

Yamas: New Year, New Intentions
Ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha are the yamas of Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga but they guide more than a yogic li


Stop Should'ing All Over Yourself
Should is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as being "used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expedienc


If I am not Busy, Than Who am I?
I acknowledge and recognize that being busy is a badge of honor that I have worn with great pride and great cost throughout many aspects of my life. I know that a large portion of my identity is tied up in being busy and keeping busy. I am also painfully aware that being busy is not sustainable. It is not something I wish to continue to be proud of. It is also not something I wish to carry shame around. So how to I change my relationship with being busy? More so, how can I re


The Cost of Productivity
Busyness is a badge of honor for so many in our society-but at what cost? How can I re-frame my relationship with busyness to truly value my


Hello Exhaustion, My Old Friend
There have been a few moments in my life when I have realized that I have bit off more than I can chew. The moment when I realize that I have completely and utterly worn down my body and I NEED to rest. Usually by the time I am standing in these moments I am past the point of no return and I get knock you on your ass sick. I am talking, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to bed-sick. These moments tend to stand out vividly in my mind, surrounded by an air of my


The Power of Affirmation
I am a strong believer that words and the language we use have tremendous power. Especially in repetition. The words we say to ourselves over and over and over again become internalized. They become truth. The phrases we repeat to ourselves become internalized. We believe them. They become truth. This is why I believe we should be exercising extreme caution with what words and phrases we repeat to ourselves. If we are constantly repeating negativity to ourselves, it becomes t


Labeling Theory: To Perceive or Not to Perceive
The way that we perceive things, whether it is a situation or a person, influences how we interact with the situation or person. For example, if we consider a situation to potentially be unsafe, we may act with more caution. This is a part of our survival instincts as humans, leftover from a time of physical dangers like wild animals. Our judgments have continued to exist into our current society, although we rarely need to judge whether a situation is safe because of the pot


Petal by Petal: Lessons from a Lotus
The story of the lotus is the story of being human. The story of growth and moving out of the mud to bloom. The lotus also has many lessons to share beyond the widely known lesson of no mud, not lotus. A lotus blooms one petal at time, slowly unfurling itself to become the larger flower and the larger bloom in all of its beauty. The bloom is also perched upon larger petals, or leaves, that keep it afloat above the waters from which it grew. A lotus is a complex living remind


No Mud No Lotus
The lotus is an aquatic perennial plant that lives in flooded fields or ponds and returns to bloom year after year. It is aquatic in the sense that it requires an environment of water to grow. It is a perennial in the sense that it regrows year after year and its seeds can create flowers and beauty, even after hibernation. But the lotus is so much more than an aquatic perennial plant. The lotus begins its life deep under water, in regions where the water is still on the surfa