What is grounding you right now?

Having a dedicated practice to slow down, get grounded, and recenter when you feel stressed, overwhelmed, or just plain overcooked is essential. It's not a luxury…it’s a lifeline. Taking a moment to check in with yourself, breathe deeply, and reconnect with your purpose helps you show up for the people you love and stay aligned with your own wellness vision.

Lately, I can’t seem to stay indoors. The house is there, but my soul keeps whispering, go outside. The kids and I are chasing sunsets, collecting rocks and memories, letting the desert wind untangle our thoughts. We're soaking in the sun, the air, the slowness and counting every single blessing like it’s a treasure hunt.

Nature has been our reset button. No big routines, just being present. Bare feet in the grass. Long walks with no destination. Little voices reminding me of joy in its purest form. And it’s been the most healing kind of magic.

What about you, love? What’s anchoring you lately? What small, sacred things are keeping you steady and soft in the middle of it all?

Let’s remind each other that there’s no right way to recenter…just the way that feels like coming home to yourself.

 

Children's yoga

Last week I had the opportunity to reconnect with a dear friend. Although we don't have daily conversation and our area codes keep us apart, our relationship lives in the heart. When we connect its as though no time has passed.

This dear friend and I share many passions, one being yoga. She recently started teaching a children's yoga class. I immediately knew before the summer months ended we needed to pack our bags and hit the road for a class. My expectations for the day were to visit, share our passion of yoga and catch up. Although all of that was accomplished, something more happened that day...  my heart changed, it grew. 

Yoga has become quite mainstream for adults in recent years. My practice included has advanced and taken a substantial amount of my heart. From time to time I share that passion with my children. They play along and we have fun but we move on and don't come back to their practice for a week or two.

However I hadn't considered what a practice for my children meant, for them personally or for our relationship as a family. Not until we were in my friends class, practicing integrity exercises with my 5 year old, or hearing her affirmation, watching her struggle and come back, or laying in Savasana, with my two year old gently holding my hand and deep breathing. Not until we were wiggling our fingers and toes awake and hearing him softly ask for "more". For the eye contact we made through class and for the moments I closed my eyes and mentally told myself to remember this moment, this is a moment to remember. 

That day brought good times, great company, uplifting conversation and a new found bond with my children I hold as a treasure in my soul. 

Now, the practice was silly, it was a little hard and it was emotional. It was a lot of emotions wrapped up in 45 minutes. I imagine like my practice, my children will have a different experience every time they step on their mat. 

I  have discovered to let go of expectations. I let it be silly when they crave silliness, I let it be spontaneous and entertaining. I let it be as fun as possible, through the fun and the silliness I pray a deep impression will be made in their hearts. 

It may not be slow deep breathing, long balance poses with grace and reverence but it is still yoga. It is still nourishing for my soul, for our bond and for their growth.

Benefits of doing yoga with your children are endless... I'll name a few. 

Awareness of breath

Calming

Positive mental health

Encourages healthy habits

Non competitive

Self-acceptance

Confidence and positive self-image

Focus - to be present

Acceptance and tolerance to others (namaste)

Strengthening and energizing

The next time I take a moment to honor the sun, the moon, the stars, a mountain or river, the next time I sing a mantra or open my heart, I will intentionally involve my children. I encourage you to try as well.

XOXO

Ash

Can I be a yogi?

I was nervous to share my passion. Sharing meant expectations. Did I have to perform acrobatic back-bends and pretzel perfect postures to be a yogi?

 What would people think? What would they say? Am I good enough?

I was anxious and thoughts of perfection weighed me down. "Are my legs at the right angle, is my spine straight, am I breathing correctly, why can't I twist like that?" I'm not yogi enough to share my practice.

Guess what, the only thing you need to think about is adoring yourself and adoring your practice.

We are all different, we have beautifully different bodies and backgrounds. You are not required to be in perfect physical condition nor are you expected to be able to completely fold in half to practice yoga. The art is vastly adaptable. You must begin where you are, honoring your body in the stage it resides in. You will learn to feel and focus on what is going on in your body and be mindful of your own practice as it grows.

You don't need to be worried about doing yoga "wrong." Form follows practice. Yoga is non competitive, an inward practice. If yoga was to become competitive I imagine a flood of circus performers taking to the mat.

What others may think or say about your practice is up to them, ultimately you need to adore yourself and adore your practice.

If your still thinking "How can I ever become a yogi"? 

Think about what you would like out of your practice.

Relaxation

Gratitude

Stress Relief

Muscle strength

Tone body

Flexibility

Anxiety relief

Mental clarity

Spirituality

Think about what you need or want out of your practice and just know you don't need to sit in lotus position humming "om" for hours to be a yogi. Although you may come to find some lotus sitting and "om" humming to become quite a nice part of your journey. 

You can be an office worker, mother, college student, construction worker, school teacher or musician. You can be overworked and underpaid, overweight or undervalued, you can be absolutely anything and be a yogi. If you can  breathe, you can be a yogi.

No one can tell you what you'll get out of yoga, the journey is your own and for all.


XOXO
Ash

To find our true North, we must salute the South.

- Inhale the future, exhale the past. 

When starting yoga I knew I wanted change but I also wanted acceptance.

I knew I wanted long lasting health, mind*body*spirit, and it would only come through a foundation of self-love and compassion. From true self-acceptance.

I wanted to accept myself as I was. That I was good as I was, my thoughts, my sensations, my feelings and my past.

I wanted to own where I was and love where I had potential to go.

Lies of being broken continually tried to sneak their way in. As if I needed to be "fixed" before I was worthy to live the way I wanted.

I was not broken but ready to accept my potential for growth.

To find our true North, we must salute the South.

What I found, is that yoga meets you where you are. You don't have to be or believe anything, you don't have to give up anything. Yoga is between you and yourself. Yoga wont tell you to change your life so you can be better. It accepts you completely and with out judgment. It allows you to find full acceptance and love toward yourself, through all your flaws. It guides you to look inside and walk the path that provides personal growth leading you to view yourself and the world around you in a divine new way.

Be kind to yourself.

Practice awareness. 

Be patient.

Accept imperfection. 

Forgive. 

Stay positive. 

Believe in yourself. 

and

Never, ever give up.

Your path will mold you but it does not define you, nor are you bound to it. 

Inhale the future, exhale the past. 

XOXO
Ash

My practice

-My practice

The hardest part of the journey is taking the first step.

I stepped forward and followed my intuition where it led me.

I found yoga. 

I found breath and movement. 

I found love and belonging. 

I found acceptance and peace. 

I found calm and stillness. 

I created balance. Balance that came from slowing down and creating moments of silence. Focusing only on the love I had for myself and for those around me.

Before I knew what was happening my yoga mat transformed from a trainer into a therapist. It wasn't uncommon in the first few months or even year of my practice for me to break down into tears daily. Sometimes it was loud sobs and other times a soft few drops down my cheeks. Floods of emotions were rushing through me and tension melting away. 

I realized how much tension my body actually was holding onto. I was moving and breathing, releasing not only tension but all my emotions I had buried inside. 

If you’re just starting, or continuing a daily practice, my advice... If you feel the tears coming, let them roll. Although my tears show up a little less often ( I like to think this is because I am working on being mindful of my emotions and present during my day) the mat somehow still pulls my thoughts and feelings out of me at unexpected times. I welcome them. I welcome tears of joy and grief, excitment and anger, pleasure and pain. No judgments on my mat. Trust your body to feel the emotions as they show up. It wont hurt you, and if your like me, they might just heal you. 

"Yoga is a daily practice of yoking your heart to your mind, your mind to your breath , your breath to your body, your body to the earth and the rest of humanity." 

-Wanderlust 

XOXO
Ash