A few years ago, I moved from the sunny beaches of Southern California to the cool forests of the Pacific Northwest. I know most of you will think that’s crazy, but I’ve found I do better in cooler environments.. Plus I loooove all the plants, water and greenery here…

In various healing traditions, it's believed that different parts of our body correspond to diverse emotional states. From the harmonious balance of the Yin and Yang in Chinese medicine to the holistic equilibrium of the three Doshas in Ayurvedic tradition, these...

There is mounting research showing the massive effect on our health of a well-balanced psychosocial ecosystem. A psychosocial ecosystem includes things like our roles, our social connections, and our daily routines. If we are feeling stress or imbalance in any of...

Determining Your Sympathetic Nervous System Response Type If you’re looking to recover from childhood trauma or C-PTSD then I want to know what kind of F*er you are. No, not that kind of F*er! I mean, yeah, sometimes even I’m the asshole, but that’s not what...

Want to know why you’re still stressed out despite all of the stress reduction techniques you’ve tried in the past? If you’ve taken 500 bubble baths and go to yoga every day and you’re still stressed out, here are 4 things you need to consider to find more ease and...

It’s been an angry week for me (both feeling my own anger and being on the receiving end of someone else’s) and I’ve been thinking a lot about the two types of anger, healthy anger and trauma response anger. Let’s look at ‘em, shall we? Healthy anger moves you...

One of the most insidious aspects of growing up with emotionally unavailable parents is that I didn’t have models of how to be cared for. I didn’t grow up with examples of what it’s like to be comforted when I felt vulnerable, sad, afraid, or ashamed. I also didn’t...

Mindfulness is one of the bedrocks of mind-body healing. Without it, you can’t accomplish any significant healing on a physical, emotional or spiritual level. I want to look at what I mean by mindfulness and then give you some examples of how it integrates with other...

I’m in the middle of doing research for my next book and I want to share some cool info about your nervous system and how you can change it for the better. Many years ago when I read the book “The Holographic Universe” I remember being struck by a study by Alan...

When we let the ego drive the bus without having other ways of looking at the world, it can drive us a bit mad. One of the most effective tools I know to become a happier person and make sure we’re not only listening to the ego is to cultivate three distinct voices in…

The term “shadow work” has been everywhere lately. But what is it really? I think of shadow work in terms of healing and clearing the way for better spiritual, emotional and intuitive connections. Shadow work uses strategies or tools to look at the parts of ourselves...

I’m about to tell you something that’s gonna upend everything you know about stress. Recent research has found that stress can actually be good for you. And not just on an emotional level, stress can actually heal you physically, too. The problem is we’ve been doing...

If you’ve tried mindfulness meditation and haven’t been able to stick with it, I think I may know why. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing our attention on one stimulus (like our breath or a mantra) and being mindful of any thoughts or other sensations that may...

I used to work as an occupational therapist for children with autism, ADHD, and other types of neurodivergence. One of the most effective treatment tools we had was the sensory profile because it allowed us to look at how school and home environments conflicted with...

When I first started the study of energy healing, I took a course on the Chinese 5-element theory. The 5 elements represent a cyclic, spiral growth cycle that you can see everywhere around you, from the cells in your body to the creation of new galaxies. Each of the...

I’ve spent a lot of time worrying the past few days. My worrying always tends to be about the same, familiar topics and it feels involuntary — I’ll be fine one minute and then suddenly I’ll start with a familiar spiral of worrying thoughts. Like a well-worn path in...

Recently, I’ve noticed a theme coming up in my conversations with friends and clients — we’re all sick of being nice. By being nice, I mean doing the emotional labor to make sure our message is coming through in a pleasant way, while also scanning our conversation...

Notes on the Pandemic: I was driving home from a hike with my dog the other day when the anxiety hit. I had just spent an hour hiking on a beautiful trail by the ocean, listening to an audiobook, and feeling pretty damn good. But as I got in my car and drove home, I...