When someone asks you how life is going, how often do you heave a sigh and say "busy"? Not an abundant busy, but a "PLEASE take something off of my plate" busy. If we aren't paying attention, our schedules can easily fill past our comfort. We find ourselves going from bed to work, from work to our next obligation, and finally rolling in the door at night with little energy to hear ourselves think. Our weekends can feel packed to the gills with things that seem mandatory, unti

When I was younger, I spent a lot of time thinking about my body. I wanted to be shorter and thinner, with shinier hair and whiter teeth. As early as elementary school, my friends and I would stress over how wrong our bodies looked. "UGH! I can't believe I ate that entire sandwich. I feel huge and disgusting." "You aren't fat! You're so pretty. I am waaay fatter than you." The fear of fat was so all-encompassing that on days when my pants felt tight, all of the qualities I li

Some of you have followed my writing since I started a little Tumblr blog in 2010 to connect with students and friends who were curious about yoga for depression and body image issues. It was amazing to read your comments and have deep conversations about mental health with you. Thank you so much for your support! A few of you actually met me through my MySpace blog over a decade ago. I feel like I owe more than a word of thanks to you brave souls. I owe you a drink! One of t

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” – Gail Sheehy One of the most tumultuous times of change in my life was when I embarked on yoga teacher training. I’d deliberated over teacher training for years and was determined and passionate to teach classes that felt safe and accessible to people whose bodies didn’t match the stereotypical yogi physique. When I showed up to the studio on day 1, I may as well have had my eyes tightly scrunche

I used to equate "self care" with a trip to the spa. It seemed to be a luxury available only to those with the time and money to spare on pampering and stress relief. I didn't see myself in that picture, so I didn't process how badly I needed self care until I was emotionally and physically worn out from day-to-day life, and didn't even have the energy to take my clothes out of the dryer or cook a real meal. Clearly no one else could do self care for me, so something had to c

In elementary school my least favorite class was Physical Education. At the end of running a mile on the track I’d sit down, my lungs hurting, and full of self loathing. Most of my classmates seemed perfectly content running, but I felt like a gigantic elephant dragging my 2nd grade body around that track. As a young adult I overexercised and under-ate to maintain a body size that wasn’t natural for me. I didn’t enjoy working out, but I relied on it heavily, as a way of disci

I was miserable in my first job out of graduate school. It’s not that the job itself was awful—I was working on meaningful research, had a short commute, and was surrounded by nice coworkers—I was miserable with the way I felt during the workweek. Over weekends I was able to recover some energy for activities I loved, like seeing bands with friends, learning new songs on guitar, and walking on a nearby trail. But Sunday afternoon the anxiety started creeping in. I’d fantastiz

Image source Having a truly crappy day? Give yourself a break with these turnarounds: Connect. When something really painful happens, I immediately reach out to two people: my partner, Mark, and my best friend. I can always count on Mark to give me a hug and put a cat on my lap, and my best friend will sit on the phone with me while I cry, and offer to exact revenge on anyone who has wronged me. Even if I’m not ready to talk about it and my best friend (probably) won't public

I'm super excited about the upcoming 10-Min-A-Day challenge over at Grow Well! The challenge is to commit to a daily 10-minute practice of anything that speaks to you, from meditating to dancing to calling home. Even little daily practices can have a big impact on your wellbeing, and keeping up with them for a whole month? That's a huge confidence boost! Joining the Grow Well community is free right now, and the social support will help you power through the challenging days

Over the past few months I’ve developed tendonitis in my ankle, most likely from wearing shoes with poor support while dancing (please learn from my mistakes, fellow dancers!). I’ve had to put my favorite hobby on hold while my ankle heals, and I really miss walking, which is where I do a lot of thinking and processing. One of my loved ones has been experiencing a lot of back pain, so he’s been sidelined from his active lifestyle as well. He’s clearly mourning the loss of tim