By Duke Integrative Medicine Programs Team Guided imagery, or visualization, encompasses several techniques meant to explore our beliefs and attitudes about ourselves and the world around us by tapping into our subconscious mind. This exploration is intended to impact our physical and mental well-being, bringing about positive changes such as relaxation, better focus, and improved performance. Guided imagery has many uses ...
By the Duke Health & Well-Being Programs Team Mindfulness is an ability that can be practiced at any point in our day, either in stillness or in movement. Sitting still to meditate can be challenging for many of us, especially with long days of commuting and sitting at work. Though generally performed with the primary purpose of getting from one ...
By the Duke Integrative Medicine Programs Team
As we go about the activities of our day, it is often the case that we may not notice the tension in our muscles and the feelings in our bodies. With increased awareness, we can both notice and choose to relax those muscles that tend to hold habitual tension and stress.
By Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT If you think you're an expert in breathing just because you've been doing it all your life, take this test: Put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly. Close your eyes and take several full, deep breaths, paying close attention to the movement of breath in your body. When you inhale ...
By: Jocelyn Weiss. When we fail to reach our goals, a lack of willpower often takes the blame. There are many definitions of willpower. At its simplest, willpower involves the ability to put off what we want at the moment for the sake of what we want in the future. In recent years, however, psychologists and researchers have doubted the role ...
By: Riitta H Rutanen Whaley, Mindfulness Instructor, Yoga Teacher The current global COVID-19 pandemic has led to a holiday season, unlike anything most of us have experienced before. We may be grieving the death of a loved one, have been sick or limited in our movement, seen our children miss their friends and school, or lost some or all of ...
By Kathleen J. Murray, LSW, MSW. Clinical Social Worker. Duke Diet & Fitness Center.
Many people often express experiencing a sense of low-grade depression, emptiness, grief, and loneliness. One of the remedies for this is to discover and/or renew our sense of meaning and purpose in life.
By Mary Brantley, MBSR Instructor, Duke Integrative Medicine
There is a constant dialog in the mind about Covid-19. Many of us are living an entirely different life. One that we could not have imagined a few weeks ago. As things keep changing we may have moments of real despair.
When our fearful emotions ...
By Duke Health & Well-Being Staff Sleep is one of the four pillars of a stable mood. It’s almost impossible to feel well when we are not sleeping well. Many factors impact our sleep, both emotional and material. When you are struggling with sleep, a good starting place is addressing the aspects of sleep hygiene that are within your control. ...
Acupuncturist Janet Shaffer and Massage Therapist Kim Turk will be applying ear seeds to all Duke employees. What are ear seeds? Ears seeds are used as very small acupressure devices, taped into place at useful locations in our ears. They stay in for 3 - 5 days. Why are we doing this? This is about your comfort, relaxation and awesomeness. The 5-point ...
