Dr. Chloe Carmichael Blogs

What do LeBron James, Ariana Huffington, and Gwyneth Paltrow all have in common?

They’ve dreamed, believed, and achieved, and they all practice something that I’m certain has an impact on their ongoing success: yoga.

Yoga sometimes gets overlooked because it seems too fluffy and vague of a workout to get you real results. But yoga isn’t just a workout — it’s an incredible way to work on yourself, inside and out.

Mindfulness of thoughts and emotions gives us a “bird’s eye view” of what’s happening with ourselves and facilitates healthier perspective-taking.  Issues are more manageable when we can observe them rather than just experiencing them without any sense of perspective.  

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.

Recently I had the wonderful experience of being able to combine two of my passions: psychology and yoga.