A Mid-Year Check In~ July 2024

Happy Monday morning! Ouuu, you know it's going to be a good month when the first Monday of the month also falls on the first day of the month. Thanks for being here, you all! I truly hope that this email has found you in a comfy, peaceful place. Or maybe you just read that and thought, "Lemme hold off on this until after work" haha. 

How are we all doing?! We are into the 7th month of the year- halfway done with 2024! That's crazyyyyy. I thought I would make this month's newsletter a little mid-year check in. The hope is that these emails always feel like a little check in, but maybe this one goes a bit deeper. Also, we have a LOT of new friends here who recently joined the email squad. HI! (: I promise I'll never spam you with a million emails (just one per month!) and I promise my feelings will never be hurt if you decide you don't even want to receive the emails at all anymore.

I'm not sure what the change has been recently, but this community had just popped off the last few weeks and I couldn't be more grateful. When I started teaching yoga 9 years ago, I had no idea how it would transform my life. Like my actual life- not just one day out of the week or something. Yeah, the poses are pretty cool and the way you can get stronger is incredible to see, but the real journey has been plunging to the darkest, scariest and most traumatic parts of my being, facing that head on, and choosing to bring it to light. It hasn't always been easy, in fact, living an intentional, mindful life is freaking hard, but it's worth it. Connection is worth it. Knowing your own mind, body and soul so that you can connect more authentically and compassionately with the body, mind and souls of others...that is pure gold. All that to say, I'm so happy you're here (:

The past 4 years I have led an Intention Setting Ceremony at the end of the year. It's a beautiful ritual of reflecting on the past year and then asking yourself some specific questions (vague ones, too) to really consider what you want or need the upcoming year to look like. Ultimately, we come up with an intention, affirmation and one word for the year! So here we are, 6 months of 2024 already completed. Maybe your word has completely changed. Maybe you really prioritized your goals, needs and boundaries the first half of the year so you're actually feeling pretty accomplished. Maybe you haven't put one single thought into it. It's okay. It's all good. Check ins shouldn't feel stressful or like a test you're giving yourself where you pass or fail. A little further in this email, in the "Let's get journaling" section, I ask some questions about where we're all at with our own 2024 journey. Definitely check that out and let some thoughts flow onto paper!

A gentle reminder that we don't have to have it all figured out. In fact, we don't have to have a damn thing figured out. We don't need to have a new year to have a new beginning. Each and every day we are given a beautiful opportunity to write and re-write our narrative. And maybe all we really need are a few silent moments, some slowing down, and a whole lotta grace and forgiveness. Noticing patterns, habits, thoughts and emotions are huuuge in building self-awareness, self-love and overall individual growth. So maybe that involves a practice like journaling, or maybe it's taking walks (or any other kind of mindful movements), expressing yourself through art, meaningful conversation with your close friend or therapist. Whatever it is, and whatever feels most like you, it's about getting to know ourselves better each and every day. Keeping those little promises to ourselves and showing up each and every day for ourselves because we deserve that!

I wrote this in January and I'll write it again now: Let's try to avoid the rigid and harsh expectations of new beginnings. Instead, keep pouring into the things that you know align with you. The things and people that make you light up, the dreams that scare the shit out of you but also give you butterflies in your belly, and those experiences that inspire you and allow you to trust that goodness exists when we choose to see it, but also remind us that goodness lives within each and every one of us all. the. damn. time!

Let's allow July to be whatever we need it to be and keep running full force after joy, love and peace, knowing when we get tired of running, we can find a nice bench to sit on and rest.

I'm rooting for you.

I'm rooting for all of us.

Can't wait to see you soon!