Yoga for Psychological Flexibility

It absolutely does not matter if you can touch your toes.

It matters if you can handle the challenges, the pain, that life throws at you.

How can you handle pain (without it turning into suffering)?

Well, through the cultivation of something called psychological flexibility.

Yoga, a practice we often think more of in terms of physical flexibility, is a brilliant tool to help you develop this mental skill.

The best person to learn this all from? Dr. Emily K. Sandoz. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) expert, and regular yoga practice.

Emily started her practice with limited financial resources, 3 children, and 10 minutes a day that she found on a yoga mat at the foot of her bed.

Put your ear buds in, start doin’ the things (in my house this means dishes, tidying toes, and maybe… painting my nails). Perhaps by the end of this Wisdom for Wellbeing podcast episode you will find yourself rollin’ out your yoga mat. Or, simply doing a little mindful movement to check in with you.

Enjoy!

~Kaitlin Harkess

embodiedpsychology.com.au / wisdomforwellbeingpodcast.com

Moving Through Anxiety To The ‘Mighty Me’ You Want To Be

This one is for the mummas. For the ladies.

Well, actually, it is for everyone, because we ALL get anxious.

But, it also is true that we women are significantly more likely to experience clinical levels of anxiety. We are also paid less than men for the same work, to do more domestic tasks, to be seen as less likeable when we are seen as confident (and vis-versa), are more likely to be sexually harassed… and so on.

So, it is no wonder we feel anxious.

Interested in learning some skills to help you be the Mighty Mumma we know you are?!

Have a listen to this Wisdom for Wellbeing podcast interview with Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jill Stoddard. Dr. Stoddard is skilled in explaining stress, anxiety, fear and the like, as well as detailing effective strategies to move forward creating a life by design – a mighty life. She is open in sharing her own struggles, and clearly lives all the wisdom she shares here today.

So, your first mighty action – put in those ear buds!

Until soon,

Kaitlin xx

www.embodiedpsychology.com.au | www.wisdomforwellbeingpodcast.com

Big Emotions Happening this Week?

We’re all spending a lot more time together in a small space.

Everything feels ‘different’, uncertain and scary.

Of course, this means that we may be experiencing bigger emotions… and our small people might be experiencing bigger emotions. Eek!

But, rather than this being the perfect mess, it could be a brilliant opportunity to teach your little ones how to feel the feels. And, it could be a chance to practice asking for the support you need from different people in your life to get through this challenging time.

Interested in how you can get more comfortable with the uncomfortable?!

Have a listen to this Wisdom for Wellbeing interview with the brilliant psychologist Tiffany Rochester.

Wishing you and yours well.

~Kaitlin Harkess

embodiedpsychology.com.au / wisdomforwellbeingpodcast.com

It's Podcast Time! Connecting Through Motherhood Struggles & Creating Your Village with Tiffany De Sousa Machado

#WellbeingWednesday

Wellbeing is a term I really appreciate. It captures something broader then Mental Health - it reflects the biopsychosocial elements that, when aligned, support us in our thriving. I do believe we all have the capacity to thrive, to cultivate rich wellbeing in our lives.

However, as you probably know, motherhood is a particularly challenging season. With many joys, but many struggles. So, I wanted to share this Wisdom for Wellbeing podcast interview with The Village Foundation founder Tiffany De Sousa Machado.

This episode is going to resonate with all the mumma’s out there, but I think it will hit home more broadly in the discussion around the importance of community and exploration of how we can create this in our modern world (*update: and now, our socially distanced world!). You will, no doubt, feel connected to Tiffany as she transparently shares her own losses and challenges, including her lived experience with postpartum depression, and her struggles balancing her work and family. Tiffany also shares sociological reflections, which offer a useful framework from which to understand the all-to-common experience of postpartum stress and isolation.

I hope you find Tiffany’s wisdom as validating and connecting as I did. It is certainly important to know that ‘wisdom’ is sometimes simply recognising we don’t know it all - and we are not supposed to have it ‘all figured out’. I think this is a particularly important message in these uncertain times of COVID19, where we are all just doing our best to figure it out, stay safe, and support our community.

Wishing you and yours well,

Kaitlin xx

www.embodiedpsychology.com.au / www.drkaitlin.com

Wisdom for Wellbeing Podcast - Season 1 - Episode 6