One of my favorite things to think, talk, and teach about is embodiment. As a dancer and yogini, I truly believe that our physical bodies play a crucial role in shaping our experiences, perceptions, and understanding of the world around us. There is a tangible interplay between the physical and the mental, and the mind cannot be entirely separated from the body. 

So often in life and in yoga we think of moving in an upward and outward direction; that progress goes in the direction of liberation and expansion. But there is an equally beautiful flow in the inward and downward direction, towards the body, towards our root. It’s the way to avoid being “so heavenly focused that we’re no earthly good!” 

This season, for the next few months, we will be focusing on embodiment in everything we do. We will be walking, talking, and practicing being embodied, present, and grounded in the here and now. So get out your calendars, because...

Well, it's back to school time here in Austin, and none too soon. Since it's too hot to enjoy any outdoor activities, it's best to send them back to school, I say! But this year is a little different, as it's filled with bitter-sweet feelings, or, as I've come to call it, celegrieving.  It's a thing. Feel free to use it.

Nate is now 18 and entering his senior year. It simultaneously feels like the right time and where-did-the-time-go. (This is the thing everyone warned me about when he was a toddler, and there's just no escaping it.)  Match that with Havia turning 16 tomorrow, getting her license, and attacking independence like it’s her job, and we have a lot to celegrieve in the Goulding house. Everything with Nate feels like a “last time,” and everything with Havia feels like “So long, suckers!” It’s also exactly what should happen. Nate should finish up living under our roof, and Havia should want to hit the road with the wind...

I'm home!! After three and a half weeks on the road visiting friends and relatives, I'm happily back in my home studio with Georgia (our Fiddle Leaf Fig), my yoga mat, and other creature comforts I missed during my travels. I'm slowly and surely getting back into the swing of things, which is why this blog is a day late. There is simply a lot to do after a trip like that! I'm giving myself the grace this week to move at the tempo I need as we gear up for fall and all the events we have in store. I hope you can do the same if you need that as well. 

I'll admit to you right now, I'm not great about practicing yoga when I travel. Between the irregular schedule, small spaces, and days filled with sightseeing or sitting and talking, my down dog gets neglected. So when last week I taught from our family cottage on Lake Okoboji, Iowa, it felt like an early homecoming when I took child's pose on my mat. I felt my shoulders melt, my breath slow down, and my eyes water as I...

Can you believe I'm still on the road? Happily landed now at Lake Okoboji, Iowa. And I'm excited to be back on the mat and in blogland. I taught two Zoom classes from here, which was a fun change of scenery. The fog this morning lent itself to some beautiful imagery--more on that another time. 

Yesterday I had a beautiful kayak ride through the quiet canal near our house. Do you know the sound geese make when they're slurping up water and weeds? I didn't either. The best I can describe it is like lots of bubbles quietly popping. I just loved it! And they didn't seem to mind me staring at them from my kayak. I can imagine their geese minds thinking, "What's with this lady? We're trying to eat here!" But they at least didn't let on to their discomfort. They just kept on being geese.

Is that what it's like to live without ego? You just notice things, wonder, and then keep going? Do you think they got into the comparison game of who floats better, kayaks or...

I've got Darwin on my mind, and for good reason! Angela, our beloved Community and Events Coordinator, and I recently put our heads together to decide on the theme and of our Galapagos retreat. Yes--the islands and the adventure will certainly speak for itself, but you can do that on your own anytime.

What's the difference between doing a Galapagos vacation and a Galapagos Yoga Retreat?

Intention.

This trip will have deep intention behind it, which means it will be more meaningful, transformational, and memorable. Intentional doesn't mean stodgy! It means breathing extra yogic life into the whole experience. We get more out of anything we do when we do it with intention.

Although Charles Darwin, the renowned naturalist and author of "On the Origin of Species," is not typically described as a yogi in the traditional sense, it is possible to draw some parallels between Darwin's work and certain aspects of yogic philosophy. After all, when you think about it, it's all...

Do you have a favorite piece of advice that came from a trusted source? Did they always make sense? I got tons of advice from both of my parents. Good stuff from my mom like stand up straight, napkin in lap, don’t try to change a man, write thank-you notes, eat breakfast, take care of your neighbors, get really good at something, wear lipstick, and shut up and have fun. I took it all in, and I appreciate the wisdom and pithiness every day! 

I also got advice from my dad, which was a little less straightforward and more open to interpretation.  In this week’s podcast season finale, I share with you three pieces of advice from my dad that connect the head to the heart (sahasrara to anahata!) and, as it turns out, can be found in the Yoga Sutras:

Don’t put your happiness in someone else’s hands.  (This one came from a third-grade breakup.) 

Don’t let your shorts catch on fire. (This one was when I was dating in high...

I’m a bit hyper as I write this, because I am so excited to share two things: One is my recent interview with Amanda Green about object meditation and chakra six, and the other is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine adventure, yoga, and both the spirit and reality of evolution. 

First, on episode 19 of Jess on the Mountain, I talk to a woman I have known for many years, and have been a big fan of for just as many.  She is the real deal when it comes to understanding the sutras, meditation, and transformation. I was encouraged to reach out to Amanda several years ago when I was studying with Chase Bossart during my Yoga Therapy training at Yoga Yoga. He saw a couple of kindred spirits, encouraged us to get together, and he was right.  She’s one of those people with whom you get together and go deep and go fast. So I was thrilled when I invited her on the podcast and she was all in.  There are many takeaways from this rich conversation...

Today I’m celebrating how meaningful and fun the three workshops I taught last week were, and I want you to benefit from what we experienced. So I hope to take you on a (fairly) quick exercise to get a sense of what we discovered.

If you’d rather listen than read, check out this week’s Jess on the Mountain podcast, episode 18. 

The online workshop was called Life on Purpose: Chakra Yoga for Tuning in and Finding Yours, and that’s exactly what we did! 

After checking in and learning why everyone was there, I asked this question:

When was a time in your life when things were going great? When life was clicking along, you felt balanced and connected, relationships, work, or school was on track and everything felt harmonious.

 Can you tune into that feeling? 

This little exercise shows us that the experience of balance is achievable–you’ve felt it before. This is not some outlandish ideal,...

Today I have a story to share with you about hitting the reset button in your life. 

Have you ever had this desire? To just hit a reset button when things are going sideways, or you’re feeling a bit lost or chaotic?

Recently I was doing some parallel play with a dear friend out at her lakehouse. This means we both had work to do, but we’d rather do it together in a beautiful location than apart in our own individual spaces. And there’s a reward for the hard work: floating on a raft with time to chit chat and soak in the summer sun. 

So we’re working side by side, I’m on my computer, she’s working on her reflection from a recent retreat she was on, and suddenly she announces, “I just reset my whole calendar for the next year, and I feel fantastic!”

Later, when it was time to float, I learned what had happened.  She realized that her life had become chaotic.  The boundaries to her time had...

Yes–this blog is late. I like running things like clockwork, but sometimes you gotta go off of schedule for a bit, no? We just finished up four days and nights of fun and friendship when my bestie and her three kids visited to kick off the summer together. I hope yours was what you wanted as well! 

One thing that didn’t get bumped was this week’s Jess on the Mountain podcast episode 16: How to Live On Purpose.  I really enjoyed reflecting on living on purpose, and what that looks like. I realized that, to me, it doesn’t only mean living your “life purpose,” as in that one special passionate thing for each of us.  It’s lived out in everyday moments, and the more these everyday moments are done with purpose, the more it is that no matter what you are doing with your one precious life, the more it will align with the highest good for you and for those whose lives you touch. 

I narrow this “life on...