Yogaland Roundup

June 2nd, 2023

This photo popped on my phone just before bed the other night. I looked at it and I remembered the exact time and place it was taken. It was a day like any other and we were on our way to our favorite cafe, Cafe St. Jorge. 

We happened to walk down a different street that day and, on the way there, we walked by this gorgeous red wall. I knew I had to capture her right then and there. 

Those were hard days of mothering for me. Without going into all of the details, they were just hard.

But there were also so many moments like these, where I'd long to capture her in all her splendiforous idiosyncratic toddler glory -- the tiara on her head, the wheely dog named Oreo who went everywhere with us, the Paw Patrol shirt, and the infinity scarf she'd stolen from me. The curls on her forehead from me and the toothy grin from Dad. The vibrating aliveness of her little body and soul as it moved through her days. 

When I saw this photo the other night I was taken by her expression. Beyond all the cute toddler accoutrements, I could see her love shining back at me. I don't think I noticed this at the time. Or, I wasn't able to fully take it in. 

It made me realize how much her love has healed me. I can't even fully explain it because I've never lacked love in my life. But there's something so profoundly different about her love.

As I've grown with her over the years, I'm much more loving and compassionate -- with myself, with her, with...everyone. It's because of her. There's no doubt in my mind. Being a mother has asked so much of me and, because of it, I have so much more capacity to be patient and accepting. It’s made life lighter, easier, happier. (If I’m honest, going through cancer treatment helped lighten me up, too.)

There is so much sentiment around us these days that the world is fucked up, that we're ruining the planet, that it's all going to shit. And I worry just like every other person about the climate, about the divisiveness, about gun violence. About so many things.

But I just keep coming back to this: Love is the answer. It is the reason for being, for caring, for forging on, and for doing our best.

I truly can’t make sense of humanity and it hurts that I won’t be able to make sense of it for her. But I’m starting to believe that these small moments of love, wonder, awe, connection, caring are the whole reason for being alive.

This week’s podcast guest is one of my favorite yoga-mamas, Sarah Ezrin. We talk all about her book, The Yoga of Parenting, Ten Yoga-Based Practices to Help You Stay Grounded, Connect with Your Kids, and Be Kind to Yourself. I love Sarah and I love how her book is imbued with the wisdom of someone who has been practicing and teaching yoga for many years and who is also honest, relatable, and encouraging.

This parenting sh*t is hard. Humaning is hard. Books like Sarah’s, that are filled with practices and humor and heart, are what we need to help each other through!

PS: The book release date is June 6th. Pre-order now and you’ll get an invite to Sarah’s virtual launch party.

Go listen to this episode for ideas about setting boundaries, creating community, and how yoga can help you prepare for the pressure of parenting!

Book Clubbers: Don’t forget to register for our chat with Libby Hinsely on June 29th! If you register and can’t make it, you’ll automatically get access to the replay.

The Q&A with Libby is for paid subscribers, so if you need to upgrade, you can do so below and you will see the link to register :)