​Are you feeling rundown from the busyness of summer? Have you been juggling a lot between social events, vacations, childcare, and camps? Do you feel like you need a moment of calm? Many parents are feeling this as we enter the last week of summer. Some parents have felt the added pressure to have this be a memorable summer after the past two summers of covid times. Below are some ways to find a bit more balance in this last week before school:

​Are you worried about your child starting school this year? Have they had some social difficulties in the past few years? Has the pandemic had an impact on their social development? Many parents have felt the impacts of the pandemic on their younger children’s wellbeing and social development. Kids entering juniour kindergarten this year, have lived more of their life during the covid pandemic years than not. They have also needed to make sense of a changing social world, including what physical distance is okay with another adult or child, when to wear a mask and not, underlying fears of others to be around any common cold, missing some key exposure to facial expressions, and reduction in opportunities for social interaction. The opportunity for social interaction has ranged between children depending on level of comfort of families, accessibility of childcare, a parent’s job and restrictions within that job, and accessibility of opportunities of child programming such as afterschool programs and camps. Below are a few considerations to support your child in the transition to starting school and being socially successful:

​Tired of sleepless nights? Are you your own worst enemy when it comes to sleep? Do you want to have a better night of sleep? Insomnia has many far reaching impacts aside from the frustration of not being able to sleep to the headaches, irritability, muscle aches, or low patience for partners or kids behaviour. Find below some tips to try to find relief from insomnia:

​Meditating has countless benefits as I mention in a previous blog post “Yoga and Meditation in Supporting Mental Health”. It is helpful to have the right tips and support particularly if you are new to meditation. The most common thing I hear from new clients who have tried meditation is that they cannot do it, as they believe they are doing it wrong because their mind keeps wandering or will not stop thinking. It is completely normal when someone first starts meditating for their mind to wander, it is with time and practice that we can train our mind to be more present and still. In this post I focus specifically on how to support guided meditation practice as guided meditations are a good place to start for people who are beginners or intermediates to meditating. Find below some tips to get the most out of your guided meditation practice:

Do worry about when the next panic attack will happen? Are you dreading feeling of not being able to get enough air? Have you felt so much chest pain you thought something was physically wrong? Panic attacks can feel debilitating, and can effect people’s ability to do the things they enjoy for fear they may have a panic attack. Here are four keys to managing panic attacks: