Happy Equinox and first day of Spring! Is it just me, or did this come up quickly this year? I am enjoying the longer days and Varsity Baseball games that end with the sun still up.

In fact, I had the first whispers of Spring Fever today, which has me DOUBLY excited for my Springtime retreat next month! There's still some great accommodations available for you, so if Spring Fever is hitting you and you want to pause and soak it all in, come join me April 12-14 in Marble Falls. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the weather will be fantastic! www.jessgoulding.com/blossom

This season, this year, for me is so much about letting go. And although the process can be tough, the results are quite delightful. In this week's podcast episode 35, Delight in Letting Go, we continue with our seasonal theme of delight, and this one is spot on, as it's the Chakra Two episode. 

We hold so much within us, and letting go is a practice that leads to openness, freedom and space...

Do you ever consider your fear, guilt, or shame as something to be thankful for? It's a weird question, I know, but sometimes I like to flip normal thinking and behavior on its head and consider those things in ourselves that we'd rather resist as, well, gifts.

Whenever I work with people one-on-one with their frustrating blocks, patterns, and shadows (like fear, guilt, and shame), I always encourage a gratitude practice.  After all, this impediment, or way of being, somehow helped and protected them to get to this point. Their system believed it was necessary for survival or success. In some way, I’m sure it was. But has outlasted its expiration date–it’s time for them to let it go because it has become more of a hindrance than a help. 

I like to think of unhelpful patterns and habits as dutiful soldiers. They are showing up to fight the good fight and protect you in a way that has worked in the past. But once you see the pattern, the war...

I was recently giving my indoor plants some TLC, which had me looking at Georgia's amazing growth, and there was a little surprise waiting for me.  (Georgia is the fiddle fig tree that appears in all my online videos.) Since I received her back in 2020, she has had two sticks and a post to support her and help her stay standing.  I went to check these support sticks, and realized they were completely loose and unnecessary! I don't know when she made the transition from wobbly to strong, but there she is, able to hold herself high. 

I know tons of slow and tedious growth happens while we think there's nothing going on, but this seemed like a lot. It got me thinking, where else have I experienced growth that was so slow and quiet it went unnoticed?  Where can I let go of some unneeded support that was once a helpful crutch but is no longer necessary?

I see this happen all the time in yoga classes.  Students who, when they started yoga, needed a...

Are you feeling that forward motion energy out there?  The New Year brings such new hope and bright ideas to the surface. There's something about flipping that virtual calendar to a new year that feels like a clean slate.  

And yet, we never really are clean slates, no matter what the calendar says.

Our patterns, memories, identities, and ego structures follow us from calendar year to calendar year. This is only a problem, however, if it's a problem. Some of our patterns are really good!  You might have a pattern of stopping and thinking before you respond to someone.  Your pattern might be early bedtimes and rising at dawn to meditate and journal.  You might see yourself for what you truly are (which is perfect, whole, and complete).  You might show up right away when a friend is in distress or there's a pet that needs adopting.  Heck, hopefully you at least have the pattern of brushing your teeth every day.  

...

I’ve been thinking a lot about things that haunt--not just tech goblins or spooky ghosts, but haunts from the past.  Old experiences, relationships, and patterns that appear from time to time to hijack our present happiness. 

Last week I met a dear friend for a walk in our local park. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful week for me.  I’m a big fan of October--the flowers are jewel-toned, the weather cools down, it’s my birthday... ;)

But for my friend, it’s full of anxiety.  She shared with me that deep in her bones there is a fear. This fear comes from a traumatic memory of last Halloween--an event that had her on the edge for months afterward.  Although she and her family are now on the other side of it, the anticipation of the one-year anniversary was causing great suffering. She wanted to skip the whole holiday.  They all wanted to avoid it. I totally got that.  

But after chatting a bit, we...