My mother was from a small farming community in rural Pennsylvania. The hard working people there valued the concrete, tangible world. Daily life had a routine and it was stuck to! Paradoxically, I think intuition was valued as well. The knowing of the land, the local wildlife, the seasons. Somehow there was a big sky…
Category: Self Care
Surviving Parenthood
Parents, I Salute You Happy Mother’s Day! I have spent the weekend intermittently crying over my mother, lost so many years ago, feeling like a crap mother myself, and thinking of a friend keeping vigil over her own mother who is gravely ill. Today, I was awoken by a screaming small person who did NOT…
Safe, Effective Aromatherapy
Fresh baked bread, lily of the valley, homemade spaghetti sauce bubbling away on a slow simmer. Warm, melty chocolate chip cookies (I’m drooling). Frankincense, patchouli, lavender, ylang ylang. Your grandma. Smells are powerful. They can jettison us back to the past – to home, dad, a special trip taken. Scents can calm us down, rev…
‘Tis Vata Season
Thank God for old friends at this time of year. They are THERE for the mid-morning-drive-up-toddler-dump and the long, loud sob sesh. First, they nod (in unison), trying not to look alarmed as you mutter/scream incoherently. Then, they let you play with their dogs. Finally, a ping-pong match and Talking Heads. Tornado, dispersed. It’s vata…
Kundalini Yoga is Magic
Twelve years ago, I randomly ordered a Kundalini Yoga DVD while browsing on Amazon. I liked the picture on the front – the instructor was beaming, looking genuinely relaxed and happy. I started using the DVD, and was quickly dug out of a hole of sleep-deprived despair and post-partum depression. It was a helping hand,…
The Law of Attraction & Meditation = Mighty Changes.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could say to the Universe: “Farm boy, fetch me that pitcher” (or that dream job or that soul mate), and the Universe would reply “As you wish” and hand it to us on a silver platter? What if that could actually happen? There’s this whole Law of Attraction thing…
Prana, the Breath of Creation
I’m at the grocery store in my three day old sweats, caked in foodstuffs, kid snot, and general filth. My toddler, Ray, drops his granola bar. I wait for the lady oogling him to move on so that I can pick it up off the floor and hand it back to him, COVID or no…
Agni: Fire in the Belly
I am a total pyro. I’m mesmerized by flames, and notorious amongst friends and family for being the insatiable feeder of the fire. At a lake shore cabin, I built and enormous bonfire while everyone was boating. From their spot on the lake, the boaters were shocked and concerned at the sheer size of the…
Spring Reboot: Kapha Season
I love a good “new start”. I love New Years resolutions and the promise that they bring. I have not, however, kept any New Years Resolutions. Not ever. This year, I made one (one!) and I broke it on January 1st. I think that I rebel against the pressure. With a toddler, this is a…
Ojas, AKA Mojo Juice
She has that “glow”. A friend shared a video of her wedding night with me (don’t worry, the groom is in the background, passed out in his three piece suit, dapper even in sleep). She is incandescent. Radiant with joy. Even via screen, she is clearly saturated with ojas (the body’s “natural honey”). There are…