As the Aries New Moon Solar Eclipse approaches we are coming to the conclusion of an eclipse cycle that started in April 2023. It is a time to reflect on what has shifted in these last two years, what has come into alignment, what and who have we released. As I reflect I realize that two years ago I began my journey into sound healing as well as to closing out my career with Aurora Public Schools. These steps and events among others have created the opportunity for this next chapter in my life to unfold. Letting go of the familiar can be scary, but it also creates space for a multitude of possibilities we have yet to imagine. Tuning into our own body’s wisdom through movement, reflection, and rest allows those possibilities to arise.

As I reflect on today’s equinox and consider what to write about it, I determined that sharing this Equinox Update from The Power Path was the best course.

“An Equinox is always a good time to visit your intentions and see what needs to come to completion before embarking on something new. This equinox, as it falls in the window between 2 eclipses, is especially supportive of completing ancestral and personal past life karmic patterns.  It is a good idea to be available for whatever healing needs to take place during this time. 

There is great energy for being inspired by what is, and what can be, a new experience and direction. Work with beauty and gratitude to keep your vibration high. It is easy to fall into despair especially when faced with karmic debris both personal and collective. However it is very important during these times to come from the heart with compassion, hope, and resiliency. Do something that inspires you and helps you feel grounded and purposeful.” ~ Lena Stevens

On March 1 Venus moved into retrograde creating space and energy for deep reflection and healing of old wounds. Often we carry wounds of not feeling like we are enough or able to live up to the expectations of others. This time of reflection is an opportunity to honor ourselves for who we are in each moment. Remembering that just as the ocean ebbs and flows, so does our energy, our regulation, our ability to manage the challenges of our daily lives. Offering ourselves the grace and compassion to allow ourselves to show up as we are in the moment is a practice and a gift essential to our wellbeing.

As we continue to ride the waves of chaos across the country many of us are feeling overwhelmed and dysregulated. Under stress our bodies tend to shift in to shallow chest breathing, which in turn keeps us in heightened state of alarm. Regularly returning to deeper belly breathing throughout the day allows us to engage our parasympathetic nervous system and its relaxation response. Setting a reminder on a computer or watch is an easy way to remind ourselves to pause and take a few slow deep breaths. Intentionally building a few minutes of breathing practice into our morning and evening routines is also helpful. Breathing practices such as the 4 part breath and extended exhale are easy to learn and use whenever needed.

I have been thinking a lot today about remembering to be kind to ourselves in moments of difficulty. Most of us are harder on ourselves than we are on others. Being kind to ourselves is a way to refill our own cup and rewrite the messages we have internalized from the outside world. When we are compassionate with ourselves, we can in turn offer compassion more easily to others.

Yesterday’s full moon energy has had an interesting ungrounding affect on me. I have found myself missing steps in activities that I normally do by rote and have had to be more consciously mindful to make sure I am actually doing what I need to. It has been a reminder that we often go through our lives on automatic pilot without paying much attention to what we are doing or what is going on around us.

I am grateful to have spent the last week restoring my spirit with the sun, the sea, and family. While we cannot always go away somewhere to restore ourselves, nature wherever we are can bring us back to ourselves and provide a space of grounding and healing. Simply turning our faces to the sun and taking a few deeps breaths can shift our perspective. With so much feeling out of control in our world, these intentional moments of connecting with the natural world are a way to reclaim our time and our well-being.

This week has been heavy and full of grief for me as we endure the hateful speech and behavior of our new administration and those who support it. While not much is unexpected, it is difficult to witness intentional harm being inflicted on people who wish only for safety, justice, and equality. I feel fortunate to have a supportive community to lean on in moments of despair along with their ever present reminders to hold myself with gentleness and the light they shine that strengthens mine. If you are in need of support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to those you trust, including me.

After a warm, sunny day today, winter is showing off her versatility this weekend by dipping us into a deep freeze providing the perfect opportunity for us to soak in the stillness and silence of winter. While I know life does not stand still for cold weather, I encourage you to gift yourself with some time to be still and silent with the weather. Let go of things that can wait for another day and snuggle up with a cozy blanket, a warm beverage, and a book, movie, nap, or all three!

I am a bit overwhelmed this week as I watch the fires in L.A. and worry for the safety of family in the area. When disaster impacts us personally, we feel it more intensely. Yet, even when we don’t have that personal connection we are all still impacted in some way through the interconnectedness of our existence. There are so many difficult, challenging, and even horrific things happening around the globe that we can feel overwhelmed and helpless. We may not be able to solve the problems across the world, but we can do the good in front of us, taking smalls actions to make a difference.

As we begin this new year there are many opportunities and possibilities ahead, yet there are also many reasons for concern and trepidation. Given this it can feel daunting to take on the weight of the year ahead. Turning our attention a little closer and a little deeper, back home to our inner selves can feel more manageable.

I hope you all are caring for yourselves as you need to through this week of holidays. As we wind down the final days of the year, may we offer ourselves gratitude for all we have accomplished and learned and grace for all we have endured and overcome. Each year, each day, each moment is an opportunity to learn a little more about ourselves, to grow and awaken to our true nature, and to offer ourselves compassion when we don’t live up to our own expectations.

The Winter Solstice is almost upon us and I am excited for the opportunity to honor it with you through our Saturday Morning Yoga class as well as the Winter Solstice Retreat for Rest & Renewal. There are only a few retreat spaces left, so sign up soon!

One of the things I enjoy most about the approach of winter is the opportunity for stillness. The natural world has turned inward and is resting and regenerating. The trees stand stark and steady, a visual reminder that stillness is a part of the seasonal cycle.

Recently, I was listening to an interview with Prune Harris, an energy medicine practitioner and teacher, and she said, “the seasons are not outside of us, the seasons are within us.” I found this such a powerful reminder that we can and need to allow our own rhythms to follow the cues the seasons are giving us rather than expecting ourselves to be full of summertime energy all year long.

As I have been processing the election, its consequences, and my own response, I have been thinking a lot about the indigenous story of the two wolves within us. Which wolf do I feed in this moment, the wolf of anger or the wolf of love? Each of us must make our own decisions each moment, each day as to how we will respond.

This is coming a day later than usual as I had the privilege of spending the last fews days in Santa Fe with my niece. We set out on our adventure with the mindset of seeing what the universe had to show us and we were not disappointed. The freedom of letting go of expectations for ourselves, for others, for what and how things should be allowed us to experience things as they were in the moment. It gave us the opportunity to let life unfold moment by moment without trying to control or manage it. Consequently, we saw and experienced joys, insights, connections, and inspirations we could not have predicted.

For many of us this week has brought anxiety, grief, fear, anger, and disbelief. Our hopes and dreams of moving our country forward toward more kindness, compassion, and humanity have been shockingly interrupted by the choice of millions of Americans to choose hatred, discrimination, and dehumanization instead. As we grapple with this, it is essential that we hold onto our own values with integrity and compassion and resist the urge to respond in kind to those who made the choices impacting us. Please take the time to experience your emotions and connect with those who can offer you the support you need to keep your inner light aflame. Then, when you are ready, when you feel strong enough, find some way to take action to make a positive difference that is meaningful to you. (This article from Waging Nonviolence may be helpful.)

The celebrations of Halloween, Diwali, and the Day of the Dead over the next few days coincide with the New Moon in Scorpio. Tomorrow is also 111. All of these events invite us to be introspective, reflecting on our lives and noticing all we have to be grateful for. It is a time to tune into our intuition, trust our inner wisdom, and trust that each step we take on our path is supported by the universe. When we we act from a place of love and compassion for ourselves and others rather than from a place of fear, we will always be on the right path. I invite you to take some time over these next few days to move your body, sit in meditation, spend time in nature, and listen to the wisdom that arises from within.

As part of honoring the energy of yesterday’s new moon and solar eclipse I had the pleasure of offering two sound baths. One was a surprise wellness opportunity for the lovely staff at Dalton Elementary and the other was in support of Michelle Voeller’s benefit to raise funds for a food bank in Asheville, NC, which has been hit hard by flooding from Hurricane Helene. Both brought me so much joy as I shared the sound healing practice I love with and for people I care about.