Happy 4th of July. I hope you’re thriving, and blowing stuff up. Within reason, of course. 😉 Speaking of blowing stuff up— thank you for all the kind notes and check-ins. Yesterday was our 25th wedding anniversary, which may have been one of the hardest days of my life.
Rest assured, sobbing is only part of my day. Everything moves in waves. Lots of Permission 2 (To Feel All the Feels) over here, which is honestly very good for this Enneagram Seven. I am surrendering (P4) and the healing is in God’s hands. Yoga helps.
The tiny, bold move this week is Peace. I am in repair. We can’t circumvent our healing, whatever continent we may be working on next week.
Our lives quicken toward the ski jump of change. All the more reason to pause mid-launch. See their eyes below, pointing up. Sense the gravity, losing its hold on you. After a lifetime as a performer, I’m done saying “the show must go on.”
Now I say: sometimes life is f*cking hard, and that is OK. No need to pretend otherwise. Just sit to chill, and clear more static. Feel more feels.
There are of course, many moments of joy and beauty. Even in the heaviest storms. This is life, this is love, and love is unstoppable. Today I’ll share a meditation on freedom, and a simple mantra to open an umbrella of peace— in moments of stress. The not-so-tiny, bold move of claiming our power.
Meditation on Freedom
I love my country always. Don’t love our warped sense of freedom.
Freedom is service— and it has service to thank for it.
Freedom isn’t taking up too much space— not saying ‘pardon me’, or ‘thank you’.
Freedom holds the door for others.
Freedom doesn’t need to man-spread, or mansplain.
Isn’t threatened by gender identity, sexual orientation, or women’s rights.
Freedom doesn’t need a superabundance of guns.
Freedom is free of small d*ck energy— in its policy, policing, and governance.
Freedom doesn’t need thundering loud pipes to remind you it’s free.
Freedom includes peace— required to feel free.
When we quiet our minds, we silence the division— and the perceived limits, or threats to our precious freedom.
It occurs to us: no one’s coming for our jobs, guns, bibles, or our children’s innocence. (Drunk family members, maybe?)
When we are still, we are free. ⚡️
This— is what it feels like to be free.
Happy 4th of July. I wish you peace, service, ease, recovery… All the sweetest, non-warped expressions of freedom. 🇺🇸
Photo below: #tbt leading the kids’ parade. 7/4/19
Mantra for Peace in Stressful Times
So many of us wonder why it’s harder for us to self-regulate under stress. Maybe we grew up with a screaming parent. We likely had some traumatic event that gets triggered in a typical workday.
Our nervous system may become dysregulated:
When we’re confronted by difficult coworkers, or customers
When we’re paying bills, or worrying about money
When we feel backed into a corner
This mantra can help you.
It has helped me a ton lately, and if you feel it’s calming effects— Please, share it with someone who could use it.
Sometimes it takes mad levels of intensity to finally surrender to practicing The Deep Chill. By Grace, we live our lives in high demand. We claim our personal power when we accept that we are also in repair.
We can be both. I am both. ❤️🩹
Practice with me: [Video: mantra and song below]
Om Dumrah Ketuve Namaha
OM Doom-rah Kay-too-vay Namaha
I learned this from my beloved yoga teacher Marion Mugs McConnell— one of my fellow directors on the Board of Directors for Yoga Alliance. We are recruiting new board members if you wish to apply! See below for a special info event I’ll be speaking in next week. To learn more about what this role entails and how to apply, please visit 2024 Board Nomination Webpage.
Tuesday, July 9 | 2 p.m. ET
Info Session | Join Yoga Alliance’s Boards of Directors
We believe that if more people practice yoga, the better the world will be. Yoga Alliance has released its 2024-2030 Strategic Plan and we are now looking for individuals to join Yoga Alliance and Yoga Alliance Foundation’s Boards of Directors. In this info session, you will learn what it means to serve on the Boards of Directors, roles and responsibilities, details about the application process, and more.
This event will be moderated by Kevin James Karas, Board Governance Manager at Yoga Alliance.
I LOL’d at this line: “Freedom is free of small d*ck energy”
Happy 4th. Sending peace your way. And settling into the chill.