Here I am in my happy place, right? Right. And yet, I wish I could transplant this dreary weather to the Sonoran desert that needs the rain and humidity so desperately. This morning, the skies are gray. Again. In the 13 days since I arrived,  there hasn't been a beach day. So, like everything else that seems to disappoint, I need to look at my expectations, which are always the source of my suffering. When I do that, I can also see the gifts hidden in the gray. First, there is the great privilege of taking a vacation. What a gift it is to me to reconnect with dear friends on the East Coast in balance with the lovely solitude [...]

Dear Ones, Despite or because of the many rainy days since I arrived in Rhode Island, the waters of Narraganset Bay nourish my soul. I am blessed to begin my day with a standing practice surrounded by water. This is Naragansett Bay. :) We can’t always be on vacation in our happy place, so it’s vital to cultivate a healing practice wherever we wake up in the morning. Click below for the 3rd video in my Metro Meditations series that I recorded in downtown Tucson before I left. These quick videos are short, potent interventions, doable anywhere, anytime for a quick shift. This is a working vacation for me. Yesterday, after lunch with old friends, I finished a second draft of the screenplay for Temple Dancer and, along with [...]

              Dear Ones, Mood happens. We all know this, because though many of us have been vaccinated, none of us have been immunized against our shifting moods over these last 15 months. Even if we're not clinically depressed or anxious, we've known depression, lethargy and panic. Although there's no replacement for therapy, be it psychotherapy or yoga therapy, there are some really quick, effective ways to shift your mood in the moment. That's what my new YOGA FOR YOUR MOOD DECK from Sounds True is all about. It's a quick entry to therapeutic practices and self-regulation skills for every body. The Yoga for Your Mood Deck has already been recognized as an important contribution in this review, and I'm grateful [...]

Dear Ones, Research tells us that intense grief can alter the heart muscle so much that it causes "broken heart syndrome," increasing the risk of heart attack 21 times after the loss of a loved one. On the other hand, feelings of love, whether for a child, a lover, a four-legged being, a spiritual teacher or the Divine increase feel good hormones like oxytocin, prolactin and dopamine. We feel as though the heart expands with love. We live in times where protection, be it a mask, a vaccine, or fear of the other makes us feel constricted. More than ever, we need practices that open the heart to love, that connect us to others and to the Divine as we [...]

Dear Ones, I’m elated today! Most of you know how I suffered from depression for many years until yoga and meditation transformed my life. Well, writing fiction has been a lifetime journey, fraught with rejection, which did not help my depression, as well as gratifying personal reward. Having so many dismissing letters like this one: “Oh I loved this book and I stayed up all night reading it, but it’s not for us,” one editor wrote my agent. The editors usually end their letters with, “Best of luck finding a home for this excellent novel.” Now, I am thrilled to tell you about my collaboration with the actor Daisy Fair to bring Temple Dancer’s principal character Saraswati to life on [...]

As our hemisphere turns to spring, the thermometer registered 95F in Tucson. The desert is filled with birdsong, lizards, and ocotillo blooms. And yet amidst all the beauty, all the renewed energy of emergence, depression can linger. Do you sometimes feel like a late bloomer, the 'not yet ready for prime time' one? Friends have had varying reactions to the vaccine. Covid has taken its toll on some dear to me. We are on the other side now, and I am grateful. Throughout, my practice has been my anchor. Here is a pose that helps me face each day with renewed energy and trust. After practicing, I feel brighter and ready for what life brings. I hope you will too. [...]

Finally, Spring. I feel movement and a cautious release into new beginnings. Do you feel it? I’m thrilled to announce that Foreword Reviews has chosen Temple Dancer as a finalist in the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards! You'll find Saraswati's story here in Religious Adult Fiction. Though I wouldn’t call it religious, it IS a novel of spiritual awakening, sacred sexuality and intimate and eternal connection. Temple Dancer is steeped in yoga philosophy and spirituality. What do you think? Does that make it religious? Whether religious, sacrilegious or a mystery enveloped in magic realism, I’m proud to be a finalist. The Finalists were determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners are now being decided by teams of librarian and bookseller judges from across [...]

I admit that when I first read Becoming Safely Embodied in manuscript, I had just upgraded to Windows 10, and I didn’t realize it was doing battle with my Adobe Reader program. Through no fault of the PDF Deirdre had sent me, it was hard to read the manuscript in full. So when it became available last week, I downloaded the book. Reading Deirdre Fay’s work in its entirety, tenderly uncoiled old feelings of unworthiness in a young silent part that still tightened my belly when I made a mistake. This is a beautifully written and thoughtful book that I recommend for self-care and healing, whether you have a history of trauma or not. Paraphrasing a question Fay asks in the introduction gives you [...]