I hope easing into 2024 has been a breeze for you so far. Today the wind was HIGH in Austin, but I went on my bike ride anyway.  My 35 minute ride took almost an hour! It didn't seem to matter if I downshifted, upshifted, or just decreased the resistance. That wind was going to win, and the windbreaker I was wearing didn't break a thing. 

When I have extra long bike rides I have extra time to think, and these days I'm thinking about chakras a little extra as I prepare for our workshop on Thursday.   

Chakras are part of your subtle body system; your energetic self. You can't see them, but they spin like gears and encounter the world around you and create the world within you. This can be hard to wrap the mind around. I get it. Truth be told, I don't think we have to understand or believe all that to make the chakras, and the study of them, valuable, applicable, and pragmatic.

Here are 3 ways I use the chakras as a valuable framework for...

Have you ever thought about how much is required to keep these bodies going? There are so many doctors, trainers, therapists, and instructors out there ready to help us keep this "earth suit" in tip-top shape!  And I'm so glad for all of them.  (Are you a wellness professional? Please take this SURVEY--I'd love to know!)

Personally, I love to strike a balance between knowing what I need in order to fix it myself, and putting myself in the hands of a pro that's ready to guide me to feeling better and knowing more. I don't intend to learn acupuncture, but I sure love the way it makes me feel! So I outsource that for sure. I have big thoughts and questions about my relationship with God, so I have a spiritual director for that. I also don't do blood work and I can't reach the tightness between my shoulderblades, so I have a doctor and massage therapist I see when the need is there.

My expertise is in yoga, specifically the chakras. So if I have an issue that I...

"I'm ok."

How often do you use this phrase, and what do you mean when you do?

I was recently in an enlightening conversation about how many ways these two sweet little letters come together and create meaning. I know I've said, or signed, OK a million times, but taking a pause about it showed me something new.

The conversation started at our weekly team meeting when we did a little check-in.  The simple question, "How are you?" was met with a pause and a hand on the heart.

"I'm ok," was the response.

This little 'ok' meant "Yes, I'm ok. Also, there's some stuff that's so not ok." It's the pause that said, "Hold on, checking in...this is not the time to totally share, but I'm in my body, I'm present, I'm safe."

That pause is a pause of self awareness. (Listen to my podcast episode, What is Self Awareness?) In a different time or place she might have told the whole story, beginning to end, because that's what that moment and audience called for. It...