Dear friends, I want to invite you (or your pregnant friends) to our Embodied Birth Skills childbirth education course. You may have heard me talk about this as an evergreen online course - which it is. AND occasionally, when there is enough interest, I offer this course in person! And there has been interest lately. In person can really be amazing! You get the community aspect in addition to the course material, and there is no way that I can replicate community with an online class. Of...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Do you trust your body? Do you know how to "listen to your body?" Have you ever felt betrayed by your body? I think a lot of women feel confusion about their bodies, what their bodies are "saying" or are fearful about something in their bodies. I think many of us feel like we wish our bodies could do more. Like, the brain says, "you should be able to just get up and do that thing..." or "just keep going, it will be fine!" and then later it is NOT fine! You're exhausted. And...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Dear friends, Do you know why I created Sacred Rhythms? Its the reason so many of the women who are in this field did: because I had a powerful birth experience that made me want to help other women be empowered by birth! I want to protect the birth space I want to prepare women for the initiation I want to hold hands - and hips - with women and they bring their babies down to earth! Way back in 2014 I trained to be a Birth Doula. And even with my own small children in the picture, I attended...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, If you are pregnant and have been practicing yoga - or other fitness - why would you want or need to take a class specific to pregnancy? If you recently had a baby, and your OB gave you the green light to "start exercising and having sex again", why would you seek out a class specific to postpartum? If you had your babies years ago, why would you want a class just for moms? So many reasons!! And I know you could name a few. My reasons really have nothing to do with fitness. My...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Last Friday I hosted a free class for moms. I called it Skills + Practices for the New Era of Motherhood. My plan was to share breath practices, grounding practices and listen to each other share a bit. It was so much more than that! And what it displayed was the next level of skills that these moms there are capable of holding. We ended up with a lot of tears. Even so, the women told me that "the emotional afterglow was real" and "I felt so light today after" and "Thank you for...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey moms out there - I see you! I have 2 boys, 11 and 6 years old, and we had a pretty relaxing winter break, all things considered. When my kids are on break I generally don't "work". Like, I don't try to write emails to my community, or post on social media, or do numbers. It is enough for my nervous system to be present with them and keep them occupied in a way that I feel good about. Plus make food, do laundry, schedule playdates, prep for Christmas, etc. Come January I'm done with...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, I hope that your holiday season has been peaceful, restful and reflective. Well, I mean, if you have kids I hope that you found lots of joy and a few moments here and there that were quiet and calm. December felt a little bit like floating in a fantasy. Like we're still coasting even though we know that a crash is just around the next bend. I'm constantly reminding myself, RIGHT NOW, I'm ok. Today I have what I need. And I know that in the future I'm going to need [insert need],...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Winter is almost here. The longest night. (I don't mean to reference the Game of Thrones winter, though as far as I know, it is apropos.) The solstice and winter energetically are about the retreat: going into the cave, down into the earth, hibernation and rest. Dark, cold, still, heavy, Feminine. When we honor and respect these as positives qualities we can listen more intently and hear more clearly. When I teach menstrual cycle awareness using the Inner Seasons, I like to draw...
4 months ago • 2 min read
For me its the shopping part! Before I had kids, my husband and I often practiced a Buy Nothing Christmas. But I became a scrooge when I tried to apply that to family life. "What about the magic!?" So I've had to balance my disgust of the consumerist "holiday" and my already overflowing home with the willingness to receive on behalf of family who enjoys giving. One of our compromises is to give and request gifts of experience rather than stuff. With this in mind, I have avoided adding to the...
4 months ago • 1 min read