Transition Awareness Breathing

The beginning of getting off a perpetual roller coaster is taking the first step off. The initial step is the most difficult for many people. Not moving feeds the procrastination monster. The procrastination monster will whisper sweet words of "get-around-to-it" into the minds of "good intentions." Are you ready to get rid of the demons from 2020? Think of a constructive, realistic change. Think o...

Pretend you are on a journey, and the path under your feet increasingly grows wet and murky. You turn around to go back to drier land, and you realize that you are lost. What is your next step? Or you are shopping, and you lost track of time? You feel so proud of yourself for finding many great bargain items for you and your family. Unexpectedly you even found some cute toys for your pet at signif...

Using times of silence to reflect and face thoughts that we have been pushing aside allows our brains to recharge or update. Good ideas can be “born” during periods of silence. A silence strategically used can be a very productive and powerful tool. Getting more comfortable with silence is a skill that anyone can strengthen. For some people, silence is uncomfortable. A moment of silence is as loud...

In this episode, join me in a practice exercise on listening and hearing. The objective of the exercise is to build concentration and strengthen listening awareness skills. Before you begin this session, find a focal point to look at while listening to the activity. Next, listen to the music. When distracting thoughts or sounds try to take your attention away from listening to the music, tell the...

In this episode, we will explore mindful gifts that are more valuable than gold. What are we sharing when we give gifts? Gifts are tools that inspire positive feelings of joy and appreciation. We are providing an experience. Take a moment to reflect and absorb cherished experiences that create lifelong memories.  Enjoy a few holiday gift suggestions that you will not have to stand in line to purch...

​​Gratitude is a component of mindfulnes, just as is paying attention to the breath. We have talked about awareness and relaxation breathing in past episodes. Now it is time to discuss other components of a mindful life style. When we take a moment and show our thankfulness, it triggers positivity within us. The problem is what if we feel like there is nothing to be positve about. This year seems...

I sometimes use music when I teach. As my students work on crafts or practice their breathing, I will often have mindfulness background music playing. Music can influence many behaviors. During this episode,  I have invited a special guest to share more details on how music facilitates physical responses in our bodies. Ofeilia Baysic Jespsen is a retired Navy Corps Officer who studied the influenc...

​​We often can tell when seasons are changing by how plants appear and the differences in how temperatures feels.  Some seasons we anticipate with great joy and some seasons we may are anticipate with dread. Most of the time we are not caught off guard when seasons change. In this episode, learn how to approach changes in life like a gardener. Gardeners watch their plants to make sure they are hea...

Mindfulness is being aware of how situations of life affect us and our surroundings. Mindfulness allows us to see the variables without the variables taking control of us. In this episode, join me in discussing using perception to move forward through challenging problems and grow in compassion. The core of perception comes from our experience. When we open our minds to the possibility that anothe...

In this episode, we will explore how our perceptions guide our awareness, understanding, and judgment. When we allow ourselves to grow in our perception of our world, we allow our talents and gifts to flourish. Broadening our knowledge helps us to tap into the uncharted potential. If we choose to remain uninfluenced in our corner of existence, it is done by choice after an opportunity to expand ou...

The pandemic has caused a mega change in how we live today. Around this time last year, I do not think anyone thought we would be in a situation where toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and wipes would be a valuable commodity. Do you remember the long lines to get into stores? How did it feel when you read stories about toilet paper being stolen from people’s homes? Or better yet, the new big joke was...

In this Transition Awareness Breathing Podcast episode, we will talk about the awareness that life is not 2 Dimensional. Life is multidimensional. We do not have to worry about UFO or alien beings coming from a faraway planet. Coming to Earth to discover what humans are like. What would they see? What would they say? What if we look at ourselves from an outside perspective? Just like an alien, wou...

How important is it for you to keep your computer and mobile devices updated? ​​Sometimes it seems that update prompts come at an inopportune time. Many companies will send warnings to the customer about a scheduled update of their product. Updates are meant to keep systems and processes progressive. With the same level of urgency, we should allow our brains to process updates. In this episode, I...

Finding a firm foundation In this episode, I share in detail how to find the best posture for practicing mindfulness. Finding the best posture helps to us to emotional feel secure and safe. Think about mindfulness and relaxation as an antidote for stess and chaos. Join me as we discuss strengthening our attention muscle and building our relaxation time.

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt like you were under a lot of pressure? By the end of the day, the only good thing you could say about the day was over. We have all had those kinds of days. Under pressure, we have to work at being calm, and it takes a lot of energy. Yet, when we think we have held our composure together, someone comes up to us and comments that we looked stressed...

This episode will discuss how media(television, computers, smartphones, and smart pads) have evolved and influenced us physically, socially, and academically. Using skills of “awareness,” I will guide listeners on heightening observations of how the pandemic has accelerated technology usage, decreased face-face interactions in families, and increased less than optimum health profiles in children....

We are in the process of evolving and adapting. A year ago, we never imagined that our classrooms would be virtual. In this episode, I will discuss the importance of mindfully being aware of how our bodies respond to the virtual classroom's environmental changes.​​Screen time in the classroom counts towards overall allotted screen time. Now that distance learning involves more screen time, our chi...

In this episode, we will walk through more of the core foundation of Transition Awareness Breathing. I will share the benefits of using mindfulness and awareness.  TAB can help participants manage common reactions to change and stress. Having a virtual platform makes TAB accessible in any environment.  It is essential to become sensitized to our soundings and how our bodies respond to our virtual,...

How can TAB help?​​ We are going to talk about the essential tools used in Transition Awareness Breathing ... TAB. TAB uses components of mindfulness, awareness, and relaxation breathing. Each of these components helps to strengthen calmness. Many children went “back to school” last week. The customary experience of returning to the classroom is very different. For many students, they began school...

We begin our episode with an imagery activity. The imagery activity helps bring understanding of what happens when we share compassion through acts of kindness. Find out how you can change the world around you. It may not be easy. You may not even want to get involved. Bringing positivity in a dark place requires training and practice. With practice, our compassion muscle strengthens so much that...

This podcast is number two in the series on compassion. We will visit the origins of“Sticks and stones can hurt my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This idiom said for years, but the actual impact is damaging to our self-talk. Our self-talk can build or destroy our self-confidence. Negative self-talk strips us of our self-compassion and self-worth. Find out how to use The tools of awareness, r...

Genuine compassion starts with looking at our vulnerabilities and being willing to work through fears and hurt (per Ph. D., Brene’ Brown’s “The Power of Vulnerability” TED Talk ).  A gardener plants a seed in the soil. The seed decomposes and mixes with the ground to bring forth a new life. To express compassion to others, we must be willing to let the seed of our vulnerabilities decompose. I disc...

We can use anxiety to move us from a state of dissatisfaction to a state of motivation to change the world. In weather, calmness comes before a storm. The calmness comes from stable air. To manage our life storms, we need a plan. We need to create calm in a world that is full of storms. We have tools to bring ourselves to peace, by first recognizing what is going on around us and second understand...

Welcome to our second podcast episode on dealing with anxiety. Stress is a normal part of our life. So why does it not feel normal? Our body’s initial response to changes in our lives is to survive. Deep down we feel like we want to flee, fight, or freeze.  Anxiety is our response to stress. Learning how to manage change by paying attention to how our body is responding to stress, can help us be a...

​​Today we are going talk about anxiety. How are you managing? We have many life changing events going on now.  What can you change and what can you not change? I will discuss the first few steps that will help manage stress and anxiety. This is the first of a three part series. Please seek professional assistance if you need help talking through your stress or anxiety. ​​