In case you couldn’t guess, this one is named Chi. And yes, he’s always had that Big Energy.

His brother’s name is Tai (of course), and he’s a savasana fan. Turn your sound on for 15 seconds of calm:

I guess they really do balance each other out.

Our dog Olive appreciates my props, too—especially my favorite sitting cushion:

She’s always welcome to lay on her maroon blanket in the corner behind my mat, but only if I’m not teaching. Once I start talking to my screen she decides it’s a good time to repot the houseplants in another room.

When Chi photobombed me, I realized it had been a little while since I had active pet participants in the studio. A few years before he passed our little guy Oggie suddenly got interested in yoga:

And our Pyrador Zoey enjoyed a little mat time herself. This was the last time she practiced with me before her passing in 2021:

Animals can be a little distracting when they join you for your practice. Did you ever have to Part the Wild Horse’s Mane right over a sleeping cat? That’s when everything you learned from Fall Prevention Tai Chi comes in very handy.

But there’s nothing like the joyful presence that comes from being with your buddies in the most relaxing (and energy-filled) space in your home. It’s no wonder our companions want to be with us when we’re breathing and moving (or still) in this special way we call “practice.” No doubt about it—they can feel the benefits, too.

Do your pets practice with you? I’d love to hear about it, and see them in action … or, if they’re anything like Tai, inaction.

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As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I remembered that I hadn’t written this week’s dispatch. A few other things had grabbed my attention instead ...

• full days in the garden, tending to veggies that are finally starting to look less like seedlings and more like grown-ups

• fun and educational workshops with my Tai Chi Vermont teacher colleagues

• community events supporting my favorite small businesses, where I run into friends and neighbors

• practice time with my toes in the grass, using Mount Ascutney as my focal point

Yes, some activities we do all year long. But they just feel soooo much bigger--and better--come summer ...

• an aliveness to prepping dinner in June, especially when it includes just-picked lettuce and crunchy radishes that were mere seeds just weeks ago

• a sense of relaxation to folks sampling homemade items at local farmers markets

• a closer connection to nature as our activities move outdoors (or, when we can’t be fully outside, we bring it in by throwing open doors and windows)
  
  If it’s summer where you are, I hope you, too, are making the most of these months, whatever that may look like. If you feel moved to share, let us know how you’ve been spending your longer—though now growing shorter!—warm days.

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Orient yourself in the center of the room, so you can be surrounded by folks who are more familiar with--and confident about--the movements. (We put you in the middle because we’ll be turning, and if you try to hide in the back soon you’ll find all of us looking to follow you!) Let yourself be supported by your fellow players, who were once in your tai chi shoes.

Take full advantage of the first time you’re meeting this sequence, when no one has any expectations of you--so you shouldn’t, either. Allow this time to be full of experimental play, when you exuberantly fling your arms to the right with unbridled joy ... and everyone else is going to the left.

Take a moment to chuckle at your missteps, and just feel the energy you (and the others around you) are creating. Notice the swirl of the chi in the space between you and the person next to you--even across time and space, if you’re playing virtually--as well as the spiraling within you, originating from your center. The precise movements of hands and feet will come in time and with repetition. Parts of the movements may continue to feel awkward, and you’ll have to use your whole being to count, weight shift, pivot and adjust your fingers just so. Soon, they’ll feel as natural as your every breath.

But for now, enjoy the not knowing. Recline into the beginners mind, when everything feels fresh and exciting, ripe for deeper exploration.

We’ll all be beginners starting next month, when we kick off a journey through the Yang 24 tai chi form from our chairs, playing our way through an accessible variation of this popular traditional sequence that I’ve been noodling around. Taking the lower body out of the equation means we can focus on what’s happening above the waist, effectively cutting down on the volume of choreography we have to memorize. What a nice way to ease into this form! If you’d like to learn more, message me and I’ll share more info when it’s time.

Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are slowly making our way out of deep winter. I realize that I’m writing this as I watch the snow come down outside my Vermont window, but even that is different this time of year. The frigid cold that gripped us weeks ago is behind us, replaced by chilly sunshine that melts the icicles dangling from our roofline. The temps tiptoe around freezing, but bright afternoons beckon us to leave our stocking caps and wooly scarves on their mudroom hooks.

Deep winter is for rest. Travel is challenging, and outside chores can wait. It’s the perfect time for poring through seed catalogs, cooking up hearty meals, and tending to ourselves with nurturing selfcare practices like restorative yoga.

As the days lengthen and temps start to creep up, something shifts inside us. We’re ready to bursts from our cocoons and start again. THIS is the time to make good use of that spark. And for 2026, you’ll have the aid of your own personal Fire Horse.

Lunar New Year arrived Feb. 17 this year, galloping on a steed ready for action. Ending with an even digit under the Element of Fire, 2026 is a “double yang” year, so this Horse is ready to run. This year will be all about motivation and passion for what drives you. But what if that sort of energy just isn’t resonating with you right now?

Check out my dive into the spring celebrations of new beginnings and fresh starts. I’ll guide you through a special Fire Horse meditation that will help you determine exactly what you need to support you through the months to come. That includes boundaries and releasing those things that no longer fit into your horse’s pack.

Let me know what the Year of the Fire Horse has in store for you.

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I dropped the practice of creating “resolutions,” and I find this method much more meaningful and sticky, as it’s usually something that can apply to a variety of actions and choices as the year progresses. In that way, it evolves into a sort of game, in a way that a rude and shouty “lose 10 pounds!” never could.

My 2026 intention floated into my consciousness at the tail end of a much-needed multi-day digestive reset this fall, which helped me cool it on the excess processed foods and sugar I’d been habitually taking in. I became so much more aware of what I was eating (everything in the cupboard) and when (constantly), and finally got back to proper nourishing meals when I was actually hungry.

At about the same time, some niggling dental pain erupted into a plan for a complex and pricey reconstruction procedure. After many conversations—punctuated by hand-drawn diagrams and calculations—we came up with a plan to cover the expenses over time, complete with a for-real slow down on unnecessary spending. I started reducing the size of my occasional takeaway coffees, and I found myself pausing in front of the prepared food case to consider the contents of my already-full freezer.

As I was getting ready to pull out of my parking spot after a quick stop at our local food coop (following my more mindful, pared-down shopping method) I heard it plain as day: “less is more.” “Yeah,” I thought, accepting the challenge, “it is.” And so it began—my map for 2026. And it wasn’t even Christmas yet.

I’m finding myself repairing holey socks with colorful patterned patches from my new darning tool—a gift from our kids. Less spending on new clothing is more fun creativity with the pieces I know and love.

I’m upping the ante on my drive toward increased sustainability in the kitchen. Less single-use plastic is more heirloom glassware on my shelves, full of ingredients ready for homecooked meals. Plus less ocean trash and more awareness of what happens to packaging once it leaves my hands.

I’m unsubscribing from lists stuffing my inbox with messages that take my energy instead of giving me a sense of fulfillment. Less digital distraction is more space for analog pursuits, like the tower of enticing reads on my nightstand.

That’s just the beginning. I’m excited to see more of what’s ahead for 2026. Or should I say … what’s less.

First an early December snowstorm, then below-zero real-feel temps, and again more snow (this time unexpected) … I think we can say we’re in it. It feels just like the old days.

So it’s the perfect time for me to share what I’ve learned about the Danish idea of hygge. We’ll use Meik Wiking’s The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living to discover how this concept that appears all candlelight, comfort food and holiday time is really centered around savoring sweet everyday pleasures.

It looks out over our hayfield toward Mount Ascutney, which has been wearing a jaunty white beanie for the past couple of weeks. So I stick on the overflow cover and my waterproof pillow, run the warm water and toss in a handful of magnesium flakes. I’ll see you in an hour.

Granted, there’s the infrared sauna, a towering stack of books—including Katherine May’s Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, my annual cold-weather read—and a cloud drive full of restorative yoga practices. But there’s just something about that water. Now if it only went all the way up to my neck …

My neck is the spot where all my tension pools. The aches from long days in the garden, the mental gymnastics of keeping up with an online business, the daily heart and gut punches resulting from a nation in turmoil. So I turn to acupressure to soothe this tender narrow bridge between my body and brain.

Set aside about 20 minutes to tend to your own neck with your breath and hands, and my latest bite-sized video practice. No special tools, no harsh kneading … just your gentle touch and your own inner wisdom.

And afterwards? Reward yourself with that tubbie.

Now, we have bare branches and the slim margin before Holiday Everything. Rain gear or a puffer? Black ice or whipping winds (or both)? Your dinner choice is most likely made for you, as many restaurants around here take their break now, before welcoming friends and family back for Thanksgiving. Soups on, with the last bits from the garden.

None of this means you can’t get outside, though. It’s a lovely time to explore the woods—now that most leaves have fallen you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how far you can see between the trees—or your backyard. And if the weather or something else prevents you from getting outdoors, you can still discover so much through your windows … or with your favorite houseplant.

I was honored to lead a teeny tiny Mindful Outdoor Experience (MOE) at the Springfield VT UU Meetinghouse recently. We happened to have a glorious October Sunday, but no matter what your weather—or where you are—you can welcome in present moment awareness to connect more deeply with yourself, the land you’re on, and your many relations in “the more-than-human world.”

An MOE is an opportunity to slow down, open our senses and allow ourselves to become curious and aware of our surroundings. Those gathered in person for this service had the chance to explore the nature around the Meetinghouse. You can listen in and be guided through your own outdoor spaces via your earbuds. Alternatively, you can take in the nature around you through your windows, or you can surround yourself with some natural items (houseplants, stones, etc.) to bring the outdoors to you. Whatever your MOE looks like, I hope you enjoy this practice of Being Here Now.

So we’re probably in agreement that we shouldn’t prevent a fall—the season of fall, that is. But we do want to prevent physical falls … the ones that land an older adult in the ER with a related injury every 11 seconds.

We’re standing in the space between summer and fall now, so let’s prepare ourselves for the season ahead by remembering how to move through our days with care. September is Fall Prevention Awareness Month, and you might find that the same things that keep you safe on your feet today also make sense for how you experience the world in a larger sense.

I shared some strategies for staying stable on your feet at the Springfield UU recently—the full service is below. Here are some timestamped highlights:

11:00 Waterfall breathing
21:00 How NOT to fall presentation
30:40 tai chi walking practice

Got any thoughts around preventing a fall? Let me know!

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I started with my daily meditation practice.

I have a cute little home studio on the second floor of our farmhouse where I teach my classes from. It faces East so I can watch the sun rise over our iconic muraled barn in the mornings. I love sitting on our front porch during the fine-weather months—listening to the birds sing and watching the dew glisten on the pasture grass as the sun comes up while drop into my body—but in the winter, when mornings are still dark, I have a hard time motivating my butt onto my mat in the studio.

Heading up to the studio was especially challenging while we were still in our temporary bedroom downstairs. It became far too easy to get right into my day, skipping over my sit time and instead busying myself with laundry or jumping directly into work. And once you add other disruptors like home renovations and a new puppy into the mix, it’s way too easy to kiss that precious private morning time goodbye.

Tiny Habits reminded me of my bathroom meditations. They worked because I did them right before something I did every weekday—hopping into the shower before getting dressed for the day.

Now that I work from home my days are structured differently, and much less so. Sometimes I have just enough time to take a quick shower downstairs after taking care of Olive before my morning check-in call with my dad … and sometimes I take a bath upstairs later in the day. But I realized that there’s still one thing I do every day, no matter what.

I get out of bed.

Olive is very attached to me, so once she hears me get up she downdog-updogs her way over to my side of the bed from her crate. But I’ve learned how to silently sliiiiiide my way onto the floor next to my bed without her hearing or seeing me. I rest my back against the bed, facing the sunny window, and watch my breath for a few minutes until she sidles over

Somedays I get about five minutes to myself, and somedays it’s just a moment or two. But the fact that I make the time to sit still and take the opportunity to mindfully breathe before my day starts means that I get to prioritize those few moments for myself … so I can be available in a more grounded way for everyone else.

Is there a selfcare practice you can try tiny-habiting? Check out BJ’s book for inspiration if you need a little more guidance. I promise that you need only literal moments of time to start incorporating new habits—or replace ones you’d like to let go.

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what i imagined i'd look like after 5 minutes of morning meditation

what i actually look like after 5 minutes of morning meditation ... and that's ok!

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

I hope this bite-sized practice was a nice little break for your body and brain—go ahead and give it a thumbs-up if it worked for you! You can find more just like it at my YouTube channel—subscribe and get a new mini practice a couple of times a month.

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

Whenever you choose to do it, trimming back fruit trees and berry bushes can serve as inspiration for ways that we can tend to ourselves every day. Pruning takes a plant back to its strongest, most vital parts, leaving the healthiest tissue to flourish. Sounds like a smart thing to do, right?

As I headed out to our berry patches this Beltane with my loppers and Felco pruning shears, I realized that the guidelines for pruning are practical reminders of how to nurture ourselves every day—no yoga mat required. And while each type of plant has some specific parameters for the best way to trim it back, there are some general principles that work on most growing things:

1. First, look for dry, dead wood and cut that down to the ground. This is often the easiest to do emotionally, because non-producing wood doesn’t add to the plant in any way.
   For you: Consider those things in your life that no longer serve their purpose: habits that leave you feeling depleted, ways of thinking that no longer bring you joy, or old beliefs that are holding you back from a fruitful future. What dead wood can you cut out of your life?

2. Next, remove anything growing “out of bounds.” This one takes the least amount of discernment when you’re working with plants, as usually you can use a fence line, pathway or other landscape feature as a guideline for what to take out. Save your brainpower for a later step in the pruning process.
   For you: I find this one a little easier to do outside in the garden instead of inside myself. Look for places in your life where you might be encroaching on someone else’s territory … where your actions begin to crowd out or overshadow another, or where you might be taking on their feelings unnecessarily. Need some help with this one? Check out inner sanctuary bookclub favorite Boundary Boss by Terri Cole, so you can show those errant behaviors who’s in charge here.

3. Now thin the plant to keep most robust shoots. This can be tough because it often means removing perfectly healthy stems, but it allows the plant to focus its growing energy in the best places—the ones most likely to produce the biggest fruit.

   For you: Think about those activities you do that are causing you to spread yourself too thin—even ones that you enjoy. This once can be tough if you have a lot of interests, like I do. But trying to do All The Things often means I lose the luxury of empty space once in a while. For those non-negotiables that you just can’t part with, maybe you can recruit another set of hands, or step back to look for ways you might be able to streamline your daily schedule.

4. Finally, cut back individual stems to the desired length. This is not just so the plant stays within the boundaries you’ve set for it, but also so you can concentrate its efforts, helping it form more—and more beautiful—fruit.

   For you: Do you notice that you have very little down time, and you’re unable to work on just one project at a time? That’s a clue that paring back might be helpful for you. Spending more time on the activities that are most important to you right now—family, creative pursuits, or moving your body, perhaps—will help settle your mind and energy so you can feel more focused.

The real final step of any pruning process is to step back to admire your work. You might be taken aback (or even shocked) by seeing how much you’ve cut away from your plant, but know that you haven’t hurt it by your actions—in fact, you’ve improved it. Even though the temps were a little too warm for me to do some hard pruning—and I may have lopped off some flowering shoots that were on their way to becoming berries—in the long run the bushes will be more vigorous and produce higher quality fruit.

Similarly, honing our schedules and emotional availability can be challenging at first, but over time streamlining our daily routine will ensure that we’re taking at least a few minutes each day to make ourselves stronger and more resilient.

Click here for a FREE 17-page ebook to learn how to unstiff yourself as you’re blasting through your to-do list, without taking any extra time from your daily routine

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

The folks in my inner sanctuary answered with a resounding “YES!!!” when I asked if they wanted to have a bookclub included as part of their online selfcare membership. They immediately began sharing the names of authors and titles that had been on their list to read “someday,” and we dove in. We started meeting once a month to discuss what we had just read, and it didn’t take long to see that we spent more time talking about our own individual experiences rather than the actual words on the page.

One of the first books we read was ’s The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices. That’s where I first learned of the concept of lectio divina, or sacred reading. The idea is to read—then re-read, then read aloud—and contemplate a short piece of text. This type of study can help us bring the words into our lives, welcoming our own experiences, then noting what actions the passage might encourage us to take. No wonder we enjoy bookclub so much—we are practicing lectio divina together, as a group!

Part of the pleasure of this practice has been releasing the preciousness of the words we’re reading. We’ve found the sacred in Katherine May (“We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”*) as well as Glennon Doyle (“You are a goddamn cheetah”). What matters is how the author’s words speak to each of us, revealing something we didn’t even realize needed to be spoken aloud.

Reading and sharing in this way is a form of the yogic observance of svadhyaya. Even as we’re finding books entertaining, we’re examining ourselves, reflecting and sharing. It’s a very practical way to bring self-study into our every day life … and you can do it with any book you choose.

Want to see what else the inner sanctuary’s been reading? Follow the link to our Bookshop.org shop, and learn how your purchase benefits not just me (with a small commission, at no cost to you) but your favorite independent bookstores across the U.S.

*The entire manuscript of May’s Wintering was a sacred text—there isn’t a page in my copy that’s not dogeared, highlighted or otherwise marked up. It was the first book we read as a group, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that it’s still our favorite.

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

I’m guessing it will take us a few more weeks to get there—because it always does. In the meantime, try this quick acupressure practice to help you start to thaw out your upper spine and neck, and bring a little mobility back to those places that have been swaddled in turtlenecks and scarves for so many months.

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

Something old is new once again … or maybe it never really went out of style. Audio-only practices were popular in decades past—if you’re my age you might remember listening to workouts on cassette in your Sony Walkman … while tugging on your leg warmers and headband. And if you spend extended time on the road these days (either in your vehicle or in your sneakers) you might be a fan of Audible books, or my personal favorite, podcasts. These offer lots of options for more in-depth listening on topics such as mindfulness, for example.

But if you’ve been reading these posts for any length of time you know how much I value the support of community when it comes to caring for ourselves. It can feel pretty lonely, popping in some earbuds and heading out for a solo walk.

Each month I get together with osteopath and pain care expert Colleen Jorgensen of Stillness in Motion, and spiritual coach . We met in a coaching program run by Marvelous (formerly Namastream), the online teaching platform we use for our businesses, and quickly connected.

When we were making our plans for 2021, in addition to making financial and project goals for the year, we each made a goal for ourselves to make sure we were taking regular selfcare breaks. We all know how easy it is to let something like that slide, so we noodled around the idea of booking a regular video chat to guide each other through short practices on a rotating basis. We thought it would be a wonderful idea to offer each other some breathwork, mindfulness practices, functional movement, etc., and to share these practices it with others as well.

We try to stick to about 20 minutes total for catching up and a quick practice, to respect everyone’s time and busy schedule. Our practices can be done from anywhere, and we often share the replays with our own individual communities afterwards. Subscribe to this Substack for access to some of my past episodes.

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Here’s the practice from a session I led in December, where I guided listeners through a hand posture (mudra) that I feel is particularly useful at the start of a new year.

Social photo by dusan jovic on Unsplash

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

… a catch in your breath when you’re startled?

…. the urge to run to the bathroom when you’re upset?

… a rise in the pitch of your voice when you’re feeling anxious?

The remarkable system that is your body doesn’t miss a trick—it responds to every little thing that you encounter throughout your day. And when you spend your days caring for others, there are LOTS of things to respond to.

Take just a few minutes to try this standing exploration. It turns your attention inward so you can notice your breathing and how it impacts your entire body--as well as your mental state.

Start in tadasana (mountain pose), with your hands resting at the bottom of your rib cage as you breathe. Then see if you can feel yourself slowing down as you tune out the outside world for a few moments to tend to yourself.

This video is just a snippet from a full practice available in the self-care sanctuary, my monthly membership designed to help those who tend to others--healthcare workers, teachers, parents, family caregivers, etc.--feel nourished and supported. Give this video a "like" if you enjoyed it, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and check out my free three-day selfcare mini retreat for more quick practices that will bring ease to your body, mind and spirit.

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

You’re awakened by a call from a cardiac surgeon, telling you that your husband’s heart is in a “deadly rhythm,” so you should round up the kids and head to the hospital immediately.

It’s Thanksgiving and you can hear the panic in your father’s voice on the other end of the line. Your mother has plummeted deep into dementia, and he doesn’t know what to do.

Many of us have been on the receiving end of calls like these. In fact, all of the above happened to me—and in between I dealt with my own breast cancer diagnosis. So whether we tend to other people as part of our careers or not, if we have any sort of relationships at all (human or otherwise), we’ll all find ourselves in the role of caregiver at some point in our lives.

The day-to-day challenges of caring for someone else were growing smaller in my rearview mirror recently—my mom passed away with dementia earlier this year. But my husband’s long-overdue knee-replacement surgery brought all the caregiver memories screeching back into the present.

Every caregiving situation is unique, but I was reminded of a few commonalities within the first few days of my husband’s recovery during this National Family Caregivers Month …

• Dealing with a medical condition is not just physically uncomfortable, but (among other things) it can also be frustrating, frightening, embarrassing, and even—at times—boring. So the person you’re caring for may withdraw, or you might find yourself on the receiving end of a short temper … and anything and everything in between. Try not to take dark moods personally. As situations change for the person you’re caring for, their temperament will as well.

• Your own mealtimes may be unpredictable. If you have some notice that you’ll be in the position of caregiver, stock your kitchen with nourishing foods. Not just for the person you’re tending to, but for you as well. It’s not the end of the world if you find yourself downing an entire bag of popcorn while binging LuLaRich once your person is out of surgery (yup, I did that). Eating crunchy snacks can help release physical and emotional tension. But you’ll have much more energy for those inevitable bumps in your road—and you’ll just feel better overall—if you can sneak a real meal in there, too (with extra points for veggies—carrots usually satisfy my need for crunch).

• Be aware that your own schedule may get completely upended. Make your to-do list … then cross off half. Twice.* I’ve found that a caregiver lives not just their own life, but their person’s life as well—physically, mentally and even emotionally. You know how hard it is for one person to do the job of two? You may just want to make the bed, already, but there are meals to prepare, paperwork to complete, visitors to welcome and appointments to get to. Accepting that you may only get one or two of your own tasks completed will make each day far less trying. And if you do get to something else? Well, yay, you!

• Your brain will be overfull, so do your best to stay present. My mostly pulled-together attitude seems to fall apart when it comes to the pharmacy. In 2002, I found myself in a puddle on the curb when I learned that I was handed the wrong prescription after my husband’s burn injury and I thought I would have to drive back into Boston during rush hour to fetch the right one (the pharmacist quickly offered another solution). This year, I mindlessly paced the aisles of the local drug store for an hour, waiting for his script to be filled … completely forgetting that I also needed to grab some low-dose aspirin for him, too. If I had bee paying closer attention, I would have saved myself a second trip back into town.

• When you’re caring for someone else, “NBD” can turn into “WTF?!” in a hot minute. Cut yourself a lot of slack, and be prepared for things to go sideways when you least expect them to. Bonus tip: ask for help when you need it—even for little things. As I prepared for a quick shower on Gus’s first day home after his heart surgery, water suddenly started spraying everywhere, and I couldn’t shut it off. A co-worker’s well-timed check-in provided not just the practical fix, but the supportive ear I needed in that moment, too.

• Here’s an understatement for you: caregiving can be a huge emotional drain. Don’t fall into the pattern of “who else needs me?” Once you’re in caregiving mode It’s easy to move from one selfless task to another to avoid what you might truly need … a few moments to yourself. And let yourself have those moments whenever they present themselves. I had leftover homemade curry in my fridge, but I found myself stalking the aisles of the local coop minutes before they closed, as if I were walking a labyrinth. It was nice to hide out there for a little while before facing the responsibilities I had at home while my husband was still in the hospital.

Whether or not you think you fall into the category of “caregiver,” you will look after another at some point during your lifetime—often when you least expect it. And you’ll soon realize that it is one of the most intimate, humbling and gratifying experiences you may ever have.

*This blog post took me 7 hours to write, between (among many other things) an emergency phone call, running new Internet cable, help with physical therapy, pillow plumping, letting the dog in and out several times, and checking the electric fence around our pet heifers’ pasture after the round hay bale they playfully pushed down the hill rolled through it. But hey—at least I got a walk in!

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Vision boards, resolutions, sankalpa-s … there are many ways to mindfully mark the start of a new 12-month cycle. If you’re caring for others it can often feel like much of your life is out of your control, but choosing a tool to help you focus your selfcare thoughts and actions can prevent you from squandering your precious “me”-time, and help you stay attuned to what’s truly most important to you.

If you’ve been following me for a while (hey, thank you! that really means a lot to me) you know that I’ve been choosing a word to work with at the beginning of each year for a bit. Here’s how they’ve lined up:

2021: ritual

2020: rhythm

2019: listen

2018: space

Selecting just one word has helped me zone right in on exactly how I’m going to incorporate it into my days, in a very intimate way. I find myself getting to know the word on a whole new level—having a relationship with it beyond it’s common, often singular, definition.

I usually choose my word intuitively, letting it come to me over the course of a few weeks. It might leap out at me from the pages of a book or in spoken conversation a few times before I notice the repetition and start to roll the word around in my head.

I’m not exactly sure when I first looked at my word for 2022 with a narrowed gaze, but I do still have this line of housekeeper Emma’s from White Christmas at the front of my brain since we watched it in December: “Advance! Advance! Never retreat!” She was referring to her hardheaded boss, a former Army General on the verge of bankruptcy who had sunk all his money into an old inn. (You do know that the Columbia Inn from this classic holiday movie was set in the fictitious town of Pine Tree, Vermont, right?)

My initial thought about “retreat” was … not what you think, coming from a yoga teacher. Yeah, I’m passionate about planning in-person—and now online—weekends for attendees to step away from their daily routines to learn some new selfcare techniques, but my interest went beyond that.

I noticed that, like General Waverly, I often tend to charge ahead on new ideas, and I forget to take the time to get quiet so I can set some parameters, making the opportunity work best for me. I neglect to save a little room for the “and,” where I can customize a situation so I don’t lose myself (or my free time) in the process. As a verb, “retreat” gives me permission to take a step back, get quiet, and vet an idea before charging headfirst into it.

As a noun, the word “retreat” brings to mind our back porch overlooking the wooded hillside, our soaking tub with a view of the hayfield with Mount Ascutney in the distance , the reading nook in our attic-turned-bedroom ….and my little yoga studio. That’s where I can sense my body surrounded by my favorite props, the scent of frankincense in the air, and the sky darkening into evening. It’s the time when my solar candles light up as if by magic, and the glow-in-the-dark constellations I’ve affixed to the ceiling begin to glimmer. I long to spend more unstructured time in this space, and now I’ve given myself consent to do so.

Some of the fun of choosing one word for a whole year is coming up with alternate meanings for it. As someone who often struggles with rewarding myself, I’m working on playing with “re-treat,” letting myself have not just one prize (afternoon off, for example), but two … or more!

It’s true that the thought of the word “retreat” will soon get me working on my summer selfcare saturday event, but instead of planning healthy snacks and meditations, this year it will also get me thinking about my own need for away time. I’m hoping 2022 means I can spend some of that—in person!—with friends and colleagues, refilling my own cup with movement, mindfulness and connection. Until then, I’m thankful to have plenty of ways to refuel on my own.

Do you have a word that’s speaking to you right now?

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Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

Try this quick massage and awareness sequence, and see if it makes your feet feel wider and longer. All the better to anchor you through all of life’s challenges, my dear!

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!

We store tension in our face.

Our brows furrow. Our lips tighten. Our neck muscles pop out. )When did a weekly “spa treatment” for my mom during her long days of coping with dementia, I’d remind her that she takes her neck wherever her face goes so I should put her favorite Oil of Olay cream below her chin, too—it always made her laugh.) And our jaws clench. In fact, are you doing that right now?

A few minutes of focused attention to these places can help soften the unnecessary tautness—and may even help relieve headaches and other physical holding.

Try this quick practice—with or without the ankle stretch, depending on how much time you have and where you are. And remember to check in with this spot a few times a day to help keep the tension from creeping back in. If you’re unable to physically place your hands on your face, simply moving your attention to your jaw can have the same result.

After that, you may not even need that Oil of Olay spa treatment!

Many of us find comfort in re-runs—we seek out familiar TV shows or authors when we need a little dose of TLC. As a find my sea legs on Substack, I’m sifting through my online blog archives to share some favorite topics, many of which have interesting new relevance. I’ll be updating information on current offerings, but otherwise I’ll try to stay as true to the original as feels right to me. Thanks for (re-)reading!