I'm grateful for my new glasses, for my Hogwarts shirt, for my cats, my kids, my home... grateful for so many things.
That doesn’t stop me from having panic attacks on an almost daily basis. But when anxiety overwhelms me, I try not to let it take over all day.
Yoga helps. A lot.
I used to teach yoga, and have been putting some videos together to share this practice that helps us to breathe, to stretch, and to find a sense of calm amidst chaos.
Here are two options for you. The first one you can do right now, at your desk or chair.
7-Minute Yoga Practice
This first video is a simple, do-anywhere yoga session that takes less than seven minutes.
You don’t even have to get on the floor. No yoga mat required.
I filmed this many years ago, at the height of my teaching career in my favorite studio, wearing my most fun yoga pants ever. Yesterday, I edited the footage into this 7-minute video to make it easy to fit a stretch-and-breathe session into even the busiest day.
Home Yoga Workout – Core Focus
This video is recent, and is basically my morning routine. It focuses on foundational core stability and body-weight exercises to build strength, as well as offering a deep full-body stretch.
Please modify each pose however you need for your body. I suggest alternative options throughout the session, but always do what feels right for you.
Money, Grief, and Gratitude
Like many others, my partner was laid off from his job and my family has lost its main source of income.
If you enjoy my yoga videos, please consider donating as you would for a community class. Any amount is appreciated. https://www.paypal.me/katrinaariel
If money is tight, I ask that you pay the kindness forward in some other way, even if it’s just being kind to yourself. That’s super important, too!
There’s a sense of collective grief right now, and I think it’s important to acknowledge.
I’m grieving for strangers. I’m grieving for the world. I’m grieving the fact that I was hoping to get these videos started in order to raise money to foster or adopt a rescue dog. I had other plans and now everything is on hold. Or cancelled.
And so it is. Yoga is about flow. About doing your best but remembering that the outcome might be different than what you envisioned.
I keep coming back to trusting in the universe, in my soul’s perspective, knowing that this, too, shall pass. Ultimately, I’m not in control.
This added stress of losing our income isn’t awesome, but we’re getting work done on the house and I keep counting my blessings. We live in Canada, and out in the country where there’s plenty of fresh air and space to roam. We have a stocked pantry and a warm house. I have a few seeds planted and am looking forward to making more gardens and cold frames this spring and summer.
I’m grateful for so much. For my family, for my home, for my friends, for my yoga practice that helps me remember to center into the here and now.
Gratitude is a powerful practice. What are you grateful for?
Yoga videos got me like:
Ha! Are you actually doing the videos, though? ;)
They're doing something... bwaha! I actually did try the second one with the um, whatever stretch because I don't know yoga but looks like a forward bow if I referred it to kempo/karate but ya, mostly just breathed and tried to center.
Breathing and centering is good. Whatever stretching you're up to is also good. I mean... oh dear. Well, take that however you will.
Muchas gracias, mi amigo.
I am so sorry to hear your partner was laid-off during this troubling time. Your post is full of positivity and inspiration, though, as you always do so beautifully! I sent a little something. 💖
You're so sweet and thoughtful, and thank you! I hope you're doing well and staying safe.
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Thank you so much! :)
First: Thanks for the videos. I've bookmarked this post (a coooool hive feature) so I can come back again and again. I'll give it a try.
The bad news? I can't paypal anybody. It seems I pissed them off really completely a few years ago and am now banned for life. Maybe it's time to appeal again. It comes from a couple of websites I used to own. When me and my partner started the business we worked closely with PP to make sure we were well within their TOS. 8 months later they changed their TOS and blocked my account. I may or may not have told them to FO forever, but I ended up with a life ban. My partner got a 30 day suspension reduced to 15 days. She may have been more polite than me.
I am grateful for my life. I mean really grateful. All of it even the parts that aren't so comfortable. I'm grateful for friends and family and Sam.
So. I read Wild Horse Heart. It's not an ordinary genre' for me, but I really enjoyed it. Really, really well written and you kept the tension high right up to the end. It should have a much larger audience...
YOU READ MY BOOK!!!! Ohmigosh! Thank you so much, that totally made my day!
If you're able to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, that would be amazing. Even something simple like what you wrote here is great! And I'm so glad you've bookmarked this post. I hope you find one or both of the videos worthwhile. :)
And no worries on the PP thing. Sounds like quite the ordeal. Corporations and all the red tape. I know more than one person who has told them to FO (or has been told the same by PP), so maybe I should look at a second donation option. A gofundme or something.
Thanks for the wonderful comment! I'm so happy you liked Wild Horse Heart! :)
hey can you contact me over discord its important <3
Namaste. 🕉️
Namaste. :)