So there we are, chatting and watching our kids, and I can feel it settling in - the familiar weight of trauma that’s overlaid much of my time as an expectant and active mother.

I remember thinking to myself with great relief: “There’s the term for it? There’s a phrase for the toxicity I can feel around me but don’t know the words for yet?” I look back at this as a watershed moment that kicked off my commitment to being a politicized healer.

These Ayurvedic building blocks are central to theory & practice in Ayurveda (yoga's sister science)…learning how to spot (and respond to) them in your mind & body will take you FAR in your self-healing journey.

“Fundamentally, I don’t disagree with Brené Brown.

Practically speaking, however, the statement begs for more parsing.

The fact that someone has a right (or a need) does not equate to that right/need being fulfilled.

And typically, whether our rights are acknowledged, respected, and upheld is the result of how privilege shakes out.”

“Like many people, my life has presented me with obstacles for which I’ve sought remedies…”

“When I consider the impact of all the masking I did as a female child with autism, I think about the compounded effect of suppressed speech, emotions, and behavior…“

“….when I noticed it happen more than once, I decided to double down instead of suppressing my impulse and masking. When something’s funny, that’s a gift.”

"Last night, even though I knew the answer already, I asked James what he thought about trimming 2-year-old Goldie’s hair in the back, since it’s very fine and gets tangled into a cotton candy nest daily..."

If shame is the shadow, creativity is the light.

There are many types of trauma, and many of us don’t recognize what we’re experiencing as trauma until it’s pointed out to us (like a fish who doesn’t realize she’s in water).

We must become like tables with 20 legs - so when one of our practices inevitably fails us, disappears, or becomes inaccessible, we remain sturdy and standing.