for most of my life i felt poor. here’s how i’m overcoming that….

The message read: “A mum is short on pay after Christmas, new to the area so doesn’t have any help and won’t get paid for a few weeks. She has two girls who are getting rather hungry. PM me if you can help.”

Immediately I knew I wanted to help. Even though I’d had a few stresses about money over the past few weeks. Even though I had a few big bills coming up. No matter. I was compelled to action.

I’m not telling you this to toot my own horn. I can tell you honestly that even a year ago I would have scrolled past the message and not looked back thinking “Not me. I don’t have enough.”

As a kid I grew up in a single mother household. There were times we had to rely on government assistance Continue reading →

It started in my 20s when I was interpreting a Women’s Studies class for a Deaf student and my whole world was cracked open.

Patriarchy? Oh, this explained everything. Feminists not a bunch of man-hating lesbians? Ho-ly shit.

That was 20 years ago and I’m still unravelling it all, becoming incredulous at the obvious injustices of our society; noticing all the places The Patriarchy insidiously creeps in.

Since getting married and having babies my identity as a Feminist has been challenged in more ways than one. There was that time I realized that I was expecting my husband to be able to support us on his income alone and I was secretly angry at him because we were struggling. Suddenly, there I was, staring at my own entitlement, stunned.

Then there were all the times I felt trapped by motherhood—as if all my choices and freedoms had been pulled out from under me. I felt like a caged animal, Continue reading →

A very peculiar thing has been happening lately. I’ve been catching myself strutting around feeling good. I can almost hear the instrumental of the Bee Gee’s ‘Stayin’ Alive’ play in the background as a buzzy feeling pulsates through me. It’s as though I’m levitating, feet not quite on the ground. I feel so alive and vibrant that I’m oozing sex appeal.

Did that young twenty-something just check me out? I think he did. I strut on.

That is, until I catch a glimpse of myself in a reflection somewhere. It doesn’t matter where I am, the scratch of that 70’s Bee Gee’s record is palpable as I remember: oh right, there’s that minor detail of the extra 30 pounds I’m carrying.

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Let me ask you a question: when you think about the holidays do you get warm and fuzzy feelings? Or does the potential family conflict, the financial outlay, and your jam packed diary knot your stomach up worse than the tangled Christmas lights you found stuffed in the box from last year?

Maybe a bit of both?

Now is the perfect time to contemplate the concept of INTEGRITY. What does it mean to be in integrity in your life? And how can you stay in your integrity during the holidays?

This word comes up while I’m teaching yoga. I notice students pushing past their limits– Continue reading →

In today’s political climate it can be easy to get caught up categorizing people into this camp or that. We can land up distancing ourselves from people with different views to our own, and while being able to proclaim  ‘I surround myself with like-minded people’ may sound good–there aren’t many people who are exactly like us in every way.

We’re cutting ourselves off from the richness of diversity.

I’m not saying to surround yourself with people who are your polar opposite, but I am saying we’d all benefit from staying a bit more open to one another. Continue reading →

If you want to tread water and stay on the surface of life, that’s cool–but don’t expect much to change.

Probably if you’re here though you’re one of those people who chooses to dive deep into transformation. So you must know that there will be times of panic. Times you’ll feel discomfort, as though you can’t breath. It’ll feel like time stands still, like you have no idea who you are.

The question will be: can you stay with it? Can you stick with yourself while you wriggle and writhe through the seemingly unbearable confusion of transition before you come to the surface again? Continue reading →

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Broken. Hollow. Jagged. We all feel this way sometimes. Certain situations bring up these feelings.

It’s OK. It really is. This is part of Life. Continue reading →

Do you believe that life is a miracle? It’s hard to believe that it is when you’re struggling, isn’t it?

In the middle of the night I woke up and received a message: LIFE IS A MIRACLE.

This morning when I woke up life didn’t feel miraculous. I felt a little ‘blah.’ In fact I’ve been feeling a little blah for a few weeks now. Continue reading →

He just doesn’t get it!
My kids never listen to a word I say!
They just don’t understand me…

Does any of this sound familiar? The concept of not being heard is rife among us women. I HEAR YOU, and yet… Continue reading →