Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) is a state of conscious rest in which the body is deeply relaxed, but the mind remains aware. Unlike traditional meditation, where focus is often on stilling the mind or cultivating specific mental states, NSDR—especially in the form of Yoga Nidra—guides awareness through the body, gently activating the parasympathetic nervous system and resetting the brain. It's a powerful portal to the subconscious. You don’t drift or strive, you surrender.

Imagine lighting a match in a room full of people. You’re not trying to burn the place down—just trying to warm yourself for a second. Maybe you’re hurt, frustrated, or needing to be understood. But that match doesn’t just spark, it releases smoke. And that smoke doesn’t stay in your corner. It drifts. It fills the space. Everyone ends up breathing it in.

I’ve stopped trying to explain myself to those who only want the highlight reel, or those who listen just enough to fit me into their narrative. There’s a difference between being perceived and being known. There’s a difference between curiosity and reverence.

When we talk about an open throat and heart chakra, we’re not just naming energy centers in isolation, we’re pointing to how your entire being shows up in the world. These two centers are especially crucial because they govern how we connect: the heart as the source of love and compassion, and the throat as the channel through which that love is expressed. Together, they shape how we relate to ourselves and others—whether we stay guarded or move toward genuine unity. It’s easy to say, “I value honesty” or “I believe in love,” but embodiment asks deeper questions: Do my words align with my inner truth? Do I speak up when it matters, even when it’s uncomfortable? Do I let myself feel love fully, and do my actions reflect it in the small, often unseen moments?

But there’s a phase of life, often beginning in our late 30s to early 40s, that marks a turning point no one warns us about. It’s when the noise of external validation starts to lose its grip, and something ancient stirs underneath. Our clarity sharpens. Our boundaries fortify. The body may shift, but something bigger is happening: the emergence of deeper wisdom.

There’s a quiet power in staying ungraspable.In knowing that you are both the element and the flame. Capable of transformation without losing your essence. And if you’ve been shaped, cooled, and called beautiful—
know this: glass remembers how to be sand

They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but so many people can’t bear to look. Real eye contact, not the social kind, not the glazed over kind—but rooted, present, spirit to spirit connection? It’s rare.

There are thousands of ways to live. To communicate. To change our appearance with the tides of our spirit. Our style is a language. Our expression is seasonal. Yet conformity clips the wings of that expression before it even learns to fly. It stems from fear. Fear of standing out, fear of rejection, fear of not being enough. But more deeply, it stems from a belief that we must earn belonging.

We are not meant to live as an ongoing self-improvement plan. We are meant to live as beings in motion, in process, in relationship with our own unfolding.

Your inner voice is powerful.

Let it become a space of kindness.

Let it speak to you like someone who believes in your inevitable blooming.

You may have heard the phrase "raise your vibration" before. For some, it sounds vague, esoteric, or like something from a wellness influencer's mantra deck. But in truth, vibration isn’t about being better, more spiritual, or constantly positive. It’s about the frequency at which your thoughts, emotions, and presence operate—and how those frequencies influence what and who you attract into your life.

There’s no integrity in hiding. And yet, we all do it. Sometimes we go silent, step back, disappear—not because we’re at peace, but because we’re afraid. We dissociate not out of stillness, but out of fear of being fully seen.

But here’s the nuance: not all dissociation is the same.

The dove opens the portal of transformation.

The cormorant guides the descent into depth.

The heron keeps me steady in the liminal space.

And the blue jay returns me to the strength of my voice.

I do not seek meaning in myth alone. I watch the land. I listen to their flight. I gather their feathers as offerings. I thank them in silence.

These birds are not symbols.

They are relationships.

And they are teaching me how to live.

At the end of last year I started replacing those patterns with meditation. If I have two hours free in my day, I meditate. If I have one hour, I meditate. If I have fifteen minutes, I chose stillness. And something profound has shifted.

Loneliness among women is rising. Even in lives filled with social interaction, the depth is often missing. It's not uncommon to have dozens of online friendships but feel unsure who to call when your heart is heavy. Or to be surrounded by people in real life and still feel like you're performing.

There’s a voice that lives in the mind, subtle but persistent. It second guesses our instincts, imagines worst case scenarios, and replays conversations long after they’ve ended. It’s the voice of overthinking and future tripping, and it often masquerades as protection. But what it really does is keep us in a cage of hesitation.

Too much screen time doesn't just exhaust the eyes. It throws off our circadian rhythm, our body's internal clock that governs sleep, hormonal cycles, and cellular renewal. When our rhythm is disrupted, so is our ability to restore. Sleep becomes shallow. Hormones become erratic. And our skin, which regenerates most during deep sleep, begins to show signs of stress: dullness, breakouts, premature lines.

We’ve been taught to treat our skin like a battleground—to fix, fight, and erase every blemish, rash, or patch of dryness as if it’s an enemy. But what if your skin isn’t the problem? What if it’s simply trying to tell you something?

Before opting for paralysis in the name of beauty, it’s worth asking: Is the trade off worth it? Because while smooth skin may be the goal, connection is the foundation of human existence—and that’s something no wrinkle is worth losing.

And when you see a blue jay? Take it as a sign. A nudge from nature, asking: Where are you holding back your voice? Where do you need to speak louder? Your words have power. Your voice carries energy that can shift not just conversations, but entire environments. Like the blue jay, you were born to be heard.