And if this month feels more complicated than celebratory for you, I hope you know that you are not alone in that.

For some people, Pride is joy, community, and finally feeling seen. For others, it is a reminder of everything they still cannot say out loud, every part of themselves they have had to hide, every conversation they are not ready for, every place where safety and authenticity still feel impossible to have at the same time.

Maybe you are questioning. Maybe you know exactly who you are but do not have the freedom to express it. Maybe you are grieving years spent trying to become someone else. Maybe you are watching people celebrate openly while wondering when, or if, that will ever be possible for you.

Whatever your relationship with Pride is, I hope you are gentle with yourself this month. There is no deadline for self-discovery, no minimum amount of confidence required to belong, and no version of queerness that is more deserving of love, community, or acceptance than another.

And if all you can do right now is quietly exist, quietly learn about yourself, quietly hold onto the hope that one day life will feel bigger and safer than it does today, that is enough.

You do not have to be loud to belong here. You do not have to have everything figured out. You do not have to become more palatable, more certain, or more courageous before you deserve happiness.

I hope this month brings you moments that remind you there is nothing wrong with who you are, and that somewhere out there is a future where you do not have to choose between being yourself and being safe, where your identity is not something you have to defend, explain, or apologize for, but simply a part of you that is loved as naturally as the rest.

Via mastodon(aka the fediverse)

And to every child and adult who has a complicated relationship with their mother or caretaker--it's okay to feel conflicted. It's okay to feel hurt and love and resentment and pain and sympathy and longing and guilt bundled up into one big tangled ball. It's okay to struggle to reconcile the bad memories with the good ones that simultaneously exist. It's okay to be angry about the ways your parent failed you, and also aware of their personal struggles, and the way their parents in turn failed them. It's okay to recognize that you were loved but also that you were treated unfairly, unkindly. Contradictions are the natural state of the world. Multiple truths coexist. It's okay to be conflicted.

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH 💕

Doctor Jo on YouTube is a physical therapist who offers lots of therapeutic stretching and exercise videos for specific conditions and pain relief. [x]

Leap Services is a Canadian physical therapy group that has a YouTube playlist of gentle exercise routines. All of these exercises are done in a chair (except for one which is done on the floor) and are intentionally adaptable to different bodies and needs. [x]

Yoga with Zelinda on YouTube has yoga that's adapted to a large number of conditions, for instance, providing a playlist of routines that don't require kneeling and another of chair yoga. She also offers yoga for specific health challenges, like fibromyalgia and mobility issues. There's a playlist of yoga routines for people with bigger bodies as well. [x]

Santosha Spirit on YouTube has yoga routines for people with chronic fatigue, chronic pain, POTS, and EDS. [x]

Yoga with Shaunneka on YouTube has a playlist of slow seated yoga, including chair yoga, as well as a playlist of gentle yoga. [x]

Qinergy on YouTube has tai chi sets broken down into easy tutorials. There is a seated version of her shibashi set. [x]