Posts

Holy Crap! I Put Balsamic Vinegar on My Popcorn (And Other Mindfulness Fails That Prove I’m Just Like You)

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This morning, in my calm and strong yoga class, my fellow yogis and I were having a deep chat about the true meaning of mindfulness . Not the mystical, magical, wooooo-woo kind, but the simple, brutally honest, practical kind: staying present in each and every moment. "Yes!" I thought. "I will be present! I will be focused! I am a disciplined yogi!" Fast forward to mid-afternoon. I’m at my regular day job (which is my home office), and I got a powerful, undeniable craving for popcorn . My commute is a grueling, ten-foot pilgrimage to the kitchen. I prepared the kernels, grabbed a bottle to drizzle a little oil on top, and watched as the liquid came out… dark and smelly. Holy crap. I had just put balsamic vinegar on my popcorn kernels. I had to curl up right there on the floor and laugh until I cried. (It was either that or cry until I curled up.) As I cleaned up the sticky, acidic mess and started over with a proper setup of popcorn and olive oil, it hit me: the...

Real Words, Polished Edges: How I Write (and Why I Still Trust My Voice)

I love the feedback I get on my blogs. The feedback themes primarily focus on how relatable they are to the common human experience. I’ve heard people say, “It’s like you are speaking directly to me or “I can hear your real voice”. I also hear feedback on how well they are written and how motivating they are. I’m not here to toot my own horn today. Though who doesn’t love a good horn tootin’! If I am a good blog writer, it's because I have been a writer my whole life. At my age and with my long career, if I weren’t a good writer, I might as well pack up and move on! Lately, there has been a shift in culture from the traditional approach to writing to utilizing AI to assist with content creation. In some cases, people may use AI to write all the content. This leaves a lot of room for debate in education systems, the downfall of creative skills, plagiarism, authenticity, and more. In the health and wellness blog space, there is a continuing loss of authenticity and trust, where peopl...

The "Always" and "Never" Trap

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I 've been thinking a lot lately, and I wanna share something that my bestie, Corena, totally called me out on. You know how it is sometimes—you get on a rant, right? We were using this app called Marco Polo, which is kind of like a video walkie-talkie. You record a video and send it to your friend, they watch it when they have a chance, and then they can reply with their own video. It's awesome for staying connected with friends who live far away. Anyway, I was venting about some stuff, and I didn't want advice—I just needed to get it all out. But my wise bestie just asked me to replay the video to myself. So I did, and I heard something I didn't even realize I was doing. The Danger of Absolutes In a five-minute rant, I kept saying two words over and over: "never" and "always." I was so sure of myself, so convinced I was right, that I was making these huge, absolute statements. I was drawing lines in the sand, like, "I'm never going to d...

Even Yogis Get the Blues

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   ๐Ÿ’™Even Yogis Get the Blues Alright, let's get real for a sec. We've all been there, right? That feeling when the universe decides to dial down the sunshine and crank up the grey. Even for those of us who regularly twist ourselves into a pretzel on a yoga mat, sometimes you just feel... blah. And you know what? That's totally okay. Because, and I'm sure Tom Robbins would agree, even yogis get the blues . (See what I did there? A little nod to "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" – great book, by the way, if you're into quirky, philosophical adventures.) ☕The Uninvited Guest: Sadness  We've somehow, as a society, decided that sadness is this unwanted guest we need to kick out immediately. Low energy? Must be fixed! But what if we just... let it sit for a bit? Offer it a cup of tea, maybe. Unless you share the same aversion to tea as Ted Lasso (and me):   "How do you take your tea? " Ted:   "Well, usually I take it right back to the counter bec...

Yoga for the Modern Mind ๐Ÿง˜‍♀️

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 When I was in India and Scotland on yoga retreats, it was so easy to put the trappings of Western society aside and lean into the true essence of yoga. Coming back to North America, especially after my India trip, it took a couple of days to adjust. I was still walking around probably smelling like cow poop and chanting mantras, marveling at the size of everything here—big houses, big cars, and all the "access" we have. Within a couple of weeks, I was swirled back into the trappings of the modern mind, specifically digital overload and constant connectivity. This isn't to say that our digital lives are 100% evil—they're not. They're quite necessary, and there are lovely aspects to them. However, for a person with an ADHD brain like me, with two jobs and lots of demands on my time and energy, adding the digital noise and constant connectivity is enough to sometimes put my brain into a tailspin. I'll completely shut down, napping midday when I could be enjoyin...