There is no one right way to do anything, including yoga poses. For the past few weeks in my yoga class, I’ve been encouraging participants to really make their practice their own. I’ve taken some of the more intimidating yoga asanas (poses) and vary them for what...
self care
Self Love: An Origen Story
I figure you'll get enough of that commercialized romantic love BS from the holiday industrial complex in February. Let’s talk about loving ourselves instead. Romantic comedies often give lip service to loving ourselves when the protagonist of their story has trouble...
New Years Prompts and Practices
Happy New Year, wonderful humans! I had a wonderful, restful Christmas holiday. I didn’t travel to see family, though we did share a Zoom meal together on Christmas Eve. I didn’t even attend a party, just one church service. On Christmas Day, I made some cookies and...
Feeling in Color
I am not a crafty person. I’ve often envied people who can bring knitting or crochet into a meeting and absentmindedly work on a project while occasionally and appropriately interjecting into the conversation. I am in awe of the attention to detail people pay to bead...
The Blog I Did Not Want to Write
Confession: I did not want to write this blog this week. I’m exhausted. I’m grumpy. I’m discouraged. My meditation practice this morning only took the edge off my funk. I’m glad I work and live alone so that others don’t have to put up with me right now. (Apologies in...
Leading with Radical Self Love
What do self-care and self-love have to do with leadership? Everything. I bet you’ve worked for someone who was a nonstop worker. Someone who jettisoned vacation plans when even minor emergencies arose. Someone who worked long after everyone else left the building....
Craving Connection
When I began planning my crazy Birthday Month of Connections event series, I seriously wondered if anyone would show up. It’s summer, and people want to be outside. People are tired of being on Zoom. “People wouldn’t be interested in hanging out for my birthday,”...
Leading with Feelings
I have a very good friend who I call when I’m having a lot of feelings. They tell me that they treasure these rambling voicemail messages that usually start sometime like, “I’m having two or three feelings at one time, and I’m not quite sure what to do …” So the fact...
The Social Distancing Walking Club
Even before the coronavirus and the advent of social distancing, I took walks almost daily. As someone who lives in about 700-square feet and works in that same space, I knew the importance of getting outside and moving to help the blood and ideas flow during the work...
The Cost of NOT Caring for Yourself
“But, what are the costs if you DON’T care for yourself?” A new colleague asked me this question recently when we were having lunch for the first time. I’ve been pondering it ever since, particularly in light of how many people tell me they cannot afford the time and...
Ask for What You Need: The Self-Care Quandary
“If anyone needs a blanket or prop for Svasana, let me know and I can do delivery service,” my yoga teacher Marcia Miller encouraged in her airy and strongly assertive way. Since she happened to be standing right next to me, I reached up from my reclining position on...
Busy and Broke: The Self-Care Quandary
About a week ago, I polled folks on my social media about what prevented them from practicing self-care. The few answers I got named named lack of money or being too busy as the top reasons. I get it. I’m busy and broke, too. But, I wanted to go a little deeper. So I...
Mindful Advent: Love
Last year, my family attended a Christmas Eve Catholic mass, as we usually do. Though I grew up as a Roman Catholic, I left that church for the United Church of Christ many years ago. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the richness of the Catholic tradition,...
Three Practices that Keep Me From Leaving Ministry
In honor of my 15th Ordination Anniversary, I ask you to do two things — 1.) Do something today to take care of yourself; and 2.) Support the Yoga on High Foundation Today is the 15th anniversary of my ordination into ministry in the United Church of Christ. Fifteen....
Reiki: Divine Healing Connection
I haven’t written much about my passion for Reiki — the Japanese energy healing modality that I have been training in for the past couple of years. More than anything else in my advanced yoga/meditation/mindfulness training — Reiki has resonated with me the most. At...