Get out of the Dumps with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.   “One of the chapters in my life included a 10-year bout with deep depression. This depression became compounded when I was confronted with loss and grief. I took antidepressants of varying kinds for many years and attempted talk therapy. For me, none of these approaches worked. It was […]

ACT for Chronic Pain

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.   “meditation practice is the best ongoing foundation for working with pain: Mindfulness practice is a wonderful opportunity to do just that. It helps to shift the locus of control from the outside (“this is happening to me and there is nothing I can do about it”) to the inside […]

Recover from Sexual Abuse with Mindfulness

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.   “Our unwanted and self-destructive habits often were formed as children to help us survive. Childhood abuse, whether physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, or the covert traumas of neglect, oppression, and isolation, demands that if the child is to survive, she must create coping skills to deal with the abuse […]

Relieve Depression with Mindfulness and Spirituality

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.   “Mindfulness is a valuable practice for improving the cognitive symptoms of depression, such as distorted thinking and distractibility. It helps individuals recognize these more subtle symptoms, realize that thoughts are not facts and refocus their attention to the present” –  Margarita Tartakovsky   Depression is epidemic. Major depressive […]

Students AND Teachers Benefit from Mindfulness

  By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.   “Beyond helping his students, Gonzalez also thinks mindfulness helps him to cope with the strains of teaching. He believes he now draws clearer lines in his relationships with students—giving them the skills to help themselves, rather than feeling that he needs to be the one to heal […]

Adapt to Emotions with Mindfulness

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.   “Through mindfulness you can learn to turn your difficult emotions into your greatest teachers and sources of strength. How? Instead of ‘turning away’ from pain in avoidance we can learn to gently ‘turn towards’ what we’re experiencing. We can bring a caring open attention toward the wounded parts […]