This week I get out of my chair and show you one of my favorite "pandemic buster" yoga poses: the standing forward bend (Uttanasana). My own body image recovery has benefited immensely from a yoga practice. Yoga allows me to get out of my head and tune into the amazing muscles and bones that make up my body. If I can't muster up any love for my body, at least I can observe it with appreciation and gratitude. Daily practice has also been immensely helpful during this time of uncertainty and anxiety because it helps to keep me in the moment. So today I share some of the physical and mental benefits of the forward bend — and why inversions are so great during this stressful time at home. I hope you get something out of this video! This definitely helps me become more confident with teaching others and sharing the benefits of this practice. Let me know if you'd like more of these types of videos. 🙏🧘‍♀️❤️

Happy International No Diet Day! I thought about all the things I wanted to say about dieting during this pandemic, and realized the video would end up being 45 hours long and nobody would watch it. 🤣 So instead I will just ask you this: If we lived in a world where you never had to worry about being judged or shamed for your body size, what would you do differently when it comes to self-care? What if all of your food and movement decisions were based on how your body felt rather than how it looked? That's all! Hope you're doing well. Have a great week!

Has your anxiety been flaring up during this time? Mine sure has, especially when I have to go to the supermarket. I've noticed that when I'm there (and often for hours afterward), I have trouble filling my lungs completely and end up gasping for breath. This week I revisit the topic of the extended exhale, an easy hack for our nervous systems, especially when we're feeling anxious. I talk about the vagus nerve, and how our exhalations can send a message to our brain (and the rest of our autonomic nervous system) that we are safe and calm. Not only does this help with our anxiety, but it promotes increased health with our heart and our lungs and our organs. A drop of calming essential oil on your face mask is also a great reminder to take deep breaths — I can't tell you how much this simple act has helped me when I'm out in public navigating this new normal. OK, folks. Hope you're doing well and keeping it together as we endure this crazy uncertain and lonely time together.

This week I describe what's been working (and NOT working) for me during these crazy weeks of quarantine. I also talk about the "NOT NOW, BEARS!" feeling I've been having about most of the emails I've been getting — nothing seems to be landing with me right now!   I am not the kind of person who starts manically cleaning the house during a time of crisis. I'm the type of person who grabs the Pringles and camps out on the couch with phone in hand reading the worst case scenario articles ad nauseum because .... I don't know why! But that's just what happens and well, I here to own it. After I did that for a few days and felt like total shit, I realized it was time for me to take care of my WHOLE self and reach for the tools I have available to me. Since then, I've been focusing on my little family and examining my levels of grief and gratitude with equal measure. What's been working for me: • Yoga & breathing • Being outside in the woods with my family • Oils, and lots of them What's NOT been working for me: • alcohol • Facebook & reading the news • doing nothing There you have it. So now it's your turn: What's been working for you? What's NOT working for you? Let me know if what's landing with you these days. Are you having trouble with all the noise out there? I'm trying to stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible (and honestly Facebook has made that very difficult for me these days). But I also crave connection and want to be able to help this community in any way I can. So, what does that look like? Maybe some Zoom meet-ups are in order? Let me know! Much love to you and yours right now. ❤️

Thank you for alwasy sending me your "Worth It" messages, memes, articles — I love that you think of me when you see body positive messaging! I just wish these messages weren't so radical that you only think of one person!

What's your "fear food"? You know, that one food you can't have in the house because if you do, you eat the whole thing in one sitting. Oreos? Nutella? Ice cream? What's yours? Now what if I asked you to challenge yourself to eat as much of it as you like this week?

This shit is hard! Life is hard, marriage is hard, babies are hard — if your life feels HARD, then you're probably doing something right! This week I talk about swimming upstream and Taylor Swift's Miss Americana.