Christiana Polites received her Bachelor of Arts in the Comparative Study of Religion at Harvard University and has been immersed in Eastern spiritual traditions for over twenty years. She has studied both Tibetan and Chinese Daoist healing arts and received a Masters in Acupuncture from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She has traveled extensively around the world, seeking out authentic living lineages in both the healing and spiritual sciences.

Christiana is the co-founder with Dr Nida Chenagtsang of Sky Press Books, Pure Land Farms, Centers for Tibetan Medicine, Meditation and Rejuvenation, and the director of the Sowa Rigpa Institute of Tibetan Medicine. She teaches foundational courses on Sowa Rigpa, Tibetan yoga and rejuvenation, and guides retreats and practices in the Yuthok Nyingthig Buddhist tradition at Pure Land Farms, online and internationally.

Living Spaces and Mental Health: Healing Principles for the Indoor Generation

The average human being today spends close to ninety percent of their time indoors — in houses, apartments, schools, offices, and vehicles. This new “indoor generation” is more and more sedentary, socially isolated, and disconnected from nature — a lifestyle that is a contributing factor to the mental health crisis the world faces today.

The environments in which we spend our time have an immense impact on our overall sense of wellbeing, both physical and mental. Ancient cultures knew this and created their homes according to specific principles that encouraged harmony with the natural surroundings, and built their temples and sacred spaces utilizing techniques and geometric proportions that promoted a natural sense of awe.

In our modern technology-reliant society, these traditional architectural and design principles, including those of Tibetan Sache (“study of the earth”), are more important than ever to support people to feel well in their own homes, relax their minds, and reconnect them with nature and spirit, even within busy and stressful urban environments. Adapting and applying these principles on a larger scale to institutions such as schools and health centers could be a valuable contribution to the field of psychology and the healing of our global mental health epidemic.