So let’s explore mainstream mental health practices in Corporate America and see whether they meet the considerable demand for employee mental health support. It is true that the hardships of the pandemic have made discussions over mental health more mainstream.

Over the years, friends and clients have shared the challenges they face with their adolescent’s mental health. Since the start of the pandemic, these families have been confronted with even greater difficulties. They are not alone. What was already a serious issue has now become a dire situation in the U.S. with serious consequences not only for these young people and their families but also for our communities and economy.

The benefits of yoga for mental health have been well documented. Yoga keeps you in the present moment by requiring you to focus on your breath and experiencing a pose throughout the body. It trains the mind to pivot from a focus on either the past or the future, which are linked to depression and anxiety.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO):

• Globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group.

• Depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.

• Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds.

• The consequences of failing to address adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.

From a yogic perspective, the breath (prana) is your life force. Yama translates to control. So controlling your breath is the true meaning of pranayam. So why would you want to control your breath? Isn’t it something that we do unconsciously to survive? I’ll answer that question in a bit.

Learning to control your breath, not only supports you to live your daily life with greater ease, it may also help you live longer.

According to FlexJobs survey, “Overwork/unplugging is the biggest challenge for remote workers. “ Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Let’s walk through a mental check-in and look at ways to take care of our mental well-being for greater joy and well-being. Spoiler alert - it includes gong sound therapy!

As your organization transitions to a post-COVID environment, you may be considering a team building event to re-establish a more cohesive work force and plan for achieving your organization’s goals in this new environment .How do you maximize your investment and achieve your goals in a fresh, innovative way? Bring in the gongs!

Are you looking for a new fun family or group activity to do over the summer or really at any time for that matter? Gong sound therapy is it!

Anxiety is not a condition that you can simply turn off or should ignore. You might be surprised that symptoms of anxiety can include insomnia, headache, as well as heart palpitations. You are probably not surprised to learn that Harvard Medical School research found that yoga can reduce anxiety and provide additional health benefits. But you may not know which postures are most beneficial to reduce anxiety.

We all know the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing to take care of our physical health. But chances are we are not taking as good care of our mental health. Take this opportunity to begin to incorporate simple ways to elevate your mood and more easily cope with the challenges of the day. There are many things outside of our control. Here are a few things you have total control in doing.

When I think about the times we live in and what we need to thrive, I come back to two main themes. One is very practical - to be able to better manage stress. The other is more subtle - to adjust my perspective to one of gratitude. So I wanted to share two of simple and effective meditations to address these themes.

When life is in flow and things are going well, it can be easy to quickly list the things that we are grateful for. But in challenging times, like those we are currently living in, we can get stuck in a place of fear and uncertainty. That list of things we are grateful for may be harder to come by.

So try these simple techniques to counter the effects of stress (or future mental breakdown) and take care of your mind, body and spirit.