The Joy of Gratitude

October 25, 2018 by Jodi Baretz, LCSW, CHHC

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

“Instead of always searching and grasping for more, gratitude allows us to appreciate what we have now. Cultivating joy requires building the gratitude muscle as part of our daily and weekly workouts. Only in this rep-set, we ditch the wishing, complaining and striving, and refocus on noticing what is going well in our lives right now, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

Learning to be grateful for life’s simple pleasures can certainly improve your mood and perception of life. I recall a day when my kids were small and I was taking them to get haircuts. Once in the car, my two adorable, precious children proceeded to fight like two alley cats in a scrap yard. As I drove along and listened to this free-for-all in the back seat, I would occasionally interrupt with a “Stop it!” or “Enough already!” When that didn’t seem to be effective, I started to get annoyed and then, for some reason, amidst all the noise and frustration, I just gave up.

As the boys continued to yell and exchange insults at each other, my mood turned from annoyance to amusement. It struck me that these two little boys were not going to be young forever, and I realized how lucky I was to have these daily moments with them, no matter how stressful. This total re-frame of the situation filled me with gratitude and the rest of our outing was not just tolerable, it was fun.

Gratitude brings us joy and turns what we already have into enough. Instead of striving for the next goal to bring you happiness, appreciate where you are right now. If it’s not your ideal place, remember that it’s just one chapter in your life’s story. Everything is temporary, for better or worse. Once you catch the gratitude bug, it replicates itself and even more joy streams into your life.”

Excerpt from Jodi Baretz’ Amazon best-selling book, Mindful Is the New Skinny. Jodi offers individual psychotherapy and mindful mom groups at The Center for Health and Healing in Mount Kisco. Visit jodibaretz.com.

A Transformational Journey

July 17, 2018 by Inside Press

Jodi Baretz, author of the new ‘Mindful is the New Skinny,’ shared her personal growth experiences at the Chappaqua Library

By Amanda Kraus

Earlier this summer, I sat among an excited, eager crowd in the Chappaqua Library’s auditorium to listen to Jodi Baretz, psychotherapist, health coach, and author, speak about her new book, Mindful is the New Skinny: 10 Transformational Steps to a Lighter You Inside and Out. Baretz discussed the book itself as well as her personal experiences that compelled her to write it, in which she transformed “Junkfood Jodi” to “Baretz for carrots.”

Baretz began her talk with silence; she had the audience try a short meditation so that we could understand how she started her own transformational journey with mindfulness, except the first time she meditated at the Omega Institute five years ago, it was for forty-five minutes.

For Baretz, this was a torturous experience, and she wasn’t afraid to vocalize this–in fact, about half of the group felt the same way. However, over the following five days, the meditations became easier the more she practiced. Baretz explained that meditation isn’t effortless and that it requires focus. Meditation is a brain exercise by which one must acknowledge the thoughts that clutter one’s mind, and let them drift away, focusing purely on the breath.

Much like meditation, mindfulness is being able to feel and process one’s emotions in order to let them go, rather than immediately pushing them away. Baretz explained that we need to be able to deal with being uncomfortable rather than avoiding it altogether.

As a child, Baretz was a terrible eater, leading her to acquire the nickname “Junkfood Jodi.” Her diagnosis of celiac disease in 2003 triggered her transformational journey with food and nutrition, as well as mindfulness and well-being. In 2003, Baretz explained, people didn’t really know what celiac disease was, and gluten-free diets weren’t very common.

As a social worker, Baretz tried to help others with their own gluten-free eating, but soon realized that she knew nothing about nutrition. In 2010 she attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she learned about the mind-body connection, and was exposed to spirituality. For Baretz, being spiritual is a holistic approach to healthy living and being while keeping up with our fast-paced lifestyles and society.

In order to portray this philosophy to others, she decided to write her book, Mindful is the New Skinny: 10 Transformational Steps to a Lighter You Inside and Out. Although Baretz discusses healthy eating and nutrition in her book, she uses the word skinny as a metaphor for perfection — external, unsustainable, and never good enough. Instead of striving for skinny, Baretz encourages being mindful, which entails accepting imperfections and the present moment. Even though the manuscript only took three months for her to write, Baretz hit a mental roadblock, dwelling in the very anxiety, stress, and frustration that she was writing about. She took a short break, acknowledged this, and started writing again with a new mindset.

Much like her book-writing process, Baretz helps women on their nutritional journeys by redirecting their focus from losing weight by dieting to mindful eating and living, which is sustainable and effective. In today’s society, social medias omnipresent and overwhelming influence fosters perfection, stress, and anxiety, mindfulness is more important than ever. “Mindfulness,” said Baretz “is the antidote.” And she’s right. Meditation is being extensively studied medically, and has been proven to affect the brain. Meditation and mindfulness make us more productive, as they allow our minds to reboot and recover from our daily stresses and tribulations. In a sentence, Baretz’s book is all about “Nourishing the inside so you can change the outside.”

Jodi is also a psychotherapist at The Center for Health and Healing in Mt. Kisco. Her book is available on Amazon and at Scattered Books in Chapapqua. Visit http://www.jodibaretz.com for more information about her various programs and events, including her mindfulness bootcamp, her meditation sessions, and speaking engagements.

Inside Press summer intern Amanda Kraus is a rising senior at Tulane University.

A Mindful Chat with Jodi Baretz

March 8, 2018 by Bettina Prober

Walking into Millwood resident Jodi Baretz’ office is like walking into a sanctuary. The atmosphere is hushed, shoes are left at the door, voices are kept to a whisper. The effect is immediately relaxing.

Baretz, 49, is a psychotherapist specializing in mindfulness and health coaching at The Center for Health and Healing, located on Smith Avenue in Mt. Kisco. She is also the author of the new book, Mindful is the New Skinny: 10 Transformational Steps to a Lighter You Inside and Out, due out this spring. Inside Chappaqua sat down to talk to her about the book as well as her own journey to mindfulness.

An Emory and Columbia University-educated therapist, Baretz has more than 20 years of clinical experience. She has spent the last five years focusing her practice on using mindfulness to overcome stress, weight loss issues and family conflicts. Mindful is the New Skinny started out as a six-week boot camp designed to introduce her patients to the practice of mindfulness.

“I wanted to create a program that would teach people how to reduce stress,” she said. “We need to change our mindset from our weight to our well-being, which is more sustainable and will help us live happier, healthier, more peaceful lives.”

Her message is geared toward helping women who are not only struggling with weight issues, but also with any family and work-related anxiety.

“As a health coach and psychotherapist, it made sense to me to write a book that encompassed the mind and body,” she said. While the book does address eating issues, it is not a weight-loss book. Rather, it looks at all aspects of life that cause stress with the goal of reducing that stress, and getting people to realize that perfection should not be a goal.

But what exactly is mindfulness? And how is mindfulness different from meditation?

As Baretz explains it, mindfulness is the awareness of your thoughts, feelings and environment. Once you acknowledge the source of what you are feeling–whether it’s hunger, anxiety, or stress–you use meditation to calm and center yourself. In effect, you are striving to create a space between a stimulus and the response.

Baretz’ own path to mindfulness began after she was diagnosed with celiac disease in her mid-thirties. Initially devastated by the diagnosis, she enrolled in a holistic nutrition program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to help her understand and control the disease. While there, she was introduced to the concepts of mindfulness and spirituality.

“It was a life-changing experience for me,” she said. “I started to see positive changes flow into my life, and I let go of a lot of worry and anxiety.” Since then, she has continued to study mindfulness and meditation as a way to help her patients deal with the stresses of everyday life.

Though weight issues are addressed in the book, her message is more about self-compassion and self-care, and Baretz teaches mindfulness as a way of life. As anyone who has been on a diet and failed can attest, maintaining a strict diet regimen is often impossible and almost always self-defeating.

“The book is all about nourishing yourself from the inside, so you can flourish on the outside,” she said. While many women focus on trying to be the perfect size (in our society, that means skinny), Baretz stresses that mindfulness can help switch our priority from what we look like to the acceptance of ourselves as we are, which is very empowering.

Mindfulness can also help with all aspects and relationships in your life, Baretz notes. “Mindfulness increases your capacity to deal with stress and overwhelming situations because you are learning how to calm your body and your mind,” she said. “It’s not shutting off your thoughts; rather, it’s pressing a ‘stop’ button on them so you can change your relationship toward them.” After all, we all face adversity in one way or another, and there are many things in life that are beyond our control. While we can’t control the challenges we face, mindfulness and meditation help us “struggle well,” she said. “By taming our minds and focusing on the present, we can decrease our anxiety.”

The book brings mindfulness and meditation to people who wouldn’t normally seek out a practice that does have some negative stereotypes–something only for the yoga and Zen set. But Baretz hopes that the book will open people’s minds to the power of the practice. And that, she says, is her goal.

“I love watching people transform,” she said. “When they change the way they think, their whole world changes.”

Each chapter of Mindful is the New Skinny, which is Baretz’ first book, features a meditation session that can be downloaded. The book will be available this spring/summer on Amazon in print and kindle versions, and Baretz will conduct a free book talk at the Chappaqua library upon the book’s release. Visit www.jodibaretz.com for more information on her practice, upcoming talks, as well as a sneak peek free chapter of her book.

A Mindfulness Bootcamp with Jodi Baretz

September 23, 2016 by Inside Press

A Six-Week Fall Mindfulness Workshop at the Center for Health and Healing in Mount Kisco Begins Wednesday, October 5th

To sign up: http://www.jodibaretz.com/mindfulness-bootcamp/

Please also visit: Facebook page @Mindful is the New Skinny https://www.facebook.com/mindfulisthenewskinny/?fref=ts

@Mindfulmoms group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindfulmoms/

By Jodi Baretz

We all are familiar with working out for our bodies, but what about our minds? We spend time and money on personal trainers, nutritionists, Botox, shopping for designer clothes, all focused on the external while giving little attention to our emotional well being. We live in a crazy, hectic world with plenty of stress, which can lead to chronic anxiety and feelings of emptiness. We are taught many things in life, but not how to manage these overactive minds that drive us crazy. Learn how to master your mind so that you have tools to face any challenge that comes your way. When we lose the emotional weight, our bodies become lighter inside and out.

Mindfulness and Meditation have been proven to physically change your brain so you can learn to respond rather than react, gain clarity and attain more joy, peace and fulfillment in your life.By the end of the sessions, you will have all the tools you need that will fit into your crazy busy life.

Bring a friend or come by yourself and meet women just like you! We all want the same thing… more joy, less stress!

You will learn to:

The basic concepts of mindfulness and meditation
How to meditate and incorporate practical techniques you can use to combat the stress of daily life
Discover a new way of being and seeing
Decrease stress and anxiety, stop the struggle with food, improve relationships and experience more joy, peace and fulfillment.
Get group support on challanges we all face on a daily basis.

“This group training was the best thing I could have done for myself! This is truly life changing. I saw immediate results from these techniques and strategies. I now see my problems in a different light, and it makes all the difference. Worth every penny.”

Tamara L.

“I loved this workshop & wish it was still going on! I got a lot out of it & now meditate 5 days a week. I look at life very differently & would recommend the experience to anyone who wants to get the most out of life”.

Dawn B.

“The workshop provides a terrific framework for meditation and a great learning environment to focus on yourself and your needs. It helps you deal with situations with a cooler head and let some issues roll off your back and not replay the scenario over and over again. I always feel energized after our class. Jodi creates a very safe environment in which to self-disclose to a great group of like minded women.”

Michele G.

Fall Mindfulness Bootcamp

October 5th
October 19th
October 26th
November 2nd
November 9th
November 16th

Time: 11:00-12:30pm Wednesdays (skipping Oct. 12th for Jewish holiday).

Cost: $375

Location:The Center for Health and Healing, 4 Smith Avenue, 2nd floor, Mt. Kisco, NY

Mindfulness in a Crazy World

August 24, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Jodi Baretz, LCSW, CHHC

Lately, it seems like on a weekly basis we are hearing about some awful terrorist attack, or act of gun violence. Our flags are constantly at half mast, and we barely mourn one tragedy before another one hits. This is a constant reminder of how intolerance, hate and racism are still present around the world. This unrest adds to the chronic anxiety many of us already feel on a daily basis.

The tragedies we hear about are real, but we have to be mindful of the stories we tell ourselves. It is easy to get carried away with doomsday scenarios, because our hyperactive brains are programmed for survival.

The 24-hour media coverage of shootings, killings and terrorist events perpetuates worry, and creates anxiety. The media often seems to thrive on fear because they know you will tune in. The reality is that “we didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world’s been turning.” It just seems that the Armageddon is closer now than ever before.

“If every eight year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” –Dalai Lama

While we are so down on the events of the day, we must remember that our current society is much better off than in the past. For example, look at the changes in the LGBT community. It is much safer now for teens and adults alike to be proud and embrace who they are, without tremendous fear of persecution. Additionally, in the past, children with Down’s Syndrome would be institutionalized, and now they are often mainstreamed and have become valued members of society. Remarkably, there is a black President in the White House, which had been unthinkable just a short time ago. We certainly have come a long way, and hopefully can continue along this path.

Nonetheless, the recent awful news has an effect on us, especially those of us with children. We worry about them growing up in a world that is volatile. We worry when they travel overseas. We worry about them being exposed to hate and violence at such a young age. How do we cope with the weight of the world on our shoulders?

Mindfulness practices are not only ways that we can improve focus and be present, but also ways to cultivate love, compassion and bring peace to ourselves and others. When we practice meditation and mindfulness, we open our hearts and realize that although we have different beliefs, races, and religions, we all share a common thing–humanity. We can begin to notice our judgments and biases. Look at your own life and be curious if there are others you have unfairly judged or rejected because they are different than you.

Listen to your self-talk, and notice without judging yourself how your biases and beliefs have affected you. We each have to do our part to be more understanding of others and accept those who are different than ourselves.

A story I heard at a seminar about a soldier returning from Iraq can speak to compassion and non-judgment. He was having difficulty managing his stress and anger, and enrolled in a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class. He was at a supermarket behind a woman that was handing over her baby to the cashier and delaying his check out. He would normally have said something, but waited and felt the frustration course through his body. When he got to the front of the line, he asked the cashier about the baby, and she revealed that her husband was killed in Iraq, that was her baby, and her mother was watching her because she couldn’t afford child care.

So, what can we do to protect ourselves from sadness, depression and anxiety that the world puts on our shoulders? Shutting off the news every so often, as well as turning off social media, can give our minds a break from the onslaught of negativity. Noticing when your mind races and when you are creating stories that are not facts, help to work with the brains negativity bias. Learning to sit with sadness and grief, without letting it take over our whole beings can be a helpful practice for coping. When compassion and kindness win out we have less hate, anger and intolerance. In addition, being good role models for our children is crucial, because they are watching us all the time. What we say matters. When we engage in these behaviors daily, hopefully, person-by-person, we can change the world, and make a difference.

Jodi Baretz, LCSW, CHHC is a psychotherapist, mindfulness and holistic health coach at The Center for Health and Healing in Mount Kisco. She is the founder of the program and upcoming book, “Mindful is the New Skinny.”

Visit jodibaretz.com for more info or FB group @mindful moms.