Cultivate Yoga MKE

If I had to pick one plant in my garden that offers the most wisdom to me, it's the raspberries. I took the time to prune them this weekend and was thinking about how well it fits with the theme of spring cleaning this month. Each year I have to prune out all the woody stems of the previous year, to leave space for this year's canes to grow. If I neglect to do this "cleaning" I am left with a wild, out of control thorny mess when it comes time to harvest the juicy berries. These things grow so fast and will sneakily reach down to the ground and grow new roots, creating even more out of control branches if I don't pay attention. And if you wait too long and the leaves have grown in, it's an even more complicated, thorny knot to try to fix! So, I got it done now and cleaned up so our little patch could stay (relatively) neat and tidy and we can more easily enjoy the berries in a couple months. 🥰

Is there anything in your life that needs to be pruned out so you can  have more space to grow the "fruit" you want or to help you see more clearly?

If you want to practice this concept with your little one, meet me later this month at Healium or Tippecanoe library for class!

Kid + Parent/Caregiver Yoga is back this month at Tippecanoe Library! 🌷

🌷 Saturday April 26 at 11 am 🌷

✨This class is free, no registration needed. ✨

Please bring one mat per person if you have them; I will have a handful to borrow as well. Class is a total of 1 hour long, with the last 15 minutes as time for a craft so folks can mingle and chat. 🥰

This class is my usual parent/caregiver + child type of class:
Children under 7 and their caregivers are invited to practice mindfulness through a variety of physical yoga poses, breath practices, stories, games, and activities to cultivate connection with the body, breath, emotions and each other. All experiences and levels are welcome.

Hope to see you there!

Join me again at Healium Hot Yoga on Sunday, April 27 from 3:30 -4:30 pm!

In this class for little ones ages 2 to 6, kids and their grown-ups will use physical poses, mindfulness practices, and games and activities to practice connecting with their bodies, breath, and with each other.

Each child must attend with at least one adult. $18 per child. Adults are welcome to attend with multiple children - please email [email protected] to arrange for additional child sign-up and payment.

All abilities and levels of experience welcome (for kids and grown-ups!). Please bring one mat per participant. Mats also available to borrow. If you have any questions about whether this class is a good fit for your child, please email Holly at [email protected].

This class usually fills up - register at: https://www.healiumhotyoga.com/happenings/yogatogetherapril25

If you can't attend this month, I'll be back again May 18!☔

***Class will not be heated***

I'm back with April’s theme! ... 🌦 CLEANSE🌦 So we'll be thinking about starting fresh, feeling clean, finding clarity - in yoga we call this saucha. In parenting we call this decluttering-so-I-can-freaking-think-straight 😅.

Having just moved through the spring equinox into the spring season, this theme is on my mind. There’s a lot of reasons that across cultures and time humans have engaged in “spring cleaning” - not just tidying of the home/space but also a cleansing, purification, making space for rebirth spiritually and mentally.

A clear example of this concept for me is the Montessori principle of keeping the presentation of materials (or toys) minimal to create not only a beautiful calm space, but also because kids can actually focus better and play more with the materials when there are *fewer* options. I actually had to switch to this theme last minute, as I was reminded of this last week on our spring break road trip. I had packed too many toys and too many snacks and ended up with bags so full of options that when we needed a snack or a toy, it was too hard to find what we wanted AND I didn’t end up using some that I really wanted because they were buried under all the rest. So it’s the same with the kids’ toy shelves at home, and so it is the same with adults and things like your closet of clothes - you can have a closet filled to the brim with stuff you never wear, feeling bad and not able to find anything that feels good, or you can Marie Kondo that s*** and have a minimal closet that feels so much better. Understanding this is to understand why yoga spaces are free from clutter, only possessing the most necessary, sacred, and joy-provoking objects - that deliberate choice is what helps the “yoga magic” work when you go to practice. It is one way we practice saucha - this niyama (ethical guideline) that is part of the larger practice of yoga.

I’m going to be honest, I am historically not the most tidy person. But as a yogi, I have learned to see that when my living space (or work space, or computer desktop, or inbox) is cluttered - it is mentally draining. And this mental fog creeps in and accumulates slowly so it is hard to notice sometimes. OMG y’all it is the same with my glasses - they get smudgier and blurrier incrementally and I don’t even realize that my vision is impaired, but once I notice and wipe them down, ah the clarity! I really feel deeply that this is the same with humans as we age - we start as a fresh clean slate, but gradually get muddied with toxic thoughts, traumas, etc. and really folks, yoga is the process of gradually wiping that all away to find the clarity, to see the truth. And the beautiful thing about arriving at a state of “clean” is you can notice so much more easily when impurities sneak back in and you get off-balance. For example, since I’ve (mostly) eliminated things like caffeine, alcohol, and refined sugar from my diet I can much more clearly see how these things affect me when I do ingest them. Whereas if you regularly consume them, you could be having many symptoms/chronic issues without being able to notice where they came from. (Same with artificial fragrances for me as well!)

And importantly - in today’s political landscape, the ability to wipe away the fog - the *intentional muddying of facts and truth* - is so crucial. We also need to cleanse ourselves of the fear and anger enough to see the truth of what’s going on around us. Seeing and thinking clearly enough to notice the stuff around us that makes you say “hey that’s not right”. And having the clarity available to organize and take confident action to promote peace and well-being for all.

SO, this month may we:

🌧 Embrace April showers as a necessary cleansing. Use the time indoors on rainy days to clean something (be it mind, body… car, closet, or oven!)
🌧 Take time to cleanse your space. Remove unnecessary clutter, donate toys that are rarely used, or practice toy rotation. Offer just a few high quality options for your kids and see how that encourages focus and creativity.
🌧 See if you can carve out the time to purge one closet at a time. Clothing swaps are wonderful for this (Heart Revival has one quarterly, check Urban Ecology Center too) and the Facebook group Buy Nothing Bay View is amazing.
🌧 Teach (and practice with) your kids that everything has a place and everything in its place. This simple practice keeps things so much cleaner.
🌧 As much as possible, eat clean - taking in nourishing, organic, whole (sattvic) foods will help you feel fresh in body, mind, and spirit. Same for the kiddos!
🌧 Notice when you’re feeling bogged down, mentally foggy, generally icky - and take that as your cue to clean. The options are endless - a mindful shower or just washing your hands or splash of water on the face, a few cleansing breaths, stepping outside to get some fresh air, or somatic practices like shaking it off, twists, or forward folds to let it go. Even just washing the dishes can work wonders to help cleanse your mood!
🌧 Have the intention to have purity of thoughts - considering that negative, judgemental, pessimistic thoughts can have real effects on our mind/body/spirit and the world around us. See what happens when you release negative thoughts and keep only those that are fresh, clean, and pure.

My public classes this month are:

🌈 Tippecanoe Library Family Yoga - Sat. 4/26 at 11 am
🌈 Healium Yoga Together - Sun. 4/27 at 3:30 pm
🌈 PLUS: Adventure Rock Half Day Summer Yoga Camp registration is open! 🎉

I'm back with a class for you and your little one at Healium - Sunday, March 16 from 3:30 -4:30 pm!

Join me in this class designed for little ones ages 2 to 6 and their parents/caregivers at Healium Hot Yoga-Bay View! Kids and their grown-ups will use physical poses, mindfulness practices, and games and activities to practice connecting with their bodies, breath, and with each other.

Each child must attend with at least one adult. $18 per child. Adults are welcome to attend with multiple children - please email [email protected] to arrange for additional child sign-up and payment.

All abilities and levels of experience welcome (for kids and grown-ups!). Please bring one mat per participant. Mats also available to borrow. If you have any questions about whether this class is a good fit for your child, please email Holly at [email protected].

This class usually fills up - register at: https://www.healiumhotyoga.com/happenings/yogatogethermarch25
***Class will not be heated***

Kid + Parent/Caregiver Yoga is back this month at Tippecanoe Library! 🌟

4th Saturdays of each month at 11 am:
💗Feb 22
💗Apr 26

✨This class is free, no registration needed. ✨

Please bring one mat per person if you have them; I will have a handful to borrow as well. Class is a total of 1 hour long, with the last 15 minutes as time for a craft so folks can mingle and chat. 🥰

This class is my usual parent/caregiver + child type of class:

Children under 7 and their caregivers are invited to practice mindfulness through a variety of physical yoga poses, breath practices, stories, games, and activities to cultivate connection with the body, breath, emotions and each other. All experiences and levels are welcome.

Hope to see you there!

This month’s theme is:
✨Boundaries✨

I’ve had this theme on the back-burner for awhile and now seems like a great time to reflect on it. With the deluge of depressing and heart-breaking news lately (and always), we might consider how we can prevent our energy from draining away bit by bit with every new harm or injustice done. In what ways can we look internally and determine when we have the capacity to hear more, to give and help more, and when we have reached our limit? How can we reflect and set limits for ourselves preventatively so we can prevent ourselves from burning out?

I wanted to do this theme while it was still winter, because we are still in a space of conserving our last bits of energy and resources to make it until we are restored by the increased sunshine, greenery, and fresh foods of spring. When we see the evergreen trees and shrubs around us, we can remember that they haven’t kept their vibrancy without deliberately taking steps to protect themselves - like the waxy coating that protects their needles from water loss, and even closing their little openings they use to “breathe” (stomata) to prevent water loss. All this is to say - what kind of waxy barrier can you put between yourself and this wild world out here?! How can you close up some of the little holes where your energy, your love, your happiness is leaking out?

I think setting boundaries is also a really important skill for kids to learn, especially thinking of these preschoolers as they learn how to be part of a social group at school. We can talk with (and model for) our kids how to say “no” when we are not okay with how someone is talking to us or touching us. We can teach that we are in charge of our own bodies (and personal and energetic space) and each of us gets to *choose* what we want to allow/let in and what we will not tolerate. What power! And wow maybe this is a hot take, but we can teach others to look for/respect consent over and over, but at the end of the day we can’t control other people, and a firm boundary that we enact for ourselves is the best way to protect our precious bodies and tender hearts.

I will admit, holding boundaries with my own child is one of the hardest parenting lessons/skills I am continuously learning to navigate. I can and do watch my energy drain until my patience has completely run out because I have said “yes” too many times, because sacrificing my body, my time, my energy for my baby/child has felt like what I should do. But how do we mindfully observe our bodies each time something is asked of us, and discern, “am I okay with this?” or “do I have the space/energy for this?”. Because protecting and maintaining the confident, joyful, caring version of yourself (and not being slowly eroded to the cranky, yelling, impatient version) is one of the most important gifts we can give to our kids, in terms of treating them with our most loving and respecting energy and in terms of modeling the kind of calm, confident, caring person we want them to be. (Special shout out to Jerry Becker and his teachings for helping me understand this!)

I secretly love focusing on boundaries this month which seems in contrast to the typical Valentine's Day theme. But maybe boundaries are the other side of the same coin. Maybe we can't fully understand how to love without fully understanding how to honor boundaries and limits.

So this month may we:
🌹 Pause to listen to ourselves and our bodies *first* when we are asked to give, listening to what our intuition says before dipping into an automatic response of yes or no (or habitually saying yes as a means of people-pleasing).
🌹 When we consider consuming more news or social media, or agreeing to more social or work commitments, pause to ask ourselves, “do I have the space/energy for this right now?”
🌹 Reflect on what we are willing to accept and allow, and forming clear ideas of lines that we will not allow to be crossed. Connecting with that power within, and using it to stand up and speak out when folks cross the line into what is unacceptable (e.g. hate speech).
🌹 With each decision, we might find clarity by asking, “to what extent is this supportive (or harmful) to me/our community)?”
🌹 Practice for yourself and with your kids how to create an energetic boundary or “forcefield”. Notice what size, color, shape, texture is needed for different situations.
🌹 Remind and reinforce with your kids that they have power and control over their own bodies and emotional energy. If you believe this and want them to be able to say “no” to others, please consider how you pave this path in the way you parent, and in what ways you allow them autonomy and control.
🌹 Not allow ourselves (especially if you are a woman or mother) to be steamrolled by the relentless requests for our energy, and instead set out some metaphorical traffic cones and a little person in orange vest to slow down the traffic and allow some time and space to decide who and what you let through.

This month you can find me at:
🌵 Family Yoga at Adventure Rock - Wed 2/12 at 4:30 pm (MKE)
🌵 Family Yoga at Tippecanoe Library - Sat 2/22 at 11 am

Next Monday (MLK day), Milwaukee Rec is hosting a day of free kids programming at Beulah Brinton! I'll be teaching a free kids yoga class (ages 7-11) at 4:30 pm. 🌟

This is a stand-alone pop-up class and is totally free (just asked that you register online). It's a great chance to try out my class - if your elementary-aged kid isn't sure if yoga is their thing, this would be a great time to try it out! Sign them up and they can see if it's a good fit! I can't say enough about how much fun we have in the regularly occurring Monday night class we have, but I will say that we do so much more than yoga poses, and I have a *fabulous* group of "regulars" who have been coming to this class for nearly 2 years now. 🥰 I am positive their are other kids out there who would *love* to be a part of this class. ✨

From Milwaukee Rec:
"On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, families are invited to join us at Beulah Brinton Community Center (2555 S. Bay St.) for a full day of free programming! Activities are available for all ages, including:

- Open Volleyball (ages 12-17, 9-10:30 a.m.)
- Story and Play Time (ages 1-4, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.)
- Family Pickleball (all ages; adult must be present, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.)
- Pigskin Pals (ages 4-6, 12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.)
- Music Appreciation/Structure of Gospel Music (ages 8-17, 2-3 p.m.)
- Mighty Mite Soccer (ages 3-4, 3:30-4:15 p.m.)
- Volleyball Clinic (ages 10-14, 4:30-5:30 p.m.)
- Yoga for Kids (ages 7-11, 4:30-5:30 p.m.)

Visit bit.ly/BrintonMLKJrDay to learn more and register for the individual sessions. Though each program is free, registration is still required."

Kid + Parent/Caregiver Yoga is back at Tippecanoe Library! 🌟

4th Saturdays of each month (except March because the library is busy with voting!) at 11 am:
❄Jan 25
❄Feb 22
❄Apr 26

✨This class is free, no registration needed. ✨

Please bring one mat per person if you have them; I will have a handful to borrow as well. Class is a total of 1 hour long, with the last 15 minutes as time for a craft so folks can mingle and chat. 🥰

This class is my usual parent/caregiver + child type of class:

Children under 7 and their caregivers are invited to practice mindfulness through a variety of physical yoga poses, breath practices, stories, games, and activities to cultivate connection with the body, breath, emotions and each other. All experiences and levels are welcome.

Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year friends! Like any year, this year is sure to bring about some challenges - A.K.A. opportunities for growth - as well as delightful surprises and joys we could never predict. I’m so grateful to be on the journey with you. 💕✨

I felt inspired to make this month’s theme a taste of my intentions for the full year. Lately I've been drawn to the idea that creative expression is what moves us through - hardship, the overstimulating stress of modern life, you name it. And a lack of creative expression just might be a big part of why many of us end up feeling stuck and/or constantly stressed and overwhelmed.

I was recently inspired by a tatreez workshop I attended where I learned about the Palestinian art of embroidery. I learned how this artform has been a means for Palestians, especially women, to process the extended trauma of occupation, displacement, and genocide, and a means of preserving their culture as well as expressing their resistance. It’s had me thinking about how creative expression seems to lack a significant place in the (white, midwestern US) culture I grew up in. When I think of cultures around the world, it’s easy to call to mind traditions where music, dance, singing, and visual art such as embroidery/hand sewing are *integral* components of the culture. Throughout human history, people have used art and creative expression as a way of moving through hardship, bonding as a community, and even taking political action. So I guess this is my reminder that - hey, we too can use creativity in this moment. For some this might be obvious, but I’m guessing I’m not the only one who grew up without creative expression being a priority, so it’s kind of a revelation for me!

So maybe the U.S. is on a crash course toward destruction… to hopefully be reborn as something better. Heck if not the US, certainly the planet... Whether it’s catastrophic or a slow burn, I think the time is ripe for planting the seeds we want to see growing for our children’s future. I invite us to use this time, this moment of winter reflection, to look at what we hope to see in the future and bring some creativity to that vision. Rather than resolutions for ourselves as individuals, what future can we envision and create together as, and for, our community?

So this month’s theme is: ✨ CREATE ✨.

May we head into 2025 with a creative energy ready to tackle whatever messy, misguided harm and nonsense our incoming president may elicit, and ready to address not only the new B.S. but the long-standing injustices in our communities near and far. As parents (or simply individuals reparenting ourselves), may we create space in our daily lives for creative expression. I saw this reel recently urging viewers to *create more than we consume* and another post that reminded us that women/moms especially feel that we don’t have time to create art until all our caregiving responsibilities are finished (which, *spoiler alert* is never!) and it’s kind of an act of rebellion and disruption of the system to say say “f*ck it” and take the time to express yourself creatively (even if it means the laundry waits until tomorrow).

If you feel like you’re not a “Creative Person”, forget that noise! What makes you light up, process your feelings, and feel seen/heard? If you don’t know, I invite you to take this year to experiment and find out! Or maybe there was a means of expression you deeply enjoyed as a child, but haven’t made space for in years. Come back to it! Here’s some ways you might express yourself: singing, dancing, drawing, writing, DIY’ing/building, cooking, storytelling, playing an instrument. Any means through which you offer some piece of yourself to the world, whether it’s tangible or not. Because folks, we NEED your active contribution of your heart, your ideas, and your voice. And you NEED to express yourself just as much as you need other necessities like healthy food, exercise/ways to move your body, and socializing/being with community, etc.

So this month month and this year may we:

🧡 Make space for creative expression. If you have to, pencil it into your schedule with the same importance as you would factor in workouts at the gym or driving your kiddo to their own dance class or soccer practice.
🧡 Treat our kids’ expression as sacred and important time as well. When you see your kids engaging with work like art projects, messing around with a guitar, or writing, please remember that it doesn’t need to become a lesson or learning opportunity to teach them how to “do it right” - it’s important playtime to explore.
🧡 On that note, may we look to our kids as teachers on how to unabashedly spend hours creating, exploring, and making messy mistakes. (You got resolutions to grow/improve yourself for 2025? The messy exploration is where the growth happens, baby!)
🧡 If you’re feeling stuck, enraged, or depressed about the state of the world, allow yourself the space to sit with that, and then allow space to practice your means of creative expression. Maybe what you create with those difficult feelings can benefit others and support them as they experience the same emotions.
🧡 Ask yourself how creativity might support you in moving through 2025 and how creativity factors into your aspirations for who you want to become and how you want the world around you to look in this next chapter.

This month you can find me at the following places/dates/times:
🎨 Adventure Rock Family Yoga - Wed 1/8 at 4:30 pm
🎨 Healium Yoga Together - Sun 1/12 at 3:30 pm
🎨 Tippecanoe Library Family Yoga - Sat 1/25 at 11 am

Save the date/register now for yoga with your little one at Healium - Sunday, January 12 from 3:30 -4:30 pm! ❄ Healium Hot Yoga

*Now with smaller class size for chiller vibes and less over-stimulation* 🥰 (Slight price increase to accommodate this, but I promise the calmer energy is worth it!)

Join me in this class designed for little ones ages 2 to 6 and their parents/caregivers at Healium Hot Yoga-Bay View! Kids and their grown-ups will use physical poses, mindfulness practices, and games and activities to practice connecting with their bodies, breath, and with each other.

Each child must attend with at least one adult. $18 per child. Adults are welcome to attend with multiple children - please email [email protected] to arrange for additional child sign-up and payment.

All abilities and levels of experience welcome (for kids and grown-ups!). Please bring one mat per participant. Mats also available to borrow. If you have any questions about whether this class is a good fit for your child, please email Holly at [email protected].

This class usually fills up - register at: https://www.healiumhotyoga.com/happenings/yogatogetherjanuary25
***Class will not be heated***

This month’s theme is: ❄ cold ❄ (and how to warm up).

We finally got into some seriously cold weather this past week, and with the winter solstice coming up, I figured we could use a reminder about how to find acceptance with the cold and darkness.

On a literal level of being cold - I am a person who is nearly always cold (it’s the Vata dosha for me, for those curious about Ayurveda). Now by my ripe old age of 30’s I’ve learned that when I am chronically cold, I get tense and tight and cranky. It takes that mindful checking in with the body for me to remember, hey I should probably put on some slippers and a hoodie. But what I even more often forget is that just a little bit of exercise (or a few yoga poses or even pranayama/breathwork) can so quickly and effectively warm you up. 🔥 All this is to say, I can spend the whole winter tense and curled in on myself and ready to snap, OR I can make the choice to listen to my body and offer my body what it needs - which often could just be a little bit of movement.

Considering that we are part of nature, we can remind ourselves and our little ones what the purpose of the cold and darkness is at this time of year. If we look around at the plants and animals around us, we remember that this is a time to hibernate, do less and rest, so that we can store up energy for the warmer, more active months of the year. While our modern lives would have us thinking nothing has changed from summer to winter - we are still expected to go to work and school every day, told to continue being “productive”, etc. - when you step outside you can’t ignore the fact that it’s winter - cold and dark.

This past week as temperatures sunk much lower, I noticed the piles of maple leaves on the ground surrounding the trees that had been the last to hold onto their leaves. As I walked across the beautiful golden piles, I was reminded that when things get cold and dark, it’s time to drop everything that’s non-essential or no longer serving you. How/what can we release like the trees released their leaves? How, during this time of cold and darkness (solstice-wise but perhaps politically), can we turn our attention inwards - tend to ourselves, our families, our homes, our communities, in order to store up and conserve our energy through the winter? So that when we emerge from our frosty hibernation, we are ready to share outwards - to share love, support, to take action…

The cold makes us want to curl up under a blanket, stay home, and reflect - so do it. The trees aren’t out there providing their usual services to the community like providing oxygen, shade, fruit, etc. Instead they’ve taken things back to the bare minimum, focusing on taking care of themselves to survive the winter, so that come summer they are able to thrive and share their many gifts with the plants and animals (and humans) around them come summer. Why don’t we do the same? Let the cold shift your focus inwards.

So this month, may we:

❄ Notice when we’re feeling frosty, and take just a bit of time to warm up (seriously just 2 minutes can make a huge difference!). Do a sun salutation, some jumping jacks, or some “breath of fire” (kapalabhati). You know what’s really great for warming up and getting the energy flowing? Kundalini yoga - try Jenny’s class at Integration Healing!

❄ If the kids are complaining of being cold, try some big movement games - obstacle course, dance party, or tons of kid exercise videos online.

❄ Use these warming strategies so that you feel more able to go outside daily with the kids. You can always do some of the above to warm back up when you come in! (Warm tea or hot cocoa or milk wouldn’t hurt, either!)

❄ If a holiday party, gift shopping, or some other act involving giving your energy outwards feels like too much - let it go. Release it like the trees and their leaves. Be okay with the bare minimum.

❄ Remember that many of the animals and plants around us are dormant or hibernating in some way at this time. Allow yourself (and your littles) to lean into whatever type of hibernation calls to you.

This month, I’ve only got one public class - Family Yoga at Adventure Rock Wednesday 12/11 at 4:30 pm. Free for members or buy a day pass to climb and come to yoga. 😊

It took me a full week to process the election results and be able to write you this... In my low moments, I've felt disbelief, rage, disgust, sadness, and hopelessness. But in my brighter moments I've felt a lot of hope and inspiration from those around me. To outweigh all the harmful policies and rhetoric that are surely coming our way, we're going to need some kind of grand coming together of community and hard work and love. And I truly believe we have it in us to rise to the occasion. I see the possibility with my own eyes in those around me every day.

I did a lot of self-care last week. One of which was planting these tulip bulbs that I still had left to put in the ground. It felt really metaphorical to be planting at this time. It had rained in the beginning of the week and the ground was soft and ready to easily make room for the bulbs. I thought about the idea (I'm not sure whose quote, probably lots of folks) that "to plant a seed is to hope". I'm putting these bulbs in the ground now, knowing that above ground it will look like nothing is happening for the next 4-5 months... actually we know it's going to probably look dreary and cold and barren and dark. But we also know that after having put in the work of planting, the bulbs will be reserving their energy and preparing for action come spring. They will emerge as beautiful signs of hope and resilience come April. Maybe we can take their lead - resting, restoring, and then preparing for action. Maybe you can feel that soft earth, ready for change, ready to accept whatever seeds you choose to plant.

(Continued in comments)