Acceptance, Courage and Wisdom

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I love the Serenity Prayer because it offers perspective—helping me recognize where I have control and agency in my life and where I am resisting things beyond my power to change.

With the current administration igniting fear, panic, rage, grief, and uncertainty for so many, it can be easy to feel powerless, hopeless, and lost. At the same time, history shows us that communities have stayed connected, built, thrived, and sustained themselves in the face of oppression for centuries.

Accepting What I Cannot Change

How do I accept the things I cannot change? This question is profoundly difficult, and I believe the majority of humans struggle with it. Why do horrific things happen in the world? Why is there violence? How do we accept things that seem fundamentally wrong? I don’t have the answers, but I sit with these questions every day.

For me, acceptance starts in my own small universe. If I can practice acceptance here, perhaps I can extend it to the larger world, where I have little to no control. When a difficult emotion arises in me, how do I respond?

  • Do I fight it, trying to banish it because it feels unwanted?
  • Do I judge it, labeling some emotions as good and others as bad?
  • Do I welcome it in, sitting with it like an old friend?
  • Do I run from it, trying to hide?

How I engage with my internal landscape mirrors my ability or inability to accept external realities. I can’t change my emotions just because I want to, but I can work toward accepting them. Acceptance doesn’t mean I have to like or enjoy them—it simply means allowing them to exist because they are part of the present moment, and I cannot change that reality.

In Yoga one of the niyamas in the eight limbs of yoga is Īśvara praṇidhāna, which literally means surrender to the Lord. Acceptance can be seen as a form of surrender to what is, which is different than giving up.

Finding the Courage to Change What I Can

In some ways, it’s easier to direct my energy outward than to look within. If everyone, including this administration, did what I wanted, I wouldn’t have to examine myself or the places where I have the power to create change, both internally and externally. This is not saying we should not fight for the change we want to see in the world because that is necessary, but by relying on others to change we lose some of our agency. 

I appreciate the word courage in this prayer because it asks me to acknowledge my own power, resilience, and strength in the face of what I cannot change, and it also asks me to take responsibility.

As I bring it back to my internal world, if I am uncomfortable with anger, I may try to suppress or bypass it, pretending I’m not angry. That’s not acceptance. True courage means being willing to look at what I’ve rejected, punished, or pushed aside. It’s vulnerable to sit with anger (or sadness, fear, grief, etc.) and face it directly. I can’t control whether I feel anger, but I can cultivate the courage to engage with it consciously.

The niyamas of Yoga also include Tapas, which translates to austerity or heat. This ability to have the courage to act and do something within our sphere of control is necessary, but if we only move from tapas without surrender we will burnout.

Developing the Wisdom to Know the Difference

It may be simple to say, I can’t control what someone else does, but I can control what I do. In my experience, it is often more complicated.

I have little control over my body’s reactions, the emotions that arise and subside, or even the thoughts that enter my mind. Try this: Don’t think of a pink elephant. Did you have control over the image that popped into your head? Much of even our internal experience is out of our control, even when we believe otherwise.

This is where cultivating witness consciousness can be powerful. The witness observes everything—internal and external—with compassion and objectivity. It watches without judgment, whether I like what I see or not.

When I can witness my experience instead of being consumed by it, it creates space, which is one of the key ingredients of The Renegade Method, a transformative and embodied form of self-inquiry. That space allows for choice. Instead of being fear, I can observe myself feeling fear. This practice isn’t easy to cultivate, but when I do, intuition grows, and new possibilities emerge—ones I never imagined were available to me.

Another niyama is svādhyāya, which translates to self-study. By examining how we can—or struggle to—practice acceptance and courage, we gain insight into the obstacles that hinder us and the opportunities that lead to wisdom. This process deepens our self-awareness, strengthens our intuition, and helps us recognize our unique ability to engage with the world, our communities, and ourselves that is infused with acceptance, courage and deeply grounded wisdom.

Practicing Acceptance, Courage, and Wisdom

Sometimes, I am so immersed in my experience that I feel trapped. Can I accept that?
Sometimes, I can shift my perspective or integrate something that supports me—like a hug, time in nature, or simply pausing to connect with my breath. Can I summon the courage to lean into these resources instead of falling into old patterns of avoidance or rejection? Sometimes, I can witness my experience from a place of infinite love and compassion. Can I cultivate the wisdom to recognize these different states and allow my experiences to unfold—knowing that acceptance, courage, and wisdom feed into one another in an ever-evolving cycle?

How do you want to welcome the new year?

Photo from Unsplash

For many years, I set New Year’s resolutions that fizzled out within two weeks. They were rooted in shame, aimed at “fixing” something I thought was wrong with me, or trying to prove my worth. Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t a recipe for meaningful change, but I didn’t know another way.

As I deepened my understanding of the nervous system, studied loving-kindness, and absorbed the teachings of Yoga, Vedanta, meditation, Tantra and wise teachers, I began to see things differently. If our nature is truly inherently divine and perfect, which is what the texts and my teachers tell me, how can I approach change from this perspective and understanding? 

Over a decade ago, I started a new tradition. Instead of setting resolutions born out of lack, I began setting intentions born out of genuine desire.

At the time, I wanted to cook more. I craved a deeper connection with the food I ate, wanted to know where it came from, and desired to learn how to prepare it. This intention arose after trading a session with a farmer for a box of fresh veggies she had grown. I didn’t want to waste the fruits of her labor, yet I barely knew how to cook—and frankly, I didn’t enjoy it. That box of vegetables sparked something in me.

I cooked everything in that box and discovered I actually enjoyed the process. That New Year, I decided I would cook once a month. It might not sound like much, but for someone who rarely cooked, this was a significant step.

Had I resolved to cook three times a week—or even once a week—my nervous system would have gone into overdrive, fighting to meet an unsustainable goal. Eventually, I would have burned out, given up, and reinforced the false belief that I wasn’t capable of change.

Cooking once a month felt doable. My nervous system stayed calm, and I even looked forward to planning my monthly meal. By focusing on fun and desire rather than pressure, I began cooking more frequently. By the end of that year, I was cooking more often than not.

Now, over ten years later, I prefer my own cooking to most meals I eat out. When I travel, I look forward to returning home to my kitchen. Ten years ago, I would have thought this transformation was impossible.

This is the power of acting from a place of desire rather than lack, compassion rather than criticism, and honoring your nervous system rather than forcing it.

As we enter 2025, here are a few questions to reflect on:

  • What do you truly want, and why do you want it?
  • Where do you feel that desire in your body? Is it genuine, or does it come from a sense of obligation or “should”?
  • What fun and joyful steps can you take in 2025 to bring more of this desire into your life?

What is your intention for the new year? I encourage you to create a plan that is concrete, easy, and sustainable—one that keeps your nervous system calm. If your plan feels overwhelming, fight-or-flight may take over, leading to burnout. On the other hand, if it feels too daunting, a freeze response might prevent you from starting at all.

Even if your goal feels “small,” try it out as an experiment. The worst that can happen is you don’t follow through—something we’ve all experienced, but the best that can happen is real, joyful change.

If you’ve set an intention for 2025 and created a sustainable, fun plan, I’d love to hear about it. Share your story and I’m looking forward to being inspired by your desire. 

If you would like to explore the practice of maitrī, or loving-kindness, as a tool to foster compassion and empathy towards yourself check out my newest self-study course.

Panca Kedar Yātrā

Pictures of the 5 Śiva Temples in the Himalayas known as the Panca (5) Kedars (Name of Śiva)

Returning from three weeks in India is always difficult to put into words, and this yātrā I had the privilege of trekking to extremely remote Śiva temples in the Himalayas at high elevations with my beloved teacher, Saundaryāmbikā, and saṅgha. The Panca Kedars are 5 Śiva temples associated with the Pandavas from the Mahabharata. The Pandavas are 5 brothers who go to Śiva after they won the war against their cousins to ask for forgiveness for killing their family members. Śiva doesn’t want to see them and hides as a bull in a field. When one of the brothers recognizes him Śiva vanishes and his body parts are distributed into these remote temples. To travel to these sacred places, touch the ground where so many people have come before and feel the energy of these powerful places is transformative, unforgettable and truly life-changing. Here is just a small glimpse into an experience that is beyond language.

As char dham finished Kedarnath opened the portal to knowing Śiva more intimately. 

The chaos of horses and steep steps, tea shops and altitude sickness brought us to his hump in Kedarnath. With Nandi looking on with sweet and unwavering devotion we walked into the inner sanctum and placed our heads down into the ground of being as awareness. 

From the ground Śiva took us to the spacious beauty and transcendence of Kalpeshwar. We drove through countless waterfalls seeing his hair cascading down the mountains preparing us for the journey of getting lost in the ecstasy of his locks. 

The steep and intense tapas of climbing over the pass to get a glimpse of his face at Rudranath on Vijayadaśamī will forever be in these bones. Meeting his wolf eyes glowing with fierce intensity, childlike awe and contagious laughter are etched in my heart. 

Amma sprinkles our heads with water and blesses us. I throw myself at her feet with uncontainable gratitude, joy and love. I look back and thank Śiva for bringing me to Amma and Amma for bringing me to Him. 

The electricity of Tunganath with his heart, chest and arms penetrated my right and then left side with heat. As I brought my head down to rest in the cool water lightning bolted through my being. 

Listening to the hum of Madhu Ganga brought sweetness and irresistible beauty as we climbed towards his navel at Madhamaheshwar. Feeling the energy of earth coming up and down through me I connected to the energy of earth, sky and the reality that I am everything and nothing all at once. The mountains see me, I see them and we collapse into one. Śiva puts us through fire and ice to test our endurance and resilience, and He welcomes us quietly into his loving embrace. 

Hara hara mahadev! 

What is the negativity bias, and how do I work with it?

The negativity bias is part of our system wired to pay more attention to things we perceive as negative than to what we perceive as positive. Evolutionarily this is brilliant because it keeps us alive.

I’ve spent more time out in the wilderness this summer hiking and noticed some interesting experiences with my negativity bias in the form of, “what if…” questions.

As I’m walking through a gorgeous meadow I notice myself wondering, “What if I didn’t bring enough water?”

As I’m taking in vast landscapes of mountains and sky I think, “What if I get lost?”

As I descend into an pristine alpine lake I contemplate, “What if I fall and hurt myself?”

From a survival perspective it is more important to know what to do in these scenarios than to wonder:

What if I see an amazing view of Mt. Rainier?

What if I enjoy a swim in that incredible lake?

What if I get to eat wild blueberries on the trail?

The first set of “what if…” questions, rooted in the negativity bias, are based in survival in order to prepare me so I return unharmed. The second set of “what if…” questions can foster the opposite of the negativity bias, which can bring a sense of well-being, contentment and ease into my experience.

The point is not to get rid of the negativity bias, but to include and expand beyond it. The last time I drove the negativity bias kept me safe when my attention was drawn to what other drivers were doing and noticing the changing traffic lights. I also enjoyed the chant I was listening to, the warm air coming in through the window and seeing the rising moon. 

Paying attention to other drivers, traffic signals and what pedestrians are doing will give me (and others) a better chance of surviving my drive, but paying attention to what I was listening to, the air and the moon made my drive much more enjoyable.

How do we work with the negativity bias?

Notice the negativity bias in action and its protective qualities. It keeps you alert to potential threats and dangers as you navigate your day. Thank the negativity bias for keeping you alive. Then intentionally notice things that bring you a sense of joy, comfort and satisfaction. When you find those moments take 5 breaths to savor the experience of being ok, content, at peace or settled.

In summary, we are all wired to pay more attention to pain than the pleasure, and that is an important survival skill. At the same time since most of us want to thrive, and not just survive, we can train our brains to savor the pleasant and neutral to give our systems a broader perspective of reality.

The Power of Water

Photo from The Narrows in Zion National Park

Last month I spent a week in Zion, and I was struck by the incredible power of water as I looked up at enormous red cliffs hiking to Angels Landing and descended into the Virgin River trudging through The Narrows.

During this time I was doing a practice where I created a turmeric Ganapati and then slowly dissolved it drip by drip through water. The ritual is beautiful to witness because sometimes the solid structure didn’t dissolve entirely leaving peaks and valleys like the canyons in Zion, and other times Ganapati melted completely into a flowing river. 

I reflected during this practice on my own difficult places to dissolve and the areas that keep me hardened and contracted: arrogance, stubbornness, comparison to others, jealousy, or shame, just to name a few. 

As I hiked in Zion and saw thousands of feet of rock diminished over centuries by the powerful force of water I wondered why is it so difficult to soften my own edges? How long will it take to dissolve completely into surrender?

Why do I even want to soften and surrender? What I have learned from my teacher, Saundaryāmbikā, is the places I protect and defend keep me stuck, separate and closed off to life. When I stubbornly believe something “should” be other than the way it is I am unable to accept life as it is. When I am comparing myself to others or jealous I am putting myself in a hierarchy of who is better (or worse) than me, which only leads to suffering. When I can flow with life, which paradoxically includes feeling the fullness of experience including jealousy and stubbornness, there is acceptance and love of myself, others and the world. 

Water is such a beautiful metaphor for surrender. It takes the shape of whatever holds it. It doesn’t try to manipulate its surroundings with force. It rolls, glides and flows with whatever it comes into contact with, and through that surrender it creates some of the biggest change! The continual flow carves canyons and valleys and it can move some of the biggest boulders. Yet I can’t even hold water in my hand.

Water also has the power to be a hurricane or a flash flood that can radically affect and destroy not over centuries but in a very short period of time. Water has the amazing power to be soft and fierce, still and flowing, stagnant and dynamic. You can’t pin water down, and in that way it can be a powerful teacher.  

With each drip of teachings I integrate from my teacher, insights that transform me and inquiry practices that change my perspective I learn to fight less against life knowing that I will never win that battle. Through fighting less I allow the water of life to lead me while enjoying the ride whether I am surfing a huge and terrifying wave or relaxing in the sweet gentle tides.

What are the places in you that remain stuck, stagnant or hard to break through? How does that serve you? How does that cause suffering? What helps you soften into acceptance of what is rather than fighting reality?

Pillar Four of Seed Yoga Therapy: Practicing Mindfulness and Meditation

This is last of the series on the 4 Pillars of Seed Yoga Therapy, and today we will focus on the fourth pillar: practicing mindfulness and meditation.

Both mindfulness and meditation work with steadying the mind, but when the nervous system is honored, a discipline is cultivated and the breath and body are attuned to the mind naturally begins to stabilize without needing to “do” anything specific with the mind. In this process meditation becomes even more effective.

When we fight the mind to change the mind it can become a state of near constant internal battle. For example, if the nervous systems is in a fear state, but the mind is trying to convince ourselves there is nothing to be afraid this leads to a conflict. We can’t convince ourselves we are safe if the nervous system and/or body feel threatened because the nervous system and body will always will that battle. It can be powerful to work with the nervous system and body first because not only will this shift the bodily experience, but also can shift the mental/emotional experience because they are connected. 

What is the difference between the mindfulness and meditation?

Mindfulness can be done anywhere and anytime. Pause and notice what you see, hear, feel, taste or smell right now by becoming mindful of your surroundings through the senses.

Meditation is a formal practice setting aside time to be in practice with the mind intentionally. There are countless forms of meditation, and sticking with one can bring powerful results. Finding a meditation that works for you is in itself a process. If you find awareness-based meditations (body scan or breath awareness) useful that can be your meditation. Lovingkindness is another form of meditation that can be useful for a judging or critical mind in order to foster compassion. Yoga Nidra is a powerful meditation that can calm the nervous system and has been effectively utilized in the treatment of trauma.

Typically the mind is pulled into the past or future and is rarely fully present. Stop and notice what you are thinking about even as you read this. Are you internalizing the words or thinking about what meditation you like, how you can or can’t meditate or about a conversation you had last week? By training the mind to come back to an anchor (i.e. breath, mantra, body sensations, etc.) it helps the mind step out of the constant push and pull of past and future into the presence of this moment. 

Being present doesn’t mean we don’t plan for the future nor forget about our past. Meditation can support doing those things intentionally rather than being at the whim of the mind. Practicing mindfulness can support being more present to our needs, wants and relationships in order to care for ourselves and those we love even more. Working with mind along with our bodies, nervous systems, breath and physiology is a powerful way to rewire the whole system so that it is vibrant, attuned, aware and able to honor and integrate the varied experiences we go through in our lives. 

If you are new to meditation my suggestion is to pick one meditation and try it for the next 30 days. See what you learn about yourself and your mind.

There is also a wonderful free meditation course taught by my teacher, Saundaryambika, where she gives meditation guidance as well as additional meditations. I have also created video on Tips and Tools to Starting and Sustaining a Meditation Practice to give some practical guidance for maintaining a meditation practice. 

If you have applied these pillars into your life I’d love to hear what you are observing. How has your life been impacted? Your ability to honor and understand your nervous system? Your relationship with your body? Your mind? Your relationships?

If you have read or watched the 4 videos on the pillars of Seed Yoga Therapy and are curious how to apply them to your unique life experiences, but need some additional support sign up for a free 20 minute consultation. In our consultation you can tell me about your current struggles, what you are longing for and I can share you how yoga therapy may be an ideal next step in your healing journey. 

Pillar Three of Seed Yoga Therapy: Attuning to the Body and Breath

Welcome to the next vlog on the Four Pillars of Seed Yoga Therapy, where we will explore the third pillar: Attuning to the Body and Breath.

The first pillar is honoring the nervous system where we learn how our unique nervous system is wired, understand the inherent wisdom in it and how to work directly with the nervous system.

The second pillar is cultivating discipline, which can stabilize the nervous system with predictability and routine. This supports a regulated nervous system as well as promoting a balanced physiology that aligns with the natural rhythms of the body. 

To understand how to attune to the body and breath first we have to know that everything happens in the body: thoughts, emotions, sensations, energy, and breath. Nothing is removed from the body making it imperative to work directly with the body when looking to shift patterns related to trauma, depression, anxiety or addictions. All of these “mental health” challenges also happen within the body. Even when we are dissociated or not “in our bodies” that too happens in the body. Numbing is a bodily experience just as much as the heart racing or heat arising from a panic attack or the heaviness or sensation of walking through concrete that can come from grief. 

As a mental health therapist my clinical training focused on using talking, analysis, and cognitive understanding to impact change in mental health challenges. This can be helpful because in that relationship we can be seen, heard and witnessed in our struggles, and this is never to be underestimated. Yet talking can also keep us in the intellect and analysis of the challenge rather than working directly with how the body, nervous system and energy is impacted. Working more upstream from the mind can be a more direct way to work these the challenges. My teacher, Saundaryāmbikā, explains how these things happen in the body first through chemicals, hormones and neurohormonal pathways and later the mind puts labels on them such as, scared or angry angry. A key ingredient in yoga therapy is to get under the labels to the direct experience of the body. 

Just as there are infinite ways to work with the nervous system and create a discipline or routine there are also countless ways to work with the body and breath. Each person’s body and energy needs to be addressed in their unique ways. For some people working with the body is building tolerance to begin to feel. For others it is soothing the body so the sensations aren’t overwhelming. For some a breath practice is simply noticing when they are holding their breath. For others it may be a practice of breathing with sensations as they arise. 

Since my work as a yoga therapist is inherently in the body I work with each person individually to co-create the embodiment practices that will support them. I don’t come from a prescriptive approach where certain asanas (poses) are good for anxiety or breathing techniques are good for trauma because each person’s anxiety or trauma will be unique to them. 

A useful first step to working with the body and breath is simple awareness. As my teacher says, awareness is everything. Doing a body scan or a breath awareness practice can support beginning to understand the relationship between the body, energy, mind, emotions and nervous system. If a moving practice feels more supportive a walking meditation can also be a way to start to connect with the body and breath. 

If you try one of the practices I’d love to hear what you notice and let me know if you have any questions or anything you hope I cover in talks on my YouTube channel.

Pillar Two of Seed Yoga Therapy: Cultivating Discipline

This is the second vlog in a series on 4 Pillars of Yoga Therapy, which is on Cultivating Discipline.

In the first pillar we focused on Honoring the Nervous System, and discipline is directly connected with the nervous system. There are many ways to work directly with the nervous system, and one of them is through creating stability in the body and mind through a routine.

As I have learned from my teacher, Saundaryāmbikā, when my lifestyle is chaotic that will create or maintain internal chaos. If I sleep at different times each day or eat at varied times my physiology and nervous system lives in a state of chaos.

When I can cultivate a discipline it can create a sense of stability and security for the body, mind and nervous system. Our nervous system likes structure and predictability, which can help to settle and keep it more regulated.

Trauma is unpredictable and chaotic, and if my lifestyle is also unpredictable and chaotic it can continually keep the system in a state of fight, flight and freeze, which can make trauma healing more challenging.

Everyone has some routines in their life. It might be brushing your teeth every morning and evening, walking your dog or having a standing date with a friend. These points of structure can be grounding and healing. 

Take stock of your life where you already have structure and predictability. Look for even the small things that support a sense of routine in your life. Even if life feels out of control or unstructured there are still things you do every day and/or week that provide a sense of predictability and stability. 

One of the best ways to create structure is to maintain a daily routine. When we go to sleep and wake up at the same time our physiology can begin to settle. When we eat at the same times our digestion, of our food as well as internal and external experiences, begins to become stronger and experiences, including traumas, don’t get as stuck in our system. Meditation or a daily movement practice can also be supportive disciplines that can be stabilizing to the body and mind.

As you reflect on where you have discipline and where you don’t can you think of one way you can bring more stability in your life as a practice of honoring the nervous system? As my teacher instructs when you add a new discipline into your life try it consistently for 3 months and notice what happens. Do you feel more content? Can you sleep more easily? Are your menstrual cycles less troublesome? After 3 months you can assess whether this is a routine you want to maintain or not, but give it at least that amount of time to see the effects. 

If you want to learn more about lifestyle recommendations that can support your nervous system I highly recommend the Heart of Wellness book by Saundaryāmbikā, which will walk you through a structured process to establish a routine to support your physiology, mind, body, nervous system, energy and heart. For all new yoga therapy clients this book is included in your first package because I have found that when people can follow these lifestyle recommendations the processing of trauma, the shifting of depressive or anxious states or the ability to move whatever is stuck within the system can move with more ease and fluidity. Working on balancing the physiology with its natural rhythms helps everything else come into balance as well. 

If you decide to add a new routine to your life let me know! I’d love to hear what you are working with and share what you discover after 3 months of consistent practice! See what you learn about yourself, your nervous system and your own healing journey by bringing in a simple routine into your life.

Pillar One of Seed Yoga Therapy: Honoring The Nervous System

The foundation of Seed Yoga Therapy rest on 4 pillars. Pillar one is honoring the nervous system.

In this video learn about the brilliance of the nervous system, how to honor its wisdom and how to work with it so it doesn’t get stuck in fight, flight or freeze.

As a mental health therapist my training kept me primarily in the realm of the mind. I found people could understand where their suffering may came from, but it didn’t necessarily change their direct experience. In the work I do with my teachers and in my own healing I am learning that focusing more upstream can get closer to the roots of suffering. This include understanding that everything we do happens in the nervous system, which is wired to protect us at all costs. All the thoughts and behaviors I have, even if they don’t serve me anymore, are an effort to keep me alive. These same thoughts and behaviors have served me at some point even if they don’t anymore. When I honor the nervous system I can work with it instead of fighting it and I can see that none of it is personal. It is physiological, and ultimately we will never win in a fight against the nervous system. 

Honoring the nervous system can:

  1. Make our experiences less personal.
  2. Give access to objectivity.
  3. Use the body to support healing, instead of trying to think our way through a nervous system state.
  4. Hold a broader understanding of the wisdom of our responses even if they aren’t comfortable.
  5. Increase compassion towards ourselves and others.  

How the nervous system work? The nervous system is vast and complicated, and this blog includes a bit of information as I understand it in hopes to support you in your own process. 

First think of a time when you felt completely at ease. Can you describe the experience? What did you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Feel?

The first line of defense when there is a threat is fight or flight. This is a brilliant response because if the nervous system believes it can outrun this threat or fight it off we will survive, but the nervous system doesn’t distinguish between a “real” or perceived threat.

The next line of defense is to freeze. This is the next best option if I’m unable fight or run away, as it floods the body with pain-reducing hormones and their is a possibility of the threat retreating when there is nothing to fight or chase after. Freezing is also a brilliant response to trauma. 

Let’s explore an example.

If I have a conflict with co-worker I might get mad and blame them for not meeting my needs or I might experience anger and blame towards myself for not being a good colleague. This can be an internal or an external fight response.

Or I might walk away from the conversation, go to a coffee shop to buy a cookie. This is a flight response.

Or I might be shut down, stop talking, go home and collapse on the couch in despair in a freeze response.

In any given moment all these responses may come to our aid, depending on the level of threat we perceive. Many people have one state we tend to default to more than others. None of these are bad or good, right or wrong. They are simply ways we are wired and conditioned to respond to threats. 

Knowing you are in a fight, flight or freeze response can be useful because you can take care of that response, but first we need to know what care your unique nervous system needs.

When in a state of calm it may be useful to reflect on these different states. What helps you when you want to run away from something or someone? It is doing something physical? Talking to a trusted friend? 

What helps when you want to fight? It is taking a break to be by yourself? Is it journaling?

What helps when you freeze? Is it cuddling with your pet? Is it making sure you are warm enough? 

Reflect on ways you can support yourself when you go into these states and it is also useful pay attention to the fluctuations in the nervous system. These states are happening all the time, in big and small ways. In the time you spent reading this post did you notice any shifts in your system? By noticing the changes in your nervous system state you can:

  1. Support those responses quicker because you will notice them sooner.
  2. Observe when the nervous system is calm and easeful, which many times is ignored because there is nothing screaming to get attention.
  3. Begin to become friends with your nervous system instead of being at war with it. 

Included in the video above is a practice to support you access the safe, peaceful and easeful part of your nervous system. Enjoy!

A new year, a new name and gratitude

Today, the first day of my 45th year, feels like the perfect day to share my new name with my larger community. I now am going by Saumyā [s-aw-m-y -ah], which feels like a birth day as well! 

One of the countless things I learned from my yoga therapy teacher, Molly Lannon Kenny, is the beauty of gratitude. In honor of having the privilege to be on this earth for 45 years and the opportunity to live into this new name here are 45 things I am thankful for:

  1. The breath
  2. My guru
  3. The body
  4. All my practices (physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual) that support knowing myself more authentically every day
  5. My partner
  6. My parents
  7. Sangha
  8. The Śrī Cakra
  9. Mountains
  10. WTA work parties
  11. Running water
  12. Lakes to swim in
  13. My senses
  14. Sunshine
  15. Rain
  16. The work I get to do in the world
  17. The Renegade Method
  18. Bats
  19. My home
  20. Farmers’ markets
  21. Birds
  22. Backpacks
  23. Dinacarya
  24. Sandals
  25. Exploring (inside and out)
  26. The Himalayas
  27. Dahlias
  28. Books (currently reading Fractals of Reality by Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Nikhilananda)
  29. The resources I have that provide shelter, food and fun
  30. Curiosity
  31. Wonder
  32. Inchworms
  33. My health
  34. Travel
  35. All the challenges I’ve experienced in life that have encouraged growth, resilience, refinement and a deeper understanding of myself
  36. My internal organs working hard without me even paying attention
  37. Trekking
  38. The mind
  39. Poetry
  40. Seward Park
  41. Incense
  42. Ponytail holders
  43. Tea kettle
  44. Cooking
  45. Writing

A gratitude list can be a great practice to do on particular days of the year, but it can also be a wonderful practice every day. Enjoy this embodied gratitude meditation as my birthday gift to you. 

Yesterday I was grateful to be in the woods on my birthday enjoying the sounds, sensations, tastes, smells and sights of the world through the trees, waterfalls, birds, bugs, butterflies, dal and beloved companionship.