A month ago, we lost the great Vietnamese Zen master and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, or Thay as he was known to students around the world. What would Thay (master teacher, pronounced “tay”) say about Ukraine, Putin, and the threat of nuclear annihilation? I imagine that he would tell us, first and foremost, to […]
anxiety
How Qigong Can Help with the Coming Mental Health Crisis
My raison d’être has always been, and still is, helping people to fight depression. It was my own battle with depression, my subsequent brush with death, and my eventual success with qigong that motivated me to start teaching this art back in 2005. When I quit my my cushy IT job in New York City […]
How to Beat Anxiety During this Pandemic
“I’m freaking out!” she said. “My heart is in my throat!” This was a Facebook audio message so I could clearly hear the anxiety in her voice. I’m receiving a ton of messages, emails, and phone calls like this right now. People who don’t normally experience anxiety are suddenly feeling it. If we could magically […]
How My Depression Led to a Zen Awakening about Self Love
I believe that depression is an epic, personal battle against the darker forces of the human spirit. Recently, after an unexpected Zen-like awakening, I got my metaphoric hands on another weapon to use against depression. I now wield a mighty weapon called self love.
How I Discovered (And Also Tamed) My Anxiety
I was only 33. I was young, fit, and strong. But I felt like I was having a heart attack.
Almost as quickly as it had come in, the storm passed, just as I was getting ready to go to the emergency room.
It wasn’t a heart attack. I later learned that it was an anxiety attack (sometimes called a panic attack).
Apparently, the signs are similar, and many people end up in the emergency room due to anxiety attacks.
Who knew?