Zen with Nina

07/21/2025

01/24/2025

A good reminder for those experiencing SAD (seasonal affective disorder) 🙏🏼

10/16/2024

Tomorrow will be a full moon, also known as Hunter’s moon in October. Here are the details and some things one can try to soak up this moon’s energy 🌝

07/02/2024

If you haven’t tried Yoga Nidra check out this article and links to free guided meditations 🙏🏼

If you have ever taken a yoga class, then you probably experienced "yoga nidra" at the end, when the teacher guided everyone into an experience of deep rest and relaxation.

Now there are many wonderful guided yoga nidra videos available on youtube, that one can listen to at any time. Moreover, researchers around the world have begun to study the effects, finding that this practice balances the mind and body, resets the nervous system, and increases depleted dopamine levels!

Some scientists are now developing "Non-Sleep Deep Rest" (NSDR) exercises based on these ancient practices. If you have trouble sleeping at night, or experience anxiety any time during the day, these exercises could be transformative.

Yoga Nidra and NSDR deep relaxation practices are also a great way to calm your body and mind before meditation, when sick (or dealing with trauma) or whenever life feels stressful.

Here's two excellent Yoga Nidra guided meditations by Ally Boothroyd (Sarovara Yoga):

Yoga Nidra (20 minutes deep rest)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r8jXUvsi3w&t=21s

30 Minute Yoga Nidra For Deep Rest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mM5Oks8yZc&t=7s

And here's Dr. Andrew Huberman (Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine) explaining the "science" behind Yoga Nidra and why researchers are studying its powerful effects:

The Practice of Yoga Nidra to Improve Your Sleep and Stress | Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rSOn0PurVc

10 Minute Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) to Restore Mental & Physical Energy | Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHIbgSN2qAU

More info: The Origin and Clinical Relevance of Yoga Nidra (National Library of Medicine) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9033521/

11/17/2023

Yoga Therapy briefly explained

08/17/2023

12 THINGS THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE GRIEVING WANT YOU TO KNOW:

❥ Please understand that grief doesn't follow a linear timeline. Some days are better, some are worse, and it can be unpredictable.

❥ It's important to keep track of significant dates such as birthdays and anniversaries and show acknowledgment. It's reassuring to know that our loved ones are always remembered.

❥ Please be patient if we seem distant or withdrawn. Grief can make social interactions exhausting, even with loved ones.

❥ Please be open to just sitting in silence with us. Sometimes, companionship is more comforting than words.

❥ Please recognize that laughter and happiness can coexist with grief. Finding moments of joy doesn't mean we're "over it."

❥ Please respect our need for solitude and introspection. Sometimes, being alone with our thoughts is crucial to the healing process.

❥ Please avoid judging us for displaying unusual emotions during times of grief. It's normal to feel a wide range of emotions.

❥ Please realize that healing doesn't mean forgetting. Moving forward doesn't mean leaving our loved ones behind.

❥ Please be understanding if our priorities or interests shift. Grief often reshapes our perspectives and what we find meaningful.

❥ Please know that even when the initial intensity subsides, the waves of grief can resurface unexpectedly, and your continued support means the world to us.

❥ Please avoid comparing our grief to others. Everyone's journey is unique, and what works for one person might not for another.

❥ Please suggest specific ways to assist instead of offering generic help. Thank you.

🖋WellBeing Etcetera ♡❥

✿~❧~✿~~❧~✿

📸: Art by Scenic Alchemy via Pinterest ♡❥

08/03/2023

Opening doors to new opportunities or alternative paths…

05/16/2023

💕

For the mothers, mothers to be, those longing to be mothers, those who birth themselves over and over, those who mother the world and their community, those who weren't mothered and long to be mothered, a blessing ~

May the frequency of the Universal Mother's heartbeat beat also within your heart
May Earth Mother hold you in love and compassion and support you on your journey
May the earth beneath your feet bless you and your feet bless the earth
May you know the comfort of the wind, sun and rain upon your face
May you see the beauty of your own beingness
May you receive all that you need
May your heart be full and your wisdom deep
May you walk the path of your tomorrows with courage and purpose
May your soul remember wholeness
Blessed Be

Art: Gustav Klimt ~ Mother and Twins

01/29/2023

Trauma --> Grief --> Nature and Human Connection

"Why would you try to reject any discomfort, any misery, any sadness? After all, you don't know what these forces are working inside you." —Rilke

If you want to know the full flower of your heart, allow yourself to grieve what needs to be grieved. This means surrendering to the feeling and to the story of (deep) sadness. What needs to be grieved is often obvious; it hurts. But old, unprocessed grief can be hidden from us, as it was for me when I discovered it only after diligent exploration.

This way, we can be renewed from the same depths to which we allowed ourselves to endure our sadness.

Allowing space and time to feel loss is key for integration and saving what we can of the planet and each other—because grief blossoms our care by clearing our pain, which we displace onto the world when we don’t deal with it.