Throughout my life I have had many identities. As a kid growing up in Texas I understood myself to be Mexican and Catholic. There were other ways of identifying myself and my family, but there wasn’t as much attention paid
And now let us remember — what girls know — the green leafy ditch where we gathered… … …that dark, luminous taste of earth—smeared between fingers—gritty, wild in our — small sharp teeth — the earth, Her mineral richness …
“The thing you are most afraid to write. Write that.” —Nayyirah Waheed, Salt Let me start by saying, I used to judge women who said they had postpartum depression. Maybe it was because the few stories I had heard were
For as long as I can remember, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. If I was walking down the street and made eye contact with you as we passed and you didn’t smile at me, I would think, “What did
What makes us who we are? It’s a big question, and perhaps one best considered with a background of good music. Invoke writer Siri Undlin has been avidly exploring identity for years as a musician, author, and world roamer, so we
Women ask me nearly every day if I have children. They ask not because I am a 38-year-old woman living in the Midwest, which frankly would be motivation enough for most inquirers. They ask because I am a midwife. I
There it was, my grandmother’s 1950s Singer Featherweight sewing machine, glaring at me. Its recently refurbished black frame shone with grease from the repairman’s rags. I wanted to sew, but at the same time, I really didn’t. I had put
Hello friends, old and new. I’m going to get real about saying no. If you’re anything like me, over the years you’ve probably understood the concept of saying no and why it’s important—so that you can give your all during
Since the U.S. election I’ve been cycling through grief, fear, overwhelm, and moments of clear action. I spiral into a news wormhole or challenging discussion, and my body clenches tighter and tighter. Yet I’ve also had a few powerful moments
A few weeks ago, I sat on the edge of my bed, despondent. I sat in pain and bereft. Hurt by this election. Hurt by this rhetoric. Hurt by all the words being tossed around that have broken my heart
The theme for this month’s practice series is ABUNDANCE. Abundance is a funny thing—it’s all around us, permeating everything we see and everything we touch. It’s so prolific we barely notice it, like air or water or our own magnificence.
That I was an egg inside my mother inside Lillian That she is an egg inside an egg inside me What am I
I sucked the marrow from the bomb it tasted so right like GMO corn it made me weep how full it was I knew better than to fall in love with any piece
I am cleaning off my girl I long to salvage what’s live in her I wipe kohl gunk from the slits of her eyes I pat at her glittery pout with a towel My girl scowls at me and cries and
I found Sara Avant Stover’s work during a dark time in my life, having just been diagnosed with high-risk HPV (pre-cervical cancer). I had been following her for about a year when I decided that she was the real deal
I long to be a mother. I am a mother. I had an abortion. I experienced my abortion as an urgent, terrifying, and often beautiful initiation into the power of the feminine. As a woman free and whole unto myself,
The theme for this month’s practice series is ALIVENESS. No matter what is going on in your life right now, one thing is certain: You are alive. The spark of aliveness is breathing your lungs and beating your heart. No
The theme for this month’s practice series is the REBEL. Many of you may not be old enough to remember the Clarence Thomas hearings, but I do. I believed Anita Hill when she spoke up about being sexually harassed, and today
The theme for this month’s practice series is the REBEL. The last two weeks, we’ve explored our rebel selves through writing and vocal exercise. This week we’re taking a different approach—dropping deep into the body to connect with that rebel spirit
The theme for this month’s practice series is the REBEL. Last spring, my interactions with a challenging collaborator pushed me to the brink. I’d spent months swallowing how I felt in order to keep the peace. But on that April day,
The theme for this month’s practice series is the REBEL. To rebel is to allow the spark of truth to burn brighter than all the internalized conditions we are “supposed to” obey. (Your career is supposed to look like this, your
My brain is in that mushy, fresh-out-of-ceremony state: I just spent four nights dancing under the full moon with 200 women from all over the world as a part of an ancient Mexica rite. We fasted, we prayed, we sang
The theme for this month’s practice series is BURNING THROUGH, and we’re drawing inspiration from deep earth. The creative flow of the earth is literally embodied by lava. This fiery red flow helped mold all the natural shapes and structures on our
The theme for this month’s practice series is BURNING THROUGH, and we’re drawing inspiration from deep earth. When we look at any given landscape, the overall shape and view is determined by the size and shape of the earth underneath it. Whether
The theme for this month’s practice series is BURNING THROUGH, and we’re drawing inspiration from the volcano. If you watch the flow of lava, it rises up and dissolves everything on the surface—rocks, plants, trees, trash … all of it. It
Let's look deep into the earth for inspiration on finding the place of purity and power inside ourselves. Take a moment and become aware of the earth under your feet. And now go a bit deeper—what’s underneath that? Keep going deeper.
The theme for this month’s practice series is INTUITION. Author Clarissa Pinkola Estés calls intuition “the direct messenger of the soul.” But what if you’re having trouble getting the message? Our intuition can get masked or muffled in many ways:
The theme for this month’s practice series is INTUITION. Writing with the Felt Sense is a great tool for getting to the heart of what we know and how we know it. This writing process can also help us recognize the
The theme for this month’s practice series is INTUITION. Intuition is already inside you. Yet it also must be developed, because most of us have learned to listen to our rational minds only, meaning we tune out our intuition. In order
The theme for this month’s practice series is INTUITION. Have you ever had trouble getting your discursive monkey mind to give you a break so you can tap into a sense of deeper knowing underneath? As a rather left-brained woman who
The theme for this month’s practice series is INTUITION. Do you remember a time you’ve followed your intuition and it was right on? Or perhaps a time when you didn’t follow it, only to wish you had? We are deeply intuitive
As I round the corner of my 39th week of pregnancy and realize that I’ve spent more than eight months in this unique and ever-changing state, I’m struck by just how much I’ve learned. Aside from all the books and
The theme for this month’s practice series is INVOKING. This week’s practice is a full-body invocation, inviting goodness into the world with our movement. For me, this kind of movement is a prayer—it is a way for me to invite in
If you’re anything like me, the new year has you thinking of areas of your life you’d like to improve in 2016. If one of those things is your finances, I’m happy to help you get headed in the right
The theme for this month’s practice series is INVOKING. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. This week, may we be inspired by MLK to invoke the world we want
The theme for this month’s practice series is INVOKING. Like many people, I resolved to give up New Year’s resolutions years ago. I got tired of what felt like arbitrarily trying to fix, change, and improve myself. And then I got
I’m going to eat healthier. I resolve to lose 10 pounds. I’m going to be nicer to my kids. Maybe you’ve made New Year’s resolutions before, too—and most likely had a hard time keeping them, maybe even broken them? I’m
The theme for this month’s practice series is INVOKING. Invoke is a powerful word. It means to call into being, to call forth. It is the power of our voices to amplify whatever we long to see in ourselves and
The theme for this month’s practice series is WHOLENESS. Winter solstice is the longest night of the year, the time when darkness reigns supreme and the moon rules the sky. Throughout the ages, it has been a significant time of ritual,
The theme for this month’s practice series is WHOLENESS. It’s easy to get spun out on activity with the holidays, but the simple act of breathing can connect us back to our inherent wholeness, even in the midst of this busy
The theme for this month’s practice series is WHOLENESS. “Sorry, I meant to answer that call,” “Sorry, what did you say?,” “Sorry, let me get out of your way.” I can’t tell you how many times in a day I replace
The theme for this month’s practice series is LETTING GO. We live in a culture that prizes busyness, and it can become such a habitual loop. Sometimes we stay busy by necessity, or by choice, by ego or enjoyment, but sometimes
The theme for this month’s practice series is LETTING GO. We’ve all been there before: Your mom (or dad, or partner, or child) says something that upsets you, and suddenly your defenses are up and emotion floods your body. Or someone
The theme for this month’s practice series is LETTING GO. It’s been an intense week for many people, on a personal and global level. However you're feeling, this week's practice invites you to give yourself a break from holding it all together, a
“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability. … To be alive is to be vulnerable.” —Madeleine L’Engle As a practicing
The theme for this month’s practice series is LETTING GO. The things we hold onto metaphorically often have a way of showing up in our physical bodies too. For example, when I hold on tightly to a sense of control—rather than
The theme for this month’s practice series is LETTING GO. As leaves are turning color and falling to the ground, it’s a natural time for us to let go of what we no longer need. The earth supports us in this
When I lived in the city, I thought I knew what farming was like: hard work, pretty sunsets, living simple. And of course, there are those elements. But now that I make my life as a farmer, I know there’s
The theme for this month’s practice series is GRATITUDE. A few weeks ago, I was feeling melancholy after the culmination of a big event I’d spent months planning (which, by all measures, was a success). I decided I wanted to find
