Self-Care

You Don’t Have to Start on Day One: Begin Your Yoga Practice Today

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

There Is Still Time to Begin Your Yoga Practice

What if you didn’t have to start perfectly?

What if you didn’t have to begin on the first day of the month, follow every practice exactly as planned, or somehow find 30 uninterrupted days to make a difference?

What if you could simply begin?

Over the past 30 days, I’ve been exploring yoga through a simple daily practice.

Not a practice built around perfection.

Not a challenge to see how flexible, strong or disciplined we can become.

But a practice of coming home to ourselves.

And as this 30 Days of Yoga journey comes to an end, I keep thinking about the person who may be watching from the sidelines.

Maybe you’ve been following along.

Maybe you’ve watched a few practices but haven’t started.

Maybe you’ve told yourself you’ll begin when life settles down.

Maybe you’ve missed several days and decided you’ve already “failed.”

If that’s you, I want you to hear this:

You haven’t missed your opportunity.

You can begin today.

Yoga Isn’t About Catching Up

One of the things I wanted this 30-day journey to teach was that yoga is not about checking every box.

You don’t have to complete Day 1 before you can do Day 15.

You don’t have to be flexible.

You don’t have to know all the poses.

You don’t have to practice for an hour.

And you certainly don’t have to look like the person next to you.

Yoga is an invitation to pay attention.

To notice your breath.

To feel your body.

To observe your thoughts.

To discover where you are holding tension.

To notice where you are strong.

To learn when to push and when to soften.

And perhaps most importantly, to learn something about yourself.

Thirty Days Can Change the Way You See Your Practice

Throughout these 30 days, we’ve explored different ways of moving and being in the body.

We’ve moved the spine in its six directions.

We’ve practiced standing.

We’ve explored twists.

We’ve worked with strength.

We’ve practiced arriving in the body.

We’ve talked about letting go of perfection.

We’ve explored what happens when we stop trying to make our practice look a certain way and instead begin making it our own.

And that may be the most important lesson of all.

Your yoga practice doesn’t belong to anyone else.

It doesn’t have to look like mine.

It doesn’t have to look like a yoga class on Instagram.

It doesn’t even have to look the same from one day to the next.

Some days your practice might be strong.

Some days it might be five minutes of breathing.

Some days it might be chair yoga.

Some days it might be lying on the floor and simply noticing your breath.

It all counts.

Start Where You Are

This is one of the foundations of my teaching, especially when working with adaptive yoga, older adults, caregivers and people navigating physical limitations.

We start where we are.

Not where we think we should be.

Not where we were five years ago.

Not where someone else is.

Where we are.

Your body today is the body you get to practice with.

And that body deserves compassion.

It deserves patience.

It deserves curiosity.

It deserves to be listened to.

What If You Started Today?

If you’ve been thinking about starting yoga, here’s my invitation:

Don’t worry about the 30 days you missed.

Don’t worry about whether you’re “doing it right.”

Don’t worry about becoming a yogi.

Just choose one practice.

Set aside 10 or 15 minutes.

Put your phone somewhere you won’t be tempted to scroll.

Take a breath.

And begin.

You can start with Day 1.

Or Day 10.

Or Day 23.

Or simply choose whichever practice speaks to you.

There is no yoga police coming to check your progress.

There is only you, your breath and this moment.

Carrying the Practice Into September

As August comes to a close, I’m beginning to turn my attention toward September.

Our theme will be grounding and finding our foundation.

And I think these two ideas belong together.

Because before we can grow, we need somewhere to root.

Before we can reach outward, we need to know what supports us.

Before we can keep moving forward, sometimes we need to pause and feel our feet on the ground.

That’s what I hope this 30 Days of Yoga has given you.

Not another thing to accomplish.

But another way to come home.

Your Practice Doesn’t End at Day 30

Thirty days is a beginning, not an ending.

Maybe you discovered that you enjoy moving in the morning.

Maybe you learned that your breath changes when you’re stressed.

Maybe you noticed how much tension you carry in your shoulders.

Maybe you found that you are stronger than you thought.

Maybe you simply discovered that ten quiet minutes can change the rest of your day.

Take that discovery with you.

You don’t have to do another 30-day challenge.

You don’t have to make a resolution.

Just keep showing up.

A little at a time.

Again and again.

If You’ve Been Waiting, This Is Your Invitation

If you’ve been watching these practices and thinking, I’ll start tomorrow, consider this your invitation to stop waiting for the perfect day.

Start messy.

Start slowly.

Start sitting in a chair.

Start with five minutes.

Start with one breath.

Start exactly where you are.

Because there is still time.

There is always time to begin again.

And perhaps that’s one of the greatest gifts yoga offers us:

The opportunity to return.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Come Practice With Me

The full 30 Days of Yoga series is available on my YouTube channel, and you can begin anywhere.

Choose a practice that feels right for you today.

Then come back tomorrow.

And begin again.

September doesn’t need you to become a completely different person.

It simply invites you to become a little more grounded in the person you already are.

30 Days of Yoga Series
Screenshot

Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

“I Don’t Know How You Do It”: Living With Chronic Pain

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

“I Don’t Know How You Do It”: Choosing to Show Up When Life Hurts

“I don’t know how you do it.”

I’ve heard those words more times than I can count.

Usually they’re said with kindness.

Sometimes with admiration.

Sometimes with a little disbelief.

And lately, they’ve landed differently.

Because the truth is…

I don’t always know how I do it either.

My hip journey is not over.

After years of surgeries, rehabilitation, setbacks, pain, and learning how to adapt, I am facing another major surgery.

Another total hip replacement.

Another season of recovery.

Another reminder that sometimes the body doesn’t follow the timeline we desperately want it to follow.

And if I’m being completely honest, there are days when I am tired of being the person who has to be resilient.

You See Me Showing Up

What people often see is the yoga teacher.

The business owner.

The person teaching classes.

The person making videos.

The person working with residents.

The gardener.

The person creating essential oil blends and body products.

The person laughing.

The person making plans.

The person showing up.

And I am all of those things.

But there is another part of the story that isn’t always visible.

There are days when walking hurts.

Days when sitting hurts.

Days when getting comfortable feels like an accomplishment.

Days when I have to calculate how much energy I have and where it needs to go.

Days when I wonder how I am going to keep doing all the things I love while also taking care of a body that keeps asking me to slow down.

There are days when the simplest things require planning.

And there are days when I am simply exhausted from thinking about my body.

That part doesn’t always make it into the picture.

I Don’t Have a Secret

So when someone says, “I don’t know how you do it,” I sometimes want to tell them:

I don’t have a secret.

I don’t wake up every morning feeling strong.

I don’t wake up inspired.

I don’t wake up without pain.

I don’t have some extraordinary ability to ignore what is happening.

What I do have is a choice.

I can choose to show up.

Not perfectly.

Not at 100%.

Not by pretending everything is fine.

But by asking:

What is possible today?

That question has changed everything for me.

Because sometimes what is possible is teaching a class.

Sometimes it’s working on my business.

Sometimes it’s filming a video.

Sometimes it’s taking a walk.

Sometimes it’s gardening.

Sometimes it’s sitting with a cup of coffee and doing absolutely nothing.

And sometimes showing up means admitting that today I can’t do what I wanted to do.

That counts too.

Learning to Navigate Pain

One of the hardest lessons pain has taught me is that there is a difference between giving up and changing the way you move forward.

I used to think resilience meant pushing through.

Now I think resilience is much more nuanced.

Sometimes resilience is pushing forward.

Sometimes it is resting.

Sometimes it is modifying.

Sometimes it is asking for help.

Sometimes it is saying no.

Sometimes it is changing the plan.

And sometimes it is doing the thing you love differently than you imagined you would.

Yoga has taught me this in a way nothing else could.

A pose is not a performance.

A practice is not a test.

And my body is not failing simply because it cannot do something the way it once did.

The practice is learning to listen.

To adapt.

To notice.

To breathe.

To stay present.

And then to make the next choice.

Keeping a Business Going While Navigating Pain

There is another layer to this that doesn’t get talked about much.

Pain doesn’t put your responsibilities on hold.

Bills still exist.

Clients still need you.

Emails still arrive.

Content still needs to be created.

Classes still need to be taught.

A business doesn’t automatically become easier because your body hurts.

And when you’re self-employed, there isn’t always someone else waiting to pick up the pieces.

So I’ve had to learn how to build a business that can bend.

I’ve had to become creative.

I’ve had to learn when I can push and when pushing is going to cost me more than it gives me.

I’ve had to redefine productivity.

I’ve had to accept that some days the most productive thing I can do is recover.

And perhaps most importantly, I’ve had to stop measuring my worth by how much I can accomplish in a day.

Because I am still worthy on the days when my body asks me to do less.

And Then There Is Sanity

Let’s talk about this part too.

Because chronic pain can consume a lot of mental space.

It’s not just the physical sensation.

It’s the appointments.

The decisions.

The wondering.

The waiting.

The planning.

The uncertainty.

The fear of another setback.

The frustration of having to explain something that other people cannot see.

And the constant mental negotiation:

Can I do this?

Will this make things worse?

How much energy will this take?

What happens if I push too far?

That can wear a person down.

So I have had to learn how to protect my mind as carefully as I protect my body.

Yoga helps.

Breathing helps.

Getting outside helps.

Gardening helps.

Creating helps.

Laughing helps.

Connecting with people who don’t need me to pretend I’m okay helps.

And sometimes, simply acknowledging that this is hard helps.

I don’t have to turn every difficult experience into a beautiful lesson immediately.

Sometimes it is just hard.

And I can say that.

Showing Up Doesn’t Mean Pretending

This may be the biggest thing I have learned.

Showing up does not mean pretending I don’t hurt.

It doesn’t mean being positive every minute.

It doesn’t mean turning pain into inspiration for everyone else.

It doesn’t mean pushing myself past my limits so other people can admire my strength.

Showing up means being honest about where I am and then deciding what I can do from there.

Some days that looks strong.

Some days it looks messy.

Some days it looks like teaching yoga.

Some days it looks like canceling something.

Some days it looks like making plans for the future.

Some days it looks like grieving the life or body I thought I would have.

All of it is part of the practice.

So, How Do I Do It?

I don’t know.

Maybe I don’t.

Maybe I simply do the next thing.

I get up.

I breathe.

I listen.

I make a choice.

I do what I can.

I rest when I need to.

I ask for help when I need it.

I laugh when I can.

I cry when I need to.

And then I try again tomorrow.

I am not some extraordinary example of someone who never gives up.

I’m a human being who has learned that sometimes you don’t have to know how you’re going to get through the whole thing.

You just have to know what the next step is.

And right now, my next step is preparing for another surgery while continuing to live my life in the meantime.

I will teach.

I will create.

I will garden.

I will work.

I will rest.

I will adapt.

I will have hard days.

I will have beautiful days.

And I will keep learning how to inhabit this body with compassion instead of constantly fighting against it.

Because perhaps that is what resilience really is.

Not standing tall all the time.

Not being fearless.

Not pretending it doesn’t hurt.

But continuing to participate in your own life, even when it hurts.

One choice at a time.

One breath at a time.

One day at a time.

And if you’ve ever looked at someone and thought, “I don’t know how you do it,” maybe the answer is simpler than you think.

They probably don’t know either.

They’re just choosing to show up.

Today, that’s enough.


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

Abundance Essential Oil Blend: A Simple Aromatherapy Ritual

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

An Essential Oil Blend for Abundance: Harvesting What Is Already Within

What if abundance isn’t something we have to chase?

What if, instead of constantly reaching for the next thing, we paused long enough to notice what is already growing in our lives?

This month, I’ve been exploring the theme of Harvest Within—the idea that we all carry something within us that is ready to be recognized, nurtured, and shared.

Sometimes it is kindness.

Sometimes it is courage.

Sometimes it is wisdom we’ve earned through difficult seasons.

Sometimes it is simply the ability to keep showing up.

And sometimes abundance looks surprisingly ordinary: a garden full of flowers, a good conversation, a quiet morning, a body that carried us through another day.

I wanted to create an essential oil blend that captured that feeling.

An Abundance Essential Oil Blend

This is a warm, uplifting blend with a little grounding underneath it. I love it for meditation, journaling, yoga, morning rituals, or anytime you want to intentionally shift your attention toward what is already good and growing.

My Abundance Blend

  • 3 drops Wild Orange
  • 3 drops Tangerine
  • 2 drops Lavender
  • 1 drop Roman Chamomile
  • 1 drop Patchouli

The citrus oils bring brightness and joy. Lavender and Roman Chamomile soften the edges, while Patchouli gives the blend a grounding quality.

Together, they create a blend that feels both uplifting and rooted.

And isn’t that what abundance really is?

Not constantly reaching higher without ever being grounded.

But learning how to feel grateful for what is here while still allowing yourself to grow.

How to Use Your Abundance Blend

There are several ways you can incorporate this blend into your daily rituals.

Diffuse it

Add the appropriate number of drops for your diffuser according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Turn it on while you practice yoga, journal, drink your morning coffee, or simply sit quietly for a few minutes.

Let the aroma become a reminder:

There is already something here to harvest.

Create a personal roller blend

For a 10 mL roller bottle, add your essential oils and fill the remainder with a carrier oil such as jojoba or fractionated coconut oil.

Use a skin-safe dilution appropriate for your needs and follow the safety recommendations for each essential oil.

Apply to pulse points when you want a sensory reminder of your intention.

Make it part of your yoga practice

Before beginning your practice, place a drop or two of the diluted blend in your hands, rub your palms together, and pause.

Take a slow breath.

Ask yourself:

What quality do I already have in abundance?

Maybe it is patience.

Maybe compassion.

Maybe strength.

Maybe humor.

Maybe resilience.

Maybe the ability to begin again.

You don’t have to manufacture something you don’t have.

Sometimes the practice is simply noticing what is already there.

Abundance Is Not Just About More

We live in a culture that often equates abundance with accumulation.

More money.

More accomplishments.

More followers.

More productivity.

More things checked off the list.

But I’m becoming increasingly interested in a different definition.

Abundance is noticing.

Noticing the people who love us.

Noticing the lessons we’ve learned.

Noticing the skills we’ve developed.

Noticing the beauty growing right outside our door.

Noticing that even after difficult seasons, something inside us may still be blooming.

My garden has been reminding me of this all summer.

A flower doesn’t apologize for being exactly what it is.

A zinnia doesn’t compare itself to a rose.

A sunflower doesn’t wonder whether it is producing enough.

It simply grows.

And eventually, it gives something away.

That feels like a pretty beautiful definition of abundance to me.

A Simple Abundance Ritual

Try this sometime this week.

Light a candle or diffuse your Abundance blend.

Sit comfortably and take several slow breaths.

Then ask yourself three questions:

What am I harvesting?

What have I learned, developed, survived, created, or cultivated?

What is growing?

What part of my life is still unfolding?

What do I have enough of to share?

Maybe it is kindness.

Maybe encouragement.

Maybe laughter.

Maybe your time.

Maybe your experience.

Maybe simply your presence.

You don’t have to give everything away.

But there is something powerful about realizing that what we have cultivated within ourselves can become nourishment for someone else.

The Harvest Within

The garden teaches us that growth doesn’t happen all at once.

There is a season for planting.

A season for tending.

A season for waiting.

And eventually, a season for harvesting.

Our lives are much the same.

We don’t always recognize the seeds we planted until much later.

The patience we practiced.

The boundaries we learned.

The grief we moved through.

The courage we found.

The lessons that came from things not going according to plan.

Those things become part of our harvest.

So this month, rather than asking yourself, What do I need more of?

Try asking:

What do I already have in abundance?

Then pause long enough to notice it.

That may be where the real abundance begins.

A Note About Essential Oil Safety

Essential oils are highly concentrated plant extracts and should be used thoughtfully. Always follow the manufacturer’s dilution recommendations, use appropriate ventilation when diffusing, and consider individual allergies, sensitivities, medications, pregnancy, pets, and other health considerations. Never ingest essential oils unless specifically directed by a qualified healthcare professional trained in their safe use. When applying oils to the skin, dilute appropriately and perform a patch test when appropriate.

This post is for educational and wellness purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition.


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness: Celebrating One Year

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

One Year of Wisdom & Wellness: Celebrating a Book, a Journey, and a Dream

Almost one year ago, I became an author.

Yep… I actually did it.

On September 30, 2025, 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness: A Year of Mindful Living officially made its way into the world. And as the one-year anniversary approaches, I’ve been reflecting on what this little book has meant to me—and what it has taught me.

From an idea to a real book

For a long time, writing a book was one of those things I said I wanted to do “someday.”

You know those dreams.

The ones that sit quietly in the back of your mind while life keeps happening.

Then one day, I decided that someday needed to become now.

And somehow, an idea became a manuscript.

The manuscript became 124 pages.

Those pages became a finished book.

And that finished book became something I could actually hold in my hands.

There is something pretty magical about seeing your own words printed on a page.

And also a little surreal.

I remember thinking, Wait… I really wrote a book?!

52 weeks of slowing down

52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness was created as an invitation to live a little more mindfully.

Each week offers a simple reflection, a little wisdom, and an opportunity to pause and pay attention to what is happening within and around us.

Because wellness isn’t always about doing more.

Sometimes it is about noticing more.

Noticing your breath.

Noticing your thoughts.

Noticing the season you are in.

Noticing what is growing.

And perhaps just as importantly, noticing what you are ready to let go of.

The book follows the rhythm of the seasons, with 13 weeks in each season—a reminder that our lives, just like nature, move through cycles of planting, growing, blooming, harvesting, resting, and beginning again.

One year later…

As I look back on the past year, I realize that writing this book was about more than becoming an author.

It was about trusting an idea enough to bring it to life.

It was about putting my voice and my experiences onto paper and saying, Maybe this will help someone else, too.

And that is really what I hope for this book.

That somewhere along the way, someone opens a page on a day when they need exactly what is waiting there.

Maybe they need a reminder to breathe.

Maybe they need permission to slow down.

Maybe they need encouragement to begin again.

Maybe they simply need a few quiet moments with themselves.

If this book has offered even one person a little more peace, perspective, or mindfulness, then it was worth every word.

And now… we celebrate!

So, as 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness approaches its first birthday, I’m celebrating the book, the journey, and the courage it took to finally stop saying “someday” and start saying “I did it.”

Because sometimes the harvest isn’t just what grows in the garden.

Sometimes the harvest is looking back and realizing just how much you have grown.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased the book, read it, shared it, gifted it, or simply cheered me on along the way.

You helped make this dream a little more real.

And if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, perhaps this is your invitation to spend the next 52 weeks cultivating a little more wisdom, wellness, and mindfulness in your own life.

Here’s to the next chapter.

Happy almost-one-year anniversary, 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness!


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

When Your Body Can No Longer Carry Your Heart

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

I don’t know exactly when I crossed the line.

There wasn’t one dramatic moment when my body stopped feeling like home.

It happened gradually.

One surgery became two.

Two became three.

Then six.

My left hip has endured more than I ever imagined one joint could.

For more than a decade, my right hip quietly became the dependable one. It compensated. It carried the weight. It did what was needed while I focused on healing, adapting, and continuing to live the life I loved.

Now it hurts too.

And suddenly I’m facing something I wasn’t prepared for.

Two painful hips.

Not one.

Both.

For someone whose life has always revolved around movement, this feels deeply personal.

I love walking.

I love teaching yoga.

I love wandering through my garden before the rest of the world wakes up.

I love carrying watering cans, kneeling in the soil, rearranging flower pots simply because they make me smile.

I live in a home with stairs that have never asked permission from my body before.

Now every flight requires negotiation.

Every outing comes with calculation.

Every invitation begins with a silent question:

“Will my body allow this today?”

That question is exhausting.

Not because it means I can’t do everything.

But because it reminds me that I have to think about everything.

There is grief in that.

Not dramatic grief.

Quiet grief.

The kind that settles into ordinary moments.

The grief of realizing that something you once took for granted has become something you now have to plan around.

I’ve also noticed emotions I don’t particularly enjoy admitting.

Sadness.

Frustration.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

And perhaps the hardest one of all…

The fear that the life I recognize is slowly becoming someone else’s memory.

I don’t like writing those words.

But they’re true.

For decades, I have poured myself into caring for other people.

As a yoga teacher.

As a caregiver.

As someone who naturally notices what others need before they ask.

As someone who says yes.

As someone who figures it out.

As someone who believes kindness matters.

I don’t regret those choices.

Not for a second.

Serving others has given my life purpose, connection, and immeasurable joy.

But lately I’ve been asking myself a question that feels both uncomfortable and necessary.

Where was I in all of that?

Not physically.

Emotionally.

How often did I postpone my own needs because someone else’s seemed more urgent?

How many times did I tell myself, “I’ll deal with this later”?

How many years did I believe that resting had to be earned?

That asking for help was somehow less noble than offering it?

I honestly don’t know.

And I don’t know whether living this way has taken a toll on my body.

Bodies are wonderfully complex. Pain rarely has one cause.

But I do know it shaped the way I lived.

I learned to keep going.

To adapt.

To push through.

To care.

To carry.

And perhaps, somewhere along the way, I became so practiced at carrying everyone else that I stopped noticing how heavy my own load had become.

Maybe that’s the real question.

Not…

“Did caregiving cause this?”

But…

“What has caregiving cost me?”

There is a difference.

The answer isn’t resentment.

The answer isn’t regret.

The answer is awareness.

Because awareness gives us the chance to choose differently.

So what do I need now?

That question feels strangely difficult.

Not because I don’t have needs.

Because I haven’t practiced naming them.

I need rest without guilt.

I need help without apologizing.

I need spaces where I don’t have to be the strong one.

I need movement that nourishes instead of proves something.

I need permission to grieve what my body has lost while still believing in what it can become.

I need hope that isn’t dependent on a perfect outcome.

Perhaps most of all…

I need to believe that my worth has never depended on how much I could carry.

That may be the hardest lesson of all.

I’ve spent years teaching students to honor the body they’re in today.

Now life is asking me to believe my own words.

Some days I do.

Some days I don’t.

Maybe healing isn’t about pretending we’re okay.

Maybe healing begins the moment we’re honest enough to admit we aren’t.

I don’t know what comes next.

There are more appointments.

More decisions.

More uncertainty.

There are still gardens to tend, yoga classes to teach, and stairs waiting for me every morning.

There are still moments of beauty tucked between the difficult ones.

A bloom opening.

A student smiling.

A sunrise spilling across the mountains.

A deep breath that reminds me I’m still here.

Perhaps that’s enough for today.

Perhaps that is what courage looks like now.

Not carrying everything.

But allowing myself to be carried, too.


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

Radiant Energy: Embracing Your Inner Light and Freedom This July

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

As summer reaches its fullest expression, there is something magical happening all around us.

The gardens are blooming with vibrant color. The mornings arrive earlier, the evenings linger longer, and the warmth of the sun invites us outdoors to breathe a little deeper and move a little more freely.

Nature isn’t trying to become anything this time of year—it is simply expressing everything it has already grown into.

Perhaps there is a lesson for us there.

You Were Never Meant to Dim Your Light

So often, we spend our lives waiting.

Waiting until we feel confident enough.
Waiting until life feels easier.
Waiting until we lose the weight, heal the injury, retire, find more time, or have fewer responsibilities.

But what if your light has been shining all along?

Radiant energy isn’t about being the loudest person in the room or constantly feeling happy. It isn’t about perfection, productivity, or pretending everything is okay.

Radiance is something much quieter.

It is choosing hope when life feels uncertain.

It is offering kindness when the world feels divided.

It is finding gratitude in ordinary moments.

It is allowing yourself to be authentically you.

Freedom Begins Within

As we celebrate Independence Day here in the United States, we often think about freedom as something external.

But yoga gently reminds us that one of the greatest freedoms we can experience is inner freedom.

Freedom from comparison.

Freedom from believing we’re not enough.

Freedom from the stories that tell us our worth depends on what we accomplish.

Freedom from the expectation that our bodies must look or move a certain way to deserve love and care.

True freedom begins the moment we stop fighting ourselves.

That doesn’t mean life suddenly becomes easy. It means we begin meeting ourselves with compassion instead of criticism.

Your Energy Is Sacred

Everything we do either nourishes or depletes our energy.

The conversations we have.

The media we consume.

The thoughts we repeat.

The people we surround ourselves with.

The ways we care for our bodies.

Yoga teaches us to become more aware—not so we can judge ourselves, but so we can make choices that support our well-being.

This month, ask yourself:

“What helps me feel more alive?”

Maybe it’s an early morning walk.

Fresh flowers from your garden.

A few quiet minutes of meditation.

A yoga class.

Time spent laughing with a friend.

Reading a good book.

Watching butterflies drift through the flowers.

These seemingly small moments are often the ones that help our inner light grow brighter.

Bloom Without Comparison

One of my favorite lessons from the garden is that every flower blooms in its own season.

The daisies don’t compare themselves to the lilies.

The lavender doesn’t wish it were a sunflower.

Each plant simply grows according to its own nature.

We can do the same.

Your journey won’t look like anyone else’s.

Your healing won’t follow someone else’s timeline.

Your body tells a unique story.

And your light doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s to be beautiful.

A Simple July Mindfulness Practice

Find a comfortable seat outdoors if possible.

Close your eyes.

Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin or imagine its gentle light surrounding you.

Take a slow breath in.

Imagine that with each inhale, your heart grows a little brighter.

With each exhale, release self-doubt, comparison, and the pressure to be anything other than who you are.

Repeat quietly:

I am light.

I am free.

I am enough.

Remain here for several breaths, allowing yourself to simply be.

Journal Prompts

  • Where do I feel most alive?
  • What does freedom mean to me at this stage of my life?
  • Where have I been hiding my light?
  • What fills me with genuine joy?
  • How can I share more kindness and compassion with the people around me?

Essential Oil Blend: Radiant Energy

If you enjoy using essential oils to support your mindfulness practice, try this uplifting summer blend:

  • Wild Orange – inspires joy and optimism
  • Bergamot – encourages confidence and emotional balance
  • Grapefruit – refreshes the spirit
  • Frankincense – grounds and centers
  • Peppermint – awakens clarity and vitality

Diffuse during your yoga practice or place a drop in your palms, inhale deeply, and set an intention for your day.

Your Light Matters

The world doesn’t need another perfect person.

It needs more people willing to live authentically.

People who smile at strangers.

Who choose kindness.

Who pause to notice a blooming flower.

Who make space for rest.

Who share encouragement.

Who allow their own unique light to shine.

This July, may you remember that radiance doesn’t come from doing more.

It comes from living fully, loving deeply, moving gently, and trusting that the light within you has always been enough.

Monthly Affirmation

I welcome joy into my life. I move with freedom, breathe with gratitude, and allow my inner light to shine.


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

Summer Solstice Rituals for Mindfulness & Renewal

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

The Summer Solstice is more than just the longest day of the year—it’s a celebration of light, abundance, growth, and possibility. Nature reaches its fullest expression as gardens bloom, bees hum from flower to flower, and the warmth of the sun invites us outdoors.

Just as the earth is flourishing, we are invited to ask ourselves:

Where am I growing?
What am I ready to celebrate?
What light am I ready to share?

Unlike the rush of New Year’s resolutions, the Summer Solstice offers a softer invitation. It asks us not to strive harder but to pause long enough to notice how far we’ve already come.

Living with the Energy of the Solstice

The sun represents vitality, courage, confidence, and joy. Ancient cultures gathered to honor this turning point of the seasons with fire, music, feasts, and gratitude.

While our celebrations may look different today, the intention remains the same: reconnect with nature and ourselves.

Try spending part of the day outside. Walk barefoot through the grass, sit beneath a tree, or watch the sunrise with a cup of tea. Let yourself simply be present.

A Gentle Summer Solstice Ritual

You don’t need anything elaborate.

  • Light a candle.
  • Take three slow breaths.
  • Write down five things that have blossomed in your life this year.
  • Write down one thing you are ready to release.
  • Write down one dream you want to nurture during the second half of the year.

Fold the paper and place it somewhere you’ll see often as a reminder of your intention.

Essential Oils for the Solstice

The bright energy of citrus oils pairs beautifully with the season.

Try diffusing:

  • Wild Orange
  • Bergamot
  • Lemon
  • Peppermint

The aroma is uplifting, refreshing, and reminds us to embrace joy with open hearts.

Reflection

The garden doesn’t bloom because it rushes. It blooms because it receives sunshine, rain, and time.

Perhaps that’s your reminder this season, too.

May this Summer Solstice encourage you to slow down, soak in the light, and trust the beautiful unfolding of your own life.

Happy Solstice.


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

Heart Chakra Healing in May: Nurturing Yourself Through Divine Feminine Energy

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

May arrives softly.

The earth blooms without rushing. Flowers unfold in their own timing. Trees stretch toward the sun again after months of stillness. There is a tenderness to this season that invites us to soften too.

For me, May always feels connected to the heart.

Not just emotionally, but energetically.

This is the season where I notice the quiet invitation to nurture myself more deeply. To slow down enough to listen inward. To receive care instead of always being the caregiver. To reconnect with the gentle, intuitive wisdom often described as divine feminine energy.

The heart chakra — or Anahata — is the energetic center associated with love, compassion, forgiveness, connection, and balance. When our heart space feels open, we often experience more peace, trust, gratitude, and emotional resilience. When it feels depleted or guarded, we may notice exhaustion, resentment, isolation, grief, or difficulty receiving support.

This month, I have been reflecting on what it means to truly nurture ourselves instead of simply pushing through.

Not self-care as another task.

But self-care as sacred practice.

Returning to the Wisdom of the Heart

The divine feminine is not about perfection.

It is about presence.

It is intuitive, compassionate, creative, receptive, nurturing, and deeply connected to cycles — both within ourselves and within nature.

Many of us were taught to override our own needs. To stay productive. To explain ourselves. To keep giving even when depleted.

Heart-centered healing asks something different of us.

It asks us to pause, receive and find space within.

For those of us navigating chronic pain, caregiving, stress, recovery, or major life transitions, this can feel especially important.

Healing often begins when we stop abandoning ourselves.

Simple Ways to Support Heart Chakra Healing This May

You do not need elaborate rituals to reconnect with your heart energy.

Sometimes healing happens through small, intentional moments practiced consistently.

Here are a few gentle ways to support heart chakra healing this month:

Spend Time in Nature

Sit outside with your tea. Walk barefoot in the grass. Notice the colors returning to the earth. Allow nature to remind you that growth is never rushed.

Practice Self-Compassion

Notice how you speak to yourself.

Would you speak that way to someone you love?

The heart chakra softens when we replace harshness with kindness.

Open the Chest Through Gentle Movement

Heart-opening yoga poses, seated stretches, mindful breathing, or simply placing your hands over your heart can help reconnect body and spirit.

Create Beauty Around You

Fresh flowers. Soft music. Lighting a candle. A nourishing meal. Beauty can be healing.

My Heart Chakra Essential Oil Blend

One practice I return to often is using essential oils intentionally.

This heart chakra blend feels grounding, uplifting, comforting, and emotionally supportive during this season:

Heart Chakra Blend

  • Rose
  • Geranium
  • Eucalyptus
  • Lemon

Rose carries a deeply nurturing energy and is often associated with unconditional love and emotional healing.

Geranium brings balance and emotional steadiness.

Eucalyptus creates space to breathe more deeply and release emotional heaviness.

Lemon adds lightness, clarity, and gentle brightness.

I like diffusing this blend during meditation, journaling, gentle yoga, or quiet mornings with tea.

Sometimes I place a drop diluted in carrier oil over my heart space while setting intentions for the day.

Not because essential oils magically solve everything.

But because rituals help us remember ourselves.

Healing Is Not Linear

One of the greatest lessons I continue learning is that healing is rarely neat or linear.

Some days we feel open and hopeful. Other days we feel exhausted, guarded, or uncertain.

Both are part of being human.

The heart chakra is not about forcing constant positivity.

It is about remaining connected to compassion — even during difficult seasons.

Especially during difficult seasons.

This May, perhaps nurturing yourself does not need to look dramatic.

Perhaps it looks like:

  • resting without guilt
  • saying no without over-explaining
  • sitting in the garden for ten quiet minutes
  • drinking more water
  • asking for help
  • breathing deeply before reacting
  • speaking to yourself with kindness
  • allowing joy to exist alongside grief

Healing often happens in these small moments.

A Gentle May Reflection

As the world blooms around us, may we remember that we are part of nature too.

We are allowed seasons.

We are allowed rest.

We are allowed softness.

And we are worthy of the same care we so freely offer others.

This month, I invite you to place a hand over your heart and simply ask:

What would nurturing myself look like today?

You may already know the answer.


Enjoying this content? My book 52 Weeks of Wisdom & Wellness goes deeper — find it here.

A Year of Renewal: Reflecting on Change, Courage, and New Beginnings

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

A Year of Renewal: Reflecting on Change, Courage, and New Beginnings

Every year, I choose a single word that becomes a thread woven through my life—my sankalpa, my heartfelt intention. This year, my word is Renewal, and as I close the door on another chapter, I can clearly see how life has been guiding me toward this exact moment of rediscovery.

2024 was unlike any year I’ve ever lived. It brought deep healing, unexpected shifts, and a powerful invitation to grow in directions I didn’t anticipate. After decades of helping others reconnect to themselves, this was the year life asked me to reconnect to me.

And I said yes.

Letting Go: Stepping Away After 18 Years

One of the biggest shifts—one that still feels surreal—was ending my 18 years of traveling to more than 50 assisted living homes. For nearly two decades, I poured my heart into teaching adaptive yoga, holding space for elders, and building community through mindful movement.

It was sacred work.
Beautiful work.
Exhausting work.

And it was time.

Pulling back to only a small handful of homes wasn’t just a schedule change. It was a soul-level shift. It was an act of honoring my body, my healing, and the next evolution of my service. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to loosen the grip on what I had always done and create space for what could be possible next.

A New Path: Becoming a Qualified Behavioral Health Assistant

This year also brought a huge professional pivot—one that aligned not only with my gifts but with my capacity.
I stepped into my new role as a Qualified Behavioral Health Assistant, helping people recover from trauma through skills, connection, and compassionate support.

This work is meaningful in a different way.
It requires less physical demand, but a deeper emotional presence.
It allows me to live my values without compromising my wellness.
And most of all, it lets me continue serving others in a way that honors my own healing journey.

Sometimes renewal doesn’t look like starting over.
Sometimes it looks like redirecting your wisdom where it can thrive.

Welcoming Rosie: Joy Arrives on Four Paws

Another bright spot this year?
I got a new puppy — sweet Rosie.

She arrived exactly when I needed a spark of uncomplicated joy, and she brought just that.
There is something magical about how animals help us stay present, soften our hearts, and remember to play. Rosie has been a daily reminder that renewal can show up in wagging tails, muddy paw prints, and early-morning snuggles.

She is a gift of pure delight.

The Big One: I Wrote My Book

And then there’s the part that still makes me say, “Did I really do that?”

I wrote my book.

After years of teaching, thousands of classes, countless conversations, and decades of lived experience… something inside me said now.
The words poured out—not from obligation, but from an inner knowing that it was time.

This book is the culmination of everything I’ve lived, learned, healed, and held.
It is a tapestry of wisdom and wellness, a snapshot of my heart in this season of life.
It is my offering.
My renewal.
My beginning again.

Writing it stretched me, surprised me, and awakened parts of my creativity that had been sleeping under the weight of survival mode. More than anything, it reminded me of my purpose—and my voice.

As I Step Into 2025

Renewal is not a return to who I used to be.
It’s an unfolding.
A softening.
A reclaiming.

This year brought endings, beginnings, and a lot of gentle in-between moments.
It taught me that clarity often arrives only after the letting go.
That healing isn’t linear.
That courage can be quiet.
And that renewal is a choice we make every single day.

As I step into 2025, I do so with gratitude, openness, trust and renewal.

My sankalpa of Renewal has been eye-opening and just rich. What is next? Stay tuned as I reveal my word for 2026! It is going to be a good one!

Breaking the Cycle: How Repeated Complaining Drains Us — and How Repeated Gratitude Heals

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

We’ve all been there—caught in the loop of saying the same frustrating things over and over. The stress, the pain, the overwhelm, the “why me?” moments. Repetitive complaining is surprisingly natural… and surprisingly draining. It doesn’t make us bad or ungrateful; it just means we’re human.

But here’s the truth I’ve learned through mindfulness, yoga, and healing:
What we repeat becomes what we reinforce.

And while complaining might feel like release, gratitude is what creates actual relief.

Why We Fall Into Repetitive Complaining

When something is hard — your body hurts, life feels heavy, you’re tired, or you’re juggling more than anyone realizes — the mind wants to loop. It’s trying to make sense of discomfort. But when we repeat the same story too often, it keeps us stuck in the same emotional place.

Repetitive complaining can…

  • increase stress hormones
  • shrink our perspective
  • drain our energy
  • make challenges feel bigger than they really are
  • prevent healing (emotionally and physically)

The hard moments deserve acknowledgment — absolutely. But they don’t deserve ownership over your entire inner world.

The Shift: Replacing Repetition With Intention

Instead of repeating the pain, we can repeat the gratitude.

Not the toxic positivity kind.
Not the “pretend everything’s fine” kind.

But the grounded, honest, heart-centered gratitude that reminds us:

There is still some good here.
There is still something working.
There is still something steady beneath the struggle.

This shift isn’t about silencing your pain — it’s about changing the soundtrack of your inner world.

Why Repeated Gratitude Works

Practicing gratitude repeatedly — especially in small, simple ways — can:

  • soften emotional tension
  • support nervous system regulation
  • expand your perspective
  • create new thought pathways
  • bring your attention back to what is supporting you
  • help you feel less alone
  • anchor you in hope, even during hard seasons

It’s the repetition that matters.
Just like complaining reinforces stress…
gratitude reinforces resilience.

A Simple Daily Practice to Try

If you catch yourself repeating a complaint (it happens!), try this gentle shift:

  1. Pause.
    Notice the loop without shame.
  2. Acknowledge the truth.
    “This is really hard right now.”
  3. Add one small gratitude.
    Just one.
    “And I’m grateful I’m learning to take better care of myself.”
    “I’m grateful for the support I do have.”
    “I’m grateful for the strength I didn’t even know I had.”
  4. Repeat the gratitude instead of the complaint.
    This is where your healing gains momentum.

A Repeated Gratitude Mantra to Use All Week

“Even in the hard moments, there is something supporting me. I choose to notice that.”

Say it as many times as you need.
Let it become your new repetition.
Let it anchor you back into compassion — especially compassion for yourself.

Closing Reflection

We all slip into repeating our pain. But with awareness and intention, we can choose a new pattern — one that restores instead of drains, one that lifts instead of weighs down.

A life rooted in gratitude doesn’t ignore the hard things.
It simply refuses to let them be the only things.

Valentine’s Day Gifts

/ embracingspirit / 2 Comments

It’s that time of year when the shops fill up with hearts and roses. But is Valentine’s just for the romantics? More and more people are choosing to see Valentine’s Day as a celebration of love. Whether it is for a friend, a pet or loved one. You don’t have to be in a relationship to celebrate. And you certainly don’t have to do it with hearts and roses. But celebrating love can’t be such a bad thing, can it?

Unconditional Love Blend

These make fantastic little valentine’s love gifts for all your special people. These are packed with powerful essential oils and beautiful rose quartz. Plus, I add a few rose petals for the pretty sake.

What is inside:

  • Rose: Opens the heart chakra and allows you to feel unconditional love. Creates a sense of well-being and calmness while awakening your ability for self-compassion, nurturing, and love.
  • Lemon: Opens the heart chakra to self-love and self-nurturing. lightens while uplifting your spirit and bringing clarity into your life.
  • Neroli: A natural tranquilizer and regulator of the nervous system that opens the heart chakra, uplifts your spirit, and encourages confidence, joy, and peace.
  • Marjoram: Restores warmth, self-compassion, and self-nurturing when feeling lonely or isolated.
  • Lavender: Helps you to relax, let go of the stress, and release fear, which fosters connect with the heart center and opens you up to more love.
  • Jasmine: Uplifting and joyous oil that balances the emotional system, soothes anxiety, and helps with depression and apathy.
  • Geranium: This emotional healing oil restores confidence and trust in others. It can help to heal a broken heart and open one up to love.
  • Ylang Ylang: This is a powerful remedy for the heart and releasing trauma from the past. This oil helps to release bottled up emotions that weigh heavy on the heart which allows for a more playful, carefree, emotionally connected and loving experience of life.
  • Tranquility Blend (Serenity): Includes Lavender Flower, Cedarwood, Ho Wood Leaf, Ylang Ylang Flower, Marjoram Leaf, Roman Chamomile Flower, Vetiver Root, Vanilla Bean Absolute, Hawaiian Sandalwood. Encourages individuals to first reconnect with themselves and discover peace that lies within, and then to reconnect with the humanity in others. This brings a calm, tranquil, peaceful, relaxed, compassionate and connection person.
  • Rose quartz: Rose Quartz is the stone of universal love. It restores trust and harmony in relationships, encouraging unconditional love. Rose Quartz purifies and opens the heart at all levels to promote love, self-love, friendship, deep inner healing and feelings of peace. Calming and reassuring, it helps to comfort in times of grief. Rose Quartz dispels negativity.

Ready to get yours?

Buy Your Unconditional Blend Here

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.

Margins

/ embracingspirit / 4 Comments

Margin is the space between our load and our limits. It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed. It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. Margin is the gap between rest and exhaustion, the space between breathing freely and suffocating.

I stumbled across this and it hit me right in the heart.

We’ve all heard the term “having a boundary.” In fact, these days it common lingo when it comes to self care. Several years ago a dear friend of mine talked to me about the word boundaries versus margins. A boundary is something that keeps someone or certain things away from you. Whereas, a margin is what you choose to allow in.

We need boundaries to obviously at times. Here is where:

  • To keep away things that are dangerous to us or could be harmful.
  • To keep toxic people away from us.
  • Around our personal and work time.

Those are important things for sure. But I’m really looking at the difference between what I protect and keep away, to what I invite and allow in.

What I choose to put inside my margins feels empowering unlike a boundary which feels harsh and cold.

As I begin this new year with seeking equanimity in my life, I’m really paying close attention to what I put inside the margins. As a person who gives so much all the time, I’m learning to give to myself a little, too. Over the last year, I really learned to listen to the things in my life that feed me or drain me. My intention is never to hurt someone while navigating these margins. It can be challenging as I tend to put others needs first. The chronic people pleaser syndrome. I’m committed to putting me a little higher on the pleasing list.

In order to be deliberate with my time and energy, I’ve first identified a few key things. I needed to be really clear as to what drains me and what feeds me.

The things that drain me:

  • People. I say that with a hint of joking and quite a bit of truth. Considering that I am with people all day every day and again when I get home I’m with more people, it is imperative that I learn to listen to how much people can drain me. If given a choice to be alone or with people, it’s 99% certain that I’m going to choose to be alone.
  • Mindlessly walking through a department store for the sake of shopping. If I don’t know exactly what I need, there’s no way I’m going to walk into a store just to look. In fact, most of my shopping is done online. I have no interest in being in stores just to kill time.
  • Spending time in crowded places, unless it’s a crowded coffee shop by myself. Again, partially joking here and a lot of truth. I love being in a crowded coffee shop if I’m by myself. Are we getting a theme here?
  • Loud and noisy places with lots of people. I’m not a huge fan of crowded spaces and I definitely don’t like to just be in a group of people for no purpose.
  • Loud music. Loud people. Loud environments.

The things that feed me:

  • Being alone.
  • Setting goals and creating action plans.
  • Making sourdough bread.
  • Spending time in my garden.
  • Long, solitary walks.
  • A jigsaw puzzle that allows my mind to wander.

Before saying yes to anything these days, I am learning to stop and ask myself the following—

  • Does the serve me today?
  • Will this feed me or drain me?
  • Am I saying yes to please someone else?
  • Does this feel good to me?

Margin is the space between load and limit. It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed.

If it’s going to push me past my limit, then it’s a no. I’m trying really hard to recognize when my load is full and not add on anything that would break that limit. As I do things that feed me, my load reduces and I have space for more. Tuning inward to myself is key, then listening, and then choosing wisely.

Selfish? Maybe.

Radical self care? Absolutely.