In my last post, we looked at the brain’s response to stress and the importance of understanding stress not only as a “feeling” thing but also, a “thinking” thing. The effects of stress can negatively impact our short-term memory and our ability to manage the details of our professional and personal worlds and can have […]
Wellness
Midweek Meditation: Unselfishly Self-Centered
“In the event of an emergency, please put on your oxygen mask first before assisting others.” I usually don’t take life advice from corporations that cram me into a metal tube, give me a bag of pretzels, and hurtle me from place to place across the earth at 400 mph, but in the case of […]
The Conductor as Yogi: This Is Your Brain on Stress
One of the most common reasons people come to a yoga class is to de-stress. Stress is at the center of our modern lifestyles, so engaging in the physical practice of yoga, as well as the meditation, mindfulness, and breathing that are built into the eight-limbed yoga practice, go a long way to helping us […]
Midweek Meditation: Begin Again
Sharon Salzberg is one of my favorite meditation teachers. I mentioned her in a previous blog when I discussed metta or loving-kindness meditation and her approach to the practice resonates with me. She, along with Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield, is known for being one of the earliest teachers of meditation in the West. In […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Our Invisible Practice
Welcome back to The Conductor as Yogi! I took a break from blog writing this summer to create some space to breathe, be with my family, explore other writing projects, and to enjoy the summer’s long days and what nature has to offer. I hope you, as well, had a chance to make some space […]
Midweek Meditation: Putting the Practice into Practice (Part 2)
How did a choir director, meditation teacher, and bagel maker go from a quiet, content life in Lincoln, Nebraska to a job as a Visiting Professor in Shepherdstown, West Virginia? First, let me dispel the incorrect notion that meditation breeds apathy and/or passivity. While the Buddha noted that attachment was a primary cause of human […]