life lessons

Do Not Let Your Strength Get in the Way

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Long ago, while volunteering in hospice—quietly rubbing people’s feet near the end of their lives—I met one of my greatest teachers.

She was almost breathtaking in her vibrancy. An angel in human form, luminous even as her body was preparing to let go. In our brief time together, she offered me a message that has stayed with me for years. One I still return to. One I am still learning.

My Teacher

When I noticed that we shared the same birthday, her eyes flew open with delight. Without missing a beat, she began listing the qualities of a Capricorn: strength, independence, tenacity, hard-working, task-completing, don’t-take-anything-from-anyone attitude—basic bad-ass energy.

We laughed instantly, recognizing ourselves in each other. Our shared stubbornness. Our headstrong resolve.

As I rubbed her feet, she mostly kept her eyes closed, her face soft and peaceful. The room felt calm, sacred. When I finished and began to stand to leave, she suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm.

With unmistakable Capricorn fierceness, she locked eyes with me and said:

“Do not let your strength get in the way.”

The silence that followed was vast. The words hung in the air, echoing long after they were spoken.

Moments later, her beloved partner walked past the bed. My patient gestured toward her and explained, “She’s a Cancer.” Then she turned back to me and said,

“We are Earth dwellers. Sometimes we have to carry the water of others.”
(She nodded gently toward her love.)
“And sometimes, we must allow the water to wash over us.”

Her eyes closed again. A soft smile appeared on her face.

A few moments later, she opened her eyes once more and asked me a question that caught me completely off guard:

“What do you want your kids to know before you die?”

Without hesitation, I told her that I wanted them to know—deep in their bones—that they are loved unconditionally and accepted for exactly who they are.

She smiled and said, “They already know that.”

The room grew quiet again. Still. Tender. As we said goodbye, tears streamed down both of our faces. In less than an hour, I had received more wisdom than I could have ever hoped for. Holding her hand, I thanked her—filled with gratitude.

Once more, she repeated:

“Do not let your strength get in the way.”

The Part I Didn’t Expect

The most startling part of this experience?

That very morning, I had tattooed the word “strength” on my ribs—after asking my boys to each offer one word they associated with me.

Strength.

Perhaps what I have called strength has also been a wall. A protective barrier. A survival strategy born from necessity and resilience.

And maybe—just maybe—while that strength has served me well, it has also gotten in my way.

Because strength, when held too tightly, can block tenderness. Independence can resist receiving. Resilience can forget how to rest. And self-sufficiency can quietly keep love at arm’s length.

As Rumi reminds us:

“Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

I still carry her words with me.
Still practicing.
Still softening.
Still learning how to let the water wash over me.

Word of the Year 2024 – Equanimity

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noun; evenness of mind especially under stress… a calm mental state and without hurried movement…right disposition or balance

Let’s define equanimity:

According to Merriam Dictionary, if you think “equanimity” looks like it has something to do with “equal,” you are right. Both “equanimity” and “equal” are derived from “aequus,” a Latin adjective meaning “level” or “equal.” “Equanimity” comes from the combination of “aequus” and “animus” (“soul” or “mind”) in the Latin phrase aequo animo, which means “with even mind.” English speakers began using “equanimity” early in the 17th century with the now obsolete sense “fairness or justness of judgment,” which was in keeping with the meaning of the Latin phrase. Equanimity quickly came to suggest keeping a cool head under any sort of pressure, not merely when presented with a problem, and eventually, it developed an extended sense for general balance and harmony.

I learned last year that my life needed to make a subtle shift.?I definitely do not want to lose my edge or momentum, so I knew my new word and intention for 2024 needed to be just right. I also knew I needed to find the word that captured the balance between effort and ease.?We use the term equanimity in Yoga often to describe our bodies in a posture and seeking that same balance through the physical effort and the mental fluctuations. I want that same balance, or equanimity, in all areas of my life.

Equanimity As An Intention:

Sankalpa is a Sanskrit term in yogic philosophy that refers to a heartfelt desire, a solemn vow, an intention, or a resolve to do something. It is similar to the English concept of a resolution, except that it comes from even deeper within and tends to be an affirmation.

Choosing a word or sankalpa for your year gives you direction and an internal compassion in which to lead your life. For 24 years I have chosen many different words and have taken action and it is a very important practice in my life. I have worked on some great things over that time span and all of it has lead to some greatness! A few of my recent favorites have been: refinement, deliberate, bold, reverence,and limitless. Vulnerability of 2023 did not make my favorite list. Or the year I chose peace. Sometimes we have to be ready for some big opportunities to face and practice these intentions, so I recommend choosing wisely.

I am all for creating action when it comes to intentions. It is one thing to say you’re going to be healthy and then down a couple donuts pretty regularly. Or opt to be more tolerant and continue to judge or complain about people or things you have zero control over.

In my own words and intention, or sankalpa, I feel I would like to embrace equanimity by transcending some personal biases or in my case high personal standards, self-prejudices, and self-judgments, leading to having a more inclusive and harmonious outlook on my own life. Basically cutting myself some slack and offering my sweet self some grace, especially during the challenges and bringing more balance to my life by nurturing myself and my Yin side of living. Let’s be honest, I tend to live 99.99% in the yang action side of life, which although it has served me well, I am exhausted. I also give and give and give, and while I learned a little bit how to receive, I still need to learn to give to myself without feeling guilty. I want to function in a non hurried way and soak in tiny moments of stillness to counter balance the extreme amount of constant yang/drive energy. I want know the balance between effort and ease in my day to day and lower the bar I have been reaching for.

So what does all that mean??

Words + action = intentional living. I have spent a month or more imagining what equanimity will feel like and as a result I have figured out some tangible actions that will promise to lead me towards a more balanced and grace filled life.

To cultivate an evenness in my mind, body and spirit and a calm mental state without being hurried, I am going to make some changes. I am going to live in equanimity by:

  • take one week off per quarter where I do not teach at all (first quarter is a pass since I am taking two months off post-hip replacement)
  • get on my yoga mat 3x a week (or a chair)
  • enjoy my “sacred space” / office at least 5x a week to journal, read, pull cards, and basically tune out the world and tune in to me
  • begin, enjoy, and finish a year long mindfulness daily practice book
  • say no to anyone or anything that does not support the balanced life I am committed to creating
  • let go of anyone or anything that steers me into “busy” coping strategies
  • continue with therapy and learning how to better handle the heavy weights I carry
  • give myself permission to rest, read, restore anytime
  • release the high standard I have on my physical movement
  • allow myself to splurge on things I have worked hard to afford without any reasoning or judgment

Stacie believes that it is her life purpose to share the gift of Yoga with anyone who is willing to say yes. In addition to raising a family and being an advocate for those with disabilities, Stacie is founder of Embracing Spirit Yoga which specializes in bringing adaptive Yoga into community centers and rehabilitation clinics. Bringing her depth of compassion to the mat–or the chair–she offers students the opportunity to grow as an individual in all aspects of their life.

With over sixteen years experience, Stacie Wyatt is an experienced 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, Certified Brain Injury Specialist, Certified Trauma Informed Coach, Life Wellness Coach, Senior YogaFit Instructor, Mind/Body Personal trainer, Stress Reduction and Meditation Instructor, Pilates Instructor, and Barre Instructor. Stacie is also certified in Integrative Movement Therapy™and is also a believer in the power and application of essential oils for health and wellness and proudly shares doTERRA essential oils.

Stacie brings her personal life experience of raising a daughter with a disability and over 12 years working in special education to her everyday Yoga classes.

The Power of Choice: Creating Your Path with Intention

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The Power of Choice: Creating Your Path with Intention

Every moment offers us a choice. Sometimes they’re small—what to eat, how to move through the day. Other times they feel monumental—deciding which direction to take when life asks us to grow.

Choice is where our power lives. It’s in the pause between stimulus and response, the sacred space where we can listen deeply to what we need and act from a place of alignment. Even in seasons where life feels heavy or uncertain, we can choose to breathe, to soften, to take one mindful step forward.

In this post, we’ll explore how embracing conscious choices—both big and small—can bring more peace, clarity, and meaning to your everyday life.

Over the last few weeks, more and more people have mentioned to me that they think  I am lucky.  People have said thing like I am lucky because I have an amazing house, lucky I have my own studio, lucky I can still make a living during the COVID outbreak, lucky I have amazing sons, and lucky I am active, thin and healthy.

Lucky? How about instead I made choices.  I made really important, life-changing, courageous choices. These choices were made with the Divine guidance of Spirit consistently nudging me along. There were many times that I was not able to see the clear path, but somewhere deep inside of me, I had faith, even when I did not know it existed. When I chose to commit to becoming the best version of myself and to be of service to my family and the world, the things that might appear to others as luck, became my well-deserved life that continues to be in alignment with Spirit.

First of all, I never got a penny of alimony following my divorce and I received child support for about a year. The inheritance I got when my father died was simply $100. I paid the full listing price for the house I bought from my mom.  Nothing was handed to me. I have earned every single amazing lucky thing that I have. I chose to create this lucky life.

Here is how:

My first major choice came when I was facing a divorce with three young children, one of whom is disabled.  I chose to commit to being the best mom (and dad) I could be.  I chose to keep the stability of my home for my kids at the cost of eating way too much french toast and hamburger helper sans hamburger.  I chose to stand my ground when it came to raising them with integrity and values. No matter how strapped we were for food, I can see now that something much greater than me was operating and we were always provided for and somehow, we made it. My grown men are amazing people and luck has nothing to do with it.

The second major choice came on an early spring day.  I woke up one day knowing that I was tired of being heavy.  I was done with eating unconsciously and I was done self-loathing my size 16 body. So, I chose to get a weightloss book and take action.  I stopped the habits of mindless snacking and afternoons lazily laying on the sofa.  I even gave up ice cream and wine!  I chose to create new habits; daily walks twice a day, preparing healthy snacks, using smaller plates, putting the kid’s snacks in a high cabinet that required serious thought to scramble with a chair for a goldfish cracker, I taught them to wash their own dishes so that I no longer cleaned their plate while I loaded the dishwasher, I chewed gum while I cooked so I would not be tempted to taste-test each step.  I chose health.  I chose to love myself enough to stop unhealthy habits and instead make new habits.

The third major choice I made was on another spring day when someone recommended that I read the book Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss.  I remembered the day I was listening to her audio version while I was out for a second walk, and the moment I felt as if God was speaking directly to me, I got it.  I chose to wake up.  I chose to live in alignment with who I wanted to be.  I chose to live with the right thought, right actions, and right words. I chose to feel the indwelling Spirit as me become, and radiate, the Light I had always been, rather than hide behind the chronic complaining and blaming.  I chose to let go of anger and disappointment and welcome in forgiveness.  I chose love.

The fourth major choice I made was investing myself into radical personal development books and courses.  I immersed myself in therapy.  I gave myself the gift of learning boundaries and self-love practices.  I began taking yoga classes.  I got back on a bicycle.  I surrounded myself with people who uplifted me. I said yes to joy. I committed to a rigorous financial plan that set me on course to someday own a home, be financially self-sufficient and stable, and save each and every month. I chose to take ownership of my life.

The fifth major choice I made was to listen to the longing in my soul and share yoga and the process of waking up with anyone willing to say yes.  And, this included my heart and passion of reaching those with disabilities or other barriers to a traditional practice.  I said yes to my purpose.  I said yes to the gift Spirit chose for me to share. I chose to listen and take action.  I left a j.o.b. and I ended a relationship that gave me financially security, but left me empty and alone. I chose to be free.

You see none of what I have is luck.  None of what I have was given to me by another human.  Nobody saved me and nobody did this for me.  I did it.

I co-created through Divine Love the life I wanted and then with an open heart, I said yes!

That is a choice, not one bit of luck.

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If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

Photosensitive Essential Oils

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Photosensitive Essential Oils: What They Are and How to Use Them Safely

Essential oils are a beautiful way to support your well-being, but did you know some of them can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight? These are called photosensitive essential oils, and while they offer amazing benefits, they need a little extra care when used on the skin.

Photosensitive oils—like citrus varieties such as lemon, lime, and bergamot—contain natural compounds that can react with UV light, potentially causing irritation or discoloration. The good news? With a few simple precautions, you can still enjoy their uplifting and cleansing properties safely.

In this post, we’ll explore which essential oils are photosensitive, why it happens, and how to use them properly so you can enjoy all their benefits without worry.

When I first started using essential oils I had no idea that some oils could cause a burn. Crazy, right?

As we head into warmer months and more outside time, remember that some oils are photosensitive and cause a reaction that is uncomfortable when combined with sunlight.

Be mindful when applying the following if you plan to be in the sun. You can still use them, just apply on the feet or a covered area or take internally (I only ingest pure, certified therapeutic grade oils that I am positive have been tested).

Check out this gorgeous ebook for the basics and be sure to drop me a message if you’re not sure which oils are safe  I’m happy to help.

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If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.