Thoughts

12/20 — Finding Your Anchors

For the last five years, I have consistently taught two yoga classes a week. As I’m sure you can imagine, a lot can change in five years. For me, part of that change included moving from Berkeley to Santiago to San Francisco. And yoga followed me through the entire journey. Two times a week to be specific. So, when I temporarily moved back home to San Diego at the start of quarantine, it only made sense to bring yoga along.

In March, I began teaching a weekly virtual yoga series - two times a week, Tuesdays and Fridays from my parents’ living room. We rolled aside the persian rugs, moved the coffee tables, and added some plants in the background to create ambiance. I’d put on my workout outfit, unplug the landline (yes, we still have a landline), and send friendly text reminders to my parents to go for a walk around the neighborhood. These two hours anchored my week, providing stability and routine. As the pandemic hit and our world flipped upside down, so did everything we knew and understood of daily life. I no longer had my morning bus ride to work to transition from home brain to work brain. Friday happy hours weren’t there to ring in the weekend. And heck, sweatpants became my everyday, all-day attire, not just for bedtime. Without these small anchors to hold my days in place, everything started to blend together. But I still had my two classes. So I leaned into those, hard.

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11/20 — Election Reflections

Saturday was a good day. It brought hope back to a lot of people, and their families. I was sitting in the back of a lyft (mask on, windows down, all the things), and we drove past SF city hall. There were folks celebrating in the streets, and their excitement was contagious. My driver and I exchanged a few words earlier in the ride, and he let me know he and his family are immigrants from Mexico. As we passed by the cheers of excitement, he turned back to me and said, "I don't know if Biden will be better for my family and me, but I sure hope he's better than the other guy we had." And in that moment, it all hit me like a ton of bricks and a whole lot of tears. I come from a place of acknowledged privilege, and this win is so very much bigger than me. And I've always known that, and I think a lot of us here have, but sometimes it just takes a moment of realization and reflection. This affects the lives of so many individuals and families and their loved ones in such real, everyday ways. And I too, am hopeful. So here's to celebrating throughout class, and continuing to fight for basic human rights.

10/20 — Creating & Holding Stories

We create stories for ourselves. And each day has a different story that we associate with it. Some days are more special than others, making the impact of their stories more powerful - I'm thinking birthdays, anniversaries, life celebrations of sorts. Each year, when that special day comes back around, we're reminded of the story that it holds in our hearts and our minds. And the way we hold and react to that story changes each year, for better or worse. Today was one of those special story-holding days for me. And a razzle dazzly friend of mine reminded me to not fight the urge, and react + respond in the ways that were naturally coming up. So I did, and it felt good. And on this very same day next year, I'm sure my story will reappear, in an evolved form. I guess to wrap this all up, what I'm really trying to say is this - each day is different, and holds something unique. Inspired by past and present, allow what's coming up to appear, and lean into it, and respond how you best choose. Back to Vino & Vinyasa we come!

09/20 — How Yoga Works, Kinda

I'm reading this book called "How Yoga Works." I told one of my friends, and he laughed because after teaching for 4+ years, shouldn't I know how yoga works? In some ways, yes. In a lot of ways, still no. And it's like that with everything in our lives. It doesn't matter how long you've been at something — a craft, a profession, an artform, anything — there's always more to learn. We're never really experts at anything, but we can keep working towards getting really (and I mean really) darn good at that something.

09/20 — My New Favorite Question

My new favorite question — how are you, today? Today looks different than yesterday, and tomorrow will look different than today. There's something about adding "today" that invites vulnerability, and opens the door for a real conversation. And it's the same each time you move on your mat — today's practice will look and feel different than yesterday's, and tomorrow different than today. And that's okay. So think about today, be in today. And maybe I'll see you tomorrow, for a new day.

09/20 — Progression

We planted lettuce in our backyard, and this morning I picked some for my veggie bagel. My friend is building a house, and I've seen it go from nothing to an actual identifiable frame. My cousin is pregnant, and soon our family will have a new small human. Seeing things through progression, whatever they may be, however the show up, is kind of amazing when you think about it. Small things like lettuce leaves, bigger things like humans. Everything has a unique, natural way of progressing, of taking initial pieces and creating something whole. Let's play around and progress on our mats — see you soon.

08/20 — Screaming

Alrighty, do you ever just feel like screaming? Sometimes I do — today feels like one of those days. It's cathartic. If you live with people and you don't want them to worry, grab a pillow and scream into that. We hold so many different kinds of energies in our bodies, all at once. Many that we can't even identify. Movement of sorts is usually my outlet, but sometimes, you just need a good freaking scream. Get loud with your body, in all the ways.

07/20 — 2 Things, Today

If you haven't yet today, 2 things — move your body and ground your feet. Moving your body might look like going for a 4 minute jog, maybe doing 10 squats, nothing crazy. Grounding your feet might look like taking your shoes and socks off, and really feeling the ground beneath you. Maybe that's wood, carpet, grass, sand, whatever it may be, do it. And notice how it feels to just get back into your body. And as you do both things, take a few breaths. Just for yourself. At your own pace. For you. This is for you.

05/20 — Consistency

There's something pretty cool about doing something consistently — you start to see change. Change in your physical body, yes. But it's so much more than that. It's seeing change in the shapes you're able to make with your body, in the way you feel, in the way you think, in the way you perceive, in the way you respond. Change is constant, on both macro and micro levels. While we can't control all pieces of it, allow what we can control to be overwhelmingly and purely good.