Do you love to spend time on long hikes in the forest, sitting by a gentle stream among trees, or having picnics in beautiful meadows? Like me, you may enjoy the sounds of nature, the company of the fauna, and the clean air that you exchange with the flora. There is a huge positive impact on our physical, mental, and emotional health when we spend time in nature. This is true, especially with forest bathing. However, it’s not always possible to retreat to nature when we need it in our everyday stress-filled lives. There are many things you can do to bring forest bathing indoors, to replicate it at home.

Forest Bathing Benefits

Forest Bathing, or Shinrin Yoko as it’s called in Japan, is a very popular lifestyle practice in Asia and Europe. Many peer reviewed studies show the benefits of forest bathing. The results are so positive, that it’s actually prescribed to people who are overworked and dealing with stress and anxiety.

Regular forest bathing results in:

• reduced blood pressure
• elevated mood
• reduced stress hormones
• increased focus and concentration
• increased natural killer cells which boost immune health
• and much more…

As I’ve mentioned before, spending time in nature can deepen your spiritual connection and is even more potent in ancient forests!

Unfortunately, many of us are not able to go walk in a forest at the end of each workday. And for some, it’s hard to go at all because they don’t have access; are sick, disabled, or injured; or are afraid (seriously, this is the case with some people, and that’s okay). And for this reason, it’s a good idea to try to reproduce forest bathing at home, bringing nature indoors to promote holistic health.

How To Forest Bathe At Home

There are many aspects of forest bathing that you can do at home if you’re not able to engage in the real thing.

Whenever you’re feeling stressed out, or as often as you like to prevent anxious feelings, try one or more of the following:

Diffuse Essential Oils

The visual beauty of a forest is a major reason why so many people experience a greater relaxed state. However the aroma of the forest may be even more powerful in affecting one’s mood. That’s because when we smell, we’re stimulating the limbic area of the brain which processes emotions and holds memories. Inhaling the natural essential oils in the woods or the essential oils extracted from plant parts, are equally effective in enhancing your mood!

To experience the benefits of forest bathing, simply diffuse the essential oils of trees that are present there. Try using:

• Cypress
• Fir trees (Siberian, White, Douglas, Balsam)
• Juniper Berry
• Spruce
• Frankincense
• Cedarwood
• Eucalyptus
• Tea Tree
• Myrrh
• Sandalwood
• Copaiba
• Arborvitae

DoTERRA is my favorite brand of essential oils because of their commitment to quality and purity, their sustainability efforts, and their close relationship with indigenous farmers around the world. Learn more here.

Listen to Forest Sounds

Close your eyes and imagine you’re in the forest as you listen to tracks of birds, wind through trees, a bubbling stream, and other woodland sounds.

Watch Calming Nature Videos

Viewing scenes of nature is better than nothing! Soothing scenes can definitely relax you. Research shows however, that these effects are more temporary than real-life experiences. You’re also dealing with the effects of an electronic device, so I recommend this option the least.

Do Guided Meditations Set In A Forest

The mind is a powerful force! You can use guided meditations set in the forest to create a space for very deep healing. This is whatI often do with coaching clients to support their mental, emotional, and spiritual health. If you do an online search, you’re sure to find a few helpful audio or video tracks. Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like my personal help.

Communicate With Trees Near Your Home

You don’t need to explore a whole forest just to experience the benefits of this nature therapy. Opening up your senses and connecting to the trees around your home may be more convenient as is still very effective. I like to combine grounding with a meditation:

1. Find a comfortable space outside near a tree.
2. Take off your shoes & socks and allow your feet to sink into the earth.
3. Consciously relax your body, letting it sink further with gravity.
4. Imagine that you’re sending roots down through the center of each foot.
5. See these roots connecting with the tree(s) around you, like you’re holding hands/roots with them.
6. As you breathe fully & deeply recognize how you’re exchanging life energy with the tree and how you have a symbiotic relationship with it.

Bring More Plants Into Your Home

Adding lovely ferns, orchids, and other forest plants to your home can create the visual appeal of time in the woods. If you’re serious about stress management, it’s a good idea to surround yourself with plants, especially if you work from home.

In Conclusion

Of course it’s best to experience the forest in real life! I’ve had so many amazing downloads, breakthrough, and moments of deep peace among the trees. But the home lifestyle practices I mention here can still be transformational if you don’t have access to nature on a regular basis.

I’m curious, do you forest bathe? What do you think of these at-home substitutes? Let us know in the comments how these nature therapies support your holistic health!

Eating bad food is not the only cause of indigestion. Did you know gas, bloating, GERD, constipation, diarrhea, and all that fun stuff can also be related to stress? If you’re not able to digest your food, you’re likely not able to digest what is happening in your life. This three-part yoga breathing exercise will help improve your gut health, relax stress-induced tension and help you practice mindfulness when eating too.

How To Do The Three-Part Yogic Breath

Our breath is meant to assist the whole body in resting and digesting as it soothes the body in it’s parasympathetic nervous system state. However in our fast-past, stress-inducing lifestyles that pull us away from body awareness leave us with shallow breathing.

When we’re just breathing in the upper body, the digestive organs are not massaged as they’re meant to be, and of course we’re also dealing with the stress hormones that are released too.

The Three-part Yogic Breath is meant to help you breathe deeply again, to use the diaphragm which increases lymph and blood flow in the belly, increases peristalsis & bowel movement, and soothes the nervous system.

Watch the video above or follow the instructions here to learn this simple breathing technique.

Three-Part Yoga Breathing Instructions:

1. Come into a comfortable seated position or sit in a chair with the spine straight.
2. Close your eyes, interiorize your attention to focus on the movement of the breath moving in and out of the nose.
3. Place one hand on the belly and one on the chest, and bring the breath in deep now, to feel the belly expand.
4. Now inhale in two parts, first into the belly and then up into the chest. Then exhale completely in one part.
5. Continue, and as you get comfortable, you can extend out the breath. For example:
   • 2 seconds inhale into the belly, 2 seconds into the chest / 4 second exhale
   • 3 seconds inhale belly, 3 seconds chest / 6 second exhale
   • 4 seconds inhale belly, 4 seconds chest / 8 second exhale
   • etc….

You can do this style of breathing whenever you’re wanting to calm your mind, nerves, and digestion!

Let me know

In this post, I want to expand on our topic last week where we talked about up-leveling our spiritual connection in order to experience holistic health.  Connecting with nature is one of the ways you can experience the beauty, the mystery, and the essence of life that is linked with our spiritual nature.

This is the place that most people need help though.  They are living so far removed from nature, that they’ve lost all sense of belonging to the earth.   It’s our attitude and relationship toward nature that needs to be fixed in order to feel a spiritual connection.  Conservation efforts are not enough!

Read on to learn how to develop a stronger relationship with nature and the Earth.  The video below goes into deeper details as I share examples of the list below.

5 Ways To Develop A Spiritual Relationship With Nature And The Earth

So how exactly do you go about changing your attitude and relationship to nature? These are some examples that have helped me. I hope that at least one of these is attractive for you to explore and help deepen your spiritual experience as a human being on this planet.

1) Realize You’re Part Of Nature

Human beings are a part of nature, within and without. In fact, with Taoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we believe that humans are microcosms of nature. When we’re sick and diseased, it’s usually because this connection has been lost.

• We have internal “weather” that reflects what can be happening in the environment.
• We find inner harmony when we eat seasonal foods and follow the natural rhythms of nature.
• This medicine points to places in the body that give us maps for how to take care of ourselves when we are ill (like Foot & Hand Reflexology, Auriculotherapy, and Hara diagnosis).
• We’re guided to eat certain healing foods depending on their color, shape, and similar function to aspects of the natural world. For example, walnuts that look like a brain support brain health.

These concepts may be interesting for you to explore to gain a greater appreciation for how miraculous the human body is and how it’s modeled off of nature itself.

2) Create A More Healthy Relationship To Animals Where You Live

Do you know which animals live in your area? How is your relationship with them? Are you having a battle with the local deer eating your plants or the ants wanting to invade your home?

It’s worthwhile looking at how to still have safe boundaries around your space and yet empathize with these beings who are wanting to thrive too. Can you see yourself as being equals and co-existing in your space instead of wanting to exterminate anything that “doesn’t belong”?

3) Discover How You’re Influenced By “The Heavens”

Paying more attention to the celestial nature can help you feel more supported spiritually. Try doing one of the following to help:

• Honor the Sun each morning. Say goodbye to it at night, realizing that you could not live without it!
• Learn about Astronomy, Astrology, and Human Design (what I’m currently geeking out on!) to help you see how we’re influenced by the sun, moon, and stars.
• Follow the phases of the Moon and see if they’re affecting your mood & emotions. Join us in our monthly Full Moon Lunar Yoga Classes to learn rituals to honor this special time!

4) Embrace Your Role As A Creator, But Not Play God

All of us have the potential to create awesome things in our lives! This is part of what makes life so enjoyable. However, I feel like it’s important to recognize that we’re not God, even though some of our medical advancements can make us feel this way. There is still Divine Timing around all that happens to us and for us. We can respect this instead of always forcing things happen, which can breed frustration and further harm your spiritual connection to nature & Source.

5) Notice When You’re Afraid Of Nature

Wild animals, the Sun, microorganisms, certain foods (sugar, wheat, etc.) – these are all neutral aspects of life that we can and should have a respectful relationship with. And yet many people are terrified of them. Sure, they can seriously harm you if you’re weak or not living aligned with nature. But realizing this should help you seek how to have a healthy relationship with them and learn how to co-exist.

I hope this information is helpful to improve your spiritual connection to nature! Please let me know in the comments below. I’m curious to hear which aspect you feel you’re already connected to and where you would like to grow more. Blessings to you!

There’s an epidemic happening right now that I feel needs to be talked about since it’s continuing to grow: Spiritual poverty.  Why is lack of spirituality bad? How do you rise up out of it? Here’s my thoughts about why you need to take care of your spiritual health right now.  I really believe everyone will benefit from this, especially if the words spirituality and religion leave a bad taste in your mouth.  

Recorded Live in my Falcon Healing Arts Holistic Lifestyle Community on Facebook.

What Does Spirituality Have To Do With Health?

We tend to forget in the natural health field, the word “holistic” means whole. It refers to the different layers of being: body, breath/energy, emotions, mind, and spirit/soul. It means that you’re acknowledging every aspect of life, the obvious and the mystical, the tangible and intangible, with equal importance.

With this larger experience of life comes an appreciation of death as well, where one can regard it without fear. There is comfort knowing that your spirit lives on to some degree (details depending on your belief system). And this constant reminder of how precious and temporary our physical life is here on this planet reinforces how passionately we live.

Does it feel like people are living passionately these days?

No, it doesn’t look like it to me. On the contrary, many people seem to be terrified of both dying and living.

The Coronavirus pandemic has been a big test of people’s faith and belief systems. While we’re seeing a lack in spiritual faith, there’s an increased faith in human ingenuity. People are looking to intellectuals, scientists, politicians, and doctors to help them make life decisions instead of trusting in themselves and their connection with nature and spirit. And as a result, they’re ruled by anxiety and self-doubt. This, of course, is very damaging to one’s emotional, mental, and physical health (it’s all related!).

Why is lack of spirituality in our communities a problem?

I first started pondering this last week, when I realized I hadn’t been doing one of my favorite spiritual practices. It was sad to me that I had let go of this mantra meditation with my mala beads. Was I just too busy to do it? Or, is it because I’m uncomfortable bringing it into my teaching practice? I know that not many of my students are interested in spiritual health – maybe fear of offering them more is holding me back to a degree.

This was very concerning since I actually find chanting and mantra repetition very valuable! And yet I was unconsciously letting it go and in doing so, losing an important aspect of myself.

The biggest consequence of spiritual disconnection is the loss of self guidance and security.

When you’re not connected to your inner knowing, guided by your soul & spirit, then you are vulnerable to being taken advantage of. The divisive techniques (by politicians, the media, and certain educational institutions) are only working on those who don’t really know themselves. They let these agencies bribe, coerce, and threaten them because they’re so dependent. But this seems to be more comfortable than spiritual and personal development.

Connection to spirit can help you see the problem and move beyond it to continue to evolve. Enlightenment is worth the effort find it! There’s no way I would have been able to see the little snag I’m in right now with my spiritual practice if I didn’t already have a strong connected root to it.

How Do You Reconnect With Your Soul And Develop Spiritual Health?

The sticky history of many religions forcing their beliefs on people has brewed a sense of distrust in spirituality. It requires a lot of maturity to look beyond that to the essence of religions and the bigger message they’re trying to teach. Still, you don’t need to go to church and adopt the practices of a certain religion to reconnect with your soul!

I have a very deep spiritual life even though I don’t have a particular religion. I chant Hindu mantras, practice Buddhist meditation, talk to Jesus in my Shamanic journeys, appreciate channeled messages from the spiritual community, and celebrate Pagan seasonal ceremonies.

Whatever way we make sense of the world through our spirit body should be developed. What you do and how you do it is completely up to you!

Here’s some ideas you can explore:

• go deeper with the essence of your religion
• explore other religious practices
• read ancient spiritual texts
• engage in spiritual practices like chanting, prayer, and meditation
• being open to spiritual guidance with mindfulness practices like Yoga & Qigong
• sitting with your “higher self” or evolved consciousness
• heal your “inner child” with meditation and journaling
• spend more time in nature, which is a wonderful way to see what your place is in the world
• write down your dreams and explore their meanings
• listen to and develop your intuition

Let me know if you have questions about anything from this list. I could go deeper with future posts and videos. If you love the idea of personal and spiritual development, then check out my course Yoga and Self-Healing Practices for Holistic Health.

I personally believe that we are all eternal spirits having a physical experience. So, I really hope that this post helps you to connect with your authentic, soulful self. Many blessings to you friend…

We all have our own reasons for doing a diet and lifestyle detox cleanse program.  Personally, I want to get to the root of some unpleasant symptoms, bring my autoimmune thyroid condition back into remission, reduce inflammation, and manage my weight better. 

I developed Nourish To Heal after years of trying many detox programs and elimination diets.  After 12 days into it, I can say that it’s definitely worth the time and effort  because of all the positive results I’ve noticed.

If you’re on the fence about doing such a program, you may want to read on and/or watch the video below.  I hope that it will inspire you to commit to yourself, making longterm changes that can benefit your life on all levels.

In the Nourish To Heal program, I suggest that participants keep a daily journal. We’re eliminating processed foods, sugar, alcohol, gluten and caffeine (and optionally dairy, corn, and soy as well). In the journal, you’ll note meals eaten and any symptoms that come up while eliminating the inflammatory foods just mentioned. I ask that you note any social events and how you’re feeling emotionally too.

This daily diary is important to see how you’re progressing and if it’s worthwhile to continue, for I really believe that it’s healing for people to be eating like this MOST of the time!

That was my case.

So even though there’s an initial commitment of a week, I will be sticking to it for at least a month and possibly longer if I continue to progress.

Here’s what I’ve noticed about myself so far, 12 days into the program. The results positively impacted me on more layers than just my body. Read on if this interests you!

7 Of My Personal Detox Cleanse Program Results

1. Inflammation Culprits Identified!

Since my diet is already pretty clean, there’s less puzzle-work to get to the root. The major changes for me in this cleanse were to remove ALL processed junk food that contain inflammation-inducing polyunsaturated vegetable oils. I also omitted dairy and all added sugar. Everything else I keep out of my diet on a regular basis, and I only eat organic foods.

Just with those changes I’m losing some water weight. I’ve also noticed that I’m not as achy in the mornings when I wake up. Plus, my digestion and elimination is way quicker, easier, and has made my body feel light and free!

2. I Know What My Food Addiction Is

Now just because I have less to work to remove foods in the dietary portion of this cleanse does not mean it has been easy for me! I am acknowledging that I have an addiction to dairy, especially cheese. I love the flavor, the texture, and that it’s so easy to snack on! But being that it is likely one of the culprits causing the inflammation and disrupting my digestion, I am happy to take it out, at least temporarily, until I feel like I can bring it back in to test in small amounts without gorging.

This has also made me be more careful having healthy snack foods around the home. There’s plenty of nuts, dips, veggies like carrots & celery, and fruit that I can easily nibble on when I’m hungry in between meals.

I highly recommend you do a cleanse like this not only to free up your body, but to help create more healthy habits that include confronting addictions.

3. Stress Made My Symptoms Temporarily Worse

I made the mistake of doing too much during this cleanse. There are no mistakes though, only life lessons! And the big lesson here was that it’s best to just focus on myself doing something like this and not trying to lead a cleanse for the first time when doing it! I had a viral breakout on my lips and felt very run-down for a few days as a result. But it forced me to slow down and not obsess over adding content to the cleanse program. It got done, just a little behind schedule.

So you may want to take note too! It’s best to do this cleanse, at least the first week, when you don’t have much else going on. And make sure you’re prepared!

4. Lifestyle Cleansing Was Helpful For My Home And Finances

The fine-focus on my diet also helped me see more clearly other areas of my life that felt clogged and unpleasant. I noticed the clutter around the home and was able to commit to making small changes every day to clear it. I also created more movement around my finances to get my taxes organized so there’s less work for me later. I did some reflection on my business as well and committed to focusing on certain aspects while letting go of what hasn’t been working. All of these areas of my life now feel like they have greater flow and fresh energy around them.

5. Social Media Detox Came Naturally

The journal work in this program helped me to stay in-tune with my emotions. With this mindfulness, I felt less compelled to listen to political news shows that often get my blood boiling. I temporarily stopped listening to a few people on Instagram (again, who have inflammatory messages). And I got very quiet on my own social media channels.

This lull helped me see clearly that what I’m consuming through my eyes and ears is just as important as what I’m eating. It felt so good to have a healthy break from social media, I almost made the decision to stop building my business there altogether. But instead, I just decided to start posting again in a more healthy way. Now, I’m only going on to post content and engage a bit, not get sucked down any rabbit holes. And I’m still only engaging with other people’s content if it makes me feel good.

6. I’m More Emotionally & Energetically Free

The journal work also helped me to see how I was holding on to other people’s emotions and energy. This happens to “empaths”, and especially body & energy workers. Even those who are aware that it can occur are not always mindful of what “belongs” to them or not. I incorporated clearing exercises and essential oil protocols to help me consciously cut any energetic cords connected to others.

If you have similar issues and want to learn how to release them, reach out to me and I can help you.

7. I Learned I Want To Continue To Help Myself & Others This Way

Overall, this has been a very helpful and enjoyable experience! I love how focusing on my personal holistic health is helping me be a better guide for others. This program is now complete and available for anyone to purchase. I’d love to help you out as you go through it. But I’m also opening up some spots for health coaching too since I’m exploring an interest in that direction. Feel free to sign up for a free 15 minute call if you’re interested in working with me!

Have you done a cleansing program before? What did you learn about yourself? Did you make an permanent changes because of it? I’d love to hear more – please share in the comments!

Detoxifying and cleansing the body is more than a trendy practice to help you lose weight.  Did you know that it can actually initiate the beginning of an empowering wellness journey?  Did you know that you can heal holistically – in body, heart, mind, and spirit – when doing a cleanse gently and mindfully?  

Knowing that you can much more out of a cleansing program makes a huge difference in your ability to stick with it and get results.  So if you’re interested in doing a cleanse but not ready to commit yet, this information will hopefully get you off of the fence and preparing your kitchen & body!

What’s Your Intention For Cleansing?

When starting a cleanse, a detox diet, or whatever you want to call it – I believe it’s important to go into it with the right intention. This will help you choose the program style and to stay as objective as possible as you’re moving through it.

In my opinion, the best intention is to want to HEAL. Healing means that you’re moving from a place of disconnection, imbalance, or disease to a state of joyful well-being and acceptance.

This is important to distinguish from the negative intentions that motivate many people to cleanse. Feelings of disgust, disappointment, or inadequacy can lead you to choose extreme diets under the disguise of a therapeutic cleanse. That could cause further imbalances with metabolism, gut health, and muscle loss. Going into a program with a negative attitude is definitely not going to help you experience mental and emotional benefits. It will just continue the cycle of self-criticism.

Whereas if you go into a program with the intention to heal, you’re looking for positivity. You’ll make decisions based on self-love. And even if the physical results aren’t super profound, you’ll likely experience other benefits that are well worth the time and effort.

Holistic Benefits Of A Cleanse

Here’s what you may experience on all levels if you approach a cleanse with self love and the desire to heal. This is assuming that you’re choosing an organic, whole food cleanse with balanced macrobiotics, avoiding the major inflammatory foods & oils, and if you’re actively avoiding toxins.

Physical Benefits of a Detox

• As your body releases toxins more efficiently, you’ll able able to assimilate nutrients easier, fueling and hydrating all your cells
• By decreasing inflammation, you’ll lose weight, find more ease in your muscles & joints, and reduce symptoms of most chronic diseases
• Better sleep, allowing time to restore cellular health and energy
• Balanced hormones (purging excess estrogen) – this helps with emotions too!
• Clear skin
• Smooth digestion

Mental Benefits of a Detox

• Bringing more mindfulness into preparing, eating, and digesting your meals will help you appreciate these experiences more
• Notice which foods are best for you and your constitution (especially if using a food journal)
• Helps you prioritize eating healthy meals (time to shop & prepare – less likely to pick up junk food)
• The discipline of a cleanse can help you with mindfulness meditation too, cleansing your mind of stressful thoughts that impact your body and emotions

Emotional Benefits of a Detox

• Release emotions stored in the body as you let go of toxins and tension
• Experience more pleasure during eating rituals
• See more clearly if you’re dealing with any addictions that are keeping you unwell and develop the courage to release them

Spiritual Benefits of a Detox

• Enlightenment is more possible if you’re body, heart, and mind are clear (this is why cleansing practices are so important in Yoga)
• Experience self love and the deeper spiritual connection that stems from that

Here’s A 7+ Day Cleanse You Can Try

If you resonate with this list of holistic cleansing benefits, then you’ll also enjoy the program I just created called Nourish to Heal! It’s organized as a course in Teachable that you’ll have lifetime access to. Check out the details below and sign up when you’re ready! Note that I’ll be leading us through it April 5-11 and am offering it at a discounted price until April 11 (but it will still be available for purchase afterwards).

This program is the result of my combined work over decades to heal my own autoimmune thyroid condition as well as guide my TCM clients to nourish themselves in accordance with nature.⁣

Commit for a week for a simple reset, or for longer if you want to make serious lifestyle changes! ⁣ Hope to see you in the course…
⁣

It’s exciting to see how homeschooling is growing across the country! I know so many parents who have recently pulled their kids out of the modern school system for one reason or another. These parents know that starting a homeschool journey is the right decision for their kids, and yet they are struggling to make homeschooling actually work well at home. I have some advice that may help you if you’re one of these parents who are new to homeschooling or are considering it. It comes down to: lead with love and trust.

Now I know that may not seem like enough.

You’re probably wondering how exactly love and trust help when:

• Your child can’t sit still to focus on the curriculum
• They don’t listen to you as they did with their teacher
• Power struggles with your kid is affecting the whole family dynamic
• Trying to fit in all the subjects they offered at school is exhausting you
• You notice your child doesn’t know as much as other same-aged kids
• You have family members and friends trying to test your child

I’ve experienced all this before and can tell you with confidence that you can move beyond it.

Let me explain…

Why Do Parents And Kids Struggle With Homeschooling?

The biggest reason new homeschooling families have a hard time is that they’re trying to duplicate the modern school day at home. Sitting for hours focusing on curriculum is not a natural activity! And it will negatively impact your family dynamic if you try to do this at home.

Parents are supposed to be the most loving people in a child’s life. They will naturally learn much more from you than anyone else simply because of your influence over them. But this relationship will definitely change if you now try to be a strict teacher. It may actually feel to them like you’re abusing your power.

If you’ve established your own private school or even if you’re working with a homeschool charter, you’re only required to offer certain subjects (this is unique for each state, check your requirements). Here in California, there is no oversight. You simply need to “take attendance” of when your child is in school.

So it is completely your choice of HOW you homeschool. If you try to adopt the failing modern school system at home, it’s likely your child will lose their love of learning to a degree. And because your loving relationship will be strained with your new role, you’ll be adding unnecessary stress to your lives.

Your homeschooling life can be a very pleasant experience! You just need to let go. A lot. And you’ll need to stop comparing yourself to your child’s old teacher. Stop comparing your child to others. And politely tell your family and friends to mind their own business.

Here’s how it began for us…

How We Started Homeschooling

My son attended a co-op nursery school, but always had a very small class. I was there much of the time and even when we were separated, it was just a few hours a day. So it did not prepare him well for the big social experience and structure of Kindergarten. Unfortunately he also got a taste of bullying and group shaming which I could see were starting to cause some emotional issues. During Spring Break he asked to be pulled out of Kindergarten and we happily complied.

Homeschooling was always my heart’s desire though, so I was fairly prepared. I had already met with a few homeschooling moms and had read some books. But I had a very romantic idea of what I thought homeschooling would be like for us.

I struggled to bring in curriculum. My son refused to do it and would cry and yell. I wanted to pull my hair out. Gradually I just stopped fighting. We went on lots of fun field trips instead and had park play dates with other kids.

I would still try to add in lessons when I could, but unless he asked for it, my son was always clear that it wasn’t working for him. We stopped making him read to us, to write lines or do math workbooks.

Where We Are Currently In Our Homeschool Journey

Now that he’s almost 11, he’s very self-led with his learning. We lean into the subjects that he’s interested in. This gives me time to work on my business at home since I’m no longer leading the lessons, except for when he wants to do science.

We are called “unschoolers”. This simply means that we don’t have any structure at home and do more “life learning” activities. It’s taken awhile for me to accept this, but what is helping me to do so is to simply look at my son. His brilliance amazes me everyday! Somehow, he has better grammar than I do. He’s a natural orator and loves to read out loud to us (his terms only though).

Our lives have very little stress because of this choice to let him lead. I’m not worried about him missing anything. When he needs a certain skill, I trust that he’ll learn it.

Homeschool Tips

I’m not promoting Unschooling for everyone. In fact, if your child has been in school for awhile, they may actually like having some structure and curriculum as they did in school. However, I do feel there needs to be a strong distinction between what you’re now doing at home and what they used to do at school.

Here are my tips:

• Accept that as the parent, you have great influence over your child and that is the power of love. You don’t need to change who you are.
• Trust that your child will self-regulate and get exactly what they need for their schooling to prepare them for their life’s work.
• Lean in when you can, into a subject that your child loves.
• Give your child ample time to play, which is when they learn the most.
• Don’t be afraid of screen time. It is a reality in our age (just stay in control of what they’re exposed to!)
• Try not to yell at your child about learning. Keep it fun.
• Set reasonable boundaries. Even if you’re doing child-led learning, that doesn’t mean the child rules the roost. They help out and contribute to a harmonious home life.
• Look at the bigger picture of what you’re trying to create for your child and what characteristics they’re building. 
• Allow yourself and your child to be special.  This is what the world needs, creative, freethinking people who specialize – not blind obedience, memorization, and general knowledge. 

I hope this list help you to establish your groove and builds your confidence as the homeschool parent. Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions in the comments below.

And if you want more specific tips about keeping your family healthy as you’re learning at home, you can check out this post that I did last year (in the beginning of The Pandemic):

Homeschooling Mom Encouragement Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Owning and wielding your personal power is a very important part of human emotional and spiritual development.  And yet many people don’t realize that they are lacking a true connection with this inner strength which can help them traverse life’s challenges more smoothly. 

Do you need to power up in your life?  Read on to learn why it’s important to embrace your power and some tips as to how you can harness it. And watch the video below where I share some personal experiences of when I’ve had to power up.

What is personal power?

Personal power is that force inside of you that allows you live with freedom and confidence.

It is not violent, as some people equate the word “power” with. It’s not a force that you hold over other people. This power is all good, and when fully embraced, can help you with healthy boundaries and solid connections.

Even though we often say that our inner power needs to be built up or developed, it’s more precise to say that needs to be revealed and wielded. This is because personal power is within each and every person. This innate energy is connected to our spirit, our will, and to our motivation for following our dreams.

When someone has issues connecting to their personal power, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have enough of it. It means that something is preventing them from seeing that they have it and using it. In a sense, they have consciously or unconsciously given this power away.

Signs That You Are Disconnected From Your Power

Like many aspects of the self, it’s often easier to notice when you’re disconnected from your power than when you’re fully embracing it.

This negative feedback is really helpful in recognizing that there is room for you to grow! So don’t feel bad if you find yourself caught in these patterns that indicate you’re not in your power:

• Always deferring to “experts” to guide what you think, say, and do
• Being afraid to share information with people that you think will help them because you’ll be criticized or judged
• Avoiding new things because you’re afraid of looking out of place
• Dissatisfaction with how life is unfolding in the moment (life is happening to you, not for you)
• Fear from holding beliefs that are outside the accepted norm (in politics, work organizations, society in general)
• Seeking approval from others, especially if you’re pretending to act a certain way to gain it
• You allow people to talk down to you when you feel they’re smarter, have more experience than you, etc.
• Complaining about how people treat you (as a victim)
• Having a hard time accepting someone else’s success or free ways of being (crabs in a bucket mentality)
• Projecting shame and blame on other people as you judge their choices

There are certainly more examples. Anytime you are fixated on someone else’s issues, or living under the influence of ideas that are not your own, you are not fully in your power.

How do you get your personal power back?

Remember that your power is always present, just may not be valued or used fully. So there’s little work in building it up.

Instead, you need to break the bonds that are making you feel incapable of standing in your power, and find you dependent on others.

Tips for Powering Up Your Life

• Know what you value
• Focus on what you can control
• Stop hanging out with people who make you feel bad
• Hang out with powerful people
• Stand up for yourself
• Speak your truth
• Journaling and mirror work
• Mindful Yoga & meditation

I go into detail about each of these points in the video at the top or here and share some of my slightly embarrassing personal examples!

If you want to dive deeper with me on how to work within your power, consider joining me on the Full Moon January 28, 2021. We’ll be focusing on personal power through mindful movement, meditation, journaling, and ritual to help you along this transformation path. So if you’re reading this before then, please consider signing up here!

Living fully in your power is a process.

It’s not going to happen immediately as soon as you bring your mind to it, but make take some time to build courage and feel comfortable being uncomfortable.

It is well worth the effort once you realize that you are no longer under the influence of other people’s ideas. You’ll walk through life feeling confident to make your own choices, not caring what people think of you. I did it for myself, so I know it’s possible for you too.

I hope you have more insight as to how you can be living in your power. Please let me know about it in the comments below!

Modern Yoga is changing, as you may be noticing during these pandemic times. I’m reluctant to claim any “new normal” is on the horizon. However, I will say that the changes I’m seeing in the Yoga world are positive and actually moving us closer to the main aim of Yoga. Read on to learn my predictions about the future of Yoga, and how I believe Yoga instruction is changing for the better if we’re willing to adapt.

The 3 Ways Yoga Is Changing For the Better

Yoga in the U.S. has been quite different from the practice that was popularized in India and other parts of the East. And it’s changed even more over the last 20 years I’ve been teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area, and not for the better in my opinion.

Yoga was once embraced for it’s life changing benefits and the passing down of wisdom from ancient traditions. Here in the U.S. it was reduced down to:

• strengthening and stretching the body to music
• a way to temporarily relax in between stressful activities
• a lifestyle where we get to wear comfortable, fashionable clothes
• a trendy way to bring mind-body awareness to the community
• social time with friends

Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE everything I just listed above.

I resigned long ago that this was enough to attract people to the practice. I let go of the need to try to teach everyone to the depth that I experienced as a student when I first started my Yoga journey. But I always tried to give them a taste of this depth to let them know that there was much, much more that could be experienced.

Now that we’re in these challenging times, we’re seeing another shift. Students and teachers who really value the practice are needing to make the following changes. Otherwise, Yoga will be of little help to them and they’ll most likely choose another form of exercise or vocation.

1. Prioritizing A Home Practice

When many of our states enforced a lockdown in March 2020, studios and teachers had no choice but to go online if they were to continue offering Yoga to their students. And if students wanted to continue practicing yoga, they were forced to create a practice space, to purchase their own props, and commit to doing the live or replay classes.

I had to pivot too. Even though it was stressful, I was pleased that students were needing to practice at home. A home practice is something I’m constantly promoting and that’s why I’ve written previous blog posts on the subject:

Should You Develop A Home Yoga Practice?

Resources to Guide Your Home Yoga Practice

The experience of Yoga becomes much more meaningful when you carve out time for it at home. You’re infusing your home with your personal intention. You’re modeling the commitment for your kids. The whole vibe of your home changes.

Once students see how easy it is to practice Yoga at home and experience greater depth, I believe many will start preferring it over studio classes.

We’ll see if I’m correct, but at least they’ll have the resolve to continue practicing Yoga in case their usual set up changes. (Unfortunately we are seeing many studios closing and teachers moving or quitting.)

Your home Yoga practice would not be affected by these external circumstances.

2. Moving Toward Private or Small Group Instruction

Even with studios and health centers now open, class size is limited (currently as I write they can only be open to 25% here in CA).

Though I’m really frustrated with the slow pace that gyms are reopening, I do think that small classes are lovely.

I long for my early yogini days when I’d meet my teacher and class at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. We felt comfortable in this intimate community, sharing our life struggles as we related them to our Yoga practice. I remember having class the evening of 911 and we all processed the day’s event together.

Many people are desiring community right now. Small group classes could be very healing if students are allowed to participate in deeper discussions and if the teacher is sharing classical Yogic wisdom.

I see Yoga classes returning to what they once were for me. And with that, I imagine that students will have a better understanding of how Yoga can help them in life.

This brings me to the biggest change happening with Yoga…

3. Return to the Classical Tenants of Yoga for Personal Development

Modern Yoga only goes so far with instruction the mind-body connection. If one follows the tenants outlined in the Yoga Sutras by a skilled classical teacher and commits to not only the physical practice, but investigating the mind and heart, there is a huge opportunity for growth. In fact, one may awaken to a completely different way of thinking and living.

Everything we’re experiencing right now – from fear of disease & death to social & political unrest – can be resolved inside of you through the process of Yoga.

It’s possible to experience inner peace regardless of what’s happening outside of you. Believe me, I’m pretty happy right now even though I know the world outside is chaotic. I’m not blind to it. I just know how to co-exist with it.

If you want to deepen your Yoga practice for personal development or want to be an inspiring light for others, I recommend reading the books in my home yoga resource article.

Or let me lead you gradually through the layers of your being in my 6 week course Self Healing Practices for Holistic Health. We explore the physical, energetic, mental, emotional, and spiritual layers in a very practical way, at your own pace, in this self-led program.

The majority of people in the world are lacking the insights of these teachings. Humanity will experience benevolence and peace if they are embraced and shared.

Yoga is going to be an important part of this new world we’re creating. Are you going to be living it and teaching it too?

My health mindset is what guides me when dealing with challenging issues for myself and my clients. However, the same mindset permeates into other areas of my life too. In this post (and the video below), I share with you the five aspects of this mindset and how it can help you take charge of your health and master it by the end of the year!

Also be sure to grab this free health mastery blueprint that will help you flesh out your own health mindset!

How to Take Charge of Your Health

I do not have perfect health (few people do), but I am healthier than many. What helps me stay well is a constant movement toward health mastery. The health challenges that I’ve overcome are what make me successful as a wellness practitioner too.

The major challenges that stick out as I reflect on them are my healing journeys around Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, emergency Cesarean birth, and my son’s eczema and gut health issue as a baby.

The following are aspects of my health mindset when working toward healing , which is the goal of any health challenge. As I introduce these, I’ll share how I applied them to putting my thyroid disease into remission.

1. Holistic View

In order to heal completely, it’s important to look at your situation with a holistic view. Holistic means that you’re embracing the physical, mental, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects that may be contributing to un-wellness. It also means that you’re looking at the situation from all angles.

I knew that there was much more to my Hashimoto’s diagnosis than what my doctor was telling me. I wanted to know the underlying cause and how my lifestyle might have contributed to the outcome, not just take medication for the rest of my life while my thyroid was quickly destroyed.

Branching out from this narrow Western view is what led me to approach healing from many different angles: whole food organic diet, detoxing, energetic clearing with acupuncture & essential oils, and meditation to manage my stress. Without this broach approach, healing may not have been possible.

2. Natural Approach and Support

I’ve come to realize over time that much of the health issues we deal with in this country are due to us being far removed from nature. We have unnatural sleep/work habits, and unnatural diet of franken-foods, we dope up on medications that are highly purified that the body has a hard time recognizing and processing.

Whenever I’ve taken a natural approach to health, things have fallen in place. I’m not just talking about using natural therapeutics, though they are also key. But even beyond that, I feel like I’ve always been offered the best wisdom from nature and practitioners who are aligned with it.

Of course this is what we learn in Traditional Chinese Medicine, that we’re microcosms of nature. So when I started this thyroid healing journey quickly after I starting TCM school, I was set up with both a natural approach, but also teachers who saw me as a whole person. All aspects of me were embraced as a patient. That, on top of the self love I was already experiencing, was deeply healing.

3. Take Responsibility as You Take Charge of Your Health

I know this is a tough one for people.

When you are unwell, or especially if you’re a parent of an unwell child, it is upsetting to think that something you did or did not do is contributing to the situation. But it is important to take responsibility for where you are now because that means that you also have the power to get yourself out of most health challenges.

When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I knew I had been burning the candle at both ends. I was extremely stressed out, my sleep was messed up, I lived on coffee, I was getting lots of sinus infections with rounds of antibiotics, my diet was not the best, and I worked around toxic chemicals in my lab.

There was no way I could just turn a blind eye to this disease and continue living as I had. I took responsibility and changed what I could. Those simple actions, built over time, are what helped me heal.

4. Adjust Expectations and Take Action

Quite often people delay their self healing work because it doesn’t seem like the right time, or they feel they don’t have enough money or resources. Truly, there is no perfect time and if you really want to heal, you shouldn’t delay. Our time here on this planet is uncertain, so everyday is precious! Embrace life and work toward wellness now!

It’s really important that you have realistic expectations. Be open to stalled progress. Be open to pleasant surprises like the perfect blood work I eventually received after years of lifestyle changes. Just keep moving forward.

Trust that your body is constantly working toward balance and want you to survive and works in it’s own timing.

5. Prioritize and Focus on Your Health and Healing

If it’s really important for you to manage your health issue, you will prioritize the work needed to do so. You’ll also

I started working to heal my thyroid immediately. It was so important to me, that I didn’t care how long it would take or if it would even work at all. I just had to do whatever I could, not just for myself, but as a wellness practitioner I wanted to understand this disease for others too.

This drive for health mastery is what has made me stick to a gluten free diet for 6 years, to put filters on our water supply, and to remove our home of toxic products. So prioritizing and focusing on your health also means to remove the things that are distracting you or keeping you from healing completely.

I hope my health mindset is giving you something to think about if you’re wanting to commit to mastering your health. It has worked for me and my clients time and time again, so I know it can help you too.

If you need more help, get my Health Mastery Blueprint below which has prompts that can help you flesh out what needs to be done to promote self-healing. Please let me know how it works out for you and if there’s anything you’d change. You can share in the comments below.

Well wishes!

If you like this blueprint, then you’ll love my new 6 week course I’m offering: Yoga and Self Healing Practices for Holistic Health. I’ll teach you traditional healing practices that are both practical and deep.