I could feel the excitement rising as I walked down the wooded path. I had a bag of candles in one hand and my cell phone in the other. The path was covered with a layer of big leaf maple leaves, brown and gold and wet, so no crunch as I walked over them. ItContinue reading “Gratia is grace + kindness”
Tag Archives: breath
Stirring the Dark: Episode 2
What became of Little Red Riding Hood? This podcast episode, another retelling of an ancient tale, meditative storytelling for adults. We begin with a journey back, to the development of our identity at age 7-9 years old, and breathing into that identity, sending intention and compassionate energy to that version of our young selves. SnuggleContinue reading “Stirring the Dark: Episode 2”
The Only Way OUT is IN.
Rhythms of the elements echo in our bodies, breath, and blood. Elemental air, water, earth, wood and mineral reverberate in every tissue, organ, and cell. These building blocks of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, sodium— all inform our human growth and development from first breath to last. The more we tune in to our earthiness, the moreContinue reading “The Only Way OUT is IN.”
Looking into the face of fear
I know it’s not Halloween yet, but I couldn’t resist. Pretty awful illustration of a terrifying squid, right? Only a mother could love. One day I was talking to a friend about fear; I asked what she was afraid of. She said, “Nothing, I’m not afraid of anything!” And the truth is, she is prettyContinue reading “Looking into the face of fear”
What is your hope buoy?
When I am feeling unsteady, uncertain, unmoored, irritated, triggered by whatever is current and present in my life—if, and that’s a big IF, I pause and notice, I can feel my face settle into lines and sags. My eyebrows fall, the corners of my mouth slide down, muscles of my jaw tighten and my neck constricts like angry snakes. You too?
I see the moon and the moon sees me.
In November of 2022, the world’s population reached 8 billion. I can’t imagine that number at all, maybe looking at a night sky filled with stars I can get an idea, or the grains of sand spread across my favorite beach. I can choose to feel foreboding, worry, anxiety, hopelessness about that unimaginable number, butContinue reading “I see the moon and the moon sees me.”
The Sacred No: Resist rather than resent.
I listened to a NY Times Opinion podcast interviewing a 19 year old teenager in Brooklyn who has become a leader in a resistance movement. What are these activists up to? NY Times, “ Started last year by another Murrow High School student, Logan Lane, the club is named after Ned Ludd, the folkloric 18th-century English textileContinue reading “The Sacred No: Resist rather than resent.”
A place of Maybe.
“You mock my pain!” Exclaims the Princess in that lovely classic fantasy farce, Princess Bride. Farm Boy/Pirate Roberts replies, “Life is pain, Princess. Anyone who claims otherwise is trying to sell you something.” This isn’t bad news. We are born into a life that will be marked by loss; impermanent, imperfect, and painful. But thisContinue reading “A place of Maybe.”
The Music of the Pause.
As an independent, traveling yoga teacher, who spends a titch too much time on social media noticing all the events and workshops and retreats other yoga teachers offer, I put stress on myself by feeling the need to offer workshops and events in addition to the classes I teach. I do enjoy offering these eventsContinue reading “The Music of the Pause.”
Off the mat; into the world
The morning fog embraced the land, sun rays slowly colored the horizon a stripe of orange just above the mist as I drove eastward. My car gently swerved along the curling river road as I moved toward the sunrise. My eyes were drawn to the ever changing light show while my mind circled, organizing aContinue reading “Off the mat; into the world”