Physiological Changes During Emotional Experiences
By Sarah Stevenson, MA- The Tini Yogini Theories of Emotion In this article, I will peel away the layers of emotional experiences, uncovering the underpinnings and characteristics involved in the animation and energizing of our being. Emotions like fear, anxiety, depression, and excitement elicit and suppress different physiological and cognitive attributes and directly affect how…
Arguments for and Against Positive Psychology
By Sarah Stevenson, MA- The Tini Yogini The term positive psychology was brought onto the therapeutic scene by Abraham Maslow in 1954 when he introduced his ideas around a self-actualized person through his theory of human motivation (Trivedi & Mehta, 2019). Maslow’s theory suggested that each person has a hierarchy of needs built in five…
Comparison of Electronic Mediated and Face-to-Face Communication
By Sarah Stevenson, MA- The Tini Yogini Humans currently live in a time like no other. The technological age has opened opportunities for connection that in the past would never be possible (Alberts et al., 2016). People isolated from others due to illness or living in remote areas can now stay connected to loved ones…
Cognitive Load Theory
By Sarah Stevenson, MA- The Tini Yogini Educational psychologist John Sweller is the father of cognitive load theory (CLT), which describes the amount of effort and how much working memory one can hold at any one period of time (Sweller, 1988). CLT is based on the human information processing model that includes sensory memory, short-term…
Subjective Well-Being According to Positive Psychology
By Sarah Stevenson, MA- The Tini Yogini Are you interested in a life filled with purpose, contentment, good mental and physical health? If you answered yes, then you have come to the right place. Positive psychology aims to increase well-being through recurrent positive affect, scarce negative affect, and cognitive appraisals like life satisfaction (Moore &…
Striving For True Happiness
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Happiness is “an emotion of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and wellbeing” (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Six basic emotions are universal within cultures, including happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust (Barrett et al., 2016). All secondary or complex emotions such as shame, pride, guilt, relief, boredom, and amazement stem from…
Is It Possible to Have Cognition Without Emotion?
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini One cannot have cognition without emotion. According to current research, “there are no truly separate systems for emotion and cognition because complex cognitive, emotional behavior emerges from the rich, dynamic interactions between brain networks” (Pessoa, 2008, p.148). Cognition takes place in the pre-frontal cortex (neocortex) involves controlled processes, reasoning,…
The Real Secret About the Power of the Mind
By Sarah Stevenson, MA- The Tini Yogini What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind. ~Buddha Unless you spent the last 2 decades in a Tibetan monastery or under a rock, you probably know about Rhonda Byrne’s…
Developmental Tasks and Challenges of Middle to Late Adulthood
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini This age group is of particular interest to me because, as a 45-year-old woman, I am currently in this stage of development and have friends and family in this stage. Researchers are beginning to bring more attention to middle to late adult development with people living to the average…
Emergence of Sexuality and Gender-Related Behavior During Adolescence
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini The adolescent stage is marked with dramatic changes brought on by puberty that affect each individual’s body and mind. This developmental period begins at around ages 10 to 12 years old and lasts until the young adult ages 18 to 22 (Santrock, 2016). Social-emotional learning begins to occur, and…
Stages of Moral Development
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Moral Development According to the American Psychological Association (APA, n.d.a), morality is “a system of beliefs or set of values relating to right conduct, against which behavior is judged to be acceptable or unacceptable.” Moral development begins in the mid to later part of a child’s maturity and includes…
Developing Thinking and Emotional Skills in Infants and Toddlers: What Can a Parent Do?
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini What Can I Do to Best Support My Child’s Language Development? There are several ways to environmentally support a child’s language development according to a behavioral perspective. Children learn quite simply by imitation, so they need a verbally rich atmosphere to develop linguistically. Parents play a huge role in…
9 Yoga Poses to Help Relieve Lower Back Pain
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Tight hips can be debilitating. When things aren’t working right down there, even sitting or walking can cause hip pain and possibly lower-back pain as well. Luckily, there are some lower-back stretches that can help ward off this pain, increase mobility, and decrease your chances of serious injury in…
5 Easy Tips to Help Those Who Think Too Much
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Have you ever been stuck on a problem and the more you thought about it, the harder it seemed to solve? You’re not alone. Six years ago I was a single mom, working full time as a behavior therapist for families of children with serious behavior problems. As my…
9 Office Stretches You Can Do At Your Desk
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Desks are good for a lot of things. Attracting clutter. Supporting massive towers of loose papers. Providing context for Dilbert jokes. But desks also have a dark side. Like the overwhelming majority of American workers, if you have a desk job it’s likely you also suffer from tension or pain…
5 Theories Why Gluten Intolerance is Skyrocketing
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Is it just us, or is everyone gluten-free these days? We’ll bet you know a few people in your circle that are on this popular diet, or perhaps you’ve nixed gluten yourself. Either way, from gluten-free bread to gluten-free shampoo, it seems as if gluten-free is the way to…
Money Won’t Make You Happy, But These 12 Traits Will
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini While science suggests that half of our happiness is dependent on our genetic make-up, we can determine the other half. Times have changed quite a bit in half a century. We make far more money than our ancestors did, but according to research, we aren’t any happier. It often…
12 Ways to Get Your Mojo Back
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Life is guaranteed to knock us all down a time or two. What’s important is that we get back up. Research suggests that in order to bounce back, we need perseverance. It doesn’t come naturally for everyone, but it can be learned. Recovering from a breakup, job loss or…
Acro Yoga: How to do 10 Must-Do Poses
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Tired of the same ol’ Downward Facing Dog, practice after practice? Then grab a partner who is as excited about twisting into a two-headed pretzel as you are and give Acro Yoga a try! But keep in mind that this isn’t beginner’s practice. Flexibility, strength, and a little bravery…
8 Signs You Might Be a Highly Sensitive Person…And What to do About it.
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini As far back as preschool, I can remember being in a room full of other kids and not just observing but sensing everyone’s emotions. Little did I know that being overly empathetic would be both a blessing and curse my whole life. My oversensitivity drives me batty at times,…
Creating an Away Space Oasis
By Sarah Stevenson, The Tini Yogini Everyone needs a private getaway. A shelter from the chaos of everyday life that helps you to regain your balance. We lead busy lives, so sometimes running off to the gym or a yoga studio just isn’t a possibility. Why not create a calming oasis in the comfort of…
There’s Magic in Your Smile
By Sarah Stevenson (The Tini Yogini) “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” -Thich Nhat Hanh It’s a rough morning. First, my alarm doesn’t go off. Then I’m late getting my son to school, because another driver decides to roll into me.…
The Tini Yogini
About Me
I am a behavior specialist and a registered yoga teacher through yoga alliance. Teaching individuals to live life on purpose.
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