Uncategorized – Page 2 – Michelle Stortz

The Gift of a Quiet Mind

I’ve been writing about gifts to give yourself as a way of approaching different aspects of healing and developing awareness. This month I’m diving deeper into this idea of giving yourself the gift of a quiet mind. Have you tried to meditate and find that your mind just insists on chattering away? Maybe you’re tryingContinue reading “The Gift of a Quiet Mind”

How’s Your Heart?

Back in December I wrote about gifts to give yourself and the first one was a peaceful heart. What were your thoughts on that? Did you pause and wonder what I was talking about? I’m using the word ‘heart’ for convenience, but I don’t mean the organ that pumps your blood. I mean your emotionsContinue reading “How’s Your Heart?”

5 Best Things to Give Yourself

Here are the 5 best things to give yourself this holiday season! (And they don’t cost a penny) A Peaceful Heart Sounds kind of silly doesn’t it, giving yourself a peaceful heart? What is that anyway? With so much agitation in the world–whether its politics, wildfires, or your own personal storms–it’s so important to takeContinue reading “5 Best Things to Give Yourself”

Did You Reflect?

Here we are at the transition – summer into fall. How was your summer? Did you get some time away? Did you have time to reflect – time to step back and think about your life and work, your projects, relationships, or your health? Jennifer Porter, of the Harvard Business Review says, “Reflection gives theContinue reading “Did You Reflect?”

ChallengeCancer.com interviews Michelle

(click on image to listen to podcast)

Loving Kindness for Donald Trump

For this Valentine’s Day I intend to spend the day, to the best of my ability, in Loving Kindness. Loving Kindness is a practice of developing compassion and friendliness toward yourself and others. It’s a mindfulness practice that comes out of the Buddhist tradition and it helps us to cultivate an open heart, to seeContinue reading “Loving Kindness for Donald Trump”

Renunciation

This week I had my first colonoscopy. Wow, what an experience! As some of you may know, the hardest part is preparing which involves some fasting and then an uncomfortable period of evacuating. The interesting piece for me is the fasting, the renunciation. No grains, no nuts, no seeds, no corn; the process starts aboutContinue reading “Renunciation”

Dream Yoga

I’ve been interested lately in Dream yoga. This was sparked by an article by Andrew Holecek and his research on the Tibetan Yogas of Sleep. The basic premise is that in sleep you are most spiritually awake – a vast array of experiences are available to you; you are not encumbered by the earth’s physicalContinue reading “Dream Yoga”

The Importance of Retreats

Have you been curious about retreats – what they’re like, how you’d benefit? Why not just go on a vacation instead? While vacations can certainly be inspiring and rejuvenating, retreats can be an important time for self-care, for realigning with the vision for your life or for evaluating what is really important for you. TheyContinue reading “The Importance of Retreats”

THIS is the Best Part!

I just returned from a short vacation. Before going, I created a mantra – “THIS is the best part!” What’s that about? Let me explain… A mantra can be a word or phrase used for concentration in meditation or, in my case, this mantra was a statement repeated frequently to remind me of an intention.Continue reading “THIS is the Best Part!”