In a round of teaching in elementary classrooms at Wickersham School our opening topic was stress.  Invariably, class after class, when we would ask students what causes them to feel stressed their immediate response was a challenging emotion like anger or fear.

Emotions (how we experience, manage, and respond) can have a significant effect on our health and wellness.

Science is showing ever more clearly that an unhealthy body can lead to an unhealthy mind (thoughts and emotions) and an unhealthy mind can lead to an unhealthy body.

Many research studies validate this inter-influencing effect.
One such study shows the connection between mild depressive symptoms (the mind) and prolonged inflammatory response (the body) ultimately linked to conditions such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, and more.

Mindfulness philosophy and practices can help us learn to deal more healthfully with challenging emotions.

To develop emotional intelligence one starts by establishing an essential connection with the basic elements of life – our own body, breath, thoughts, and emotions.

In mindful practice we purposely slow down, look carefully with awareness, see our reality with greater clarity and choose our response from a wise and wholesome place.

A quote from Harvard Women’s Health Watch:

“Mindfulness can increase our enjoyment of life, expand our capacity to cope with illness and possibly improve our physical and emotional health.”