Stephanie Congo, Mindfulness Facilitator & Yoga Therapist

Next Intro Mindfulness Course in Memphis starting Tuesdays, March 3rd-April 21! Registration below.

Group Fitness | Memphis Jewish Community Center Specialty Fitness Classes provide a unique exercise class experience with specialized equipment. Each class is instructed by certified Personal Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors. Members have priority registration. Community participants may register 10 days prior to the start of a program.

Looking for a chair yoga class? Here are a few free videos you can check out! Subscribe and take 1 class or all 12!

Stephanie Congo Stephanie Congo is a yoga teacher, uplifting coach and energy medicine practitioner. Visit her website at www.stephaniecongo.com and her Facebook at: www.facebook.com/StephanieLovesYoga

"Brain Injury is BIGGER Than You Think"

Can you believe that 1 in 5 people in the United States are living with a brain injury?! Brain injury affects people of all ages and there are many different types of brain injuries. Most people think about traumatic brain injuries - like falls and car accidents. But tumors and stroke can cause brain injury, too. Some toxic substances, like lead, can damage the brain. So can a lack of oxygen from an overdose or near-drowning. Brain infections and seizures can also cause brain injuries. Brain injury is everywhere. It has far-reaching consequences for families, communities and society as a whole. Learn where to get useful tools at no cost for survivors, families and professionals. www.tndisability.org/brain

Brain Links of Tennessee has put out a new great video. Check out more statistics shared within.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuEcvBW9qOo

Brain Injury is BIGGER Than You Think Check out our website www.tndisability.org/brain for more information, email us at [email protected] to connect.Can you believe that 1 in 5 people in the ...

Research study shows that meditation helps to clear waste from the brain due to better movement of the fluids. Meditation practices appeared to calm fluid in the brain towards a profile more associated with younger, healthier brains.

This new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence that a specific style of meditation may alter the circulation of fluids within the brain. The findings suggest that focused attention meditation can induce changes in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics that are similar to those observed during sleep. This research suggests that mental training might offer a non-invasive method to support the brain’s waste clearance systems.

Neuroscientists find evidence meditation changes how fluid moves in the brain A new study published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence that a specific style of meditation may alter the circulation of fluids within the brain. The findings suggest that focused attention meditation can induce changes in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics that are s...

"The most underrated act of kindness is letting people be."
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AXXdnerw8/

"We understood that in that stillness, something important was happening.
Maybe it's time we remembered.
Maybe it's time we gave ourselves the same grace we once gave them."

We once taught five-year-olds that stopping was part of growing.
In kindergartens across America during the 1950s and 60s, something beautiful happened every afternoon.
After the morning lessons. After the crayons were tucked away. After graham crackers and small cartons of milk.
The teacher would dim the lights.
A record player would begin to spin—soft instrumental music filling the room.
And twenty small children would settle onto their striped mats, pull up blankets that smelled like home, and learn something their bodies already knew but their minds were just discovering:
Stillness has power.
Naptime wasn't a luxury or a break for tired teachers. It was understood as essential—part of the curriculum itself. Educators recognized what science would later confirm: young brains need these pauses to process and cement everything they're learning. Memory consolidation happens during rest.
Some children slept deeply, their breathing soft and rhythmic.
Others simply lay quiet, watching dust particles dance through afternoon sunlight, daydreaming in that unhurried way only children can—their minds weaving stories from ceiling tiles and shadow patterns.
But here's what mattered: even the children who never slept learned something profound.
They learned that you don't always need to be doing something to be worthy.
They learned that their bodies would tell them what they needed.
They learned that grown-ups would protect their right to rest.
Then something shifted.
Beginning in the 1970s and accelerating through the 1990s, American kindergarten transformed. What had been a gentle introduction to school became something more urgent, more academic, more scheduled.
Standards rose. Testing crept into younger grades. The pressure intensified.
The striped mats were rolled up, stored away, eventually discarded.
The record players disappeared, replaced by smartboards and timers.
By the early 2000s, naptime had vanished from most American kindergarten classrooms—especially half-day programs where every minute was now devoted to instruction.
Today's kindergarteners move from reading groups to math centers to literacy stations to screens, often without a single moment to pause and integrate what they're learning. Research shows that instructional time for reading and math has increased dramatically, while time for music, art, play, and child-directed activities has declined by nearly half.
Meanwhile, we wonder why childhood anxiety has soared.
We removed the pause, then asked why children couldn't catch their breath.
Those who lived through the naptime era carry the memory: the weight of that familiar blanket, the security of a darkened room, the radical permission to simply be rather than constantly perform.
We didn't realize we were learning a lesson that would take decades to understand:
Rest isn't the opposite of achievement.
It's what makes achievement sustainable.
The science has caught up to what kindergarten teachers knew instinctively: children need margin. They need processing time. They need permission to integrate learning through stillness before being asked to produce more.
To every parent watching their exhausted kindergartener struggle: they weren't always asked to do this much, this young, this relentlessly.
To every teacher fighting to protect recess, play, and moments of quiet: research has always supported you.
To anyone who feels guilty about needing to pause: we once taught five-year-olds that rest was part of how they grew.
We once dimmed the lights, played soft music, and gave small children permission to stop achieving for thirty minutes.
We understood that in that stillness, something important was happening.
Maybe it's time we remembered.
Maybe it's time we gave ourselves the same grace we once gave them.

Civics Essay Contest K-12 Due February 20, 2026
https://sos.tn.gov/civics-essay-contest?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExNGhjM0lKeVM3R0hndGJPRHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7nh1nYxXJPQjVJOkzwPPxdQRk6jtl8Dl0c8qbFBbKl44vq726_a15HOiGozQ_aem_EBOR5Eah1K3ZDO-HS3eZGw

Civics Essay Contest | Tennessee Secretary of State Click here to learn about the 2026 Civics Essay Contest for K-12 students in Tennessee. The submission deadline is Friday, February 20, 2026, at 11:59 pm.

"How Slowing Down Speeds You Up"
with Stephanie Congo
April 24, 2025

Presentation at the 35th Annual Tennessee TBI Conference

Conference Title: Thriving After Brain Injury, i.e. Your Path to Success

The 2025 conference featured a variety of engaging sessions, including yoga with Stephanie Congo, a talk by Kyla Pearce on Loving Your Brain and Compassionate Self-Talk, and a survivor story shared by Dede Norungolo. Participants also heard from Fredda Roberts, offering a TBI Service Coordinator perspective, and Stacy Spangler, who discussed Returning to Work after a brain injury. Carrie Carlson presented on Disability Etiquette and was followed by a panel of speakers for a question-and-answer session. These sessions provided valuable insights and fostered meaningful discussion for all attendees and viewers.

Stephanie Congo Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

New Kids Yoga Club classes are starting next week on Tuesday afternoon!

Start Date: Tuesdays January 12th 4:30-5:30pm

Location: Dance Studio (Studio Suite) | 6560 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN, 38138

Description: Kids Yoga Club combines movement, breathwork, and play to build body awareness, strength, and flexibility. Through art, music, and mindfulness, children learn to relax, focus, and connect with others — all while having fun!

Instructor: Stephanie Congo, Yoga Therapist & Mindfulness Facilitator

Registration please scroll all the way to the bottom of the classes list, click on "Kids Yoga Club Jan-Feb and/or Mar-April Tues": https://www.jccmemphis.org/fitness/youth-fitness-classes/

Listening to nature is a soothing way to relax. Here are some large wooden megaphones to enhance the natural sounds of the outdoors. I would love to try these out!

In a world overflowing with noise and digital distractions, Slovenia has introduced a refreshingly simple way for people to reconnect with nature. Hidden within its dense, green forests are enormous wooden megaphones, carefully placed to transform the woodland into a sanctuary for sound.

These structures aren’t just artistic curiosities—they’re designed to amplify the natural acoustics of the forest, offering visitors an extraordinary form of sound therapy. Inspired by a concept first developed by students in Estonia, the megaphones turn the forest into a kind of open-air concert hall.

When visitors sit inside these giant, precisely angled wooden cones, every detail of the environment becomes more vivid: the rustle of leaves, the trill of birdsong, even the soft hum of insects. The effect is an immersive, 360-degree experience that magnifies the forest’s “language” and helps people escape the relentless noise of modern life.

This approach complements the growing global practice of “forest bathing” or Shinrin-yoku—the Japanese tradition of spending mindful time in nature to promote health and well-being. By incorporating these megaphones, Slovenia elevates that experience, creating a space for meditation, relaxation, and deeper connection.

It’s a reminder that sometimes the most powerful therapy isn’t high-tech—it’s simply the sound of nature, gently amplified.

🌿🍃🌼

Image source: unknown