Finding Balance Through Yoga: Small Gestures Can Make Big Waves
“Finding balance” is an expression we hear all the time. The phrase is only two words, and sounds simple enough, but it can be easier said than done, particularly when applied to ourselves. For myself, finding balance has meant being mindful of my needs and cultivating self-care practices that help to reduce anxiety and stress. […]
Peace Comes from Within: A Self-Care Reminder
Over the years, I’ve learned self-care is a broad spectrum of methods and ways to support yourself, and thanks to being with TREE, I’ve had the chance to really improve my self-care strategies. One grade 6 lesson in particular has stuck with me, and that is our lesson on living a balanced lifestyle. The lesson […]
How Praising Productivity Influences our Relationship with Self-Care
To begin, I want to challenge you to think about what productivity means to you? You may even go as far as to ask yourself, what it means to be successful in what you “produce” or can accomplish on a daily or weekly basis? How has productivity been viewed in your life? Maybe in school, […]
Teaching Children the Importance of Getting Involved in Social Justice Issues
Growing up it has always been perceived that children are too young to learn about the harsh truths of the world and are kept in the dark from social justice issues. As a visibly Muslim woman, I have been exposed to learning about social justice and diversity at a young age. Although, living in Canada […]
Strategies to Name our Emotions
Emotions are something we all feel, but when it comes to taking the time to name, can remain a challenge to navigate. Here at TREE, we use “I-statements” for the importance of implementing this strategy within scenarios of conflict to help communicate our true feelings. To use an I-statement, fill in the blanks: “I feel____when____”. […]
Mindfulness through Folding: My Experience With Origami
Navigating overwhelming emotions and finding peace during times of misery and pain can be extremely difficult, particularly when we find ourselves facing challenges we aren’t equipped to cope with or are unable to do anything to alleviate the problem. When we are faced with circumstances out of our control it can feel as though our […]
Reframing: How to Shift Your Perspective in Conflict
When we hear a hurtful comment in a conversation, it is challenging not to respond from our feelings. Our emotions can be helpful to us but they can also derail us. During one particular conversation with a friend, I had intended to comfort them but my impact turned out to be harmful. Tension began to […]
Giving and Receiving Feedback Effectively
We often hear the word “feedback” used in many different situations, whether at work, school, or even just when a friend wants our opinion on their new haircut. But what is feedback, and how can we use it effectively? Feedback is a response to a message by someone else. Feedback can be given verbally or […]
Embodied Care in the Classroom
At the beginning of the pandemic, I was a Masters student trapped inside my bedroom apartment separated by family and friends, while also living as an artist facing cancelled job contracts. As a response, I and a group of artists in Hamilton and Toronto formed a small art collective in an attempt to band together […]
