the yamas and niyamas: tenets for living in harmony with yourself and the world

a teeny tiny overview

celebrate this. — artistic musings 🎨

celebrate this. — step by step 👣

one month + two full moons = double the intrigue! let’s use it to take a deeper look 💜

celebrate this. — i sat down 💫

celebrate this. — a simple nourishing act for deep self care 🥘

celebrate this. — proof that the hard work is working and the efforts aren’t futile ✨

This exploration of abundance really is centering around shifting perspectives and deciphering our own meanings. But that can feel. so. heavy. 

celebrate this. — glowin’ it up and getting personal 🔥

I don’t know what abundance means for me or to me. I know what other people think it means. But none of those definitions feels quite right.

celebrate this. avoiding emotional bypassing.

celebrate this. with some summertime fun

the inaugural celebrate this. letter! rollin’ in hot 🔥

What I’m learning is that thriving happens when I identify what my REAL priorities are and live in alignment to expand those areas, which means questioning if things are helping me do that or not. And if they’re not, I give myself full permission to minimize or eliminate the energy I put into them so I can reallocate it to what actually does. Actually – let me revise that. I’m going to demand that of myself 😼

Because when we savor things, we slow down without even trying. And that’s what I’m all about this lunar cycle: more savor, less effort 🎇.

When you savor a bite of your favorite food 🍰, your body experiences this prolonged pleasure that surpasses time on any clock. Your mind shuts off. You take in and appreciate more sensual detail. You are being mindful and present without trying in the typical ways. It feels so much more organic.

I’ve been leaking energy. Spewing it in places that aren’t worthwhile for me. And not giving enough to things that absolutely fucking are.

Cue re-alignment!✊

I've been reflecting on my basic values: What’s most important? Not to anyone else. But to me. What are my values? What are my priorities? What am I doing to honor those and to act from places that align with those?

I've also found myself looking at some things in new ways.

We’re starting a new lunar cycle that will lead us to the Pink Moon*, the first full moon of the season. This is also when we start (or continue) to see some of the first flowers 🌼 raise their gallant pre-bloom buds towards the sky. Where I am, these are usually crocus flowers, and spotting them is one of my great joys in life right now.

I call them gallant because they are the seasonal pioneers of the botanical world around here. I see their purple and white budding petals pixelate street sides and tree root coves, and I know they are the brave ones 🤺 – the ones that pop out when there will still be winter conditions to contend with.

We’re hitting the third quarter (3Q) phase of this Worm Moon* cycle, and we’re getting closer and closer to the Spring Equinox, and I couldn’t be more excited to see that day.

I. Am. Waiting.

Longingly.

A couple letters back, I mentioned that this cycle is about the transition from winter to spring. We’re at the peak phase of this glorious Worm Moon*, and we’re primed to harness the fullness of this transformational energy. To expand and take up space in the world. To let our natural shapes unravel.

Which is why this newsletter looks a little different. I’m scrapping most of what I had already written. Some occasions call for something that lends more depth.

Our last lunar love letter was an invitation to reflect on the last cycle and think about some intentions for this one. How did that go for you? What came up? Did anything feel particularly easy or hard?

Personally, I experienced intense energy around the new moon 🌑. I had a lot of emotions surface simultaneously, and apparently that’s what my body, mind, and spirit needed – to let them bubble up 🌋 and over and out . It was a rough process and not very pretty – but even though growth isn’t all fairy wings and glitter, it’s still fucking beautiful, and I’m grateful to be able to experience it.