podcast

Summer Reflections

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

Summer Reflections: Finding Joy Through Challenges & Embracing Abundance

As the warmth of summer begins to fade, it offers us a unique opportunity to pause and reflect on the season that has passed. Summer, often filled with sunshine and adventure, can also bring its own set of challenges. Yet, it is within those challenges that we often find the greatest growth, joy, and connection to abundance.

In today’s podcast episode, Summer Reflections: Finding Joy Through Challenges & Embracing Abundance, I dive deep into my personal reflections from this summer. It’s been a time of navigating obstacles, learning to embrace the beauty of the present moment, and uncovering the profound lessons life presents through adversity. But it’s also been a season of abundant blessings—small moments of joy that remind us to be grateful, hopeful, and rooted in our true selves.

The Challenges of Summer

Summer is traditionally viewed as a carefree time, but for many of us, it can bring unexpected challenges. Whether it’s personal struggles, health challenges, or simply the overwhelming feeling of the world moving too fast, these obstacles can weigh heavily on our minds and hearts.

In the episode, I share some of my own struggles and how they’ve shaped my summer experience. I talk about how I learned to find joy even when things didn’t go as planned. We all know life can throw curveballs, but it’s the way we respond to those moments that truly shapes our growth.

Embracing Abundance

Amid the challenges, I also highlight the importance of discovering what is abundance to you. Perhaps it is in finding gratitude in the smallest of moments. The truth is, abundance isn’t just about material wealth or big achievements; it’s about appreciating the present moment and recognizing the richness of our lives, even during times of difficulty.

This summer, I’ve discovered that abundance is woven through everything—through the laughter of friends, the quiet moments of stillness, and the small victories we celebrate, no matter how insignificant they may seem. In the episode, I share simple, yet powerful practices to help shift your mindset and connect with abundance in your everyday life.

Finding Joy in the Little Things

A central theme of today’s episode is finding joy through the challenges we face. Often, the things that bring us the most joy are the simplest: a cup of tea in the morning, a walk in nature, or a moment of laughter with loved ones. Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be full of joy. Sometimes, it’s the little things that hold the most beauty.

I also discuss practical steps for cultivating joy in difficult times. From mindfulness practices to daily affirmations, these tools can help us remain grounded and present, even when life feels overwhelming.

Lessons From Summer

As we close out the summer and prepare for the transition into the fall, I encourage you to take some time for reflection. What have the past few months taught you? What challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them? Most importantly, how can you embrace the abundance that is all around you, even in the midst of hardship?

In this episode, I offer a gentle reminder that even in times of difficulty, there is always something to be grateful for, always something to learn, and always an opportunity for growth. It’s about finding balance between the hard times and the good times, and learning to flow with life’s seasons.

Listen to the Full Episode

If you’re ready to dive deeper into my reflections on the summer, overcoming challenges with joy, and embracing abundance, be sure to listen to the full podcast episode. Whether you’re navigating your own difficulties or simply looking for inspiration to reconnect with the blessings in your life, this episode is filled with insights to help you feel grounded, hopeful, and ready to embrace the next chapter.

Listen to the episode here.

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on my digital storefront!  

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.

Interested in being 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.

Yoga Principles – The Yamas

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

My favorite example of what Yoga really is comes from my first Yoga teacher training. We learned the Yoga principles make up very important aspects to the practice. The teacher shared that Yoga is best described as a bicycle wheel where only one of the spokes on the wheel has to do with the body (asana), and the rest of the spokes is how we show up in the world.

What are the Yamas?

The Yamas are best described as five guidelines or principles in which we relate to others and the world around us. Another spoke of the wheel (the Niyamas) relate to our own personal guidelines and relating to the Self. When we understand and apply these guidelines to our life we can begin to see we are truly living our Yoga.

Ahimsa

(non-violence). When I first began practicing Yoga I thought ahimsa meant I had to give up eating meat, which I did for a while. It is actually much more than that. Violence begins in our thoughts and goes outward to our actions, and our words. Violence can also relate to how we treat the Earth. Our actions have profound effects on others and the world, so living a non violent way can impact people as well as animals and plants.

Satya

(truth). Satya is truthfulness, but it’s more than just telling the truth. The word ‘sat’ literally translates as ‘true essence’ or ‘unchangeable’.  One example of how living Satya exists is how we present ourselves to others and how we relate from the space of truth. For example, exaggerating facts to appear more extreme, or withholding facts to appear more pure, are acts that do not align with Satya. Also the thoughts about others and the stories we make up about others can relate to this Yama.

Asteya

(non stealing). We often think of stealing in the material sense, but this Yama is much more than that. To live asteya means we are mindful to not steal someone else’s grief by comparing it with our own grief. It also means that we do not steal someone’s celebration by becoming envious. Further, it is an honoring of one’s time and not “stealing” their resources to benefit us. Oh, and stealing their donut off their desk counts, too.

Brahmacharya

(moderation of the senses/right use of energy). In the ancient origins of Yoga this may have been interpreted as a form of celibacy, which no longer applies in our modern world of Yoga. Instead, this Yama actually can mean that we are aware of where we invest our energy. Another way to see this is directing our energy away from external desires and instead, towards finding peace and happiness within ourselves. Participating in drama and gossip is a form of energy that is not a useful place to invest in.

Aparigraha

(non-greed). This important Yama teaches us to take only what we need, keep only what serves us in the moment and to let go when the time is right. This can be in a literal sense as it relates to materialism but it can also lean towards a greediness of demands on someone else where expectations are high. Holding onto relationships, people, jobs, money and other areas can be a form of greed.

Reflecting on the Living the Yamas

We can learn that Yoga is much more than laying on the floor and creating shapes with our bodies. As we do, it is important to remember that while we are practicing the physical part of Yoga, we can infuse all of these Yamas into the time on the mat (or in a chair). For example, when we expect and demand that we have our “spot” in the yoga studio, or when we put too much focus on perfecting our headstand, or we push our bodies into pain we have just been harming, untruthful, greedy, and not using our energy appropriately.

I have much more to say on the Yamas here.

Follow me for more goodness!

About Stacie

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.

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. 

Daily Mindfulness Routine

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

“As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise, you will miss most of your life.” — Buddha

A Day in the Life: My Mindful Routine

Mindfulness is more than a practice—it’s a way of living that allows us to stay present, reduce stress, and embrace each moment with intention. Over the years, I’ve developed a daily routine that supports my healing, fosters inner peace, and helps me move through my day with more awareness and gratitude. In this post, I’ll walk you through my mindful routine, offering practical tips that you can incorporate into your own life. If you’d like a deeper dive, be sure to check out my podcast episode on this very topic!

Morning Mindfulness Rituals

The way we start our day sets the tone for everything that follows. Instead of rushing into the morning, I take time to ease in with intention.

  • Breath Awareness: Before getting out of bed, I take a few deep breaths, tuning in to my body and setting an intention for the day.
  • Gratitude Practice: I reflect on three things I’m grateful for, which shifts my mindset toward appreciation.
  • Gentle Movement: A short stretching or chair yoga practice helps awaken my body and ease any stiffness.
  • Mindful Sipping: I make my morning tea or coffee a ritual, savoring each sip instead of mindlessly drinking while multitasking.

Try This: Before reaching for your phone in the morning, take five deep breaths and set an intention for your day. Notice how it shifts your mindset!

Midday Practices for Presence and Grounding

The middle of the day can often feel hectic, so I incorporate small mindful moments to stay balanced and centered.

  • Mindful Eating: I slow down and focus on my meals, appreciating the flavors, textures, and nourishment they provide.
  • Stretch Breaks: Gentle stretching or a short movement break helps prevent stiffness and resets my energy.
  • Fresh Air & Stillness: Stepping outside, even for a few minutes, to breathe deeply and notice my surroundings keeps me grounded.
  • Pause & Reset: If I feel overwhelmed, I take a few conscious breaths to recenter.

Try This: Set a reminder on your phone to take a deep breath and stretch mid-afternoon. A few mindful moments can bring a fresh sense of clarity to your day.

Evening Wind-Down and Reflection

As the day comes to a close, I focus on slowing down and preparing my mind and body for rest.

  • Digital Detox: I set aside my phone at least an hour before bed to reduce stimulation.
  • Journaling: I write down a few reflections on my day, focusing on what brought me joy and what I learned.
  • Restorative Yoga or Breathwork: A few minutes of gentle stretching or deep breathing helps signal to my body that it’s time to relax.
  • Gratitude Reflection: Before closing my eyes, I think of three positive moments from my day.

Try This: Before bed, take a few moments to reflect on something that went well today. It can be a small win, a kind interaction, or a moment of peace.

Encouraging Your Own Mindful Routine

Mindfulness isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence. Your routine doesn’t have to look exactly like mine; the key is to find small, meaningful ways to weave mindfulness into your day. Whether it’s taking deep breaths in the morning, savoring your meals, or ending the day with gratitude, every mindful moment adds up to a more intentional life.

If you’re curious to hear more about how mindfulness supports my journey, tune in to my podcast episode, A Day in the Life: My Mindful Routine. I’d love to hear about your own mindful practices—feel free to share in the comments!

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. 

February

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

February is a month of transition, love, and quiet resilience. The shortest month of the year, it carries the lingering stillness of winter while hinting at the promise of spring. It’s a time for warmth in small moments—steaming mugs of tea, cozy blankets, and heartfelt connections.

Symbolically, February is tied to love and self-compassion, with Valentine’s Day reminding us to nurture not just relationships with others, but also with ourselves.

Nature remains in hibernation, yet subtle shifts begin—a slightly longer day, a gentler breeze, the first signs of renewal. February teaches us to embrace patience, self-care, and the quiet beauty of growth beneath the surface.

A Month of Self-Love & Sweet Moments

February is a great time to focus on heart centered thoughts and actions. For many this includes showering others with love. This is also a great time to love on yourself. This month, I intend to plan a lot of fun online offerings around what it really means to live a heart centered life.

What is Heart Centered Living?

Heart-centered living is a way of approaching life with awareness, compassion, and authenticity. It means making choices based on love, kindness, and inner wisdom rather than fear, external pressures, or ego-driven desires. When you live heart-centered, you prioritize emotional well-being, meaningful connections, and alignment with your true values.

Some key aspects of heart-centered living include:
 Self-awareness & intuition – Listening to your inner voice and making choices that align with your soul’s truth.
 Compassion & kindness – Treating yourself and others with understanding, love, and non-judgment.
 Gratitude & presence – Appreciating the present moment and cultivating a sense of joy in everyday life.
 Authenticity – Living in alignment with who you truly are, without pretending or people-pleasing.
 Connection – Prioritizing deep, meaningful relationships with others and the world around you.

Final February Thoughts

As we enter into this finally month of winter and focus on love, let’s remember these simple ways to practice self love.

Self-Love Reminder: You deserve rest. You deserve joy. You deserve to treat yourself the way you would a dear friend.

Have a Mindful Treat: Whether it’s a piece of dark chocolate, a homemade baked good, or a warm cup of cocoa, take a moment to truly savor something sweet—without guilt, just love.

Gentle Affirmation Practice: Try placing a hand over your heart, closing your eyes, and whispering:
“I am worthy, enough and I am loved.”

What is on tap for your February? Here is more inspiration and tons of recipes!

Yoga Principles – The Yamas

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

My favorite example of what Yoga really is comes from my first Yoga teacher training. We learned the Yoga principles make up very important aspects to the practice. The teacher shared that Yoga is best described as a bicycle wheel where only one of the spokes on the wheel has to do with the body (asana), and the rest of the spokes is how we show up in the world.

What are the Yamas?

The Yamas are best described as five guidelines or principles in which we relate to others and the world around us. Another spoke of the wheel (the Niyamas) relate to our own personal guidelines and relating to the Self. When we understand and apply these guidelines to our life we can begin to see we are truly living our Yoga.

Ahimsa

(non-violence). When I first began practicing Yoga I thought ahimsa meant I had to give up eating meat, which I did for a while. It is actually much more than that. Violence begins in our thoughts and goes outward to our actions, and our words. Violence can also relate to how we treat the Earth. Our actions have profound effects on others and the world, so living a non violent way can impact people as well as animals and plants.

Satya

(truth). Satya is truthfulness, but it’s more than just telling the truth. The word ‘sat’ literally translates as ‘true essence’ or ‘unchangeable’.  One example of how living Satya exists is how we present ourselves to others and how we relate from the space of truth. For example, exaggerating facts to appear more extreme, or withholding facts to appear more pure, are acts that do not align with Satya. Also the thoughts about others and the stories we make up about others can relate to this Yama.

Asteya

(non stealing). We often think of stealing in the material sense, but this Yama is much more than that. To live asteya means we are mindful to not steal someone else’s grief by comparing it with our own grief. It also means that we do not steal someone’s celebration by becoming envious. Further, it is an honoring of one’s time and not “stealing” their resources to benefit us. Oh, and stealing their donut off their desk counts, too.

Brahmacharya

(moderation of the senses/right use of energy). In the ancient origins of Yoga this may have been interpreted as a form of celibacy, which no longer applies in our modern world of Yoga. Instead, this Yama actually can mean that we are aware of where we invest our energy. Another way to see this is directing our energy away from external desires and instead, towards finding peace and happiness within ourselves. Participating in drama and gossip is a form of energy that is not a useful place to invest in.

Aparigraha

(non-greed). This important Yama teaches us to take only what we need, keep only what serves us in the moment and to let go when the time is right. This can be in a literal sense as it relates to materialism but it can also lean towards a greediness of demands on someone else where expectations are high. Holding onto relationships, people, jobs, money and other areas can be a form of greed.

Reflecting on the Living the Yamas

We can learn that Yoga is much more than laying on the floor and creating shapes with our bodies. As we do, it is important to remember that while we are practicing the physical part of Yoga, we can infuse all of these Yamas into the time on the mat (or in a chair). For example, when we expect and demand that we have our “spot” in the yoga studio, or when we put too much focus on perfecting our headstand, or we push our bodies into pain we have just been harming, untruthful, greedy, and not using our energy appropriately.

I have much more to say on the Yamas here.

Follow me for more goodness!

About Stacie

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.

February Love

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. – Brené Brown

As we move into February, I hope that this will be a month filled with an abundance of love, especially for yourself. As we know, this kind of abundant love comes from our inner heart and must be first directed at ourselves.

Learning to love who we are can be the doorway to experiencing a life filled with joy and richness.

For most people it is much easier to love others than it is to love ourselves. Speaking of others, be sure to check out for my LOVE gifts mini-catalog for your beloved or for you! There is something for everyone!

When we are living busy lives that are filled with everything that comes with being human; stressful jobs, demanding families, chronic pain, overpacked schedules. it is incredibly difficult to feel healthy and comfortably rested. When that is our overall experience day to day, the result is that we become stressed and burned out.

In order to nurture the health of our mind, body, and soul, we need ways to recenter and restore. We need to learn to cultivate these practices in short spurts throughout the day. A quick walk, reading a chapter in a book, calling a friend are just some of the things that can feed your soul.

Become a master at self care.

Over the years I have become a master at the art of self-care. It was not always this way and over time my entire being had taken a toll. Now, I take daily walks to reconnect. I have developed a rich morning routine. A good network of friends is a must. Having satisfaction with work is key. Working a jigsaw puzzle feeds me. And there is not a day that goes by without a luxurious bubble bath to sooth my soul.

One of the first steps is to simplify your schedule and make time for YOU.

It may sounds difficult, but the rewards are so rich. And the best part? By loving on yourself, you will in turn be loving on others with a better attitude and less stress. I’d love for you to take a listen to a recent podcast I was a guest on that describes how I went into the heart and learned to love myself and my life.

Listen to the Podcast

Speaking of loving yourself, I am offering a self-care package this month that is worth every penny. You’ll get three beautiful yoga practices to add to your library, my custom blend called UNCONDITIONAL, a soothing foot salve and bath bombs all bundled into a gorgeous package. I even have a special package just for the special men in your life!

This month is also a time to look at your physical heart and make a commitment to care for it through healthy choices like eating clean and exercise. Find ways to incorporate movement into your life and your heart will be happy. When the days are cold and blustery, consider making a hearty vegetable soup to warm your insides or enjoy a warm bath infused with lavender. Also, taking a few minutes everyday to be grateful is a powerful exercise in cultivating love. I find that gratitude is the best way to stay in a full heart of goodness.

As we focus on love this month be sure that beyond all the candies, flowers and romance, remember that YOU are enough exactly as you are. You are worth it and your life has purpose and meaning.

Look into your eyes and see what I see.

I have a variety of ways this month to nurture your mind, body and spirit. My events are all virtual and can take place anywhere! Be sure to sign up so that you get the goodies that often come with the learning opportunity.

Class Schedule

The beauty you see in me is simply a reflection of you. ~Rumi