Resources

Below is a list of my favourite websites and resources that I share with clients, friends and loved ones. I use these myself and have found them to be great sources of support in times of need.

https://self-compassion.org/
This is a great website from Dr. Kristin Neff, the leading researcher on self-compassion. It has helpful videos, as well as exercises and guided meditations to help you increase your self-compassion. It also has a short test you can take to help get a sense for your areas of strength and growth edges when it comes to practicing self-compassion.

https://yogawithadriene.com/
An awesome website if you’re looking for a gentle, supportive, at-home yoga practice. Adriene is very relatable and down-to-earth, and has videos tailored to a wide range of areas (e.g. yoga for a broken heart, yoga for sleep, yoga for anxiety). She also makes cool (free!) 30-day yoga programs that are fun to participate in.

https://www.gottman.com/ This website is developed by Dr. John Gottman, the leading researcher on couples’ relationships. It’s loaded with great articles and videos that help you increase your understanding of effective communication in relationships and how to increase connection with loved ones.

A 45-minute guided meditation, led by Jon Kabat Zinn (a.k.a. the “father of mindfulness”). He helps guide you through scanning and placing your attention on various parts of your body, which promotes a deep sense of relaxation. Nice to listen to any time, particularly when you want to wind down from the day.

This video clip highlights Dr. Janina Fisher, a sensorimotor psychotherapist, who has done a plethora of research and work with trauma. She discusses how she works with “shame,” a very common emotion experienced by trauma survivors.

One of the most all-time-viewed TED talks, here Brené Brown talks about her work studying vulnerability. Brené discusses her many years of research, and findings about how we all have our “shame stories,” and how we put up walls to protect from judgment and further emotional injury. And yet how at our core, as human beings, we all want to feel connected. Dr. Brown shares ways we can begin to take down those walls, by consciously and intentionally sharing ourselves more fully with others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw What's the difference between empathy and sympathy? We all struggle at times to know how to comfort a friend. This video brilliantly depicts some of the traps we can unknowingly fall into, and how we can respond to our loved ones in a more caring, truly comforting way.

Another on-point video from Brené Brown, that highlights a new way of looking at our reflexive instinct to blame, and gives ideas about how we can better examine our responses.