"Your heart continues to beat, even when it's breaking... Your heart continues to beat even when you feel joy. Your heart is strong and your heart can hold it all. "

This is a beautiful story about a wave, crashing against a cliff. Focus on my voice, the movement of the wave and the details within the story. Can you feel the salty air? Take a deep breath..and listen to “The Wave”, by Liam O’Flaherty.

Join us butterflies, as we float along with this colorful, calming guided imagery.

When I think of Valentine's day there is one thing I think of every time…candy. More specifically, chocolate. I personally love chocolate and I bet many of you do too. If you have Valentine’s chocolate around, break off a piece and join me for this mindfulness experience using all of your senses.

When we practice slowed, deep breathing, we are slowing our heart rate- sending information to our vagus nerve and essentially communicating that we are safe. Those safety cues pump the brakes on our stress systems and the body is able to regulate via the ventral branch of the vagus nerve. The body needs these safety cues to function and access our social nervous system, so this breathing practice is one important tool for your nervous system.

In today’s episode we explore and experience the benefits of being grateful.

Join us for this interactive mindfulness activity- a creative arts take on the "breathing square" technique.

On this week's wellness segment, find a cozy spot and join Ms. Elizabeth for a guided mediation moment for kids!

Today we sit down to talk all about rest! What is rest? Are there different types of rest? If so, what are they and how do I know what kind of rest I need? We will answer all of these questions and walk through tactile steps to creating space in your busy schedule and prioritizing rest...because your life depends on it!

As music therapists, our bodies are our main tool for work.  We depend on our voices, and our hands and often the line is blurred between “used” and “abused” to put it bluntly. It is  so important to be mindful of how we may be causing harm to our voices, hands, backs, and every area of our body in the ways that we use them.  I’m going to share 5 ways to tend to your body everyday and I strongly urge you to prioritize these wellness practices as an essential part of your music therapy practice. Just as you maintain your instruments, you must maintain yourself.

Welcome back to the conversation today. We are talking about wellness. I think a good place to start is by sharing our background with wellness. How did it look? Did our families talk about wellness and did we even know what it was or what it meant?

Today, we are going to talk about wellness. Some of the questions that came up when preparing this episode were: What is the difference between wellness, well-being and self-care? Do all of these terms fit together in some holistic package? Or are they all bringing something different to the table? Today, I am going to dive into what Wellness is, what these terms really mean, and how it all fits together in Music Therapy.