I'm an award-winning writer published in AARP, Prevention, Reader's Digest, and Yoga Journal. I write about health and wellness on all fronts, including mental, physical, sexual, and holistic.
Midlife Crisis? I Had a Midlife Awakening
Here’s how my middle passage began: I had recently broken my arm falling off a zip line. I was recuperating in the murphy bed in the basement, a room without doors or closets that I had claimed as my own. I was 50, married, mortgaged, and mother of two kids. A friend had just told me a broken bone could portend a break with destiny. I contemplated that as I weaned myself off the Percocet. I knew I never wanted to share a bedroom with my husband again. I didn’t know how we would afford divorce...
After the Kambo, The Ecstasy
I wanted a jumpstart. This powerful Amazonian frog poison left me revitalized, recharged, and ready to “bring it”—wherever it wanted to be brought.
I’m in an Airbnb in some suburban sprawl strip mall vortex just off a major thoroughfare, sandwiched between adult shops, taquerias, and beauty supply stores. It’s a rare, not at all scenic area of Colorado—and an incongruous locale for me to take Kambo, the glue-like toxic secretion released on the skin of a rain forest monkey frog that’s now tre...
The Poetry of Savasana: “A Little Bit About the Soul”
Here, we offer a catalyst for reflection in the form of verse from Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska.
Although yoga practitioners have always harbored a strong affinity for poetry, with many teachers inclined to break out a poem either at the beginning or end of class, the current state of the world practically insists that we all wave our poetry flags ...
This is the Couples Counseling Advice That Didn’t Work During My Marriage, But That I Live By Now
Before we were even married, my ex-husband and I began couples counseling. I was pregnant and excited. He, not so much. Of course, there will be highs and lows, our first couples counselor told us. What she didn’t know was that the lows would squash the highs.
I’ve read that the difference between happy and unhappy couples is the balance between positive and negative interactions they have in the midst of conflict. The specific, “magic ratio,” is 5 to 1. This means that for every negative int...
How to get over heartbreak
The majority of us have had our hearts broken. It sucks. Especially when the heart break stems from a breakup and rejection is part of the equation. Because while the loss of a loved one hurts, rejection hurts worse. That’s according to Florence Williams’s new book, Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey. In her chapter “All Pain is One Malady: Rejection,” Williams describes how social rejection makes one feel “essentially unseen and immaterial.” Rejection triggers in us an impotent despair, a sense of deepest fear being realized: that we are utterly unworthy and unlovable.
YJ Tried It: Using Dreamwork to Explore the Untapped Wisdom of Dreams
Very few people know how to make sense out of their dreamlife. Yet, these nighttime stories can be valuable guides to discovering our greatest desires—and what's holding us back.
What is Dilation Therapy?
Use it or lose it doesn’t just apply to languages and limberness, it also concerns vaginas.
For the longest time, women who complained of pain during sex were given one solution: lube. “That was when ‘vagina’ was a bad word,” says L.A.-based Sheryl A. Ross, MD, an OBGYN and author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Health. Period. “Thankfully, now the narrative has changed—and the vagina, recognized by activists as a marginalized topic, is poised to come out of the closet.”
Dilatio...
Mindful Eating: A More Effective Way to Navigate Holiday Temptations
Starting with Halloween, the days become one prolonged food-and-sugar smorgasbord, with party after party enticing you to indulge. Instead of resorting to diets and then berating yourself for a lack of discipline, why not try mindful eating–something a growing number of studies suggest is much more effective? Mindful eating is defined as the practice of being present while you consume a snack or meal. Though it sounds simple, it’s not so easy to pull off. What you need is a few pointers to ge...
How Writing Has the Power to Heal Your Body and Mind
What happens when you combine mindfulness with therapeutic yoga and writing? According to Lisa Weinert—editor, writing, coach, publicist, and founder of Narrative Healing—you can finally begin to heal, both personally and collectively.
Hub for Change
Activist and filmmaker Katherine Lo envisioned inclusive gathering places for creatives to collaborate and inspire a better future for planet Earth.
'Magic Mushrooms' for PTSD: Why Psychedelics May Help Heal Trauma
Psychedelic-assisted therapy, including the use of 'magic mushrooms', may aid in the treatment of PTSD, research suggests.
The Downside of Reusable Bags More People Need to Be Thinking About
To be clear, plastic bags are rightly thought of as a menace that’s hazardous to human health. According to the National Resources Defense Council, over a decade ago, the average American family took home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year, clogging our cabinets, kitchen drawers, and landfills. Today the numbers are slightly better: According to National Geographic, as of 2018, shoppers in the United States use almost one plastic bag per resident per day. (Compare that to the fact that...
Pelvic Health: Why You Need to Pay Attention (Whether or Not You’ve Had a Baby)
For many women, the awareness of the pelvic floor begins and ends with Kegel exercises—a targeted approach to the muscles that control urine flow. But pelvic health is so much more than feeling the squeeze. The pelvic floor, a complex group of interweaving muscles, not only ensures sex and elimination works correctly, it also determines if your organs are in the right place. If the muscles of the pelvic floor get strained (typically during childbirth) organs can slip, causing pain and heavine...
6 Key Health Benefits Of Omega Fatty Acids & DHA
DHA, one of the two major omega-3 three fatty acids found in fish, has celebrity status in the supplement world. Fish oil supplements are now the third most popular nutritional supplement, after vitamins and minerals. (1) For years, it’s been taken as gospel that that fish oil and omega-3s are good for your heart. The only supplement the American Heart Association recommends is a fish oil supplement for those who don’t eat the recommended two or more servings of fish per week, which, let’s fa...
CoQ10: Are You Missing Out On The Surprising Benefits Of This Powerful Antioxidant
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has a reputation for being an antioxidant extraordinaire, purported to boost energy levels, stop migraines dead in their tracks, improve skin texture, help regulate blood sugar, and treat infertility. CoQ10 is so essential, it’s also known as ubiquinone or ubiquinol, which shares the same root word as ubiquitous. Because it’s a crucial component of practically every cell in our bodies, our bodies even produce CoQ10 to keep a steady supply on hand. It’s found in particular...