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Mindful Eating: Many Faces of Meditation

Posted by Elise Mitchell on July 14, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

Thich Nhat Hanh, the well-known Zen Buddhist monk, tells a story about the Buddha being asked what he and his students practice. His reply was, “We sit, we eat, and we sleep.” The inquistitor, perplexed, replied, “but we all do that.” The Buddha, in his perfect wisdom and grace asserted, “Yes but when we sit we know we are sitting. When we sleep, we know we are sleeping, and when we eat, we know we are eating.”

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The Addict Brain & Yoga

Posted by Elise Mitchell on July 07, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

The yoga mat teaches you something about yourself every time you get on it. We can use these lessons toward any personal journey we undertake. In the case of addiction and recovery, the mat is an excellent place to challenge the addict brain. It reveals our knee-jerk reactions to discomfort and our over-indulgent behaviors toward pleasure. Like a mirror, the mat shows us our strengths and weaknesses not just in our physicality but also in our character. The lesson does not stop with a casual glance at our short-comings. Oh no! At this point, we have only taken out our notebooks and pencils.

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Mantra: Quelling the Fire

Posted by Elise Mitchell on June 14, 2014 | 2 comment(s)

If the word mantra draws up an image of bald Hare Krishna chanting men in orange robes asking for money in airports… you’re not alone. That said, we’ve come a long way, baby!

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Forget the fancy measures, we just want to know—“How are you?”

Posted by Katie Massey, Research Director on May 17, 2014 | 1 comment(s)

Katie MasseyClients and parents tell us how things are going 1.5 years after graduating

At Second Nature we have been conducting research to evaluate our programs for more than six years, and we recently completed an 18-month follow-up. While we use sophisticated standardized and validated questionnaires to measure change in functioning; for this 18-month follow up, we also wanted to hear from clients in a more simple and personal way.

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An Oasis Moment: Loving Kindness

Posted by Elise Mitchell on May 17, 2014 | 1 comment(s)

The practice of loving kindness is most often associated with the Theraveda Buddhist tradition. This meditation practice, referred to as Metta, can be found in the Pali Cannon that dates back 2,500 years and is the traditional scriptures for Theraveda Buddhism. Although this practice has roots in Buddhist discipline, its practice has spread to the mainstream. Compassion meditations are often used with the 12 Step program, have been highly studied in the Western sciences particularly neuroscience and psychology, and being taught in our schools!

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Bicultural

Posted by DL (Entrada alumnus) on May 15, 2014 | 2 comment(s)

Walking into school, when I was seven years old,
My mind was blank and innocent, ready to fit the mold.
Tabula rasa, blank slate, my life waiting to unfold.
And when I sat down, this, this was what I was told:

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Treating Attachment Issues in the Field

Posted by Matt Hoag, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist on May 14, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

1matt resizedResearch indicates that adopted adolescents are at higher risk in areas including school achievement and problems, substance use, psychological well-being, physical health, fighting, and lying to parents.While adoptees account for 2% of the child population in the US. (US Census, 2000), they account for roughly 18% of Second Nature’s recent outcome study sample. This difference in percentage calls attention to this population and the need to better understand their treatment needs and investigate how wilderness treatment addresses these needs.

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A Meditation on Meditation

Posted by Elise Mitchell on April 23, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices are vast and becoming increasingly publicized in our culture. Today, that mattered very little. What I witnessed today stood out against all the years I’ve been teaching meditation and mindfulness practices.

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“Sugar and spice and everything nice”—in the wilderness?

Posted by Dr. Paul Goddard on April 11, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

Does the question ever come up: “is my lil’ girl too delicate or fragile for the woods?” Great question! Girls (and women) in our society are often portrayed as weak, defenseless, helpless, and above all, vulnerable! In a recent Second Nature blog post Sabrina Hadeed explored the vulnerability and strength of young women (Girls Daring Greatly: Elements of vulnerability and strength in a therapeutic wilderness setting). I believe that her post opens an extremely important conversation about the value and power of a wilderness experience in the lives of young women. I propose to continue this discussion forward as we examine how society’s beliefs are crippling and marginalizing young women, and the role that wilderness can play in restoring dignity and identity. I invite YOU to join in this conversation.

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Out of the Office, Into the Woods: Lessons from the Field

Posted by Dr. Brad Reedy, Founding Partner on April 02, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

reedyNearly two decades ago when I was looking for a job, a mentor suggested I apply at a Wilderness Therapy program. I left several introductory phone calls with the clinical director to inquire about a potential job opening, but my attempts went unanswered. So I decided to make the three-hour drive to their base camp office in Loa, Utah. I arrived with my resume in hand, a flannel-lined sleeping bag in my duffel, and the confidence that I was right for the position.

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