Well, that was amazing. I hadn’t offered a class since my Dad died and I really wasn’t sure how it would be to teach again. It. Was. Fantastic.

It really does light me up to share the tools I’ve been learning about with other people. I am so grateful that folks show up to share their experiences and questions with me. If you’ve attended any of my classes, please know that you have had a huge impact on my well-being!

Yesterday was World Kindness Day. I didn’t do anything special to recognize it, although I did bypass my introvert tendencies to offer a stranger a heart-felt compliment. (He really did have a beautiful singing voice!) And this morning, a friend offered to pick up groceries while they were at the store — and then delivered them in the snow! It was a fabulous treat.

I’ll be focused on kindness in the coming weeks, though, as I prepare for my upcoming class, Applied Kindness.

Offering these free 1-hour classes is such a good opportunity to go through my hundreds of pages of notes to pull out the most useful bits. It deepens my own understanding — and reminds me to use the tools in my own life!

As you know, I am a huge neuroscience geek, so the science of kindness is endlessly fascinating to me. You can get a good overview in articles like this or this or this. If you just want the highlights and some simple tips for tapping into kindness to improve your well-being, please join me on Tuesday, December 6th at 7 pm for my class. I would love to see you there!

If articles and classes aren’t your jam, but you want to know more about the benefits of kindness, feel free to shoot me an email or keep reading for a few quick tips.

I hope your week is full of kindness!

Benefits of Kindness
Each act of kindness we do generates feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin. And even better, many of these acts of kindness also foster connection with others — a vital component of our well-being.

Acts of kindness have been linked to greater life satisfaction, stronger relationships, and better mental and physical health. And what’s more, you can benefit from kindness by just thinking about something kind you have done for someone else, witnessing someone being kind, or thinking of a time when someone did something kind for you.

Here’s a quick list of kindness pick-me-ups you can try this month.

• Give your barista or grocery delivery person an extra tip.
  
  
• Send a “thinking of you” text to someone. It might seem like a little thing to you — but you never know how big an impact you might be having on someone’s day.
  
  
• Leave a loved one a sweet voicemail. Tell them how much they mean to you, list things you appreciate about them, or say why you value your relationship. This socially connecting activity benefits both you AND your loved one.
  
  
• Surprise a family member or neighbor by doing an errand or a chore for them. Who doesn’t love that?!?
  
  
• Pay a genuine compliment to the someone you encounter. Little exchanges like this can provide both people a lovely little connection to carry throughout the day!

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of my sister’s death. We just passed the 6-month mark since my Dad’s death, too, so I was feeling especially tender.

My daughter and her partner came over in the morning to spend time with us. We shared donuts and bagels and drank a toast (with Jeni’s favorite coffee drink) to Jeni. It was so good.

I am feeling loved and supported and grateful.

I almost didn’t ask Katie and Cina to come over. I was caught in old patterns of thought that say I shouldn’t ask for support unless it’s absolutely necessary. Ooof.

That thought is not supported by my lived experience (nobody has ever asked me to stop asking for help), nor is it a thought that I stand by.

The idea I do stand by is that we are meant to be interdependent — and that asking each other for help is vital to our relationships and to our well-being.

So as I stumble across the old thoughts, I remind myself how good it feels when someone I love asks for help and I am able to say YES! I remember that even when I’m not able to help, I appreciate being asked. I relish the trust and connection that asking for — and being asked for — help fosters. And then I cry some more. And then I ask for support.

I hope you are finding ways to ask for the support and help you need. And when you do ask for what you need, I hope folks around you are celebrating your willingness to take care of yourself. If it helps, I will be here celebrating your bravery and vulnerability in asking. ❤️

Asking for help is one of the topics I’ll be covering in my class this week, Preventative Self-Care. I’m offering this free class via zoom on Thursday, November 10th from 7:00-8:00 PM.

If you’re interested in learning some research-based self-care tips — both on-the-spot quick tips and ways to build some simple self-care habits, I’d love to see you there!

You can learn more about the class here or jump in and register here.

Here’s to a week of supported interdependence and love! 😊

Today is my sister Jeni’s birthday. She would have been 54. She would have liked the descending numbers of 5-4 and probably would have made a joke about “5-4-3-2-1 Blast Off!”

I miss her and am feeling pretty tender.

In addition to it being Jeni’s birthday, we got some bad health news about a beloved family member this week. As we are waiting for further test results, my sleep has been disrupted, my thinking is foggy, and I’m finding it difficult to focus. 

My automatic response in situations like this is to “push through” and get on with things even though it’s hard.

And while that is certainly necessary at times, I want to be able to approach times like this with gentleness. I am still learning how to honor tenderness, and how to meet uncertainty and fear with compassion.

Many of us know on some level that compassion and loving kindness are useful (and research supports this). Can we remember to hold loving space in challenging times? How can we care for ourselves and others when plans go awry?          

So I changed this month’s free class to The Art of Tenderness because I need it!

In this class, we’ll practice some gentle somatic techniques, and I’ll share research, resources, and ideas for cultivating tenderness.

If you could use a dose of gentle compassion I’d love for you to join us. You can register for the free class here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and connect with me. I appreciate you. ❤️

Tender wishes,
Diana