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Posted on May 9th, 2013 by in Conscious Living

Knocked Up with Joy: One Woman’s Pregnancy Journey

When I was 17 I was obsessed with the idea of being pregnant. I sketched women round and bursting with child—over and over. I traced pregnant photos from coffee table books. I imagined, yearned, and fantasized about becoming a giant human peach. I didn’t actually want to be a teen mom, but I loved the [...]

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Posted on March 15th, 2013 by in Healthy Living, Kripalu Kitchen

A Kripalu Intern’s Guide to Mindful Eating and Surviving the Dining Hall

Kat Olson, guest blogger Living and practicing yoga in Boston for five years before accepting a yearlong internship with the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living in November 2012, the two things I heard most often about this yoga haven were “the Berkshires are so beautiful” and “the food at Kripalu is amazing.” Now, three months [...]

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Posted on October 29th, 2012 by in Healthy Living, Life Lessons, Meditation

Meditation in Action

How meditation can help you be a better friend.

Meditation has long been celebrated for all it can do for us, among the benefits: lower blood pressure, reduce stress, help us sleep, and even possibly help us lose weight. But a recent study also found that meditation might help us be better friends and partners. Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta found that many participants who had practiced eight weeks of meditation showed significant improvement in their ability to identify the emotions of people in photos based on their expressions. That is, they were more in tune with the feelings of others.

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Posted on October 14th, 2012 by in Moment of Quiet

Moment of Quiet

“Growth allows a portion of the mind to remain an objective witness even in a disturbed state. The witness is always there, if one can keep a wakeful attitude in one’s self.”—Swami Kripalu    

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Posted on October 13th, 2012 by in Life Lessons, Yoga

Training the Judgy Brain

That girl isn’t pretty enough to be that annoying.

WHAT? WHAT did you just think? Who ARE you?

Oh, right. I’m me. Hi. My name is Valerie and I have a judgmental brain feed that reads like a cross between Mean Girls,The Hangover, and Heathers. It’s stunning to me. But there it is. Judge, judge, judge, all the livelong day.

Swami Kripalu once said, “Every time you judge yourself you break your own heart.” I’m pretty sure that judging others also breaks our heart. That’s partly because we bear the brunt of the poison that burbles up to form a negative judgment, and partly because we’re all energetically connected. I’m convinced that, on some level,we feel each other’s psychic barbs, especially if we intentionally throw them. They’re also the seeds of violence and war.

Harsh, constant judging creates barriers—which at times can actually be helpful. When judgments protect us from maniacs who cause harm, that’s good (yep, I’m judging!). But we also use judgments to protect our hearts from other scary things, like, you know, love. If I’m judging you, then I don’t have to take you in. I don’t have to need you. I don’t have to be vulnerable to you. I’m tough—I’ve got my barbed wire thoughts and they’re protecting me! (Or not.)

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