#thisismyyoga

Today, I taught my first in-person class in over 2.5 months. I cried. I don’t have words to express how grateful I am for community. To be around each other, moving, breathing, laughing again. It felt surreal, almost a dream. To @buckasana, @jjjmmmeee, and @momentomyoga — thank you. Thank you for being an example of unwavering love and support to bring us together. It absolutely fucking matters that we come together. Hug. Touch. See face to face. Smile. Laugh. Cry. Feel each other. Connection matters. It is our life force. It is not up for debate. Thank you for showing up for you, for each other, for life. You all inspire me to do the same. #communityisimmunity #momentomyoga #momentom #movementismedicine #wearestrongertogether #thisismyyoga https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqQsBehq-S/?igshid=12z8l5z5vc5d6

That is yoga. #igpoet #igpoem #igpoets #igpoems #igpoetry #poet #poets #poem #poems #poetry #write #writing #freewrite #words #wordsmith #wordporn #type #typewriter #smcp #thewrittenwild #yoga #thisismyyoga #namaste

active vs passive = practice both. there was a time i had an “oh, shit” moment learning active range of motion vs passive. i wrestled with movement for some time, even demonizing a lot of moves on the mat. i had to label something “bad” in order to share the “good.” our minds have a way of warping the perception of our truths, according to what’s “right” for us. it took me some time to figure out i don’t have to label something “bad” and push it away. instead, we can learn a helluva lot more by including “the thing” — understanding through curiosity and generosity. when it comes to active vs passive, we can practice both; each having purpose towards balance in the body. both can be taken to extremes and both can teach us what our work is. like the times we are living now, we don’t have demonize someone or something in order to justify our truths. we all have different experiences, influences, emotional states, and ideas of moving forward. if you find yourself in high states of adrenaline, hyperactivity making others out to be wrong — challenge yourself to look for what’s right. find the humanity in the human. this is our practice, this our our yoga. lead with curiosity and generosity, inclusion. see others in their highest selves and let’s see ourselves at our highest. to love humanity, is to love the human. #thisismyyoga #yogatidbits #yogamama #holywomanhood #howtoyoga #activevspassive #movementismedicine #feelyourway https://www.instagram.com/p/CADsfYUhn8W/?igshid=18j8ymtp9nph8

Let your life be living proof that love exists. #thisismyyoga #loveliveshere #holywomanhood #holymotherhood #writeclubnow #writeandflow #loversgonnalove https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Fve_cBind/?igshid=10uv8p93aclbi

Move in such a way so that you feel free. This is my prayer for you and my prayer for me. Let us move so that we do not fear our own bodies; instead make contact and make love, connection from the inside-out. #contactandconnect #thisismyyoga #freeflow #flowstate #holywomanhood #holyandwholly #movementismedicine #yogawithbirch https://www.instagram.com/p/B7teArqh0kr/?igshid=i2djprzlxken

I finished this book and keep re-reading passages because breath is fucking life. If you’ve been in my classes for last few months, you’ve likely been invited to join in on that “weird, hippie, breathing thing.” It’s not your average breath and holds. It’s big and expansive breaths. It’s been really beautiful to witness people overtime lean in towards the breathwork. I see you dropping your guard, closing your eyes and committing to yourself in a way that feels vulnerable and new, scary perhaps. It’s inspiring. You inspire me. Conscious breathing every damn day is where it’s at. It’s wisdom has been passed on for thousands of years and science is finally trailing the tail of ancient sages, sufis, masters, and healers. Breath is life! It’s healing, energizing, spiritual, and harmonizing. It’s the teacher of sensitivity, non-reactivity. It is everything. We must learn to breathe bigger than we think we need to. Relax into our breath, body, mind, and emotions. If we want to transform our lives (from the inside-out), we’ve got to breathe as if our lives depended on it. Because it does. Get unstuck and unwind your patterns that keep you from being the highest version of yourself. Breath is the pathway until it all ends and begins again, if you believe in such a way. Today’s writing prompt is in your box. It’s titled water fast. And my learnings snd takeaways from doing that “radical” thing. Not until we stop reacting can we truly be sensitive — Just Breathe by Dan Brulé. #justBreathe #breathemotherfucker #thisismyyoga #breathislife #inspiredbreath #consciousbreathing #breathwatching https://www.instagram.com/p/B8wROg_hGZ8/?igshid=b1v75x5g9jol

Everyone is doing their best, with the information they have, in the best way they know how. I have to remind myself when I’m met with others that don’t share the same views. All we have is the present moment. What we can do in the now, how we can be in the now. How can we use our gifts to help each other? I am the oldest of 5. Since I was a child, I have always remained calm and collected in high stress situations. My instinct was always to scoop up the kids and get them to safety in emergencies. Like when our house caught fire or when my siblings needed stitches (the list is long). It’s why I became a lifeguard as a teenager, because I could stay calm in times of crisis and I wanted to help others. I know these are a couple reasons why I teach yoga. We are in a time of freak out for many people. We all live in different realities. Panic and scarcity is a real threat for some. If you have the ability to stay calm and collected during times like these, share it with others. If you have skills, extra food, space, toilet paper — share with others. If you have the capacity to give, then give. My prayer is that we set aside hyperactivity and remember our humanity. Keep our immunities up (as my friend and health guru, @scott_estrada says, “health is about stacking odds in our favor”), give people solutions to lowering stress. If you’ve got more tips, please share below. Or write a prayer, mantra, words of loving-kindness for others to take comfort. Hugging you all. Be well, friends. #thisismyyoga #calmiskind #cleariskind #immunityboost #outsideisfree #holywomanhood #holymotherhood #beaforklift https://www.instagram.com/p/B9rgDIghcJW/?igshid=14wr55xifh8fw

I deleted over 7,000 photos and videos on my phone. I kept the ones that make me happy, grateful, or just plain laugh. This photo is from 2013. It was one of the starts to my #holymotherhood series (like holy sh*t, not the other kind of holy even though there’s a lot of that kind of holy on the hashtag now). It’s all holy, I suppose. This photo makes me happy because motherhood is like this sometimes: white knuckling my morning coffee while this one swoops in like a leaping tornado. It’s also very sweet too. Like the kind of sweetness that says, “let’s climb back in bed and snuggle awhile.” I feel grateful to not be a mom of a toddler. For me, those were some of the hardest years to parent. Now, B can make his own breakfast and pack his own lunch. At age 8, he’s in this fun, curious stage of ease. Often schooling me on math and science and stars and planets. He’s still just as snuggly, only 60 pounds or so heavier. Like all those photos I’ve kept, I have held on to many things that no longer exist. Stories. Drama. Memories. And trauma. I know many of my hang-ups and hard truths. And I’ll not be surprised when more bubbles to surface. There’s always work to either stay on tread and let on or ride new surf and let go. Even if that means clearing out some composition and characters in frame. #holywomanhood #writeclubnow #writewhatsreal #writeyourheartout #thisismyyoga #yogamama #letgoletin #parentsbelike #holyandwholly https://www.instagram.com/p/B3VcE89hsa-/?igshid=1c2gk0df82f3n