I recently met a friend of mine for tea at a local "mom and pop" tea shop. The atmosphere was lovely, they had a wide assortment of teas and comfortable chairs, and the service was wonderful. As impressive as all of that was, what I found most remarkable was that my lovely friend knew everyone in the shop and they all knew her! She was warmly welcomed, our server had my friend's tea order committed to memory, and when some of her other friends stopped by, they knew exactly where in the shop to find her. It reminded me of the fictional television character "Norm" from the 1980's sitcom "Cheers". Norm regularly dropped into his neighborhood bar and was always greeted by a chorus of everyone shouting out his name. The show's theme song was even called "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." My tea shop visit was perfectly timed because just this week, there were news stories about 'loneliness' being at epidemic proportions and that it is considered a serious health hazard.That's the bad news. The good news...there is a cure. Read More

Have you ever been so engaged in something that you love to do that you completely lose track of time? You were so present and attentive to a creative activity that everything else seemed to just fade away. In those moments of authentic joy, you experienced mindfulness. Read More

Are you in the middle of your annual Spring Cleaning? If so, you may be tackling the project one closet, drawer and box at a time. The general rule of thumb is to get rid of anything that no longer serves a purpose, brings you joy or is taking up much needed real estate in your home. What about the sentimental items? They are hard to part with, aren't they? Since I am a Health Coach and not a professional organizer, I am going to tell you to keep those things that once meant the world to you instead of relegating them to the local landfill. I specifically want you to unearth your old trophies. Read More

Where is Mr. Miyagi when we need him? The Japanese-American actor Pat Morita played the fictional character Mr. Miyagi in one of my favorite movie franchises - The Karate Kid. In the movies, Mr. Miyagi was responsible for training a young man named Daniel LaRusso (played by the actor Ralph Macchio) to become a competitive martial artist. You may recall the “unconventional” training methods that Mr. Miyagi used to teach Daniel karate, for instance waxing cars, sanding floors and painting fences. I have watched the original movie from 1984 (and its sequels) so many times over the years and each time I am struck by the wisdom and messages filled within. There was a method to Miyagi's madness and it wasn't to get his household chores done by Daniel. As a matter of fact, there are so many life-lessons and words of wisdom from the extremely wise and wonderful Mr. Miyagi that they have come to be known as “Miyagisms”. One of the brilliant pieces of advice given to the Karate Kid was Mr. Miyagi repeatedly telling Daniel “you need to focus Daniel-San. Always look (in the) eye.” When he got frustrated with Daniel, he told him “Daniel-san, your focus needs more focus.” The reason that Mr. Miyagi did not want Daniel to lose eye contact is because he knew that the minute that Daniel looked away, he would get distracted, lose his focus and not be able to see his opponent coming. He taught him the importance of living a balanced life and not letting distractions prevent him from reaching his goals. Read More

Do you have a boss that emails you about work after hours and on the weekends? Have you ever said to yourself - “there ought to be a law against that!”? Well then you will be happy to hear that a NYC legislator has recently proposed legislation that will prohibit your boss from having an all-access pass to your time. While we don’t all live in NYC, it is only a matter of time before other law makers follow suit. After all, we are several years behind other countries on this issue. Two years ago a law went into effect in France that gives workers the legal right to to avoid responding to work emails or texts at night and on the weekends. In NYC, the superhero working on this issue is Rafael Espinal, who is a city council member from Brooklyn. He recently introduced the “disconnecting from work” bill that will make it illegal for businesses to contact employees via email or instant message when they are off duty, on vacation, using personal days or home sick.  Read More