Blog
Great Expectations
We all have expectations placed on us. Some are external, and some are internal. Be the best parent, the best spouse, be skinny, wear the right clothes, have a great job, have work life balance. I feel like I wrote the book on setting high expectations for myself- I went to private school, I went to medical school, I got into my first choice for residency, and then I practiced medicine for 10 years in Chicago.
Burnout brought me to meditation. As a result, I was no longer a slave to my stress, to the events of the world around me, and to my reactivity to those events. I felt empowered. Here’s why:
Meditation: The World's Best Parenting Hack
Let’s face it- we love our kids, but parenting is one of life’s greatest challenges! Here are 5 ways that a regular meditation practice can help make our jobs as parents easier:
The Culture of Busy-ness
How many times have you told yourself, ‘I’d love to be able to _____, but I just don’t have enough time’? How many hours have you spent bemoaning the fact that we don’t have enough time to do ______, instead of just DOING it?!
Our motto for the type of meditation I teach is "Do less, accomplish more; Do least, accomplish most; Do nothing, accomplish everything". This is exactly what we want for meditation. Zero effort. Yes, it does sometimes apply to the outside world, but our technique is meant for householders, not monks....
Cause that's what I was born to do
I spent 11 years training to be a doctor. 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency. I practiced Internal Medicine for 10 years. What is Internal Medicine? We treat the whole person: kidney disease, infection, HIV, mental health, high blood pressure, diabetes, preventative health, chronic pain, and auto-immune disease, to name a few. We treat what we can, and when we need it, we call for help from specialists.... READ ON to find out about my AMAZING offer for 5 lucky clients!
Where to turn when you are flattened
My own #metoo stories have luckily been benign, compared to what women everywhere have been bravely sharing. And for me personally, they have not occurred within my spiritual community. But, as I’ve learned over the past several months, it seems as if there’s nowhere that #metoo hasn’t infiltrated. Spirituality, which in theory ‘should’ be evolved past these pervasive power dynamics and the behavior that accompanies them, is actually no different. I’ve learned that the hard way. No place is sacred anymore.
6 ways to manage holiday stress, Vedic-style
The holidays are coming! Whether you’re excited or you’re dreading all the parties and family time, here are 6 tips to help you manage stress and get the most out of holiday time:
1. Manage your expectations. If you expect apples to fall from an orange tree, you are going to be disappointed. If you expect your family to be anything other than, well, your family over the holidays, you will get needlessly upset over something you can’t change. Treat everything that happens as if you EXPECTED it to happen. That way, there are no surprises.
There is no quick fix
Last month I spoke at a conference about burnout in medicine. The idea is, if the doctors are less burned out, they will be better doctors, and then the patients will be more satisfied with the care they receive. And everyone will be happier. Win-win-win.
I had coffee with my former boss, who is a visionary leader, before I gave my talk. He asked me what I thought we should do about burnout. I suggested a Vedic meditation program for a group of physicians at the hospital, and he replied along the lines of, “yes, but then they have to become meditators. How else can we fix burnout?”
The *real* story of how I learned to meditate
This High Holiday season marks my 6th anniversary of learning Vedic meditation. It started innocently enough… It was Yom Kippur in Chicago, and a Friday night. I hadn’t been to synagogue in years. I was probably getting over yet another dramatic breakup, and had also been experiencing months of massive, soul-destroying work burnout, so I decided my friend and I should celebrate… by going to a bar. I knew exactly which bar we should go to (The Southern), and I (earmuffs, mom and dad) wanted to sit at the bar and flirt with dudes. Not my usual M.O., but somehow I knew that was definitely the plan.
Keeping it calm, cool, collected, and PERSPECTED
Some of you may know that I’m in the process of opening a new studio. It’s ridiculously exciting, and I’m in love with the space and with my neighborhood. However, from construction issues, to permits and zoning, all issues that are out of my control, one thing after another has tested my patience. It’s been a perfect lesson in how the world doesn’t just become unicorns, rainbows and puppy dogs once we start meditating, and it inspired me to share some of my thoughts on how Vedic meditation has helped me to keep it calm, cool, collected, and PERSPECTED during this process.
Meditate-Anon (Part 2)- for the non-meditators!
Vedic meditation (or any physical or spiritual practice), while life-changing for meditators, can sometimes be a drag for the partners (and family members, friends, and colleagues) of meditators. Several weeks ago, I posted part 1 of this series- how Vedic meditators can make it easier for their family members, colleagues and friends, to be supportive of their practice. If you missed it, or want a refresher, you can read it here!