CultureLynx Blog
I had heard about the “baby blues” but what I didn’t realize at the time is that I was experiencing postpartum depression, a much more serious condition which studies have shown affects 1 in 7 parents. So what is the difference?
Postpartum blues or “baby blues” is a fairly common condition affecting between 50% and 75% of people after delivery. I say “people” because the blues can affect men as well as women, whether they have delivered or not. Baby blues are characterized by “frequent, prolonged bouts of crying for no apparent reason, sadness, and anxiety.“
Postpartum depression, on the other hand, is a little more serious as it manifests in “alternating highs and lows, frequent crying, irritability and fatigue, as well as feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inability to care for your baby or yourself. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may appear within a week of delivery or gradually, even up to a year later.”
Having just launched Yoga Veda Saratoga, I can’t help but reflect on my life experiences that led me to those ‘aha’ moments when I realized I was part of something greater than myself - this feeling of finally belonging, of finally being home.
According to Dr Maya Spencer, “spiritual development often involves spontaneous experiences or revelations that cannot be accounted for scientifically. It sometimes also happens more gradually “when the fragility of life is revealed and a person re-evaluates the meaning of life.” There is no timeline on spiritual growth; for some, it happens earlier; for others it happens later. In my case, each experience in my journey brought me closer to where I needed to be, but it took a series of traumatic events for me to “wake up.”
Is it simply a matter of genius and intelligence that some people are just born with? Or is there another explanation, another source of creativity we could possibly explore? How do we get these ‘aha’ moments, the ones that usually occur only rarely, for example in the shower or during a walk in the woods? How can we tap into our higher consciousness more often to discover groundbreaking innovations? Or, perhaps in my case, how can we reclaim our mojo once we’ve lost it?
Excited to introduce episode 2 of CultureChat, which explores Indian culture and identity through the eyes of Elizabeth Sherman, an American cross-cultural expert, and her husband Abir Rajkhowa, an Indian engineer and marketer from the State of Assam.
From the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to the Chinese-Indian dispute over the Himalayan border, Liz and Abir shed light onto some of the complex cultural, historical and geo-political developments that have shaped India into the country it is today.
I’ve always prided myself on my ability to sense people’s energies around me, to connect easily with individuals of different backgrounds, and to empathize with others regardless of their life circumstances. And I always considered it my calling to make a difference, no matter how. Yet, until that very moment, I had been completely unaware of the emotional toll these recent events would have on anyone. I knew that racism existed but I never stopped to consider that I myself was among the very people I deemed ignorant to the realities of our world. How could I have not read between the lines and recognized my friend’s pain? How could I have been so blind to her suffering?
It’s because I have been living in a bubble. Like many privileged white people, I have been living in complete ignorance over the state of the world because racism has never really affected me.
In honor of World Day of Cultural Diversity, CultureLynx is excited to anounce the launch of CultureChat, a new interview series dedicated to exploring any and all things culture, and using the power of story telling to unravel hidden truths - one chat at a time. Since, this year, World Day of Cultural Diversity coincides with Father’s Day in Germany, we are kicking off the very first episode with a candid conversation about German identity post-WWII, featuring CultureLynx founder Gwendolyn Bluemich and her dad, Bernhard Bluemich.
Seventy-five years after the end of WWII, what does it mean to be German? Why does soccer elicit such an adverse emotional response for those who remember Hitler's propaganda? How do the German people process the collective guilt and shame that has been passed along from generation to generation? Join us in this candid converastion to learn the answers to these questions, and more!
It’s funny how it takes a full moon to remember the magic and awe that surrounds us in our daily lives. Why is it that, when we get older, we forget? It seems we are taught that the only way to “be” is to “do”: do more, do better, do greater. We are socialized into believing that success requires great sacrifice, and that the only way to demonstrate value is to keep busy and fill each breathing moment with ‘to do’ lists, meetings, and other obligations. We’ve become slaves to self-imposed schedules and artificially constructed concepts of time: days, hours, minutes, seconds we wish we had more of and, yet, with each moment, they run away. When was the last time we experienced awe and wonder, the kind of marvel and astonishment inspired by great beauty, sublimity and might?
Do you count yourself among the millions of viewers who have been hooked by the latest true crime documentary series Tiger King? Are you new to CultureLynx? If that is the case, you might wonder: What do CultureLynx and Tiger King have in common? Well, if you are hoping for murder, mystery and madness, then we are sorry to disappoint: Other than a whole bunch of wild cats, there’s not much that connects us. But if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about CultureLynx, who we are, what we do (why the lynx theme?) and how we help connect you to your Truth, then here’s your chance!