Did you know? February 1 is the New January 1. At least, I'm calling it. After the bustle of the holidays, and deep in the heart of winter (at least for us here in the Northern Hemisphere), it can feel a bit too early to go raring into January full speed ahead. We need more space. Back a couple years, I began really listening and taking the full month of January to reflect and get clear on what I desired for the year ahead. I meditate, clean house, and get my spirit and schedule in order. And besides, so many people with grand intentions on January 1 end up bailing on them by February. Let's not do that again this year, shall we? What's the alternative to "I'm going to change everything this year, starting now!?" Making a deep commitment to ourselves, our body and … [Read more...]
Pooping Makes Me Happy
Doesn't it just rock your world to have a satisfying poo? To drop the kids at the pool. Take a break. Do number 2. Pop a squat. Free the turtles. Evacuate. Empty. If you love poo humor, check out the online slang dictionary. My favorite one? "Park a custard." What?! A little humor can go a long way in helping us relax. I used to have a whoopee cushion for surprises during yoga class - it got enough use and started to leak, so it has since been retired. It's the weekend! Weekends can be a great time to relax and set ourselves up for a fulfilling week ahead. A time to recharge. Yet if we end up too full from the weekend (consuming alcohol, lack of sleep, more heavy foods or sugar than normal, or just too much doing doing doing) we feel heavy and sluggish come Monday. Sometimes … [Read more...]
Navigating the New and Different
Hello, sweet friends! I hope you're feeling grounded and getting your 2018 off to a strong, clear start. We just celebrated the New Moon, too, and I spent a few hours with a group of women, in circle, with candles around our altar as we shared what we need to shed and digest in order to move forward. It felt yummy and supportive, but also edgy as we each bravely spoke about our challenges and fears. I released (again and again a thousand times) the grief and anger I've felt through the initiation into motherhood. Hello, intensity. I shed any shame around the difficulty of the transition and early challenges in bonding with Fern. I let go of blaming my body for what didn't happen. I surrendered my expectations about control and being in command in exchange for getting … [Read more...]
EQ: The Many Faces of Fern
I've been studying her emotions as they rise and fall and shift instantaneously - doing her best to express her needs. She definitely has her own opinions already and her language is nonverbal, embodied. She's doing her best. Perhaps the emotional body is our first way of being embodied. Not yet in control of her limbs and locomoting, but fully in the present moment with her whims. Using sound, her eyes, her face. My emotional body, too, has risen to the surface through these past 2 months, and I ride the waves as they come. Sometimes gracefully, and other times being thrown overboard and pummeled into the ocean floor (metaphorically, although if you've felt that sensation of sand-in-your-everywheres and tumbling disorientation you know what I mean!) . . I keep studying myself, … [Read more...]
Resilience: Wisdom from Aaliyah
If at first you don't succeed...you can dust it off and try again. This song has been running in my head, and ironically I'm sitting down to write about resilience. Enjoy a little throwback while we continue... For the sake of transparency and for well...fun, I wanted to challenge myself to list a few of my failures. (Note: I noticed how it seemed my brain wasn't wired to think of most of these as failures, but milestones. It was a healthy ego exercise to bring myself back to the intensity of defeat - but what we focus on wires our brains with that patterning...so, do the reflection, and then flip the failure and examine how it has taught you or benefited you.) 2000 - I auditioned for the dance program, didn't get in. I was SO convinced they needed me in their program. And … [Read more...]
Relational Wellbeing: The Yajna Model
Hey everyone! Today I'm going to quickly teach you about a model used in Yoga philosophy that helps an individual see where and how they are supported by aspects of life and a variety of relationships. What struck me is how different this view is from a western biopsychosocial model - often referred to as the Six Dimensions of Wellness. This model focuses on the individual's needs, with limited attention given to relationships (in the social and perhaps environmental pieces of the pie). The Yajna Model really looks at the individual functioning within an ongoing study and appreciation for relationships of different types, to meet different needs. If we think of either of these models like a table, each aspect is a leg on the table providing support to the individual. One leg … [Read more...]
The Freedom Mantra
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu Written above, you see a Sanskrit mantra which means: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.” So, I call this one the Freedom Mantra. Happy Independence Day! And as I reflect on the role of relationships, and how they give us such opportunity and clear confirmation of our own state, our own growth, (or our own momentary, ahem, regressions and transgressions) I would like us to consider Independence Day as Interdependence Day. I won't get too political here, but let's face it. We are on this planet together, and the more we can support each other's freedoms the more we, too, can feel freedom, embodied. Feel … [Read more...]
Seasons of Business: Celebrating 10 Years!
For those of us just getting acquainted, or for a trip down memory lane, I present you the seasons of my business since inception, 2007. It is true that necessity is the mother of all inventions, and I look forward to more intentional planning as I move into a more mature phase of business and life. Many thanks in advance for reading, enjoy! phase 1: personal trainer makes house calls, 2007 When I started my business by necessity (see that story here) I knew there was only one thing I needed to do – continue to see clients directly. At that point, I couldn't wrap my brain around paying rent for a commercial space, so I made house calls. I especially enjoyed being known for doing so by bicycle, sometimes riding 10-15 miles one way. But... Not. Sustainable. phase 2: yoga found … [Read more...]