What if your purpose isn’t one big thing—but a thousand small, meaningful moments of presence? Here’s the shift that changed everything for me…

One of the things I love to do is gather student stories. I love to hear what brought them to yoga and what keeps them coming back. It keeps me inspired and it reminds you why your yoga matters! Last month I asked the teachers to share their stories and they had a hard time with the assignment. I realized that they may need to hear another story in order to set theirs free. So it was my turn to share. Below is what I uncovered as I took time to remember why I love being here!

As the trees and flowers begin to bloom this spring, our inspiration is blossoming too! It feels like everything old is becoming new again. The yoga studio is thriving and evolving into a community hub. Here are some fun new offerings to share with you…

This past weekend in our Teacher Training, a student brought up a great point. We were reading a book about ONEness and how to connect with this idea. She asked, “How can I drive to work connecting to the trees when one of my students has been deported?” This lovely human teaches Middle School right here in Greenville, SC. I share this with each of you as you may be asking yourself the same thing. How can we, sitting in this place of privilege, offer ourselves connection to yoga, meditation, trees, when others are suffering? My answer, how can we not?

Last year, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Toronto with three girlfriends.  We were there to spend a weekend with author Elizabeth Gilbert and coach/author/sociologist Martha Beck.  This weekend was magical for so many reasons that I cannot even begin to describe.  It really set the path for the idea of “resistance-free living.”  One piece that has been in my head and heart since October was a set of exercises we had to do with someone in the crowd. 

The past few months, I decided to conduct an experiment. Remove things from my life that get in the way of connection. It started with a dear friend and student offering this idea of “resistance free” living. How can I live in a way that is congruent with my heart and spirit without creating division within me and around me? Since I stopped watching the news in 2001, that wasn’t necessary. This time I decided to stop all forms of social media. I decided to have faith that our business would be alright and notice with curiosity any changes from within.

Once upon a time, there was a 20-something young girl who lived in Los Angeles. She taught fourth grade and was happy. Then she met a man who introduced her to Max Strom and it changed her life. She began taking yoga five times a week (sometimes sitting in her car 2 hours to get to class) and was then invited to attend his teacher training. When this young woman decided to leave LA to get married, Max said to her, “One day you will have a great yoga school.” This young woman laughed and said, “I love teaching. I don’t think so…” 25 years later and here we are!

The past three weeks all my nervous system asked for were things that brought me comfort.  Ted Lasso, warm tea, talks with kindred spirits, lots of breath work, yoga and journaling.  So when I got to the episode where Ted asks this question, the answer immediately came.  What does this situation, this moment in time need?  Community, Spirit and Connection came through loud and clear.  I know we aren’t all on the same page of things.  I know we all follow different values and beliefs.  However, I also know that we are all connected and underneath the fears, the rhetoric, the division; we are all ONE.  It’s the basis of every spiritual teacher and teaching worth their salt.  How do we attend to this in our daily lives and our community?

Let us become a well-adapted community away from electronics and reconnected to the slow rhythms of life and nature.  Let us remember who we are, free from the noise of the world.  May this time together bring out our inner ant and our inner Aunt Gale - connected to our community and curious about the world.

This is your friendly reminder that we are enjoying our annual rest beginning THIS Sunday, June 30th. We will re-open Sunday, July 7th. Our teachers will have time to rest their teachings and play with their families. Our building will have a week to get a deep clean and a deep rest as well. We hope you will find ways to rest and play during your week, maybe even taking an extra nap or two! But just in case you don’t want to miss your yoga, here are three ways you can keep it going…

I am not really one who thinks of myself as playful. I’d rather sit in the quiet than find some ectstatic experience to blow my mind. I have heard in my life that I am no fun. But play to me is very different than it may be for you. For last month’s class on rest and play, I returned to the work of Brené Brown. Unfortunately, her chapter on rest and play was only five pages long! So I followed her breadcrumbs to the work of researcher Stuart Brown.

A while back I was listening to Liz Gilbert on Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things. In the episode, she shared that she writes letters to herself as a morning meditation. She speaks to spirit, God, Love, whatever you wish to call he/she/they/them/it. She asks Love, “What would you have me know today?”

This month we focus on how to know whether it’s time to rest or play? In March’s online gathering for this series I posed the question, “How do you know when you need rest?” The answers were awesome… “I get grouchy.” “I feel stuck.” “I want people around me to just be quiet.” I know in my previous life, I wouldn’t know I needed rest until I was completely burned out, mad at the world and exhausted beyond belief. Is this new world I have created around me, I rest all the time and it’s very disconcerting to many around me. (I think they might be jealous … or maybe they just need me to reply to an email or text and I am REALLY slow)!

Often when we do stop to rest (or even follow our hearts to do what WE want to do), we hear these unspoken messages that have been sent to us since birth. We hear- “I am lazy.” “I should be…” “I have done all the things, now I am worthy of rest.” What if instead, we flip the script and say we are divine and worthy of rest as our birthright? This is the message of Tricia Hersey’s book “Rest Is Resistance.” Her book will turn you on your head and invite you to dig deep into your heart, your humanity and rest as a form of healing for ourselves, for our communities.

What is rest? At times in my life, I remember needing to get away to a foreign place with no cell service, no kids, and no responsibilities to rest. Or other times I remember just wishing for a broken bone or (slight) illness so I could lie in bed for a while. These days I have built my life differently. Rest is an integral part of my week and it’s not quite what I thought it was a decade ago.

I feel like the Grinch or Scrooge as we begin 2024. When I hear “Happy New Year!” my inner reply lately is “Bah Humbug!” I spent yesterday, the first day of 2024 trying to figure out why I was so crabby. I think my issue is two-fold.

Last week, I was being mentored / coached to complete my training with Martha Beck. Carla asked me, “How do you want to close the year?” The answer came so quickly… cozy and warm. Her reply was, “Well then, do nothing else. Only do the things that make you feel that way.” So simple, so profound.

As we close the year, it is important to complete our theme “Riding the Waves of Change.” For this, we land in Square Four of our change cycle. A group of us came together in October to honor this square which holds the mantra, “Change is always happening… And that’s okay.” Square Four emerges when you have launched the dream, shared the vision. You are living it! You know there are tweaks that need to be made, but they are small and often external moves. Mostly you are flying free and enjoying the ride!

Below is a newsletter and podcast from one of my favorite teachers, Martha Beck. She shared this in episode xx of the Gathering Pod and resent in her October newsletter. It’s too good not to share. It also reminded me of why we changed our classes to Inspired Flow… yet another reason to breathe deep and get inspired!

Our theme this year has been Riding the Waves of Change. A year to follow the change cycle from cocoon to chrysalis to emergence to flight. Little did I know, my life would follow the squares of change so closely each season. I’ve kept you at an arms length just sharing each part of the cycle with no personal relevance. It’s time to let you in.