Saying YES to what makes your come alive.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE
As we celebrate Independence Day this week, I've been reflecting on a different kind of freedom.
Not the freedom our country won, but the freedom each of us has to choose a life that feels authentic, meaningful, and joy-filled.
The freedom to let go of what no longer serves us.
The freedom to say yes to what awakens our hearts.
The freedom to keep growing, dreaming, and becoming.
Perhaps that's one of the greatest freedoms of all.
As I reflected on this week, I realized that every decade of my life has been shaped by a different kind of yes.
What Is Your True Yes?
My friend, Colleen Crane wrote that and I just feel the call to echo it She also prompted the following reflections. Thank you Colleen. Passing it on...
One of the greatest gifts of getting older is clarity.
In my 20s, I could not get enough activity squeezed into my days. I said yes to everything—hiking, biking, camping, rafting, skiing, fishing, volleyball, concerts, and let's not forget aerobic dance and cardio machines. As a "gym rat"I was rarely satisfied and just kept training harder and moving faster.
In my 30s, I found a different path and discovered that nourishing my body, calming my mind, and strengthening my spirit were extraordinarily beneficial. I left the gym to dedicate myself to the yoga mat, the great outdoors, and motherhood. I also immersed myself in deeper studies with extraordinary teachers and mentors who forever changed the way I looked at health, wellness, and life.
In my 40s, my desire was to offer all I had learned to other women. I created transformational classes, retreats, and experiences that invited women (and some men) to reconnect with themselves through adventure, movement, meditation, nature, meaningful community, and practices that nurtured the body, mind, and spirit. I continued this work throughout my 50s.
Today, in the latter half of my 60s, I'm asking myself the same question I've encouraged others to ask over the past 43 years...
What makes you come alive?
For me, the answer is still helping others come alive through meaningful practices and adventures.
Now I also feel called to share what I'm learning about longevity, vibrant aging, and living with greater energy while creating experiences that inspire deeper connection—to nature, to one another, and to ourselves.
Personally, my own "yes" now includes painting, writing, surfing, and spending hours wandering in the great outdoors.
After 43 years, I've learned that one of life's greatest gifts isn't saying yes to everything.
It's having the clarity—and the courage—to recognize your TRUE YES and gently saying no to everything else.
This month I'm saying YES to reuniting with my Bozeman friends through a simple rhythm of weekly yoga classes, daily walk-and-talks, tea time, shared meals, and hopefully a few river floats. I'm basking in the glow of community along with plenty of quiet time.
Next month I'll return to Costa Rica, where I continue to offer yoga and massage (yes... back to bodywork in a whole new way), while also helping yoga teachers develop and create their own successful retreats in Costa Rica.
Have you been dreaming of creating your own retreat? Say YES and get in touch. I'm here to help. I live and work at a retreat center and absolutely adore the simplicity with which I get to share my gifts while also basking in the beauty of beachside living. Come visit!
And because I deeply believe in the transformational power of a thoughtfully curated destination retreat, I'm once again offering my signature Costa Rica retreat next March in collaboration with Holly Copeland, who recently released her new book, Inner Rewilding.
Together, we'll be sharing a taste of what's to come in a free Master Class. If that feels like a YES, I'd love for you to join us.
Perhaps the freedom we seek isn't about finding more time.
Perhaps it's found in how fully we choose to live each moment... how deeply we love... how often we pause in wonder... and how courageously we say YES to the experiences that become the stories of our lives.
If something has been quietly calling your name, perhaps it's calling for a reason.
Keep dreaming, growing, and becoming.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive – and do that because the world needs more people who have come alive.”
May your freedom ring!