Most people feel awkward during their first yoga class. For Jessamyn Stanley, being the largest woman in the studio only compounded this. Fast-forward a few years, and Stanley is an Instagram sensation for chronicling how a “big, black, and beautiful African Queen” can be as yogic as the idealized (and grossly misleading) representation portrayed in women’s magazines. With Every Body Yoga, Stanley, now a certified teacher, takes that a step further....

A Guided Practice to Create Inner Balance read more Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp May 21, 2021 Cara Bradley July 28, 2021 Judson Brewer June 24, 2021

13-Minute Meditation Practice for Wise Action In this practice, we will move through the four stages of human bridge-building. We’ll explore how we show up in each of the four transformation quadrants of self, family, community, and organizations. The breath we focus on is the normal flow of the in-and-out breath, allowing it to rest in its natural rhythm and cadence, as we meet what arises with self-compassion and curiosity....

When a divide is this stark, it is a hard time for everyone. For a little while, winners can enjoy some elation, but in the end they still must make a world together with those they have defeated. For the defeated, it is hard to know how even to move when you wake up into a world in which your hopes are so thoroughly dashed. It can feel very empty....

“It’s hard to see the poetry in this anymore.” Maybe it seems strange, but there have been times when observing the patterns of restaurants brought me some satisfaction. The nights when every table in my section ordered an ice tea and a lemonade, when every child requested an apple juice and every woman ordered the portabella and I wondered about the possibility of some underlying stream of universal human consciousness....

The film is an engaging educational resource that shows how an ethic of compassion can be fostered in youth. The film was produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker, Tina Petrova. To watch a clip from the flim, click here. For information on ordering the film, visit the film’s website here. Makers of the film created a poster as a visual accompaniment to film’s theme. The poster, seen below, depicts the golden rule as interpreted by 13 of the world’s religions....

Inducing goosebumps and dropped jaws, awe experiences are remarkable in their own right. Moreover, a growing body of research suggests that experiencing awe may lead to a wide range of benefits, from happiness and health to perhaps more unexpected benefits such as generosity, humility, and critical thinking. In our busy lives, seeking awe may be low on our list of priorities. But we might be underestimating its power. “One simple prescription can have transformative effects: Look for more daily experiences of awe,” writes the GGSC’s Dacher Keltner....

The resolutions may fade away as time marches on because the list of “to do’s” or “to don’ts” is either too long or unreachable. For example the goal itself might be just too big, “lose 50 pounds” or “get straight A’s.” Even if you get somewhere on that continuum that it could still feel like you’ve failed. If you set up your new year to be a failure, how can you actually feel success or a sense of accomplishment for any gains you make?...

How many times have you heard that phrase uttered after some sort of upsetting, stressful, or unexpectedly painful experience? Especially in the United States, people routinely say this in an effort to demonstrate some feigned expression of equanimity, often after someone else apologizes for saying or doing something upsetting. People say things like this (or “I’m fine,” or “No problem”) to appear to remain above the fray or to avoid “getting into it,” as if it is possible to be somehow transcendent and untouched by messy human emotions....

Now, still sitting in your seat on the bus, you turn and see a boy who looks about eleven years old. He has wild-looking red hair and he’s significantly overweight. He’s sitting next to a woman who, by the way he keeps reaching into her purse and grabbing at things, must be his mother. “Stop it, Michael,” she says, her face red with embarrassment as she glances around the bus, then at you....

In 2016, I started a weekly mindfulness group at work with two colleagues. We pitched the idea, secured a nominal budget, and brought in a certified teacher from a local meditation center to introduce us to meditation. We sat in a conference room, partially cross-legged in restrictive business casual, and felt genuine joy when close to 20 of our coworkers practiced within the walls of our corporate office without a trace of insincerity....

A behavioral scientist looks at these numbers and asks, Why? Why do people spend huge amounts of time, effort, and money on these apparently pointless activities? An economist might conclude that they are all an appalling waste of resources. Why are fireworks, circuses, and images of distant space experienced as so moving and meaningful, when they offer neither material nor social reward? As a psychologist who studies human emotion, I approach the problem by asking how these stimuli make us feel, what they have in common, and what that might tell us about human nature....

In the first study, a total of 30 executives from a large oil company were offered 16 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training. A growing body of research finds that MBSR leads to a reduction in stress, and improvements in mood, health, self-efficacy, and self-compassion. To test its impact on stress and health in the workplace, researchers collected blood cortisol levels and blood pressure readings, as well as participant’s self-reports of perceived stress, and physical and emotional health before and after the 16-week program....

For me, the answer to that question is that I care deeply about our environment. My first memory of my appreciation and deep love for the earth is me at age five walking on the St. Augustine, Florida shoreline with my father. We walked barefoot, admiring the sound of the waves, and watching the tide go in and out. My dad would place shiny seashells on the sand in front of me to find, and I would squeal with delight as I picked up each precious treasure....

But while a 30-minute social-emotional learning (SEL) lesson might be impossible to fit into a week, slipping a social-emotional concept into already-existing curriculum content may not be. In one study, student teachers were paired with novice school psychologists to create language arts lessons with an SEL focus. The researchers found that the process yielded “creative and powerful” lessons and fostered a desire in both groups to continue such collaboration. We decided to try something similar at the GGSC Summer Institute for Educators—and we were astounded by the results....

6 medium carrots (about 8 inches/20 cm long and ¾ inch/2 cm wide), peeled 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil 1 tsp (5 ml) each: granulated sugar, kosher salt Generous grind black pepper Breading: ½ cup (125 ml) each: panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), whole wheat panko (or other dried breadcrumbs) ¼ cup (60 ml) white rice flour 2 tsp (10 ml) ground cumin 2 eggs, beaten ½ cup (125 ml) all-purpose flour (approximate) ½ cup (125 ml) vegetable oil Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)....

The revelation that mindfulness can happen with movement is often profound for people—especially those who have resisted meditation because they don’t like to sit still. If you’re committed to morning workout sessions and enjoy the boost that physical movement can bring, you can try turning your activity into a mindfulness meditation. Runner Ashley Hicks described it to Krista Tippett in a July 2017 On Being podcast this way: “I don’t run with music, headphones, anything—I call myself a true minimalist runner....

To this day, my little one resists waking up. Every morning, it’s the same twenty-minute ritual: I whisper “Good morning,” kiss her on the cheek, rub her back, and then wait by her bed holding up a blanket that I wrap around her like a cape once she finally wakes up. Then I follow her slowly down the stairs holding her blanket like a train in a morning procession fit for a queen....

The irony is that Wall-E the movie is actually a “wabi sabi” parable of our time. Wall-E is the big-eyed, sweet-willed, rust-bucket robot left behind to clean up after humans have trashed the planet and gone off to circle space for a millennium or so while it is cleaned. Said humans, in lives now devoid of difficulty, get fatter and fatter until they can no longer walk and must be trolleyed about between liquid meals and entertainment options....