“When we listen to our body with kindness, we honor the present moment and give ourselves the care we truly need.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh It started back in middle school for me—the need to feel thin in my English riding breeches. I’d compare myself to others at the barn—the ones with the long, slender legs and tiny waists. My thirteen-year-old…
“Sometimes, the hardest person to trust is ourselves. But when we do, everything changes.” ~Unknown For a long time, I thought the key to changing my life was out there—somewhere. I thought that if I just found the right program, the perfect plan, or the expert with all the answers, then I’d finally feel in control and like I…
“The journey of the perfect daughter is not about perfection; it’s about finding the courage to be imperfect, to be human.” ~Robert Ackerman, Perfect Daughters Growing up in a home shadowed by addiction is like living in a house with no foundation. The ground beneath you is unstable, the walls feel fragile, and the roof could collapse at any…
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” ~Abraham Maslow Have you ever wondered what true personal development requires? What it truly takes to change your life? I have, and it’s a question I have been asking myself for years. As someone who was on a journey that could…
“Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.” ~Miles Davis When I first read that quote, it hit me right in the chest. Not because it sounded profound—but because it was something I had been slowly, painfully learning over the course of a very quiet, very long year. Time used to feel like a race. Or maybe a…
“Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you—all of the expectations, all of the beliefs—and becoming who you are.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen For years, yoga was my safe space—the place where I felt strong, grounded, and whole. My practice wasn’t just physical; it was my sanctuary, my moving meditation….
“And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anaïs Nin I used to think something was wrong with me. I cried at the wrong moments. I felt anxious before a phone call, only to find out the other person was deeply upset. I…
TRIGGER WARNING: This post includes a brief mention of childhood physical abuse and may be triggering to some readers. “The person who tries to keep everyone happy often ends up feeling the loneliest.” ~Unknown It’s Christmas morning. I’m seven years old. I sit on the hardwood floor with my sisters, in my nightgown surrounded by crumpled wrapping paper. I…
“Feelings come and go, like clouds in the sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh On the day my daughter Zoe turned seven weeks old, she burst into tears while I was changing her diaper. But why? What had I done? I remember panicking, confused, scared, and instantly guilty. Eventually, I noticed her pinky was twisted up…
“If you have ever followed a rainbow to its end, it leads you to the ground on which you are standing.” ~Alan Cohen There’s nothing more exhilarating than riding in a Jeep through masses of standing water. With each push forward, my friend Angela expertly maneuvered through enormous puddles, sending fountain-like arcs of aquatic glory past my passenger-side window….
