Meditation works.  It’s proven.

Meditation changes you like nothing else.  The list of health benefits are long.  The medical research is vast & compelling.  It is how we reconnect. Anxiety, worry & distraction dissipate.  This is why I’ve dedicated 15 years to practice.  All it takes is 5 minutes a day to start. You’ll see results.  Turn your overwhelm into calm & focus.  Bad stress transforms into good stress.  Happiness is real & possible.

A Sense of Belonging or Coming Home

by Amber Wood | April 11, 2022

  In the last few years so much has shifted.  Even as we get used to a new normal, it changes.  How do we rest or find a sense of belonging amid such uncertainty?  Accepting…

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Real Hope for Uncertain Times

by Amber Wood | March 2, 2021

Our Innate Capacity In a time of deep division there is a need for remembering what hope actually is.  The collective trauma and suffering of this pandemic is bringing a lot to the surface.  The…

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Meditation Allows Us to Gather & Settle

by Amber Wood | October 26, 2020

The Point of Meditation Our nervous system affects those around us. In times when there are many unknowns we need to gather ourselves and settle. A meditation practice allows us to do this. Accepting what…

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Meditation Response

by Amber Wood | July 18, 2020

The meditation community I was part of collapsed last year. The point of training in meditation is so our response to life is the best we have to give. This doesn’t always happen but we…

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Grief, Your Lungs & Gut

by Amber Wood | March 28, 2020

In ten years of clinical practice, grief is the emotion that shows up the most. Grief workshops are showing up in our communities more in the last couple of years. People need places to grieve…

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Tired of Insomnia? Check your Heart Rate

by Amber Wood | October 16, 2019

Sleep Tracking      Many of my patients have undergone sleep studies with little result.  It is difficult to sleep normally in a strange place with your body plugged into machines.  Sleep tracking at home…

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Building Resilience: Trauma & Overwhelm

by Amber Wood | September 5, 2019

Girls and women experience objectification from a young age.  Sexualized trauma happens overtly and on subtle levels.  Between the age of 7 and 11 girls begin to hold their bodies differently.  In clinic, my female…

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Turn on Oxytocin with Meditation

by Amber Wood | April 3, 2019

Oxytocin Calms & Connects  Connection is a fundamental aspect of health but unfortunately it is given very little focus.  We can experience deeper connections with others when we have space to calm and connect ourselves. …

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Surrendering Our Idea of Control

by Amber Wood | February 12, 2019

Today I had a new patient who has survived breast cancer.  She mentioned that her high stress job and poor diet may have contributed to her becoming sick.  Many of my patients are aware that…

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Children, Electronics & Health

by Amber Wood | November 14, 2018

Light Disrupts Sleep Research shows that young children are adversely affected by indoor lighting at night. Just one hour of bright light exposure before bedtime suppressed the children’s melatonin by 88 percent.  This study isn’t…

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sleep

Device Addiction & Sleep Deprivation. Is this you?

by Amber Wood | August 18, 2018

Addiction to Technology is a Real Problem 40% of North Americans suffer from addiction to technology whether its email, porn or games.  By the age of 7 a child will have spent 1 whole year…

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Life & Death

How to Free Those You Love

by Amber Wood | July 31, 2018

Recently I facilitated a short ceremony. It turned out to be the most powerful few hours I’ve spent with others in a long time. By turning towards the shock & grief a sudden death brings,…

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meditate

Can life be easier? More intimate, effortless & productive?

by Amber Wood | June 18, 2018

Yes it can. I’ll explain how. To begin with, its won’t get easier because what you think you want happens.  Its not about getting a raise, a new partner or losing that extra weight. Life…

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Responsibility & Blame

by Amber Wood | April 12, 2018

It’s Not Your Fault I am lucky to have a few mentors in my life.  Today I was sitting with one discussing a topic I’ve considered for awhile.  This wisdom that comes from those who…

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Soft Heart, Strong Back

by Amber Wood | February 14, 2018

This phrase “soft heart, strong back” reminds me of how I aspire to be.  Its a vison of communicating needs effectively  without given into the social norms of doing more when its time to slow…

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Unplugging is Different Kind of Detox

by Amber Wood | January 9, 2018

Digital Distraction Limiting digital distraction was monumentally easier even just 5 years ago. Ten years ago some of us still didn’t have smart phones. Choosing to be free of the endless digital world used to…

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Kindness & other Essential Nutrients

by Amber Wood | December 18, 2017

  Every week a couple of my patients say or do something that strikes me.  “Thank you for being kind,” were the words of one woman.  I wasn’t being particularly kind in my mind.  What…

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Your Body & Brain on Meditation

by Amber Wood | November 6, 2017

The Nervous System of A Parent Seven years ago I sat down with my meditation instructor.  I was preparing for my next long retreat where I would make a deeper commitment to working with myself. …

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The Real Goods on Meditation

by Amber Wood | October 25, 2017

Self-care and stress management can feel like just one more item to add to our to-do list.  How can we talk about meditation without making it one more thing that stresses us out? What I…

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What is the Real Point of Meditation?

by Amber Wood | June 28, 2017

What is Mindfulness really? What strikes me as I emerge from another week of meditation retreat is the fundamental shift I witnessed in both myself and the others who committed to the journey. This transformation…

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insomnia and motherhood

Sleep is Essential. Especially for Parents of Small Children.

by Amber Wood | February 2, 2017

Mothers who experience insomnia are among those who suffer most. Years of interrupted sleep combined with the new lifestyle requires a certain kind of strength. Luckily our evolutionary wisdom gave mom’s super powers in the…

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Meditation Practice: Vibrancy Against All Odds

by Amber Wood | January 14, 2017

Having just returned from a two-week meditation practice retreat, I feel the effects of slowing down. “Why would you do that?” asked a friend at our weekly meditation practice group. Its a great question.  This…

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