When we hear the word self-care we often think of nature walks, bubble baths, pedicures, massages, wine while reading a favorite book. Yes, please to all of that! Those activities are fantastic examples of self-care. However, self-care is not always rainbows and roses and fancy nails and massages. Plainly put, sometimes self-care sucks.

I am VERY begrudgingly eating a frog right now. As you can imagine, it’s pretty gross. They are squishy, slimy and even with salt and pepper, they still taste terrible. However, once I get them down, somehow I feel full, satisfied, stronger and more confident. That’s a pretty decent trade off. During Pandemic Life it seems I’ve been on an all frog diet! But over time, I’ve learned that a frog does a body,-(mind, and spirit) good. Sometimes I even crave a frog every now and again.

I am going to be straight up honest with you. I am exhausted. I had grand intentions of sharing something entirely different this week. But instead of powering through as planned, I am going to practice what I preach, step back and allow myself to REST.

BIG Exhale. Good gracious we are in the thick of it, aren’t we?! With all that is going on in the world, we are in DESPERATE need of something to replenish our mind, body and spirit and spread some love out into this hurting world. One beautiful way to do this is through the practice of meditation. I know, I know, how can we possibly take time to meditate when the world is on fire, everything feels divided, things feel like they are constantly falling apart and nothing makes sense? It is precisely BECAUSE all those reasons that we need to take just a few moments to fill the tank and share the love.

I woke up this morning reflecting on what I’d like to offer to the world today. Specifically, what I wanted to offer to the beautiful souls that show up each Sunday to practice yoga together. I looked at the date on my phone: September 13. 13 has always been an auspicious number for me. It feels slightly less so given the fact that it was exactly six months ago today, Friday, March 13, that we found out about the public health emergency declared in our state and our country due to the outbreak of Covid-19 .

In this moment I invite you to pause.

Go to a window and look outside. Better yet, if you have the time, actually go outside.

Put your feet firmly on the ground. Feel the earth beneath you. Look down and see the earth supporting you.

Hello. How are you? I am just ok in this moment. Another week has gone by and as I write to you I feel the heaviness of our world and the events of this past week weighing on my heart.

It feels like life has been coming with an extra dose of fear lately, doesn't it? So much uncharted territory. So many decisions to make. SO much uncertainty. Ugh.

I love the idea of living a fearless life. I REALLY REALLY do. “She lived a fearless life.” It sounds so badass, doesn’t it? I’ve always wanted to be that girl, to be seen that way. Incidentally, I’ve also always wanted to be tall. Unfortunately, I’ve surrendered to the fact that neither are actually possible, for me, anyway.

Do you remember the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Voist? It is a story of a boy, Alexander, who from start to finish has a series of unfortunate incidents happen to him throughout his day. From waking up with gum in his hair, to tripping on skateboard going down to breakfast, a cavity at the dentist, getting scolded for being muddy, to getting soap in his eyes at bath time…the list goes on. We’ve all had days like that where it just feels like it’s one thing after the other and the entire world is against us. I’d argue that the entire year of 2020 has felt just a *bit* like that!