[Rerun] Self-care made simple

One of the most potent things I have found, both in my training and with my clients, is the utmost importance of self-care. For every acute problem, every chronic stress, every relationship explosion, cancer diagnosis, loathed job or existential crisis, self-care comes up again and again as not just the most important, but the very first

How our minds can make us young again

This remarkable article, “What if Age is Just a Mindset?”, about the work of psychologist Ellen Langer, ran this week in the New York Times. Its basic idea – that our minds have more power over the youth and health of our bodies than we’ve dared to imagine – is one that is near and

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can cause brain damage

Sticks and Stones – Hurtful Words Damage the Brain – from Psychology Today A column describing how verbal taunting or abuse, whether from parents or other kids, can hinder development of critical structures in the brain, causing greater risks for future depression, anxiety, drug abuse, and other psychological issues. What you say matters.  

Self-care made simple

One of the most potent things I have found, both in my training and with my clients, is the utmost importance of self-care. For every acute problem, every chronic stress, every relationship explosion, cancer diagnosis, loathed job or existential crisis, self-care comes up again and again as not just the most important, but the very first

Thanksgiving week: How gratitude can change your life

It’s Thanksgiving this week. The holiday has always been a favorite for me, and not just because I love to eat. I also love the thoroughly secular opportunity that it gives Americans to express gratitude. Gratitude is an emotion that we’re not in contact with a lot of the time. Life is hard, and even

Working with Sexuality: Decoupling touch and sex

In a previous post, I mentioned how often, especially for men, touch can be linked up in their bodies with sex.  In our current society, unfortunately, we have a disordered relationship to touch.  When we are tiny children, if we are lucky, our parents and other caregivers touch us all the time.  We are carried,

The fitness industry’s war against your body

I have long been suspicious of the fitness industry, and in particular the more recent, particularly self-punishing styles of workout that have become so popular.  For my own part, I believe in eating whole foods, indulging from time to time, and being as active as you can in a way that doesn’t cause injury.  I’ve

A blessing for your body

One of my brilliant teachers and the current president of the International Association of Rubenfeld Synergists (INARS), Theresa Pettersen-Chu, posted this blessing yesterday on the Rubenfeld Synergy Method Facebook page. I was pleased enough with it to want to share it here. I hope you enjoy, and take it to heart – and to all

A medical doctor writes an unconventional prescription for optimal health

What do you do when you’ve exhausted the possibilities of Western medicine, and you still feel exhausted, depressed, weakened, and in pain?  Listen to the messages of your body, says Dr. Lissa Rankin. In this article, she describes how she designed a radical new intake form for her patients, where the biggest question was, What

People into BDSM no longer considered mentally ill. Well it’s about time.

As reported by The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, the makers of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, commonly known as the DSM, has released its new edition (DSM-5).  In previous editions, paraphilias – a catch-all term for “unusual” sexual desires falling under the umbrella of fetishes, BDSM, or kink – were basically considered