SEEING RED
One of the kids books I love to read Jove is an international bestseller called The Color Monster by Anna Llenas. It talks about recognizing emotions and a page splashed in red describes anger as “It burns red like a fire and is hard to stamp out.” I appreciate the vivid description of how anger overcomes you and is hard...
ENOUGH
Jason and I really couldn’t be any more different. I’m always thinking about the next harebrained scheme – where we are going to travel next, what new thing we are going to try… bigger, better, more. Jason on the other hand is quite content to stay home, meet up with his group of friends, and have a consistent routine.Anytime I...
STAYING VITAL
A yoga student of ours recently mentioned how her gut was feeling funky because she traveled and wasn’t able to keep a consistent diet and exercise like she usually does. Our back and forth emails about if she should or should not come to the yoga class ended with her commiserating that, “getting old sucks.”I personally cannot speak to how...
EYE ON THE PRIZE
One of the things I missed when living in Boston was a sense of community, which comes second nature to everyone in the Bellevue neighborhood. Starting True North Yoga & Wellness, I was searching for ways to become more involved in the neighborhood and provide services I know people are in need of, myself included. Once this initial goal was...
RELINQUISHING CONTROL
When you own a business, you have to be in control – of the finances, the software, the website, the space, the schedule, and subsequently you hope you can greatly impact how to get people into the business – asking the community what they want, what classes they would enjoy, supporting the staff, etc. But let’s be honest, COVID was...
REMEDIES
My goal is always to spend at least 1 hour outside each day. As you can imagine, this can be a lofty target with everyday life, heat, rain, and let’s face it, sheer laziness (why is it so hard to get out of bed? And why is it still dark when I wake up this time of year?). Not too...
AN ANXIOUS MIND
I overthink almost everything – Was I awkward bumping into that person while walking the dog? What happens if I lose my day job? What if my cat _______ and dies (fill in the blank, Sebastian is a curious and naughty one)? How long will it be until part of my deck falls off? When will the wellness center be...
SANITY CHECK
In my mid-twenties, I decided to move back to Richmond, buy a house that needed work, start grad school (full-time), oh, and on top of all of that? That’s right, have an already demanding 50+ hour a week traveling job. Sound crazy? It was. I appreciate my optimism of all the things I thought I could do, but when it...
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
If last year has taught me anything it’s that I have a lot of learning left to do. I thought growing up in this neighborhood gave me grit and wisdom beyond my years. As I was finishing middle school at the ripe age of 14, Richmond’s murder rate earned it the nickname of “murder capital” of the country. I thought...
Mmm… Food…
As we come to the fall where the days are shorter and there is some crispness to the evening air, to avoid instantly wanting to crawl into bed early, I find myself cooking. This past weekend was dreary and with few inside activities outside of the household to turn to during this pandemic, there is something almost meditative about making...
Wellness during Woes
With National Wellness Month upon us which focuses on self-care and managing stress, it makes sense this is a good time to talk about healthy habits. If I was to say I am the beacon of this right now, I’d be lying. When the candy after Easter went on sale at our local CVS, I unloaded a full armful on...
Pivoting
Although overused, in these weird times this Heraclitus saying comes to mind “change is the only constant in life.” I don’t think 3 months ago anyone would have expected to be where we all are now – homebound with closed businesses and an iffy economy where people are losing their jobs and family members.As a business owner, it kept me...
The Dark Days…
What a treat it was to have a few warm days as we were just embarking on this new decade. But as those few days slipped through our non-mittened fingertips, the cold air ensued again, reminding us that cold, dark months are still upon us. Yes, the winter solstice has passed and the days are getting longer, but somehow waking up...
Stuff & Things
What’s the saying? Someone’s trash is another’s treasure? At least for me, that theory holds. I love thrift stores. The thought of an item having another life that I’m continuing on its journey is something I love – clothes, household items, you name it. But through the years, I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. When I moved to Boston, I left most of...
Eating with the Season
Back in college, I did a summer “internship” as an assistant manager down in the Outer Banks. Instead of furthering my resume with an internship that fit my degree, my thought process? Living by the beach… THE WHOLE SUMMER… And although I did enjoy my morning sunbaths, revering the sand pipers as frantically found their next sand flea before the...
To New Beginnings
I had no idea when I moved back to Richmond for a job with a fine wine import company, that fast forward two years I would no longer be swirling wine, but own True North Yoga and Wellness AND work for a tech start-up in Boston with regular travel up to Beantown – [two fulltime jobs] which in no way...
Oh to be Curious
During our open house in September, which included free yoga classes and demos from practitioners, we had a bunch of people who checked out the studio for the first time. I’m sure many of you have passed True North Yoga & Wellness (the blue building on MacArthur) on your way to The Mill, Demi’s, Mi Jalisco or Stir Crazy and...
What’s this Mindfulness Crap?
Summer is a time for teachers to recharge, kids to be free, schedules to be broken, new activities and vacations. With this comes long road trips, late bedtimes, less structure running from one activity to another and possibly more stress…Everyone faces stress and anxiety. While some keep it at bay, others cannot help but let it peculate up, affecting their...
Love & Woes of Spring
What is it about this Spring? Is it the fact that we’ve been on a weather rollercoaster, thinking we see the light at the end of the tunnel only to find out the light (spring weather) is a lot farther away than we anticipated? I think (fingers crossed) we finally shook the cold and can enjoy warmer weather, flowering azaleas...