Dr. Chloe Carmichael Blogs

As a yoga teacher-turned-psychologist, I’ve always been amazed at the overlap between psychology and yoga, specifically in mindfulness and in silence. One yogic practice that I find fantastic as a psychologist is intentional and compassionate silence. Whether you are in a relationship or currently single and living alone, you might feel some sort of pressure to always answer the phone, constantly make small talk with a partner, or always have “something interesting” to say. Intentional silence is a great way to combat this pressure, and can just be a fun way to deepen your relationships and play around with nonverbal communication!

Please note that the blog below was written in December of 2020, when we were less than a year into the pandemic.  As of this note (January 2022) many new developments have arisen, such as the development of three vaccines and an assortment of antiviral medications and other treatments.  At this point, many readers are no longer needing to quarantine, or their quarantine periods are limited to just a few days rather than the indefinite period we were facing at the time of the blog below.  Readers may be more interested in resources like my video on transitioning OUT of quarantine (linked here).  Wishing you good health and all the best as we move forward together!

Quarantine life has been called “the new normal” over the past couple of months. Although it may be “normal” in the sense that it’s become common, it is understandably not feeling at all normal to us in terms of our wellbeing: in fact, quarantine life can pose some very unique challenges.  While I can’t take that stress away, as a clinical psychologist I can offer some practical tips to handle quarantine life from a cognitive, behavioral, and emotional perspective. Some of the tips I offer will be exercises or other behaviors you can try, and some of them will be just simple ideas on perspectives that may be helpful.  Many of the ideas and exercises will actually be helpful to you even after quarantine, so take heart in knowing you’re increasing your proverbial toolbox in ways that will be useful even when COVID19 is a thing of the past, at least in terms of pandemic levels.  If you’re open to ideas on personal growth, then you’ve come to the right place!

Before I became a clinical psychologist I was a certified yoga teacher, so I have been studying mindfulness for years. The field of psychology has recently begun embracing the concept of mindfulness, and these days it’s common to hear the term being thrown around outside of mental health and wellness contexts. I consider mindfulness to be a crucial tool both inside and outside of therapy, but I find that many people don’t fully understand what it means and how to practice it. This series of blog posts will explain why I find mindfulness to be important, and how you can learn to use it to your benefit.

Do you fixate upon potential presentation mishaps to the point where it becomes counterproductive? Read on.

Yoga sometimes gets overlooked because it can seem too “trendy” of a workout to net you real results. But there’s a reason top achievers like LeBron James and Ariana Huffington follow this ancient practice, and the reason is this: Yoga isn’t just a workout — it’s an incredible way to work on yourself, body and mind, inside and out.

Feelings of anxiety manifest themselves in many different ways and in a variety of situations, one of which is in the workplace. Anxiety in business meetings can be extremely debilitating if it stops you from sharing your thoughts and ideas, and being a contributing member of the team.  This pattern can leave you feeling frozen before and during business meetings,  and even end up keeping you from attaining possible promotions because you aren’t able to interface effectively with your teammates at work.

Yoga sometimes gets overlooked because it can seem too “trendy” of a workout to net you real results. But there’s a reason top achievers like LeBron James and Ariana Huffington follow this ancient practice, and the reason is this: Yoga isn’t just a workout — it’s an incredible way to work on yourself, body and mind, inside and out.

There’s a certain degree to which stress can be positive and even an indicator of a healthy and productive lifestyle.

In the first article of this Path to Mindfulness series, I introduced the concept of mindfulness and explored how you can begin to hone your focus and awareness by really observing a concrete object. Now that you’ve learned how to be mindful of an object, you will learn how you can start to be mindful of yourself. This article will discuss how you can begin to focus your attention inwards by becoming fully aware of your breath.