Feng Shui, A Doll House & Living Lightly

This is my 3rd move in 3 years. I'd planned to keep the beautifully-crafted sturdy wooden doll house I'd ordered for my daughter as a "gift from Santa" when she was 2 years old. Maybe one day I'd gift it to my grandchildren. When I lifted the lid on the bin, it felt like one … Continue reading Feng Shui, A Doll House & Living Lightly

Knowing When to Lower the Barre

The day of the solar eclipse, I had an inspired idea. "I should go to barre class!" My initial plan for that day was outdoor meditation, perhaps accompanied by mantra. I weighed the two options. "Let's be bold. Let's do barre class." A tiny inner voice reminded me of the old wisdom of not practicing … Continue reading Knowing When to Lower the Barre

From past to present moment

This morning, I woke up and looked out the window at the Rocky Mountains in the distance. It's been a year-and-a-half since I've moved into this home. Our last home had a full view of the Rockies to the west. We lived there for fifteen years. This home has a partial west view and more … Continue reading From past to present moment

Time to push

When my son was born, the cord was wrapped around his neck. Each time I pushed, his heart rate slowed and nearly stopped. When I rested, his heart rate returned to normal, well, as normal as the heart of a newborn about to emerge into the world can beat. My sense was to stop, let … Continue reading Time to push

No backsies: memory lane decluttering item #2

I toyed with the idea of letting go of 50% of my stuff. There is something freeing about continuing to move things along with gratitude. I feel lighter and my heart is happy honouring each item with a simple thank you. As my new linen closet filled up this week, I added old towels to … Continue reading No backsies: memory lane decluttering item #2

Sometimes it takes a Hippopotamus to lighten the mood

So, after months of preparations to launch the companion course to the book, Householder Yogini, I sent off the email to my Mailchimp list. I sent myself the test email (as one does in order to be professional and catch any errors). It looked great. Then I sent it to my entire email list. Then … Continue reading Sometimes it takes a Hippopotamus to lighten the mood

How much water do I really need?

My daughter turned 13 two weeks ago. Last week at the breakfast table, she held my large measuring cup filled with water and a red drinking straw. "So, this Youtuber says I should drink 2 litres of water a day. I tried it but I had to stop because I thought I was going to throw … Continue reading How much water do I really need?

Buddhism & Ayurveda Agree: the answer is opposite

We sometimes use the word opposite as if it has a negative connotation. But often opposite is the medicine you need. In Ayurveda, India's 5000-year-old science of life and sister science of yoga, the 3 doshas (comprised of the 5 elements) make up each person's unique constitution: vata (air and space), pitta (fire and water), … Continue reading Buddhism & Ayurveda Agree: the answer is opposite

Karma in the kitchen

My teenage son, my husband and I all stood in the kitchen chatting, as families now do, about the state of the world and what needs to happen. We covered everything from Jeff Bezos to the spread of Buddhism after the Chinese invasion. Photo by Burst on Pexels.com My take was (and is) that we … Continue reading Karma in the kitchen

I’ll meet you in the garden

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there."13th century Sufi poet, Rumi Years ago, I belonged to a small group of women who met every full moon to meditate together and receive insight. During one such meditation in my home studio, my long-time, dear friend received a great insight indeed. … Continue reading I’ll meet you in the garden