How To Live Longer

"The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic, or hospital." - Mark Hyman

Many years ago I saw a TED talk by Susan Pinker about longevity...it blew my socks off! In it, she described her research into the Italian island of Sardinia which has more than six times as many centenarians as mainland Europe and ten times as many as North America. Why? A little hint...it isn't because of their exercise routine or drinking green juice or the latest diet trend. The reason for their long, happy, fulfilling lives is their emphasis on close personal relationships and face-to-face communal interactions. In fact, scoring well above even the most intimate relationships - the people who know you inside and out and every space in between - was social integration.

My mind was BLOWN. And yet when I really stopped to think about it...it made perfect sense.

I have been so lucky to witness and experience this within our shared yoga tribe over a great many years...and never before quite as meaningfully as within the past 18+ months. I have seen community blossom in the hardest of times - via Zoom screens and dancing under treetops. I have seen people finding true nourishment in connecting with each other through shared experience and a shared, deeply intrinsic, knowledge that community is undoubtedly the highest form of healing.

Together, we are stronger.

Together, we are kinder.

Together, we are healthier.

Together, we thrive.

Remembering Courage

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I'll try again tomorrow.'" - Mary Anne Radmacher

I haven't been feeling particularly courageous lately. In fact, I've been feeling a bit frayed at the edges - watching myself shrink back into old patterns, worn out ways of thinking, and deeply ingrained patterns that spin me around in circles.

Sometimes, I want to give up. I want to turn off the world and close my eyes and let the hours pass in silence. I want to isolate and hunker down and push all of my feelings into the tiniest container deep deep deep in my heart.

...and that's where all of the practices come in. In the darkness, I lean into the rituals that come with living yoga - the journaling, the quiet contemplation, the movement, the breath, and the community. I remember that I am entwined in a beautiful web of uplifting support. I remember that I am not alone and that I can ask for help.

It takes courage to admit that you are not always okay. It takes courage to ask for support and it takes courage to wake up in the morning and commit to trying your best. Please know whenever you feel your courage falter that you are loved more than you could ever imagine.

You are held...and you can lean on me. I love you.

How Far You’ve Come

"One day you'll look back and realize just how hard it was, and just how well you did." - Charlie Mackesy

No one ever said it would be easy. There will be words that cut. There will be moments that shatter. There will be days that feel like slogging through quicksand. There will be set backs and mistakes and hurt feelings.

The simple truth is that life will sometimes be hard. And I believe that it is in the hard times that we learn what we are truly capable of.

If you were never tested, how would you know your deepest strength? If you were never faced with challenge, how would you learn to rise to the occasion?

I don't think that life was made to be easy...I think, perhaps, that life was made for us to grow.

In my life, growth has been messy and raw - it has been watered with tears and incubated in fire. And, looking back, I wouldn't trade it for anything. All we can do is try our best in each moment with the tools that we have.

So just close your eyes and reflect on just how far you've come and just how well you have done. You are growing and it can be so hard...and also so so so beautiful.

Because YOU Are

"Treat everyone with politeness and kindness, not because they are nice, but because you are." - Roy Bennett

It's taken me a whole lot of years (and a whole lot of tears) to figure out the simple truth that I have no control over what other people do, how other people behave, or how other people choose to show up in the world.

It's also taken me years to realize that there is only one thing that I do have control over...me.

It is so empowering to realize that in any moment of any day I get to choose how I want to be in the world. I get to choose politeness and kindness not because other people do but because I do. What a relief it is to release the burden of other people's actions and focus instead on your own!

So why not choose to be the person who says 'please' and 'thank you' - the person who gives compliments and who sees the best in people - the person who shows up fully for friends and family just as much as strangers or new acquaintances - the person who asks 'how are you' and 'what can I do to help' - the person who has the shoulder to cry on and the laugh to lighten the mood.

We can be all of these things if we choose.

So perhaps today is the day you choose.

Choose politeness.

Choose kindness.

Choose to be nice, not because other people are...but because YOU ARE.

The Rarity Of You

Never forget how rare you are...

You are valued more than you could ever possibly know, by more people than you think, and in more ways than you can imagine.

You are seen.

You are loved.

You are cherished.

You are worth the time.

You are worth the energy.

You are once in a lifetime.

I think we can lose track of this from time to time...the simple truth that you are the only you there will ever be.

It took millions of years - stars turning into dust turning into life turning into lovers meeting turning into the perfect being that is you. So take a moment to let that sink in.

The entire history of this universe in one way or another built up to the culmination of making you, just as you are, utterly and completely unique - the rarest of diamonds with each sparkling facet honed specifically by your own life experiences. I hope you know every moment of every day that you are adored.

And...I hope if you ever feel yourself forgetting that you know I will always be here to remind you. I could not be more grateful that you are here. I could not be more grateful to know you. I could not be more grateful to spend time with you.

You are rare. You are loved.

You Always Have A Choice

"The most profound personal growth does not happen while reading a book or meditating on a mat. It happens in the throes of conflict - when. you are angry, afraid, frustrated. It happens when you are doing the same old thing and suddenly realize that you have a choice." - Vironika Tugaleva

I used to be more sarcastic. I used to roll my eyes at cliches. I used to pretend I didn't like corny jokes or puns or romantic movies. I used to try to try to be cool at all times. I used to gossip. I used to say yes to doing things I knew in my heart weren't right for me. I used to be a lot of things until I realized I didn't need to be any of those things.

You can choose.

And it is never too late to choose differently.

It is never too late to decide that kindness and gentle humor and being sweet in the world feels a billion times better than cracking mean-spirited jokes or living life with a chip on your shoulder. It is never too late to start fresh - to say 'I'm sorry' or 'I was wrong' or to own up to the very human mistakes you may have made before you knew you could be different.

You may slip up.

You may fall into old patterns.

And...I hope you will continue to realize that you always have a choice.

When the world pushes your buttons, when you feel conflict or anger or frustration or fear, when you get sick of your own b.s. and are tumbling through the rocky patches...that is where the truly profound growth happens.

Please remember, today and always, you have a choice.

You can choose kindness.

You can choose generosity.

You can choose silly jokes and belly laughs.

You can choose to be the first to say 'thank you' and 'I love you' and 'I'm grateful.'

You can choose that!

And...knowing that you can choose that...why would you ever choose differently? Be kind to yourself. Be kind to each other. Be kind in the world. Love you so so so much.

I’ve Gotta Have Faith

“If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However. the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present...Gratefully.” - Maya Angelou

There are moments from my past that are hard for me to forgive myself for. It's not always easy to look back with a kind heart and forgiving eyes.

Trust me. I get that.

So how do we acknowledge the fact that, in many ways, life is really just a slew of learning opportunities? I think that comes with acceptance - embracing that no matter what happened in the past, you did the best you could with the tools that you had in that moment.

As for the future? Thinking too far ahead gives me knee-shaking. heart-pounding, throat-tightening anxiety. But I'm learning to live more in prayerful hope and trust - acknowledging that I don't have the answers and that I can control only the next breath and the next one after that. In that presence is where I find faith. It seems like a loaded word - faith...but to me it just means surrendering into the warm hands of the unknown. It means believing in the best in other people and believing in the best in myself. It means knowing deep in my bones that the world is unfolding exactly as it needs to unfold...even if it's not always according to my plan.

And it's not easy.

And I'm often scared.

And I don't know the answers.

And I'm not sure of the perfect next steps.

And ... you know what makes all of this uncertainty so so so much easier?!

You. Community. Being together and being IN IT together. I am so grateful for you and I hope you know that every single day.

I Believe In Miracles

"Sometimes miracles are just good people with kind hearts." - Unknown

I've wished for miracles. I've prayed for the windfall, the winning lottery ticket, and the big break that suddenly fixes everything. And (spoiler alert) I have yet to win the lottery, or star in a Broadway show, or find the elusive cure to all that ails us.

But I have seen miracles.

I see them every day - extraordinary diamonds woven into seemingly ordinary moments.

So where do you find your daily miracle? In the tiny rainbow spotted within a dewdrop, or in the taste of summer ripened strawberries, or the smell of fresh lavender, or the touch of water on skin? I bet if we really looked, we could find a little bit of miracle within every person we meet simply in the fact that we all contain the same spark that allows us to breathe, and feel, and laugh, and live.

Each of you are a miracle in my life. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being you.

Wonderful World

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” - Mary Ann Radmacher

If we are lucky, we may be blessed with a few fleeting yet magical minutes in life when we are suddenly able feel the undeniable, intrinsic connection that exists between us and our planet.

I remember the moment from this picture so clearly. I recall sitting inside my tent fighting off drowsiness from the heat of the Serengeti sun when all of a sudden there was a gentle rustling in the trees outside. As I peeked my head out of the tent my jaw dropped wide open and I watched in awe as a whole family of elephants slowly and gracefully made their way through our camp. Moving in tender tandem - mothers with babies, large males and smaller youths -all swaying together as they wove their way into the distance. And I felt in those few moments, first excitement, then wonder, and finally a sweet sense of peace.

I think we are given these opportunities as reminders to continually open heart and mind to what is simultaneously unfamiliar and yet deeply innate - soft nudges to bring us back to the pure connection that exists in this world when we are able to pause for a moment to simply observe with eyes wide open.

I think that perhaps it is always there at our fingertips just waiting for us to notice - in the smile of a loved one, in the scent of a favorite flower, in the green grass, or the sanctuary of a yoga practice.

Every Day A Happy Birthday

“Every day is a new opportunity to begin again. Every day is your birthday.” —Dalai Lama

I love celebrating basically anything - birthdays, holidays, seasons, Mondays, etc. There is a freshness to these moments throughout the year that I feel provides a potent opportunity to reset and step forward with intention rather than habit. I cherish the idea that any moment, whether a big milestone or simply the opening of your eyes after final savasana, can be an exquisite occasion to start anew.

It's so easy to get caught up in the minutia of the day-to-day and it's often a genuine challenge to shift out of habitual momentum and instead pause to choose your next steps with care and grace.

So wherever this message finds you, try it out. Stop what you are doing. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Set a small intention. And as you feel ready...open your eyes and find yourself born again.

A happy birthday in any moment you choose - what a divine gift!

Rekindle Your Light

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” - Albert Schweitzer

I think we all have times where we feel like our sparkle has been dimmed - times where life feels a bit heavy or dark or just plain blah. I know I've felt that way on and off a lot within the past year.

And I also know that there are some incredibly special people in this world.

People who embrace you exactly as you are and at the same time inspire you to take your growth to the next level. People who approach the world with a sense of grace and gratitude for what is as well as an excitement for what could be. People who remind you how exquisitely perfect you are even in your darkness and who help you to rekindle your light.

I hope you have someone like this in your life. And I also hope that perhaps we can all learn to be someone like this to one another.

Complicated Plants

“Nothing is more beautiful than a smile that has struggled through tears.” - Demi Lovato

It seems to me that humans are so much more intrinsically tied to nature than we sometimes care to notice - that in essence, we are in so many ways just very complicated plants. We flourish with strong roots woven into soil that has been nourished with family, friendship. and community. We grow stronger when we are tested by the elements - each new challenge providing us with an opportunity to adapt and advance. We learn to be flexible in the changing winds that swirl around us and we find resilience to heal when we feel broken.

It is so poignant to me that we. like the natural world around us. reach towards the warmth of the sunshine and yet our growth is equally catalyzed by the rainy moments. In a way, our tears feed our smiles...which is a sweet and comforting thought.

Whatever climate your heart is weathering right now. I hope you can find a bit of solace in the nutritive moments you spend on your mat. I love you and I am so grateful for you. I'm here for you - rain or shine.

Saving Your Life

“The Journey” by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice --

though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles.

"Mend my life!" each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations. though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones.

But little by little, as you left their voice behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own,

that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world,

determined to do the only thing you could do --

determined to save the only life that you could save.

It takes a great deal of integrity to live a life true to your inner knowing. I hope you find the courage to live it.

Surf, Swim, Sail

“You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” - John Kabat-Zinn

We will all have sweet days where the seas of life feel steady and serene ... and we will have days where we feel caught in the riptide - pulled under the crashing waves.

I like the idea of learning to surf, swim, and sail on the ups and downs rather than tread water or struggle for air. But I also know that even the best surfers fall from time to time.

I think that sometimes all we can do is celebrate the waves that we do catch just right - the times where we soar with light hearts and seamless ease. And perhaps more importantly, I think we need to be soft with ourselves in the moments when we fall and struggle to keep our heads above the surface.

I love you so much - thank you for being the life vest that buoys me back up in the moments I feel pulled under. Please know that I'm always here to help you back on board with loving arms.

Just Keep Swimming

“Promise me that you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget. truly forget, how much you always loved to swim.” - Tyler Knott Gregson

There may be days where your legs ache from trying to keep your head above the water. There may be weeks where you feel like you are caught in a whirlpool - swirling through the same motions, the same thoughts, the same day-to-day tasks in an endless cycle. There may be months that pass in a blink of an eye - moments that slip like water through your fingers all while you were simply trying to fight the unrelenting current.

But there will be times where you remember that you can swim. There will be times where you spread your arms and slice through the water. There will be times where your breath sings in harmony with each stroke of your powerful legs propelling you forward. There will be times when you choose to dive deeper into the unknown and you discover a whole abundant world waiting for you just below the surface.

Wherever you are in your journey - treading water or swimming freely - know that rest and recovery is always available here in your practice. Pause to break free from the current. rest your toes on the sand beneath you, and float along on the gentle stream of each breath as we flow together.

The Whispers

If you listen to your body when it whispers, you will never have to hear it scream…

I believe the same is true for your heart...

About a month before I started my first teacher training, I tore my hamstring doing this pose. I was at a point in my practice where achieving the next pose was at the forefront of my thoughts - where my practice was consumed by being somehow better. stronger. more flexible - as if somehow that would fill the wounds in my shattered heart or bring light to the shadowed corners inside where my bruised and fragile self-worth lived curled in a corner.

No big surprise that this injury was one of the best things to ever happen in my practice (and in my life). It taught me to flourish in the fluidity of the movement, to luxuriate in the spaces in between the poses. to float on the wave of each breath ... but perhaps most importantly, it taught me to begin listening to my body which in turn taught me to begin to listen to my heart...a journey I still embark on every day.

Please know that I am always holding you tenderly in my heart - I hope you are holding yourself just as sweetly.

Welcoming All Guests

“The Guest House” by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy. a depression, a meanness.

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows.

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture.

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame. the malice.

meet them at the door laughing.

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

A favorite poem and a needed reminder to self this week.

Welcome in your visitors, sit with them. and learn what they have been sent to teach you.

Permission To Rest

“You have permission to rest. You are not responsible for fixing everything that is broken. You do not have to try to make everyone happy. For now, take time for you. It's time to replenish.” - Unknown

We've all heard it a million times - you cannot serve from an empty vessel. However, no matter how many times we are told to rest, to replenish, to take the moment to breathe and nourish, we so often choose instead to blast ahead - we opt to push through or put off thinking about ourselves until tomorrow rather than caring for ourselves today.

Strangely enough, I think so many of us are conditioned to feel more comfortable operating on overdrive. We become so used to being depleted that in the rare moments when we have the space to heal we instead elect to fill that space with more activity, more to-do lists ... always more.

You are not responsible for addressing everyones needs in every moment.

There will be times (likely a great many times) in your life where you will need to accommodate, to adapt, to stretch yourself a bit thinner to better serve those you love. And if we are being honest, I think we all know that those more trying moments feel so much easier if we learn to take a tiny bit of time each day to recharge.

Take the breath, take the minute, take the hour or day or week or however much time you can to care for yourself. Because when someone you love truly needs you, you want to be able to show up wholeheartedly with strength, stability, and a full cup.

I Am Enough

What other people think of me is none of my business…

No matter who you are at some point in your life some one has probably told you who you should be, how you should show up, what they like or dislike about you, their idea how you need to interact with the world. Chances are some of those opinions stuck, took root. wound their tendrils around your heart and cemented themselves into your habits and wriggled their way into the things that you now believe about yourself.

I think that it's natural to want to please others, to want to fit in, to want to be the ideal that others want us to be. I also think that in constantly taking on the burden of other peoples opinions we become heavy and chained to learned behaviors and beliefs about ourselves that truly do not fit the vibrant and true self that actually lies underneath.

I hope that we can use the yoga practice as a way to reconnect to self - to the people we were before the world got ahold of us - to lovingly untangle the snares and bindings and choose instead to listen with rapt attention to the voice inside. It's a simple truth that you will never be enough for everybody.

But, if you are willing to try, you may find the courage to be enough for yourself

Turn Down The Volume

"Avoid the temptation to make choices that are familiar but no longer serve you.” - Unknown

A little over a week into a new year and already I've felt myself sliding comfortably back into some of my well-worn but wildly outdated stories and habits - settling into ways of thinking that perhaps at some point served to protect or preserve but that have become, at best, a crutch I've been leaning on too heavily and, at worst, a tried and true way to numb out and disconnect.

I don't always set new year intentions...I think it's just as lovely to try as best as we can to live with kindness each day...but this year I've chosen a word for some self-guidance - intuition - a short and sweet dedication to turn down the external noise to better hear what's within. By pausing to listen to the voice within we can then choose with gentle honesty the right actions to take.

Looking forward to sharing intention, integrity, and intuition with you all this year. Love you.