After a few minutes of feeling the drum-beat of my shoes on the pavement, I realized I was walking without thought. The urge to move my body, the soft-spoken sensations and slight pulls that lead me on the while I walked was a simple practice of listening to my body/spirit speak, a practice of intuition.

S P I R I T | How do you live well? What does it take? At LYW, we’ve scoured professional journals from multiple professions, read the works, attended the talks, and listened to the words of some of the most curious and “enlightened” people who root out truths and meanings in life. And, the one thing we’ve found over and over again is that service to others always tops the list. It’s built into the LYW Spirit Mainstay and a piece of living well.

LYW Mainstays | Week after week, I share with you how I live the mainstays and I sometimes picture you saying to yourself, “I do those things too! or “that’s it??!” Yes! That’s it. Wellness is not far-flung experiences or expensive concoctions sold to you with the promise of health, wellness or beauty; wellness is the intentional act of simple, everyday gestures that settle you into your life, your self, so you can live well.

Heya, dear! It’s been quiet over here at LYW as I took time away from work to be with a lot of family for Thanksgiving. It felt so nourishing to take an extended break away from social media, email and phone! It felt so good, I’m going do it again! (around NYE) Taking time away from my everyday tasks and habits relaxed me and made more space to be present with the people I was with. I really wanted to make the most of the short time I had to spend with people whom I love but don’t get to see often. It’s another benefit I’ve found from living the Mainstays—the awareness I gain from living with an easeful yet focused attention on how I want to live!

Hello Dear, this post will be a bit shorter than usual. We’re getting ready to leave for a trip a few days earlier than planned. The skies of the Bay Area are dangerously smoky from the Camp fire in Paradise, California (over a 150 miles away!), schools were cancelled all over the East Bay and in San Francisco, so we’re going to head south and make the best of it. For those of you who are in the Bay Area or in the paths of the fires, please take good care and keep in touch with your loved ones.

LYW Mainstays | Hey Dear! What about this week, eh? It’s been a big one with so many big emotions and so much anticipation for change. I found myself needing more down time than usual as I digested the news of the week and the work of reading and writing for LYW.

LYW Mainstays | Hey everyone! I can’t believe it’s already been a week since I’ve posted on IG! The week flew by reading abstracts and research articles and thinking about what I want to write. I loved nearly every second of it.

LYW Mainstays | Good morning, dear! I’ve spent a lot of time rereading, reorganizing and rethinking living well, there’s still a lot more work to do, but I am so, so excited and downright happy with where I am in this review phase! I’ve spent a lot of the week in psychology databases and reading other people’s words, and I have to say, it’s been one of the best weeks I’ve had in a long time. I am actually looking forward to more weeks like this!

LYW Insight | Hey All! I’m working on a literature review for an upcoming project and will need to take a break from posting for a bit. I’ll keep up my Friday posts on the LYW Mainstays but, in the meantime, look for me in your Stories to see snapshots of what I’m working on! Chao, dear and see you soon! #liveyourwell

LYW Mainstays | In past posts about the LYW Mainstays, I’ve talked about what it looks like in a single day, but you don’t have to practice each of the Mainstays every day. For example, it’s been an enormously emotional week as we decided to give our dog back to the spirit world, and to have intentionally practiced each of the Mainstays would have missed the moment. A practice one or two of the Mainstays a day can be all that you need to feel well.

How I Found Wellness Through Medicine

My journey to live my well came about through modern medicine, strangely enough. It started in medical school, with the rigorous academics and the psychological pressure to succeed. I chose to be a Doctor of Osteopathic (DO) Medicine, which means I received additional training in the musculoskeletal system and a holistic approach to patient care was emphasized.

LYW Mainstays | We all need a practice or three (or four, or 10, or twenty) that settle us down and into our essential selves. The Mainstays Philosophy gives you the foundation for the practice of living your well. It’s backed up by ancient wisdom, modern science and, most importantly, your own lived experience. It’s meant to be crafted by you, your hopes, needs and wishes—today & forever after.

R E LA T I O N S H I P S | Happiness. Today, I spent lunch with the Stanford Women’s Club of the East Bay listening to Dr. Luskin, preeminent scholar on forgiveness, emotional intelligence and stress management @stanford talk about happiness.

E X P R E S S I O N | Creativity, in any form. Brought on by R E S T and
M O V E M E N T. Yoga, meditation, walking or even dancing can take you to the portal of your self-expression and wellbeing.

LYW Mainstays | The Mainstays. Each mainstay is practice in mindful living and together the foundation of a life lived well.

LYW Womxn’s Bodies | Sexual Assault & Violence. Today is the first and only hearing without a rigorous investigation of the sexual allegations against the President’s nominee.

R E S T | Silence. There’s a lot to be found there but not many places we can find it. Cities and cellphones keep us on at a near constant, high level of alert, and their sounds are encroaching even the most remote of regions of wilderness, where so many of us go seeking it, and leave us feeling all the more frazzled and discouraged. It is projected that the world will only become noisier as we become more urbanized and even more digitally connected.

liveyourwellM O V E M E N T | In circles. Pilates with @beth_devol. On Saturday morning, I snuck out for another Pilates class with Beth who took the class on a tour of movement through circles.

S P I R I T | Let yourself be surprised. A divine thought offered by a treasured  therapist today. What if we let ourselves be surprised? What if we gave permission to our brain to not have to figure it all out, let if off the hook?

Whole Foods. What does it mean? Foods with little to no processing, free of artificial ingredients or additives.

M O V E M E N T | Neurogenesis. The production of new neurons in the brain. Made possible by learning new things and enhanced by moving your body as studied by Dr. Tracey Shors, neuroscientist @rutgersu.

N O U R I S H M E N T | Intuitive Eating. Paying attention to the signals of your body’s hunger: what it wants to eat, how it wants to be fed, how it feels to be hungry and full, and feeling the fulfillment of giving your body what it longs for.

N A T U R E | Phytoncides. Airborne chemicals trees and plants emit to protect themselves with from germs and insects, and benefit people too!

R E S T | Reflection. Paired with rest increase your ability to learn, adding just a bit more ease in life.

liveyourwellN O U R I S H M E N T | “She that takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skill of a physician. Chinese Proverb (slightly altered by me he —> she).