Posts by Lori Deschene

A Free 3-Day Vacation to Calm Your Nervous System

Tell me, is your jaw clenched as you’re reading this? Are your shoulders hunched? Do you feel tension throughout your body that mirrors the constant buzz of stress within your mind?

I suspect we all feel like this far more often than we may even realize because, for many of us, it’s the norm. We push ourselves through one busy day after another, stuffing our feelings down in a constant state of agitation, without ever recognizing that our nervous systems are stuck in survival mode—and that we have the power to break free.

If any of this sounds familiar to …

The Secret to Changing Your Relationship with Food

Anyone who knows me well knows that I battled with food and my body for years.

I struggled with bulimia for over a decade, starting when I was twelve. My eating disorder was in many ways a coping mechanism in response to trauma, but early programming around food didn’t help.

I ate to soothe myself. I ate to stuff down my feelings. And as a bulimic, I ate to feel the control I felt when I was able to reverse the process of consumption.

Though I technically recovered in my early twenties, I spent many years after that sticking to …

10 Holiday Quotes for Comfort, Peace, and Perspective

The holidays can be a magical time, filled with beautiful memories and traditions that remind us of what truly matters in life. It can also be emotionally fraught for anyone who’s struggling with financial insecurity, grief, or depression.

This year has been especially challenging for me personally, for reasons I’ll possibly share some time in the future. For now, I am focusing on my family and the gift of today and soaking up joy wherever I can find it.

And I’m putting these messages out into the world, hoping they reach those who need them and provide a little comfort, …

The International Yoga Festival (Promo Code Inside!)

Hi friend! Today, I’m excited to share with you an extraordinary upcoming event (from this month’s site sponsor) that could be a bucket list experience for many—the International Yoga Festival, taking place in Rishikesh from March 9^th-15^th next year.

Situated in the foothills of the sacred Himalayas, Rishikesh is known as the Yoga Capital of the World and believed to be the birthplace of yoga—the place where the sage Patanjali wrote the yoga sutras over 2,000 years ago.

The annual International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan attracts thousands of participants from nearly 100 countries every …

Upcoming Retreat for Highly Sensitive People and Introverts

Have you ever taken a trip to recharge but then returned feeling drained? If you’re a highly sensitive person (HSP) or introvert—or both, like me—you might yearn for the adventure and relaxation that travel can provide but struggle to find experiences that honor your energetic needs.

Perhaps also like me, you’ve been intrigued by the idea of a retreat but worried that it could be overwhelming, with packed schedules and pressure to constantly engage. Even many wellness retreats miss the mark, leaving little room for personal time and different ways of participating.

Imagine a retreat that allows you to connect …

Free Offer: One year of the Happier Meditation App

Since you follow Tiny Buddha, I’m guessing you might be familiar with the benefits of meditation and perhaps have already experienced many of them yourself.

I first found meditation through yoga, which I initially started at a gym solely because I was curious.

I didn’t know then that meditation can help with depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia (all of which I’ve experienced); that it can literally rewire the brain to help with healing from trauma (also a battle I know very well); or that it can help prevent and heal numerous physical conditions.

Now here I am, over two decades …

Free Download, Living Without Hurry: It’s Time to End the Rush

Do you ever feel like you’re living your life racing toward someday when everything feels better or easier? Like you’re constantly chasing something—maybe a dream, money, the perfect body, or love and, at the core of it all, happiness?

I chased all these things for years, filling most of my time with activities to attain them, all the while neglecting my deepest needs and ultimately feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

It’s one of life’s greatest ironies—we  push ourselves so hard to find peace and fulfillment in the future without realizing both are available right now if we could only create space …

Creating Massive Change: How to Get Out of Our Own Way

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe your life isn’t changing because you’re holding yourself back but don’t know it?

Like maybe there’s something in your conditioning or a subconscious belief that’s preventing you from doing something that could bring you the change you seek?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since I took Nadia Colburn’s five-day mindful writing challenge because one of the prompts elicited a profound insight about why I’ve struggled to create the change I want most in life.

Part of the prompt was “Don’t go off somewhere else,” and after a brief meditation at …

Free 5-Day Meditation and Writing Challenge

Hi friends! Today, I’m thrilled to share with you an empowering five-day meditation and writing challenge from Tiny Buddha contributor (and this month’s site sponsor) Nadia Colburn.

Founder of the online creative writing school Align Your Story, Nadia is a poet, memoirist, and yogi who has a talent for helping people access their creative voice on a deeper level. And that’s exactly what she’s done with this challenge.

Each day’s fifteen-minute recording will guide you through a short meditation, share an evocative poem, and lead you through a quick writing exercise inspired by that day’s piece.

When she first told …

A Tool to Help You Love Yourself Unconditionally

Hi friends! Today, I’m thrilled to share with you a beautiful, healing, and inspiring card deck that I’ve been obsessed with as of late.

Created by Tiny Buddha contributor Rita Loyd, the Unconditional Self-Love Message Card Deck contains fifty colorful art images, each with an accompanying message on how to cultivate unconditional self-love on the back.

At 2.5”x 3.5“, the deck is small enough to carry within a purse or pocket if you’d like to keep these messages close, should you need a little boost of self-love throughout your day. You can …

Submit Your Quote for Tiny Buddha’s 2026 Calendar

Hi friend! As you may know, I’ve offered a day-to-day desk calendar with quotes for the past few years and will soon offer my fourth.

I’m currently working on the 2026 calendar, and, as I did last year, I’d love to include some quotes from the community.

If you’d like to submit a quote (or more than one!) for consideration, you can do that here.

Some guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Quotes can be up to 75 words.

2. They need to be entirely original.

3. They can be on any topic related to personal growth, including but …