Your Zen Friend

Send Lauren a text! On this episode Power to the Pleasers host, Vicki Smith interviews me about Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as Tapping or EFT. I share how I was first introduced to EFT as a self care practice during a workshop for therapists who were helping community members following the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy after 20 children and 6 staff were murdered in an elementary school. Need...

Send Lauren a text! Welcome to your Zen Bonus Boost! This is a short (and hopefully sweet) episode designed to offer support, strategies and tips for parents of anxious tweens and teens.  On this episode I'll tell you why it's important for your child to find something that motivates them to do the thing they are afraid to do. I'll also give you some tips for how you can help your c...

Send Lauren a text! On this episode I will tell you how to take the fear out of your tween or teen's anxiety. As parents, when we feel afraid of our children experiencing anxiety, it only increases their anxiety symptoms. The tips in this episode will help you to be more calm and confident with your child when they are feeling anxious. And good news is………that doing this will help your child t...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you feel less worried about your anxious child and more lovingly connected to them. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or men...

Send Lauren a text! On this episode my daughter Leena joins me to talk about her experience as a teen using social media and how it effected her. We will talk about how social media is proven to increase anxiety and the other negative effects that social media has. And Leena spills the tea on whether or not some common fears of parents are warranted about social media. I'd love to hear from Y...

Send Lauren a text! Welcome to your Zen Bonus Boost! This is a short (and hopefully sweet) episode designed to offer support, strategies and tips for parents of anxious tweens and teens.  On this episode I'll tell you how I made a parenting snafu that has given my husband, kids and I a laugh any time we bring it up! I'll tell you why I'm glad I made this mistake and how it's he...

Send Lauren a text! Get ready for a treat! This episode is from the podcast, Speaking of Teens, with host Ann Coleman. Ann interviewed me for her podcast and has kindly let me share it with all my zen friends. The following is an episode description: Teenagers are experiencing anxiety today more than ever before. Yet, as a parent, you may have no idea what teen anxiety looks like or how to help yo...

Send Lauren a text! Welcome to your Zen Bonus Boost! This is a short (and hopefully sweet) episode designed to offer support, strategies and tips for parents of anxious tweens and teens.  On this episode I'll tell you why it's common to feel annoyed with your anxious child. I'll also tell you what you can do to feel less annoyed and more calm. These strategies can also help to decre...

Send Lauren a text! On this episode I'll tell you what tweens and teens with anxiety often experience during the summer months. I'll tell you why some kids feel less anxious in the summer while others actually feel more anxious. Whether your child is experiencing more or less anxiety during the summer months I'll tell you how you can support your child now to make their return to sc...

Send Lauren a text! Welcome to your Zen Bonus Boost! This is a short (and hopefully sweet) episode designed to offer support, strategies and tips for parents of anxious tweens and teens.  On this episode I'll tell you why kids with anxiety often have a difficult time traveling. I'll also give you some suggestions for how to make going away with your kids  easier and more enjoyable.  This...

Send Lauren a text! I've changed things up a little on this episode with the help of Sonia Casique from the College and Career Ready Podcast! Tune in to hear Sonia interviewing me on the difference between stress and anxiety, how you can recognize symptoms of anxiety in your kids and teens and what to do if you have a child dealing with anxiety. But first I'll share with you what my go t...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you feel more calm and relaxed.  This is a great meditation to do anytime you would like to feel calmer whether that's taking a short break from your day or at night as you prepare to go to sleep.  Enjoy!  This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a...

Send Lauren a text! ***Heads up that this episode contains some fears that I had as a child that could be frightening to young children. Please consider listening to this episode away from young, listening ears. On this episode I share my experience as a child growing up with anxiety. From the fears I had to some of the negative ways having constant anxiety affected me, I'll get candid. I&apo...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you let go of your thoughts and to dos and relax deeply in this moment.  This is a great meditation to do anytime you would like to relax or need to take a short and nourishing break in your day. Enjoy!  This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replace...

Send Lauren a text! This episode is a short and hopefully sweet one! I'm here to let you know what's been going on in my life lately and what I'm currently doing to create a little calm amidst the chaos. And............I'll announce that a change is coming for the podcast!  I'll be back with a full length podcast episode on Tuesday, June 11th. Be sure to check in then to h...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you check in with yourself. This meditation will help you to connect with how you are feeling and identify what it is you need right now.  This is a great meditation to do as a midday break.  Enjoy!  This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement...

Send Lauren a text! If you have more than one child then you are probably familiar with sibling rivalry. Many brothers and sisters regularly argue and even physically fight. When is it healthy and when is it a problem? When does sibling rivalry become something more significant and when and how should a parent take action? Dr. Amy Meyers is here to answer these questions and more! On this episode...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you give yourself a nourishing break. This meditation will help you to tune into yourself, relax deeply and identify what you need from yourself as you return to your day.  This is a great meditation to do in the morning or as a midday break.  Enjoy!  This podcast is for informational and educationa...

Send Lauren a text! If you have noticed more push back, less cooperation, more snarkiness and disrespect from your kids lately, you are not alone! On this episode I'll tell you why kids experience an increase in symptoms of anxiety in the months of May and June. I'll tell you how those anxiety symptoms often show up and I'll tell you how you can take some simple steps to support you...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you connect to yourself.  We all get caught up in our to dos. It's easy to become disconnected from ourselves. Taking a few minutes to connect with our bodies and our hearts and emotions is a great way to tend to ourselves throughout the day and can help us to  have more self awareness and feel...

Send Lauren a text! I am SO EXCITED to have an interview with author Lian Dolan to discuss her latest novel, The Marriage Sabbatical. Lian is the author of 5 novels, and the creator and host of the award winning podcast, Satellite Sisters. The Marriage Sabbatical is a fun and insightful read about an x generation couple who has been married for over twenty years and decide to take a one year sabba...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you offer yourself some self-compassion.  We all have a critical part of us that is often saying not very nice things to us in our heads. This meditation is a lovely way to offer yourself some gentle, loving kindness to help decrease the critical voice.  You deserve this time for yourself and these...

Send Lauren a text! On this episode I will tell you how to recognize your critical part and how you can use self compassion to make it smaller.  You might be surprised to find out that your critical part isn't always easy to recognize. But have no fear, I will help you to get better at noticing it and combatting it.  In the segment, Connection Over Correction, I'll tell you how I had som...

Send Lauren a text! On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short mediation designed to help you tune in and identify what you need.  This meditation is a lovely way to start your morning or take a mid day break.  It's important to listen to ourselves and tend to ourselves throughout the day. I hope this mediation helps you to do that.  Enjoy!  This podcast is for informational and edu...

Send Lauren a text! It's that time of year when many college aged kids are returning home to live with their families for the duration of the summer. This is often a time of excitement for many parents and also a time of transition for both parents and college aged kids.  On this episode I will have my twenty one year old daughter, Leena here withe me. She will tell us what she is looking for...