You know how people kind of turn up in your life when you need them? The exact right person at the exact right time shows up to help you on your journey?

There's this place I used to go when I was heartbroken. Come to think of it, I was doubly heartbroken - doing the longterm healing from a divorce...but also from a later relationship that beat me up a bit. I was out of touch with myself. I was out of touch with my inner voice. I was in pain and it hurt to wake up every day and get through it. I was sad, depressed and low. So low.

I have this daughter. She's quite exceptional. From the moment we met, she's been teaching me life lessons. I knew that she was here for me to learn from. Around five years ago, before I decided to become a yoga instructor, I had a hard time keeping my worry, overwhelm, fears in check. To put it delicately, I would drop my basket pretty regularly.

The place of ultimate comfort

Mirror Work. It's super weird, but REALLY powerful work.

When I was 9, my dad took me on a GRAND adventure…we left our South Dakota home to fly to Bombay, India. From Bombay, we rode an open-air bus 50 miles to Ganeshpuri, India. We arrived at an ashram where people from all over the world came together in a communal living facility to study meditation, chanting, service and study.

"Ban OVERWHELMED from your vocabulary. Refuse it entry to your psyche." This was what I heard in a podcast a couple of years ago by Danielle LaPorte. Then she said, “I think when people use the word OVERWHELM, they are hanging out in EGO.”

What scares you? I used to be AFRAID OF EVERYTHING. The unfamiliar made me want to just hide away. As I look back, I realize I’ve spent the 2nd half of my life dancing with fear. Trying to get familiar with it and then tell it to “Piss off.”

There is so much happening around us – locally in the Twin Cities, nationally, internationally. It’s enough to make you want to bow your head with the weight of it. It’s hard not to feel helpless, hopeless, afraid. I don’t know much, but I know this:

Most people who know me well know that I don’t like crowds. I’m not sure exactly when it started, but somewhere along the way the noise and the number of people around me really started to affect me. I started avoiding places that were Loud and Crowded.

The book was so beautiful and simple and it helped me to remember that during tough stuff, you can find simple things to be grateful for.

The title of today’s sermon is from a bit of today’s Gospel from John - “Joy Made Complete in Themselves”

Buddhists have a term for a particular kind of enthusiasm that happens with new ideas and events. It’s called Bright Faith. Bright Faith! When everything is all aligned and you are standing in the middle of it!!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about being a new mom and trying to figure out how to carve some space out for exercise. (See "You're Worth It" here.) It reminded me of a time that carving out ANY TIME for self-care seemed impossible.

For those of you who have a hard time sitting still. Here's a way to get some breathwork that includes some movement.

The thing I like about the 4 x 4 x 4 is that it helps shut down the chatter in my mind. The counting gives my mind a little something to chew on while I get some amazing breath in.

Belly Breaths. Not only do you get the benefits of the breath, but you get to pay some sweet love to your Manipura or your solar plexus chakra. Strength. Understanding, Warrior energy. Yes.

Ready for a 3 Day Wellness Challenge that supports your body, mind, and spirit?

I watched a movie last week called “Hungry for Change” – it’s really interesting and has a lot of great information in it if you have time. There was a woman in it named Dr. Christiane Northrup and she said something that really, really got me.