April 2023 Newsletter

Prince recorded “When Doves Cry” in an overnight session on March 2, 1984

It lasted for 16 hours, from 3:30 pm to 7:30 am the next morning.

In 1984 I was in the sixth grade and 10 years old. My older sister, Tisha, had a copy of the Prince, Purple Rain album, and, since we lived in southern Ontario, Canada, close to the border with Michigan, his first single from that album, When Doves Cry, played several times a day over the radio waves that we gladly scooped up from across the river in Detroit. I already adored the sound of Prince's music from before that, cluelessly singing along to Little Red Corvette and other inappropriate songs for children from previous albums. I loved the music so much, my sister recorded a cassette tape for me of the whole album, and every night, I went to bed with a tape recorder (intended for piano lesson practice lol) playing that album over and over under the covers until I fell asleep.  

Note this is a condensed version of the April 2023 newsletter. For the full, interactive and original experience, visit it on FloDesk.

It's hard, even now, for me to pinpoint the source of my love and obsession with this album, mostly I think it was because it was a difficult time in my life, and the music was like a dear friend that I could count on to be there for me each night. His words and sounds, inappropriate or not, were full of a raw emotion that I connected with. But I think there's more. Since his death on April 21, 2016, I've discovered a couple of things about him that I didn't know back then that have gotten me to thinking:

He hand-wrote his song-lyrics. (Actually, any of us who've been alive since before 1999 might remember this strange practice of holding a pen or pencil in our hands to write cursive, yes?) For some reason, the above photo of his handwritten lyrics for When Doves Cry dropped my jaw and my digital scroll when I saw it, you don't see a lot of hand-written things like that in our digital age anymore. His hand-written lyrics for Nothing Compares to You (made more famous when sung by Sinead O'Connor in 1990), sold in 2021 for over $150K.

Even earlier, in 1979 at age nineteen, yes NINETEEN, he went on American Bandstand and was interviewed by Dick Clark about his music and his second album at the time, which he had produced himself. He had been trying since age fifteen, but no one would let him, so, he didn't sell any of his songs or agree to an album deal until they did. These two things, him writing down his feelings and, believing so deeply in his capabilities and musical talent that he refused to settle for anything less than his goal, reminded me of the same power we all hold in our own hands.

In the summer of 2020, I attended a Creative Mornings field trip webinar that was focused on writing. The only rule was - you had to physically write down your thoughts to the prompts, and preferably in cursive. It threw everybody for a loop, including me. I was all ready with my laptop and my word doc. Grumpily, I went along with it, and you know what? That became the start of a novel I've been working on since. It was in fact, so effective, that I ignored the rest of the prompts and kept writing, for pages and pages in cursive, just like I had done as a kid when I discovered how much I love to write. It un-locked something in me, and I was off and running. 

Studies show that writing, and particularly cursive writing, help the brain and the body to learn and grow in ways that typing and texting do not.

 So you can probably guess where this is going, are you with me? Will you try a few hand-written practices this month, and see what it unlocks for you? Here's some prompts to get you started:

• Recall an experience you have had where it felt like everything you thought you knew about something or someone, changed.

• When you were in the sixth grade, what was your favorite hobby (or secret obsession?)

• What's something about yourself, a strength, a capability, or a goal, that you know to be absolutely 100% true? And, how can you flex that a bit more to yourself and out in the world this month?

Stylized photo of Prince in action by crystal artist, Sarah Shakeel. 

I hope it inspires you to think about and then play your real and metaphoric life guitar in ways you never dreamed possible! 

Go ahead, I dare you to find your flow state and let it rip.

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WATCH MYA EPISODE 61, CECELIA BOLDEN

My other big sister, Cecelia, holds an E-MBA from Notre Dame, and works as an executive business strategist, who was recently interviewed on another show about supplier diversity, cultivating community and generational wealth. She's also a client relationship expert, community volunteer and mentor, a DEIA advocate, and keynote speaker. Also of note - she's a proud Mom of two with her partner of 30+ years! In this episode, I interview her to draw out some of her personal and professional stories, and we focus on what Cecelia does best - helping others. Whether it is in the c-suite, at home, in school, as a volunteer or as a Mom, she wears all the hats, and believes her ultimate purpose is to be in service to humankind.

SLEEP PRESCRIPTION: HAPPY MEMORIES

THE JOY OF LETTING LOOSE

BEES TEACH THEIR BABIES TO DANCE

WATCH MYA EPISODE 60, JAMES KAPICKA

James Kapicka is a 21st century yogi I interviewed who lives and works as a movement facilitator, yoga ambassador and Thai bodyworker with a passion for bringing people together to celebrate, learn and connect. Through sincere and heartfelt guidance, James creates an environment that empowers students to trust their intuition and listen to their heart. His approach promotes curiosity, creative play and authentic expression, allowing for a deeply resonant relationship with self, others and our planet. Explore his website, yogajames.com to see all his wonderful offerings. 

THE INSPIRED ARTIST PODCAST

Lucky Me!

I was so excited to be a guest on the Inspired Artist Podcast with host, Porter Singer.

You can listen to the episode here.

LISTENING: The Terra Firma Podcast pairs 5-10 minute reflections on nature with gathered sounds from the public outdoors all over North America. Featuring indigenous artists and creators, and sponsored by Colorado Public Radio.

EATING: Smoothies! Use what’s in season and what you love. Spruce it up with vitamins and minerals as needed. I love to add vitamin c, collagen and chia seeds.

LOOKING HEART EYES AT: Interior Designer, Rebecca Plumb.

READING: Microjoys by Cyndie Spiegel.

COMING UP ON APRIL 14: CESAR FIGUEROA

Cesar's mission and purpose is to improve humanity by inspiring others to CEEZ their lives and dictate the outcomes of their own thoughts, actions, and reactions with the implementation of healthy habits. He says: “A healthy relationship includes me, you and us, so let's work on all three.”

COMING UP ON APRIL 28: NARIA, AN AUDIO NOVELLA

I tried my best to get my husband to read aloud this novella he wrote in 2010 (he has a beautiful and buttery low baritone voice), but he wasn't into it. Thankfully, he gave me the go-ahead to record it, so look forward to two upcoming episodes at the end of April featuring this audio book! It's a mystery and adventure that follows the protagonist, Naria, as she searches for her missing partner, protects a found infant and meets a mysterious guardian along the way.

If you're enjoying the podcast, please rate and review it! It helps other people to discover it and enjoy it also. Currently MYA is within the top 10% of all podcasts, world wide - woo hoo!

AND, JUST FOR FUN

Taylor Jay Designs is based in Oakland, California, and I’m a proud ambassador! Receive 15% off your order using code MYA at checkout.

With love and gratitude until next month my friends,

Megan

March 2023 Newsletter

Te Fiti

The cover image of this newsletter is a a snippet from a digital art video piece I recently created resulting from a dream I had.

Is March the start of the “real” new year for you? I've always felt more of a renewed sense of self, hope, intention and goal setting in the spring than I have in January, when it is more cold and dark and contemplative in the Northern Hemisphere, where I have always lived. But recently, I learned that the modern day Gregorian calendar that most of us follow now, isn't what we always followed and that in fact, the new year used to start on March 1. That calendar had 10 months, not 12, and its history is still reflected in some of the names of the months we know today: September to December, or the ninth through twelfth months of the Gregorian calendar, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months. Septem is Latin for “seven.” Octo, "eight"; Novem, "nine"; and Decem, "ten". Roman mythology says their second King, Numa, established the two new months called Ianarius and Februarius. Initially, these two additional months were first placed at the end of the year, but at some point became the first two months instead. 

Note this is a condensed version of the March 2023 newsletter. For the full, interactive and original experience, visit it on FloDesk.

 But I'm not here to advocate for the burning up or questioning of calendars. (Although it's fascinating to think about how we got here, isn't it?!) What I am calling attention to is to ask yourself what the seasons feel like in your body, in your experience, where you live and how that relates to your sense of self, your goals and your way of moving in the world. When we live, eat, move and act in the ways that our bodies and our environment support, we feel more at peace. Consuming in-season foods from our local farmers tastes the best, and do our bodies the most good. 

What if we applied that radical approach to living to every aspect of our lives? Case-in-point: When my husband Richard and I travelled to Bermuda in February of 1996 to find my father's side of the family (and elope lol), everyone we met asked why on earth did we come to Bermuda in winter. What do you mean, winter, we asked? This is an island. It doesn't snow here, it might rain, but it's not going below 68 degrees, this is heaven compared to Canada right now. Y'all are crazy. 

But guess what? Bermuda observes something called winter hours. This means that businesses and I think even schools, have shorter hours due to less daylight. They open later, and close earlier, so that employees can get to-and-from work in daylight. This also meant that many typical tourist attractions were not open at all, or if they are, have limited hours. This tiny, chain of 24 square mile long islands, (an archipelago really), is less than a mile wide and is 350 miles off the coast of South Carolina in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. This island, this beautiful island winters down, smiles politely and says softly: 

See You All in the Spring.

I took this photo on February 19, 1996 at the renowned Horseshoe Bay Beach in Bermuda. There was literally NO ONE there but us. We ran into one other couple over the course of the entire day which hit 75 degrees. We enjoyed the surf and sand, and hot dogs and french fries from the beach cafe and I even kept the receipt which is saved in our wedding photo album. (Yes, I used to eat hot dogs, and oh boy, yes I still totally eat and love french fries on occasion.)

CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OF THE END OF ME

To continue the calendar theme, also on February 19, (of 2019) my first book, The End of Me was birthed into the world! While it's never made the NYT bestseller list, it has been reprinted several times, and continues to bring in moderate sales. The best part for me though is when I meet new people and they remember the moment pictured above, when I talked about it at Creative Mornings, Sacramento. It's harder than you might think to release your experiences and memories out into the world, and then and now I continue to be grateful for the amount of support and encouragement that this community, and beyond, sends my way.

WHAT INFLUENCES YOUR BIOLOGICAL AGE?

MEET MEN'S COACH, MIKE SAGUN, EPISODE 57

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

adrienne maree brown on the ON Being Podcast with host, Krista Tippett.

WHAT I'M EATING:

Frittata Forever

Most weekends, year-round, I make a frittata for lunch. Sometimes it’s just veggie based, other times I’ll add cheese or meat proteins too. Check out this Reel that I made of one I made on Instagram. (Language warning for Prince’s Sexy MF song that accompanies it.)

BONUS RECIPE for Cooked Greens, by Kirsten Johnson

WHAT I'M LOOKING HEART EYES AT: Watercolor artist, Julia Washington.
Find and follow her work on Instagram.

WHAT I'M READING: Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown.

KATIE BLOMBERG OF HER ELEVATED, EPISODE 59

THE PERSONAL & LIFE CHANGING POWER OF USING YOUR BREATH

On February 18, I was asked by the Greater Sacramento Urban League via Unseen Heroes, to do a Stretch Your Mind, Stretch Your Body Meditation Session at their Health and Wellness Event for Black History Month. It was truly my honor to help kick-off the exciting day of wellness-focused activities and celebration, with a grounding, breathing and body scanning exercise to help everyone get settled in and ready for the day. Afterwards, a few people came up to me and said: 

Thank you for reminding us how to breathe. 

 Don't forget how powerful the focus on your breath can be! This short article details a few of the most helpful breathing exercises you can practice in only minutes a day to help you feel and function more optimally. Trust me, every little bit counts. Thanks to new friend Malaika of House of AHH who took this photo/video of me leading the session, please check out the amazing work that she does in community.

AND, JUST FOR FUN

Use this link to get $5.00 off your order of LUME, the BEST (hands down) deodorant I have ever used. It works, they have scented and unscented versions, and for those with sensitive skin, it doesn’t cause rashes because it’s water-based. Created originally by a doctor specifically for bed-bound patients and those with very sensitive skin, it has become a staple in my life, I’ve been using it for 5+ years.

With love and gratitude until next month my friends,

Megan

February 2023 Newsletter

Is it just me, or was January a bit of a doozy for many of us this year? I have to be honest and say even though I think I'm one of the most positive people most of the time, January was hard. A good thing was that I started working with photographs, art and writing more, in part as a response to what I needed to process the sudden passing of my sister-in-law, Tesha, on January 3, and then the passing of my maternal grandmother, Madeline, who adopted me as a baby and raised me as her own and who I called mom, on January 10. The above image of a lioness and her cubs was something I made as a result of a detailed and strange dream I had the morning that my grandmother left this plane. I know now that she was coming to visit, one last time.

Note this is a condensed version of the February 2023 newsletter. For the full, interactive and original experience, visit it on FloDesk.

What do you do to deal and heal when you're processing grief? I learned this month to trust reaching out to good friends in moments of anguish, and I also realized that making art and writing helped me to work out what was rattling around in my brain too. Helping a stranger who needed an ear one day lessened the loads of my own personal burdens because I focused on them instead, and, I taught a private yoga class to a small group of women that was so special that I forgot all about my troubles and instead lived in a beautiful teaching moment in a rugged and breathtaking region to facilitate a safe space for them. It was a safe space for me too, but in a different way, and I'm honored that I was asked to be their guide for a few hours.

Madeline Henriette Dodds (nee Seger, Van Brabant)

My grandmother, Madeline, about two years younger than I am now, shortly after she brought me back to Canada to raise as her own, when her daughter, my mother, Maria, died. Despite the circumstances, there is a lot of joy in this photo, I think.

Meet Porter Singer in Episode 58. She’s a singer, artist and yoga teacher with a breathtaking voice. She’s helping others to heal through her skills and gifts.

FINDING HAPPINESS THROUGH EVERYDAY AWE.

JUST FOR FUN: I’m an ambassador for Taylor Jay Designs - and you can try it too with 15% off with code MYA at checkout.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO: Tracee Ellis Ross speaks about making peace with your own mind on the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast.

WHAT I'M READING: Tami Hackbarth’s 100% Guilt-Free Self-Care Book.

WHAT I'M LOOKING HEART EYES AT: The art of Tracie Pouliot, who did a heart-warming custom portrait of my family and I a couple of years ago.

Custom pencil portrait by Tracie Pouliot of People You May Meet.

HOW TO SAY SORRY (PROPERLY): Many of us get it wrong, despite good intentions. Here’s how to learn to do it better.

MEET KATIE BLOMBERG FEBRUARY 3: She’s a 40-under-40 nominee and a woman making a huge difference in health and wellness. Learn more about her.

TESHA JANICE DAVIS: My sister-in-law lived with the challenges of Lupus for over a decade before passing away suddenly in early 2023 at age 45. This autoimmune condition disproportionately impacts young, Black, women. Learn more at Lupus.org.

MYA IS IN THE WELL BEING RESOURCE GUIDE!

Thrilled to be featured in the popular local Sacramento Well BEing Resource Guide. This was one of the first publications I picked up in my hands after moving to Sacramento nearly 10 years ago - so I'm truly delighted to be featured this year. Please check it out, along with all the other listings, and share it far and wide. So many helpful services and people. Print version coming out later in the spring!

PERSONALLY

This photo below was taken early on the night that severe winds and rain eventually knocked out power and prompted flooding in many parts of the Sacramento region for several days. Before it all went down, I had been fortunate to gather with some dear friends for an early new year dinner party of gumbo, catching-up, and more laughs than we thought possible. Recent research reveals that one of the greatest impacts on our quality and length of individual life depends in large part on the depth of our relationships. So let's heed those pleasant findings and gather whenever and however we can, because it may just allow us to live a little happier, and a little longer. 

With love, until next month,

Megan

January 2023 Newsletter

Happy New Year Friends! I hope you've been enjoying a loving, restorative and just-the-right-amount of excitement this holiday season. With 2023 upon us, of course I've been thinking back on the past year, lessons learned and key takeaways. 

Note this is a condensed version of the newsletter. View the full and interactive original on FloDesk.

The highlights for me included more travel than I (and likely any of us) have done in quite some time. I relished each sunrise and sunset I was able to experience, whether it was in my own yard, out on a walk or hike, or in beautiful Oia, Santorini, Greece, pictured above on Richard and I's belated 25th anniversary trip from last May. Living in ongoing immense gratitude for each time I saw the sun rise or sleep helped me keep perspective for the days when it felt like everything was going wrong. 

Image via the New York Times

Adding to this sense of wonder for me (and probably many of you too) are the images and findings of the James Webb Telescope, one of which is pictured above. In addition to the stunning images that speak directly to the dreamer, artist and photographer in me - my mind gets blown over and over again by how these images are actually being taken backwards in time. We're living in 2023 now, but glimpsing the formation of our own universe over a billion years ago. What?! Yes. The science fiction loving kid I was and still am is all over the amazing revelations that keep unfolding with this story of space, humanity and literally, time travel too.

Episode 56 features Aureya Magdalen, one of my teachers and mentors. We focus on how to Embrace the Sweetness of Life (even when things get tough).

GO TO HARVARD FOR FREE and LEARN ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS!

JUST FOR FUN: Astrology for 2023

WHAT I'M EATING: Broccoli Soup (not cream of) and it’s delicious!

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO: The Inspired Artist Podcast with host (and singer) Porter Singer.

If you want to see and hear some of Porter's songs, have a peek at her You Tube Channel. Chills my friends. Formerly known as Sirgun Kaur, she has also collaborated with previous guest and mutual friend, Joshua Stoddard on an album in 2019 dedicated to their identically named mothers called, For Pamela.

WHAT I'M LOOKING HEART EYES AT: The Art of Omonivie Okhade and her brand, Tula In Bloom.

WHAT I'M READING: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

MEET MIKE SAGUN JANUARY 6: Mike helps men to feel.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MIDLIFE: What if we allowed more space for ourselves and each other, to age gracefully?

My book, artwork and yoga sessions are always available as gifts for you, or someone you care about. Also, remember last month when I took the plunge and brought MYA to TikTok ? It's been a ride, and I have to say, people really engage with the content over there. I regularly receive messages and comments from complete strangers who are so thankful for the vulnerability and wisdom of MYA guests.

PERSONALLY

You are worthy, listen and watch my new year’s wish for every one of us!

With love, until next month,

Megan

December 2022 Newsletter

Dear friends, it's Megan here and I hope you're feeling curious and truly delighted to receive this email. My intention is to share monthly updates along with wellness and creative news you will find valuable and uplifting. I started working on this newsletter over a month ago, and then came down with the dreaded COVID-19 after dinner in a restaurant with friends. I won't lie, it flattened me for about a week and I'm still recovering. Somehow, I thought I was going to get through this time without catching it, and I was sorely mistaken! However, the worst of it is over and it truly lifts me up to share good and interesting news, and I hope you feel the same upon receiving this. Please feel free to respond directly anytime, and if you don't want to receive this letter, you can unsubscribe at the bottom. (No hard feelings) :)

To read the full, original and interactive newsletter, discover it on FloDesk.

In Episode 53 meet Jesse Bliss, an author, activist, artist and mom who embraces Transformation as a Way of Life.

Jesse Bliss

Episode 53

Transformation as a Way of Life

I'm really excited to be finishing up season three of the podcast! What began in the summer of 2020 as a response to what I needed for yoga practice during lockdown has turned into one of the greatest joys of serving and promoting others in my life. With over 50 episodes and dozens of phenomenal guests, I consider it an incredible privilege to do this work. I was delighted to learn from Spotify that MYA is in the global top 30% of podcasts, wow! Interviews continue to have the most listens and positive feedback, but I do record classes and meditations too. I want to extend a special thank you to all who listen, and all who have been guests and supporters of the show. I welcome your feedback on what you enjoy most, email me anytime at myyogaaudio@gmail.com.

MYA is on You Tube!

Whenever guests are good with it, I record and post the audio and video! Episode 52 with Gricelda Garcia Ocegueda was and continues to be a listener and watcher favorite.

Need to catch-up on episodes? 

Here is the podcast Linktree where you can!

Don't forget that my book, artwork and yoga sessions are always available as gifts for you, or someone you care about.

Episode 54 with Kinky/Curly Hair Specialist, Camille Janae

She’s been my hairdresser for a few years now, and has changed my life. Tune in to hear her tips for truly caring for curly hair.

I took the plunge and brought MYA to TikTok (what?!). Yes, it was a definite deep dive, and I still don't know what I'm doing. But people are loving it over there, so I'm running with it! Join me if you're on the platform, and if you have any tips - please let me know! 

Episode 51

The Power of Stillness

A Pacific Ocean Beach Sound Meditation

Click links below to learn more about our recent special guests:

Camille Janae

Jesse Bliss

Gricelda Ocegueda

Janice Burt

Moriah Myles

Holly Holt

Holly Holt

Episode 45

Tending Your Story

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO

Meghan Markle’s Podcast, Archetypes

WHAT I'M LOOKING HEART EYES AT

The art of Akela Hudson

JUST FOR FUN

AI Portraits from My Heritage

PERSONALLY

My family and I were fortunate to be able to travel together this year, here’s a video of one of our adventures.

With love until next month,

Megan

Race in the Workplace (and what we can do now)

We can't ignore it and hope that things are just "going back to normal eventually" anymore. What has finally become painfully apparent to everyone is that we have a lot of work left to do. The devastating affects of COVID-19 and the horrific and consistent use of force that more often results in the deaths of black Americans have collided in a watershed moment not just for this nation, but for the world as well. I'm not here to break down history and hundreds of years of systemic oppression and violence. Those books, articles and documentaries are widely available to you. I'm here to talk about what this means in the workplace right now, and as we move forward during a critical and pivotal moment in time.

To start, I'm going to lay out a handful of examples below, of situations I've actually experienced in the workplace over the course of the last twenty years. I've discovered that people in general can relate and listen better to people they know, so I’m writing this in a place and space where people know and follow me and my work. I'd like to ask you to read each occurrence and try to wrestle with the impact of that moment on your life (if it had been you), and to realize that these examples are just a fraction of what I (and countless others) experience as a mixed/black person and woman in the world on any given day:

1. I've been told that I should chemically relax, cut, and/or straighten my hair because it is much more "professional" for the workplace. I've also had someone come up behind me, while I was seated at my desk, and start running their fingers through my hair, claiming they couldn't resist not touching it anymore.

2. I've been told to "get back on the boat where I came from."

3. I've been asked to "speak to the manager" when I clearly am the person in charge, (name tag and all), and when I point this out to the person they say "no, the real manager."

4. Discovered (by accident) that a white woman doing the same job as I was, was earning twice as much annual salary than I, and that a white man doing the same job, was receiving three times as much.

5. I have endured more instances of micro and macro aggressions than I can count.

Ok, Hair

Did you know California was the first state to ban racial discrimination based on hair texture/style? On July 3, 2019 it was signed into law. My friends, colleagues and I have discussed the simultaneous relief and also utter ridiculousness of this. But the fact is, discrimination based on hair texture and style (therefore race) still happens. It's one of those things about bias that still seems very difficult to overcome. Employers can and do make judgments and decisions over a potential employee's appearance regardless, and black hair textures and styles haven't yet been normalized in general society. Over the years, when going to job interviews or professional events, of course I have always dressed to impress, made sure I had copies of my resume and references in hand and sometimes, even had copies of my degrees (because I have been asked for proof of those as well). But added to this is the completely insane worry of how to present my hair, because the fear of discrimination that is very real.

In its natural state my hair is very thick/frizzy/curly and it grows up and out, not down. A lot like Angela Davis actually. This hair I learned at a very young age, is seen as frightening, wrong, wild, not normative and needing to be contained. I did chemically relax it for many years. Now I braid it, twist it, sometimes I cut it. Like most women, I do different things with my hair! But for the most part I try to keep it long enough that I can put it up and back in a bun and be "acceptable" in a professional situation.

Why should I have to do that? Have you ever had to think about that? Did you know there are cases where people have been hired, only to be told afterwards or when they showed up to work, that their offer would be rescinded if they didn't comply with hair standards set by the company that would necessitate a drastic change in their hair style and appearance?

So What Can We Do Now?

Hair is a personal thing, but in the case of black hair, it can be hijacked as a political thing and affects the work experience. And it's also just one small part of addressing bias at work. So employers have a responsibility if they really want to affect change, to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment that attracts diverse candidates who can just be who they are.

Start of by checking yourself personally. Do you make or help to make recruiting or hiring decisions? Studies have been done that show all of us have bias in some way or another. It doesn't mean it's intentional by you personally or that you are a bad person, but it does need to be acknowledged and broken down. Decades upon decades upon decades of systematic process and belief have contributed to this. It didn't happen overnight and it won't be resolved overnight either, but here's where you can start:

• Do you have a company dress code and does it address hair specifically? Do you need it to? If so, why?

• Do you have an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion program in place? If not, how are you planning for one and what steps will you take?

• Look at the demographics for your state, county and city. How does that compare to the demographics and representation of your company and, what does that look like at the leadership/management level?

We Are a Nation of Immigrants

While the harsh comment of "get back on the boat where you came from" happened quite some time ago, the notion of being from "somewhere else" is also a sticky point in the workplace. I've met people of all backgrounds whose families have been in the United States for several generations, but there is often a veiled inquiry about race behind "where are you from?" or worse "what are you?" that implies you don't belong and must be from a far away land. When I say I grew up in Canada and moved to the United States a few years ago, there is sometimes an awkward look to the side, maybe a shuffle of the feet or throat clearing followed by "no, I mean where are you really from?" or "well, what's your background?" I have even been outright asked that question, by people I don’t know, in-person, and in direct messages on social media, including Linked In. I'm not saying you can't ask people about where they are from or even what their background is, but what I am asking is WHY you need to know that? Do you ask everyone that question, or only people who are different than you?

I am an open and friendly person. Most people I work with closely and I start to get to know, I feel comfortable telling my whole long life story to, if they feel like listening to it! These kinds of conversations eventually happen organically and naturally. But when it's the first or early words you say to someone it's offensive, period. This brutally honest article lays out how to have these kinds of conversations without coming off like a, well...jerk.

Equity

Equity is defined as the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation, access, opportunity and advancement of marginalized groups of people.

Earlier I mentioned my personal experience with the wage gap. This is so important because it directly affects the future of families and children and how generational wealth is built and distributed. I've encountered this discrepancy almost everywhere I have ever worked. And that's just me, the impacts of this issue (and all of this) go so far beyond me personally, but this is the vantage point I have to share. Folks in Human Resources and those in control of wage negotiations: people DO in fact find out about wage differences more often than you know and it causes huge harm and turmoil that directly affects your retention and job satisfaction rates. Here's a sobering report that breaks down where we're at right now, but essentially and on average:

Latina women earn 54 cents for every dollar paid to white men.

• Native American women earn 57 cents for every dollar.

• Black women earn 62 cents for every dollar.

• White women earn 79 cents for every dollar.

• Asian American women earn 90 cents for every dollar.

• Across all racial and ethnic groups, women in the United States are typically paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. 

Are the above statistics applicable to every woman and every man in every situation? No. Is the fight for equity for women and ethnic women similar but still different? Yes. I'll say it again. Yes. It is different. The fact plainly remains that wage gaps and disparity overall is so great, that actual pay equity goes to the very few who manage to get to the upper echelons and then it tends to get confusing and twisted into a class argument. Any lasting, progressive gains are effectively and totally lost for the majority.

Encouragingly, California has recently enacted Senate Bill 1162 which became effective January 1, 2023 and is a new pay transparency and salary disclosure law. It requires most employers to include a pay scale or range in their job postings and allows workers to request the pay scale for their current position, and more. This law mirrors other salary disclosure and pay equity laws already in place in New York, Colorado and Washington.

So, what do we do about all this?

Look at your Salary Bands. Do you have them? Also, are they public? If not, could you share them confidentially with potential candidates before they come in for an interview? It's frustrating that many companies advertise positions that have double digit salary differences i.e. ($40-80K depending on experience!) or sadly, none at all. Yet, in every interview I've ever been on, I have been asked what I'm currently making and what I expect to make, even if they haven't advertised the salary range they're offering. I get that employers want great candidates who aren't all about salary and that there are other perks that make an offer attractive. However, this tactic always puts the ball in the court of the employer, subject to personal bias, and leaves the potential candidate and most especially the diverse candidate, at a disadvantage. What about the common measurables like education, experience and connections? What are the things you use to measure candidate worthiness and salary and, are they applied equally, every time?

Merit and Performance Reviews. Does your company conduct performance reviews at least once and hopefully more than once a year? Are the accountabilities clearly and equitably laid out to each and every employee? Do you do several but brief employee/manager, one-on-ones throughout the year and do you regularly solicit feedback through surveys and conversations? Employees should not just be waiting for one time per year to receive feedback armed with hope against hope that they will receive some kind of a raise or be working towards a promotion without any guidance on how to do that. Also, don't ask your staff to live-for-their-work-and- work-only to be deemed worthy of recognition and advancement. This is a terribly outdated notion that directly contributes to burnout and invites mental health and wellness challenges. It also wreaks havoc on families, where it is likely that both parents are working. Work-life balance needs to be recognized and supported.

Don't do what you've always done because it's easier. The key to authentically paving the way through with progressive change is to try to think of ways to do things better. It means taking a hard look in the mirror, personally. It means taking a close look at your work environment, your clients and your own company demographics. It probably means hiring a professional to help you navigate this territory so that you don't un-intentionally do things the wrong way because you don't know better right now, even though you have good intentions. Getting your staff formally introduced to and educated in equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives helps to guide appropriate workplace behaviors and will cut down or eliminate instances of offensive language and actions that cause harm.

Finally, listen to and encourage your industry colleagues and employees that are part of traditionally impacted groups like women, LGBTQ+ and ethnic minorities. We have great ideas and want to live the dream just like you. Sometimes, we're not used to being asked to be at the table, speaking up, and we have had our intelligence, capability and authority questioned repeatedly and yet, we so much want to be here and have a lot to offer! I heard a great quote recently that's included in the following and final article, I'll leave you with, but I also want to point out this: Nobody likes to be made to feel like a token. I've been told this before too, that I received a job promotion because they needed someone "like me" to look good for diversity initiatives (essentially erasing the fact that I'd worked hard and proven myself). If someone is made to feel they are more valued for diversity boxes, rather than their skill, potential and added value, that is a slippery slope too.

If I can leave you with one final and positive thought, it's that I do believe most of us want an equitable, diverse, inclusive workplace and world. We don't always know the perfect words and actions, but if we can just keep trying, doing and be open to change - even and especially when it's uncomfortable, we can get there.

Thanks for getting to the end of this article with me. I'd love for you to share it if it was helpful and to know how you're moving forward, navigating race in the world and the workplace. Reach out at myyogaaudio@gmail.com.

Perfect Broccoli Soup (Not Cream of)

Garnish optional, this soup is just perfect without any other additions, but you may want to dress it up for special occasions or events.

Photo by Polina Kovaleva on Pexels.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli (stems too!)

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 medium size garlic cloves, chopped

• 3-4 medium size carrots chopped

• 1/2 a medium size tomato, chopped

• 1 large/long green onion, chopped

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 1/2 cup cream

Optional: Additional broccoli florets to char or steam, toasted croutons, cheese etc. if desired for additional presentation/dressing effects.

*Note, you can use any kind of flour (I use gluten free arrowroot flour and/or corn options). If you want vegan style, try using coconut or another oil instead of butter, vegetable broth instead of chicken and omit the cream, or use a plant-based milk instead. I have not tested/tasted a vegan version, but I’m sure it would be delicious too.

Directions

• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy medium pot over medium-high heat.

• Add broccoli, onions, garlic, carrot, tomato, salt and pepper and saute until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.

• Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, until the flour reaches a blonde color.

• Add stock and bring to boil.

• Simmer uncovered until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes.

• Pour in cream.

• With an immersion blender, puree the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, remove to blend in a regular blender, and then return to the stove to evenly heat once more.

• Add salt and pepper, to taste, and then replace the lid back on the pot.

• Serve hot, option to add a few lightly steamed broccoli florets for color and crunch, cheese or nutritional yeast. (Try it first. It’s so delicious as is, you can decide how fancy you want it to “look” based on the occasion).

• Enjoy! My family and I were elbowing each other out of the way to have more of this. Healthy, tasty and satisfying. We enjoyed it with homemade cornbread.

*Note: I modified and added to a recipe I found online by a husband and wife team, The Neely’s on The Food Network.

Balance for Life: Five Chair Supported Movements to Improve Your Stability and Longevity

Episode 49 is all about balance - literally and figuratively. Your ability to walk briskly, balance on one leg for 30 seconds or more, and get from a seated position on the floor to a standing position with little-to-no assistance, are key indicators for your long-term quality of life. Here are some visual and written cues to help you get started, or improve upon what you already can do. Visit the MYA instagram or You Tube account for a 2 minute video showing these moves in action, (or click the link below). Keep reading and scrolling right here if you prefer still imagery without sound instead. Also, don’t forget to listen to the 34 minute episode here.

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Link to video on @my.yoga.audio on Instagram.

Side-to-Side Leg Lifts

Keep a chair close, but know that you can progress to not using a chair over time. Stand with the chair in front of you, or to the side, and hold on with one or both hands. Lift one leg to the side, trying to keep your body as still and straight up as possible. If you start to lean towards the chair or over to one side, try to come back to center and try again. It might mean that the leg doesn’t go up very high, but that’s ok. The balance work comes in when you can use your core strength to hold you straight up, and isolate that leg out to the side.

Repeat with your other leg, going up to five times per side.

Are you able to steady yourself and stay straight up, or is it harder than you thought? Chances are you feel this up into the glutes and the belly, as the movement engages all those muscles to help you stay upright. If this feels not challenging enough, you can increase the intensity by holding the leg up longer or by trying to letting go of the chair.

Don’t forget your breathing. As you inhale, lift the leg, as you exhale, slowly let it go back down. Try not to do super rapid or pulsing movements here – no one’s trying out for the ballet at this point, we’re just gauging you’re abilities for now.

Single Leg Raise

 Grab a chair and stand behind it, holding it lightly with both hands. Lift one leg off the ground, bending the lifted knee toward your chest and stand on that one leg for five seconds. Now, try the same thing with your other leg.

 Evaluate whether this is challenging, just right, or you need more. You can help yourself to balance by finding a focal point, something that is not moving in the near distance, to concentrate on, and you can also push the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth (Not your teeth! The roof of your mouth).

 If it’s too easy, try the same thing using only one hand touching the chair while you lift each leg and then the other. If that still was not a challenge, release both your hands and step back so that you’re not touching the chair at all, or even try doing it while closing your eyes.

Once you get to a stage where you can stand still, lifting one leg high and balancing for at least 10 seconds without holding onto anything for five or ten sets in a row, you’ve achieved an optimal result, so you know what you can work towards. But remember, depending on your unique situation, needing to steady yourself with a chair and one or two hands is also a great result if you can still balance while lifting one leg at a time. Keep trying!

Heel-Toe Tap Walk

 Once again, our chair can come in handy here, but this time, we definitely want to keep it over to the side of us, so that we can move forward comfortably. The Heel-Toe Tap Walk is a slow-moving balance challenge where we stand up straight and put one foot directly in front of the other, with the heel of your front foot touching the toes of your back foot. That’s it! Seems easy, but it’s more challenging than you might think.

 Keep equal weight on both feet and legs with your knees slightly bent. Hold for 30 seconds, (start with just 10 seconds if you need to) and then switch feet, or simply walk your back foot in front of your front foot.

 If this isn’t challenging, you can try letting go of the chair, closing your eyes, or even trying to maintain a forward fold as you step your heel and toe position together. If you feel yourself losing balance, try to flex out your toes to rebalance your foot and stabilize your arch. This is easiest to do in bare feet. Sometimes when we feel our balance going, we compensate by scrunching the toes and the arch of the foot bows outwards. We want that arch to be facing down onto the floor or mat, and all our toes splayed out and all four corners of our feet pressing down.

Chair Pose or Utkatasana

Chair pose is great because it’s basically using your own body weight for resistance, and you decide how intense you want it to be by the depth of your squat. Keep your chair close by in case you need it. Traditional chair pose asks you to put both feet and knees together, so that they’re touching, and for many people that is totally unattainable or simply strains their ankles and low back far too much. So for this I’m going to suggest that you start in a standing position, with feet just slightly wider than hip distance apart, with feet facing forward (not out to the side). Take a deep breath in, and on a breath out star to lower into a squat, and bring your arms out, at shoulder height in front of you.

 Hold the pose as deeply as you can, for a short time, or up to 30 seconds. The beauty here is that you can choose the repetitive movement of the squat, or choose to hold, or both. For many people, raising the arms can be too taxing, especially as a beginner. So you can modify by either crossing them over your chest, clasping the hands together behind you or holding them palms pressed together at heart center.

Do you want to stay lowered, or, rise up and down in a series of squats? Either is ok. The longer you stay down however, the more engaged your quads and hamstrings become, sometimes making it harder to get back up easily, which is why it’s a great idea to keep that chair handy, just in case! 

If you didn’t find this pose to be very challenging for you, you can always hold onto some light weights to increase the intensity.

Tiger Pose or Vyaghrasana

Moving into Tiger Pose involves us getting down onto our mat, the floor or a carpet. I’d recommend something under your hands and knees as being directly on the floor for this movement might be painful for knees and other joints.

So starting out on all-fours (hands and knees), tiger involves stretching one arm out in front of us, and the opposite leg out back behind us! Sounds simple, but you will probably feel your balance being tested, especially if you’ve never done this one before.

From your position on all fours, reach one arm forward, and the opposite leg back. Try to keep your gaze down, your neck extending long and forward, rather than craning up to look forward. Don’t strain your neck to look where you don’t have to. If this initial reach out is too intense – start with one arm or one leg lifted, until you can feel balanced. It might take some time and some practice to get to the point where you can lift both and be able to balance.

Switch sides and reach your opposite arm forward, and your opposite leg back. Try pressing your lifted heel back as if you were pressing it against a wall, so, keeping the foot flat. This helps to avoid muscle cramps that can sometimes come when we point our toes.

Now try reaching your arm forward, and your opposite leg back on an inhale, and then on an exhale, round your spine and try to touch the elbow of your forward reaching arm, to the knee of your leg that was extended. Essentially, you are touching your elbow to your knee where they meet in the center of your torso somewhere. This can be intense, and at the very least, you may wobble! If you’re new to the practice it might be impossible, or just too soon, but keep trying!

Close your practice with at least 10 breaths in child’s pose (pictured) or in Savasana - laying flat on your back, or a seated meditation position. Allow your body the time and patience to absorb all the movements you just did.

How do you feel?

Toast with Melted Butter, Please

Reflections On Food, Love and Longing

Mmmmm, a recent treat.

I have a clear memory of saying that to my father when I was growing up, when I was still little enough for him to ask me what I wanted for breakfast. He would chuckle when I did and respond with:

“Punkin, don’t you mean toast with butter?” winking knowingly at me, to which I would reply, “No, Daddy, it has to be toast with melted butter, toast with butter isn’t the same thing.”

Photo of Me with My Two Dads:

On the left, my biological Black Father, Ronald Paynter, and on the right, my adoptive White Father, (and the one I grew up with, who made me toast with melted butter), Ronald Dodds.

And it really isn’t, to me anyways. Have you ever had toast that was cold, with butter that didn’t melt into it? The two breakfasts are a far cry from each other, and I’ve known that since I was a toddler and my preference is clear. But the other thing I’ve also come to realize lately, is that the emotional connection I have to food, and I suspect most of us do, is one that is intertwined with memories of the people and places associated with those foods you love (or despise).

That particular toast memory was one from a winter morning in Southern Ontario, Canada. The sun was streaming through the kitchen and it was early enough that the rest of the household was still asleep, or at least not yet downstairs in the kitchen. It was the early 1980’s and breakfast wasn’t ever fancy when I was growing up, unless it was a special occasion. Toast, cereal, a banana or some other fruit was about the extent of it. But it’s the memory of someone making it for me, and making it with genuine care and love that I most recall. Biting into that perfect piece of warm toast, almost dripping with the melted butter, is a memory that makes me sigh with sweet surrender to this day.

I recalled this memory recently I think because of two things:

1. It’s been nearly 10 years since I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Celiac is a serious allergy to gluten, and one that will damage your intestines if you ingest it, in any amount. Gluten free breads until recently weren’t worth my time and attention because they fell apart and tasted like cardboard, so it had felt like forever since I’d enjoyed a decent piece of toast.

2. I listened to the 100% Guilt-Free Self-Care Podcast recently, where two people that I actually know in real life, Tami Hackbarth, and Julia Washington, talked about Julia’s morning routine. Julia revealed that every morning, pretty much with out fail, she and her son have coffee, toast and turkey bacon together.

Morning Glory

Each morning, Julia, the host of the show, Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous, enjoys toast with preserves, coffee and turkey bacon with her son.

The very same day I listened to that episode, my husband Richard came home with what turned out to be a most special treat: a new loaf of gluten-free bread by Canyon Bakehouse (no they’re not paying me for this), and he toasted a piece for me, patted a square of cold butter on it, and as I watched it melt, and then brought it to my lips, and teeth, and tongue and tasted, smelled and chewed, I swear to God I almost passed out with joy. It tasted so good, no actually, wonderful. Just like I remembered toast tasting. My mind and heart were swiftly spirited back to that cold winter’s morning when my Dad asked me what I wanted to eat, and the simple love that was shared on that breakfast table was upon me here again in my own kitchen, thanks to my partner who had done such a simple and yet, profound thing. The next morning, I made a piece of toast again and took the photo that’s the headliner image for this post. I’ve actually been thinking about our connections to food for some time, and this seemed like the perfect place to start.

A Brief History of Toast

Most historians think that toast originated as a way to preserve or revive stale bread, rather than our modern interpretations of it smothered in avocado, peanut butter, jam or my favorite, butter. Bread as we know it was popularized in Egypt, and the closed oven was invented in Egypt for the baking of leavened breads by 3000 B.C. Europe, as usual gets most of the credit as the word “toast” actually comes from the Latin “tostum,” which means “to burn or scorch.” Ancient breads in Egypt and elsewhere were toasted by laying them in front of the fire on a hot stone, because they sure didn’t have toasters or toaster ovens back then.

My life-long love affair with bread didn’t end with morning toast however: every school day from the first grade through the eighth grade, I had the same thing for lunch - a peanut butter and jam sandwich. I’m not kidding. Whether it was made by a family member or myself, that was what I ate and truly LOVED for the entirety of my childhood. The security and familiarity of what to expect each day is what I suspect attracted me most. In addition to the PBJ in my lunchbox, the other constant with it was a thermos of chocolate milk and an apple. Seriously. The same lunch, every school day, for eight years. Did kids tease me? Sure they did. Did other adults who came into the house try to encourage me to try something else? Of course. Did I eat said something else’s - NOPE. That one constant in my life was something that I came to rely on. Breakfast could vary, (much as I loved toast with melted butter), and dinner was variable too, but lunch? PBJ or bust.

What comfort foods do you remember from your childhood or teen years? Do you still eat or think of them now?

My Classic PBJ

My daily sandwiches as a kid certainly did not look like this photo, that’s for sure. But the thought, memory and experience of how familiar and good it looked and tasted to my growing and overwhelmed childhood brain tells the whole story.

There it was, all my messy and gooey insides and emotions, a metaphor in peanut butter and jam, standing in for my fragile sense of self, somehow being held comfortingly together between two slices of bread.

Our Family Connections to Food

The Father who I grew up calling Dad, Ronald Dodds, was born and raised in Southern Ontario, Canada. He was a kid when the Depression of the 1930’s hit and his Mother died young. He told me that even as a child, in order to help survive and provide for the household, he learned to fish, to hunt, and he was in charge of a city-block sized vegetable garden. Their family wasn’t wealthy, and the depression made things quite a bit worse. He captured rabbits and pheasants to eat when needed for meat, and he took care of the garden plot all by himself, selling extra vegetables at the market to bring home cash income.

Undated Photo, circa 1940s

At age 14, Ronald joined the Canadian Military and became an airplane mechanic, serving throughout WWII.

When he was only 14, and just prior to the start of World War II, he fibbed about his age in order to get into the military (you were supposed to be 16). He wanted to leave his home, a very difficult place with no Mother around anymore, and an abusive Father he did his best to steer clear of, to see the world and find something of himself in service to his county too. He returned several years later wearing the same pants he had left in, and there’s a photograph I’ve seen (which I don’t have, but wish I did!), where his pant hems are in the middle of his shins because he had grown so much while serving overseas. Tall, skinny and happy, one of the first things he supposedly said was:

“I’m going to have dessert everyday for the rest of my life.”

Ronald Dodds, circa 1980’s

This photo was taken by one of my Uncles on one of a few annual fishing trips he went on with them in the Northern and Western provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, in Canada.

And indeed he did have dessert everyday for the rest of his life. To my knowledge and memory, he had dessert at lunch and at dinner, everyday. He remained fit and slim despite this, only gaining some additional weight much later in life, but for the most part he was very mentally and physically active, even after retirement, and didn’t have major health issues until his final years. He lived to age 91, passing in 2014 from complications of pneumonia.

I learned a lot about food, and my relationship to it, from a very young age. But I didn’t really consciously realize that until much more recently, and curiously, that it was this man, Ronald Dodds, who was not even technically biologically related to me, and who raised me as his own, who taught me so much about it.

1959 L-R: My Uncle Guy Van Brabant, my biological Mother, Maria Paynter (Van Brabant), my Aunt Caroline Skoronski (Van Brabant), my biological Grandmother (whom I called Mom), Madeline Dodds (Van Brabant, Segers), my biological great Grandmother Flavia Segers (Craeye) and by biological great Grandfather, Charles Segers, at what appears to be Christmas or Thanksgiving Dinner.

My Grandmother, Madeline, who I grew up calling Mom, after my biological Mother Maria, her eldest daughter, died in 1974, is nearly 100 years old as of this writing. She married to Ron later in the 1960s after divorcing from her first husband, Joe. It was a second marriage for Ron too. Growing up, there are two major things I recall about Mom Madeline’s cooking: one food that I really loved, and one that I really despised.

Food to love?

Belgian crepes. Born in Belgium, she had a recipe and knack for making this treat that I’ve never encountered since. It was the food we had on every special occasion, the one that everyone asked for. The one that could be tailored to whatever your heart’s desire was, rolled up on the inside, (fruit? cheese, meat? yoghurt?), blanketed in the thin, fried and slightly sweet dough that wrapped around the outside. Thinking about it now, they actually didn’t look all that particularly attractive, but the taste?! For me personally it was always butter, brown sugar and syrup for the win and in fact, just rolled up cold from the fridge the next morning was also a delectable and fast leftover breakfast.

“Pannekoeken” (pan-ah-cookin) is the Flemish name for crepes - it translates as pancakes, but they’re different from pancakes in that they’re very thin and stretchy, and able to be rolled and/or stuffed, unlike typical pancakes which are enjoyed in thick, fluffy stacks.

This recipe from The Hungry Belgian might be one to try if you’re curious.

Needless to say, I haven’t had a crepe since I was a teenager - the whole gluten thing. But when I think about that positive eating experience and the memory, it’s also infused with the occasion. Being surrounded by family or friends, something to celebrate, something prepared with love - the maker knowing full-well that everyone is anxiously waiting around the table for the goodies to be set down to enjoy. There’s something to that, isn’t there?

What do you remember about big meals or celebrations around a table when you were younger?

Circa mid-late 1970s L-R: My Great Grandmother, Flavia Segers (Craeye), my Great Grandfather, Charles Segers, Me, my Grandfather/Adoptive Father, Ronald Dodds, my Uncle Guy Van Brabant.

Conversely, Brussel Sprouts.

Ugh, I’ve really tried since then. But less than a handful of times I’ve had them in a restaurant, and once at home where the recipe was just right, and they were crispy and fused with hot peppers and maybe some garlic and a lemon or other citrus sauce that took away the bitterness. But for the most part they always taste to me like they’ve been boiled to oblivion and I can’t get up from the table until I finish what’s on my plate. You either love them or hate them - but how much of our reaction to this kind of food is based on our emotional and physical experience of eating them? Hint: probably a lot. Absent of legitimate allergies and sensitivities, I’m guessing a lot of us have these reactions to certain foods. So in the meantime, I’ll keep trying. I love cabbage, broccoli and other kinds of bitter vegetables, but I’m taking note that there is a lot more influencing my palate than I might think.

What food to you think is absolutely awful and why? Do you have childhood memories associated with it?

We All Scream for Ice Cream

A treasured childhood memory of mine is going downtown on a hot summer night to Ice Cream Galore, a locally owned business that had in our humble opinion, the world’s best ice cream. My favorite? Tiger’s Eye, a mix of black licorice and orange sherbet. The feelings of joy and contentment experienced with a once-in-a-while treat, can follow us into adulthood in a pleasant way, but can also fuel emotional eating when we need more than just ice cream as a solution to what we’re feeling.

Let’s talk about fries now for a minute. Yes, fries. A few years ago, a work colleague asked me what my favorite savory treat was and I didn’t hesitate to say fries. It’s a triple whammy: my previously mentioned Belgian Grandmother, Madeline, only very rarely made thick-cut, delicious Belgian Fries. Fries are often called French Fries, but I’ll stop you right there and get you to read this article, which explains how they actually originated in Belgium. So, at home I love fries (again, prepared with love by the maker, who receives copious thanks and adulation from the table), as well as witnessing the 1980s rise of fast food restaurants where they were also plentiful.

Additionally, in the town I grew up in, there were “chip trucks” or “Bridge Fries,” located under the bridge that provided swift access to the state of Michigan, just on the other side of the St. Lawrence River, where it met Lake Huron. This was a family spot, a teen spot, a date spot, and, since I was a kid of the 80’s and a teen of the 90’s - let’s just say I ate a whole lot of damn fries in my life and they remain, to this day, one of my favorite foods. The emotional, familial and psychological connections run deep.

And so dear reader - if you’ve stuck with me this far - can you guess what I’m going to posit now? Well, it’s a few things, but they’re all related, at least in my mind, bear with me:

1. We all have emotional and psychological connections to the food we eat. If I could, when I have rough days, I would eat ice-cream, fries, and crepes, because it feels good. I associate these foods with feeling good, feeling loved and positive experiences.

2. I think a lot about the rise of the household where two or less parents/adults became the norm. Due to rising costs of living and shifting gender roles/demographics also means more choose or must work additionally, and full-time, outside the home. Which leads to a lessened ability to grow or prepare food at home, and thus to a fast food explosion, often leading to negative health effects. Increasingly, we are living in urban areas, the wealth gap is huge, poverty is increasing, and food deserts are a real and devastating thing.

3. Food and the preparation of it being a necessary but mostly pleasurable, family oriented ritual before the 21st century, begins to shift to a “get it done” by any means necessary approach.

4. We lose our connection to our food and look for the love we miss being shown to us in the preparation of it, from increasingly outside sources. Outside sources could be fast food and other treats which seem relatively benign, but also, alcohol, drugs, entertainment (digital or otherwise), gambling…I’m sticking to food here, but you get the idea.

December 2021 L-R: My daughter, Jesha Morgan, Me, my daughter, Sandelle Morgan, spending some time exploring at the Crocker Museum of Art.

When my daughters came home for Christmas this past December, an interesting thing happened. My husband Richard suggested that we order lots of takeout for the first few days for a few reasons:

1. Between all of us there are a lot of severe food allergies and preferences, but we have similar tastes in takeout menus.

2. It’s the holidays and we’ve all been working hard, let’s support local businesses and take a break from cooking and enjoy some great food.

Sounds reasonable and good, right?

That’s what we thought, and so we went out, gleefully for an outdoor Christmas Eve Brunch. Then we ordered sushi for Christmas Eve dinner and Indian food for Christmas Day dinner. It was all delicious and convenient, but I won’t lie, I love a home-cooked turkey, mashed potatoes and range of vegetables for a traditional meal, but we had so many leftovers from our takeout that we ate those for Boxing Day and still had more leftover. I was contemplating ordering more food to compliment what we had left when my eldest said:

“When are we going to cook? I haven’t had a home-cooked meal from you since March of 2020, I actually really like your cooking,” and that stopped me dead in my tracks. I realized that I too, like cooking. It is an expression of love for me, but when the kids were younger and we had horrendous commutes and so little time, I despised cooking. It was just one more thing I had to do, and kids are always hungry (and so are adults, frankly), and it just became whatever the fastest thing was that I could get on the table.

As I’ve gotten older, I realize that while I do truly enjoy preparing food, but only if there is time and space to do it. If you live in a small/tight space or are always in a rush because of commutes or rely on public transportation? Even harder to take time to grow, shop and prep. I finally decided that on weekends or days off I could batch prep and cook while listening to podcasts, music, or talking on the phone. It felt therapeutic and good to be unhurriedly chopping vegetables, adding spices, marinating meats in sauces and making enough to enjoy some now, and some later. By the way, have you ever read or watched Like Water for Chocolate?

“Tita’s cooking is…a form of magic…her feelings and emotions can influence the meal. When Tita’s tears fall into a cake…the party guests all feel intense sadness and longing after eating it. Her happiness while preparing another meal causes intense euphoria for everyone who tastes it.”

While dining out or ordering in has absolutely always been a rare treat in the homes I grew up in, and the home I cultivated as a wife and mother, did we ever just pick-up fast food or order pizza because that’s what we needed to do to get by in the moment? Absolutely. And because it was such a rarity we usually enjoyed it pretty immensely too.

My girls and I eating ice cream on the couch, 2001/2002

What I want to come around to here friends is the observations we can make about ourselves and our relationship to food and how it impacts our daily life now. While there have always been so-called, foodies, the pandemic that is covid-19 ushered in a whole other kind of cooking, making and baking craze because we literally could not leave home for days, weeks and sometimes months at a time. We suddenly had time and inclination to make meals, and while much has been made about the weight that the collective population has gained during this time, there is also something else we have regained: our appreciation of food made with love, and the relationships that matter to us.

Of particular note to those who have Framilies they’ve built/are building because of severed, lost or toxic blood relative relationships. Do you have recipes or traditions that can find new life in this group? What about new things you discover that can become your specialty offering? It might just be best to separate yourself totally from something that has too much negative association in your past, no matter how much you want to reframe it. What’s important though is that everyone has something personal to offer, to feel part of the gathering, no matter how small or complicated it may be. Eating with others usually makes us feel good, whether we are related or not.

Outdoor Dining, 2014

Dining outdoors increased in popularity during the pandemic, in large part because of social distancing requirements to stay healthy, but it’s always been a lovely thing to do. In this photo, we were nestled in between my friend Margie’s vegetable garden and backyard wooden deck, and it was absolutely perfect.

L-R: Me, my husband Richard, Jose Barrientos, Sienna, Bridget and Shane Titus.

Photo by Margarita and Bruce Macdonald (not pictured).

Understand, that I am not trying to make this about weight or how you look, but how you feel. Our emotional attachments to or rejections of the food we eat, the company we keep and what makes us thrive are intimately connected. I encourage you to explore what that means for you - what do you need more of, or less of in your life?

If you live alone, or in a limited person household, is it possible to arrange Zoom or Face Time calls while eating with people you care about? (Don’t laugh, we do that sometimes with our daughters now that they both live away from home, and it’s actually a lot of fun). If that feels weird, maybe try scheduling calls close to mealtimes so that the feeling of connection can last into your eating time. Technology is not a complete replacement for actual people, but it can help to try different things out.

My Mom, Maria, and I in 1974

Whether we consciously recollect them or not, our earliest memories live in our bodies, and are associated with safety, nourishment and care.

Are you able to have conversations with caregivers about you as a baby? If not, what do photographs, if any, reveal?

I’ll spare you (and my daughters) the photos that could accompany the one above of me feeding my girls in almost the exact same position, with the same facial expression and at the same age. It’s uncanny how similar they are. Whether you were nursed at a breast or had a bottle, or whether you yourself breastfed your children and/or they had a bottle, the same thing happens: we associate nourishment with love and closeness to someone other than ourselves. And while I believe it’s also healthy and perfectly natural to eat alone comfortably, especially as we get older, we owe it to ourselves to be cognizant enough to recognize when we need or seek out other people, or when others need us. It’s wired into our brains, our hearts and our bodies to connect.

The patterns we can observe about ourselves, and how we do things now impacts our families and everyone who’s important to us in this life. I’m no food expert and am not claiming to be an authority on what’s best for everyone, but what I do think is this: when we know more about who we are, what we want (and why), along with who we love, it makes life and everything in it make more sense, taste amazing, and feel good.

And what could be better than that?

Other podcasts I like that contain helpful resources for dealing with our emotions and the challenges of daily living:

On Being, hosted by Krista Tippett

The Happiness Lab, hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos

***Note also that disordered eating is a very real and potentially dangerous situation that you or a loved one could experience and which can be extremely difficult, or even impossible to manage alone. It is often characterized by, but not limited to: severely restricting calorie intake, binging and/or purging, excessively exercising, body dysmorphia and obsessing about food (an inability to control your thoughts about food). Further information and resources are available to help online, or by contacting your preferred medical professional.***

If this post brought up any interesting thoughts or comments you’d like to share, I’d love yo hear from you:

myyogaaudio@gmail.com

Passing: A Guest Appearance on “Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous”

This past week I was overwhelmed with gratitude and joy to be able to be interviewed and in conversation with Julia Washington, the host of “Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous” about the book and new Netflix adaption of Nella Larsen’s Harlem Renaissance Novel: Passing.

Passing formed a huge part of my thesis while completing my MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute and impacted my own personal life in a big, big way. Connecting with Julia and finding we mutually had just as much interest and excitement in this writing (which is still so relevant today) is an amazing feeling.

I created a set of artworks based on this book that are now in the Wedge Collection of Dr. Kenneth Montague in Toronto, and was blown away and honored when artist, professor and writer, Deborah Willis wrote about these pieces in the journal: The Image of the Black in Western Art, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and David Bindman in 2014.

I’d be so honored if you gave this episode a listen. It’s nearly as long as the movie itself, clocking in at 103 minutes, but worth the listen in my (humble’ish) opinion. Available here on Apple Podcasts, but it is also available on all streaming platforms and wherever you listen to podcasts. Thank you Julia Washington for this amazing experience!

Embracing India: The Pandemic, Yoga & You

As the severe wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths has engulfed India in these last few weeks, past a point any of us could have ever imagined - and still rising, I have found myself at a loss of what to do or say. As a yoga teacher and practitioner, I owe a lot to this country, culture, and the yoga and philisophy teachings that have impacted my life and the lives of many others for so long. While I have just received my second dose of the vaccine and am days closer to more personal safety, it certainly does not feel as good as it would if I knew that more people in India and elsewhere had access to life saving medicine, oxygen and healthcare during this time. The notable cruelty is that India is one of the world’s largest producer of vaccines, including the ones for coronavirus - and yet, they don’t have enough of it for themselves.

I’ve grappled with what to say or not say, but after sitting with this crisis, it finally came back to some of the teachings I have learned from India and my training and practice to help me break it down into what I could do. It’s culminated in this post which has been helpful for me to write, and hopefully, will be helpful for you too.

This image was taken of me by photographer Shaun Roberts in 2013 for an artist profile series on Wondereur.

The Yamas & The Niyamas and Contemporary Living

A set of philosophies I return to again and again is called the Yamas & Niyamas. Largely regarded as the “Ten Commandments” of yoga’s ethical guidelines and part of any great yoga teacher training, I decided to try and look again at these ancient teachings and apply them to this contemporary crisis situation in a way that would help me to take action - and then share what I learned. You may notice, they’re similar in some ways to the Christian oriented Ten Commandments - I was raised in a Catholic household and noticed this right away! The highly popular and very digestible book, aptly called, The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele I definitely recommend if you want to dive deeper.

The Yamas and Niyamas originate from the very well known text 'The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali' written between 500 BC and AD400.

Photo by Aliis Sinisalu on Unsplash

The Yamas and Niyamas in basic definition are as follows:

Yamas
Ahimsa | Non Violence
Satya | Truthfulness
Asteya | Non Stealing
Bramacharya | Non Excess
Aparigraha | Non Possessiveness
Niyamas
Saucha | Purity
Santosha | Contentment
Tapas | Self-Discipline
Svadhyaya | Self-Study
Ishvara Pranidhana | Surrender

How can we adopt the principles of the Yamas & Niyamas to contemporary, Western living?

Image by Randy Rizo on Unsplash

Ahimsa or Non-Violence is most often associated (in my experience) with deciding not to eat animal products or to advocate for gun controls. While those things can have their place here too, how else can we think about non-violence and how can we apply it to the current crisis in India?

Two concepts also associated with non-violence are: developing compassion and finding our own courage. So let’s start with developing compassion. Compassion is defined as concern or sympathy for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. Courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens you and finding strength in the face of pain or grief. What if we combined both into an action?

Can you find compassion for those who are suffering? Notice if you can’t. Does it feel too far away from your life and your experience? Or maybe you do feel overwhelming compassion, and even empathy. Maybe you are struggling to know what to do about your feelings. Our courage comes in when we can find our voice to talk about it and if possible, contribute funds or energy towards our position and the situation at hand. If you can’t find compassion, TRY. Ask yourself why that is and how you can cultivate it. If you are consumed with empathy, try applying compassion to your own state to recognize that you can only do so much from where you currently stand. If you want to give funds to help India’s crisis, you can do so here.

Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

From where you are standing or sitting right now, what is true?

Satya or Truthfulness

What is the truth of what you’re experiencing right now? There is power in acknowledging what you are going through, just as there is to notice someone else’s struggle. Get real with yourself about who you are in this moment. Can you take the time to notice and absorb what’s happening in your mind and your body, without an attachment to an outcome? This can be enough. This is the preview to Aparigraha or Non-Possessiveness too. Aparigraha is often associated with things, like wanting too many pairs of shoes or needing to know every detail of your partner’s whereabouts as a measure of the strength of your relationship. But not being attached to outcomes or resolutions of situations in the way you might envision them has a home here too. Start with asking yourself about what your truth is in regards to this crisis in India right now and whether you are attached to a particular outcome. You can contribute anonymously and financially to help bring international aid, as mentioned in the previous paragraph. Do you need to be recognized for it or just do it? You could also meditate or pray on it and give sincere energy and love from your very core. You could practice yoga asanas, read yoga texts or about Indian history, or recite healing mantras. What about reaching out to a local Indian organization in your community and volunteering time or resources right where you are? Here is another organization where you can contribute towards Education, Living and Public Health in India.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Asteya or Non-Stealing and Bramacharya or Non-Excess was exampled in one way by pandemic rushes to buy toilet paper and
hand sanitizer.

Asteya, Non-Stealing and Bramacharya, Non-Excess

At face-value, these concepts are pretty clear. Don’t steal and don’t hoard. Where do you fit in on this paradigm? When we think about yoga and India, there has been a reckoning happening quite strongly for years now about how yoga has been appropriated by the West and how the majority of teachers and practitioners are not only non-Indian, but primarily White. Add to this that most people think yoga is just a workout and not a system of living, compounds the problem. To many, yoga has indeed been stolen from India, and turned into something else entirely here in the Western World.

If you are a yoga teacher, do you know your yogic teaching lineage? I was fortunate in my training to have our lead trainers teach us about who their teachers were, and before that and before that - leading all the way back to internationally well-known teachers and guru’s in India. I don’t say that to imply I’m somehow better, but more that this needs to happen more often, in every teacher training. We need to recognize that Yoga is a system of knowledge for living, and it’s important to acknowledge its full and complex history, including teaching lineage. The goal of yoga is not about how you look or how “good” you are at doing or teaching the poses. There are eight limbs of yoga and physical practice or asana is just one of them! Let us more openly and internally remember to recognize those who showed us the way and work towards course correcting the appropriation that has all too often alienated those of Indian descent from their own cultural identity. Let us truly educate ourselves and other practitioners about what it means to do so with authenticity and love for a life changing practice that is so much more than physical movements.

Bramacharya or Non-Excess

The picture above kind of says it all, doesn’t it? The pandemic in the United States in terms of consumer action, brought out some of our unattractive tendencies. Scarcity and fear mindset led to toilet paper and hand sanitizer being difficult to find for months at a time. Videos of customers fighting with one another over these household staples went viral.

Let us ask ourselves - how much do I really need?

Like anyone, I have a penchant for certain items when I go to the store. I’m a person in progress too, trying to do better. Also, I’m not saying don’t spend your hard earned dollars on something nice for yourself sometimes! Start by being more mindful. Shopping online unfortunately exacerbates the ease with which we can acquire things that bring us momentary joy, especially when we’ve felt stranded at home during a pandemic. I select what I need and what I can afford. If something great is on sale at the grocery store for example, and there is plenty available, sure, I’ll go ahead and buy a few. If I’m buying the last item available, I double check with myself if I really NEED it, or if scarcity mindset is telling me I better get it before someone else does and I’ll be afraid to be without. In a North American life filled mostly with abundance, we can all afford to take a step back and question what is needed and what is wanted? What is stocking up and what is hoarding? What emotional ties do we personally have to acquiring things, food and survival?

Work on yourself and if you have serious issues, those need addressing too. But also, consider those who truly don’t have enough from day-to-day, and consider donating food, supplies, funds or volunteer hours to your local food bank.

Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash

Cremation fires in India are now burning 24/7 as a result of the effects of COVID-19.

Saucha or Purity

Images have dominated the news lately of the thousands of cremation fires taking place across India as a result of mass death associated with COVID-19. Traditionally in India, Hindus are cremated along the Ganges River as part of a month-long series of funeral rites intended to purify and prepare the soul to move out of the body and assist it in moving toward mukti or, spiritual liberation. The inundation of the pandemic has meant, sadly, that bodies are now burning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to try and keep some form of family ritual and mourning available for those who are left in its wake.

In the West, while we are familiar with cremation, the dominant form of ritual surrounding death is through burial. What can we learn about ourselves by being open to doing things differently? It wasn’t so long ago that we were all horrified to see bodies in the United States being loaded into refrigerated trucks across the United States, but particularly in New York and across the South, and funeral homes could not keep up with demand. How soon we forget the torment of what mass casualty can do to so many. While we do not want to linger in a place of despair, we do need to come to terms with our common humanity and do our part.

Here, we can reflect once again upon Aparigraha or Non-Possessiveness. Our Western Culture puts the ultimate importance on the body, how we look, how thin or thick we are, how light or dark we are and how we age (or appear not to). Burial and the body are considered sacred, so the burning of a body by some might just not be misunderstood, but even frowned upon, seen as “foreign” or even a sacrilege. In this time of mass burning in India, where the literal smoke and ashes of thousands of souls are floating up into our atmosphere, how can we reflect on our own Saucha or Purity? Perhaps we could start by exploring our ingrained ideas about death and ritual. What do you believe? Why do you believe this?

In the book I mentioned previously by Deborah Adele, she puts forth the idea that Saucha can also involve Gathering All the Scattered Pieces of Ourselves. Where do the pieces of you lie and how can you purify and re-member the pieces of yourself back together? With a new perspective, you can approach the challenges of a sometimes chaotic world differently and more effectively.

Photo by Anukrati Omar on Unsplash

To be content with ourselves in a spinning, wonderful world full of every gadget, convenience and cosmetic to “make it all better” is a true test of our own self-worth.

Santosha or Contentment & Tapas or Self-Discipline

Western life, driven by capitalism, means that very often we are eagerly seeking the next and most exciting new thing. From literal, material possessions to relationships and social status. We are surrounded by the notion that relationships are transactional and that every action must be profitable, met with reciprocation somehow and “scratching each other’s back”. To be content with ones own life, just as it is, takes daily acceptance, practice and discipline. Doing things without the expectation of praise or a return of some kind is very difficult for us to swallow, it’s not how we were raised and it’s not how many around us live.

This is where Tapas/Self-Discipline can be practiced. America after all is supposed to be the land of plenty. Milk and honey, or so the saying goes. Take a look around you. For a great many of us, housing, food, clothes and conveniences are available at every turn. But what’s also true, is that the poverty rate in the United States is at its highest since the 1960s. In India, the pandemic has pushed a large number of the middle class into poverty as well. We share as countries, this huge shift. While India is still considered a rapidly developing country, and the U.S. a developed country, the pandemic impact on increasing the rate of poverty is just the same, having a massive affect on both of our populations. Another note, poverty does not “happen” more to Black or Brown people, however, people of color are disproportionately affected by it, similar to what we have seen happen with infection rates during the pandemic.

We can return again here to the Yamas of Bramacharya/Non-Excess and Aparigraha/Non-Possesiveness. How much do we really need and how much can we give back to help those who DO need it? Whether you are contributing funds or other efforts directly towards the Indian crisis, or towards causes right where you live, you can make a difference by offering friendship, assistance or funding to someone who needs it more than you do. We can loosely apply the concept of Karma here. What goes around comes around - but you may not see the results of your actions in your lifetime. Be ok with that! Philanthropy doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking or involve a lot of money, but know that Karma is still at work and that one person CAN make a difference in the life of another. Your great grandchild may feel the positive ripple affects of the actions you take today.

Where can you connect with others and provide support, while also being supported? Through cultivating friendship, both new and old and in Community Building. This helps to develop compassion and contributes towards Self-Study or Svadhyaya. Other people can provide insights to you that may be helpful, and you can do the same in return. It’s not transactional in this sense, it’s about community.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels

Finally, Svadhyaya or Self-Study & Ishvara Pranidhana, Surrender

Self-Study and Surrender can be a big challenge for many. While light, fun things like exploring your horoscope tendencies, discovering your Dosha or Enneagram number are an entry point towards learning about yourself, true self-study involves much more than that. Ultimately, it means knowing yourself well enough that you can be a force of good for others. It requires studying, reading and sitting with yourself, and meditation is the key. Meditation however, can be done in many ways. It doesn’t have to be the sitting down cross-legged version with hands in the prayer position that often dominates media interpretations of both yoga and meditation. It can be a walk in nature, noticing the sights, sounds and sensations all around you. It can be journaling. It can be swimming or any physical activity, even dancing with abandon, or playing a musical instrument. It can be the practice of yoga itself, physically moving your body in a way that encourages muscle use and release - and acknowledging the accompanying emotions and feelings that come up for you.

Most of all, the practice of self-study asks you to surrender to what is. What is the truth for you? What happens when you breathe deeply, close your eyes and be still? For many of us, it is difficult to sit still. Western culture encourages us to do do do all of the time. We alone are never enough under this umbrella, so we do, buy and busywork to ensure that we don’t have to be alone with our thoughts. What that doesn’t leave time for is anything deeper. And it makes us afraid to be alone, afraid to be with ourselves, afraid to deal with the potentially challenging things that may come up for us. So start small. Commit to closing your eyes and taking ten deep breaths in and out. Go for a walk in nature alone, without music or other distractions. See what you notice. Sit on the earth and focus your gaze on something for as long as you can while keeping a hand on your heart and belly. Maybe you can begin a routine in the morning and/or at night that involves Abhyanga, the practice of massage, on the self. While traditionally, it involves the whole body, start with one area. The face, the feet (helps you to fall asleeep!) or your belly (helps with digestion too).

Learn to spend time with yourself, to love yourself, to surrender to the needs of your heart, mind and body. When you feel more whole and complete, then and only then, will you be more able to share yourself, your resources and your wisdom with others. If we all spent more time embracing our whole selves and less time criticizing (ourselves and others), we would more easily recognize how to be there for others rather than demean or dismiss that which seems too different from us.

The answers don’t feel so far away if we recognize the human connection that we all share. In these times, it is easy and tempting to focus only on the dividing lines, boxed in as we are by race, class, gender or political party lines, to name just a few. And to be sure, these boxes are important to talk about in their impacts, limitations and for rectifying injustice. I certainly don’t know all the answers and I for sure know that I don’t get it right every time. Maybe I’ve even messed up here in writing what I have. But I’m trying. I feel like this post could be a book and it could also have been a much shorter and digestible 10 point bullet list that gives you all the answers in a quick snapshot. But unfortunately, life just doesn’t work that way.

We are, all of us, having an ongoing lived experience. Indian teachers and philosophers have been showing us for thousands of years, the different ways we can each fulfill the promise of our higher selves. So it is up to each of us to consciously decide when, where and how we will live up to our own potential personally and also, how to show up in the world when we are needed.

What will you choose to do moving forward?

Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

Keys to Wellness: Inflammation

Considering how much I’ve been taught and experienced, it’s a little bit embarrassing that it took me this long to figure out how much inflammation in the body impacts everyday wellness, what causes it and then, most importantly, to DO something about it. From simpler things like lowered energy levels to digestive problems, to things as extreme as allergic and anaphylactic reactions, inflammation can cause long-term irritation and damage in the body, but there are ways you can help soothe your system relatively quickly. My entire life (yes, since childhood), I have struggled with inflammation. It showed up as severely dry skin, chronic constipation, perpetual red cheeks, stomach pain, ulcers and even migraine headaches beginning at age 10.

Migraines: Severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that it interferes with your daily activities.

Triggers often include stress, alcohol, too much caffeine, bright lights, weather changes, aged cheeses and salty foods, aspartame, too little or too much sleep, hormonal changes.

As I moved into my teen years I alternated between constipation and diarrhea, developed severe acne on my chest plus everything else above that I have already mentioned. My weight often quickly fluctuated between being between five pounds under or over weight (according to the extreme ends of my Body Mass Index or BMI). I always had rashes and irritated skin, all food seemed to upset my stomach and cause me pain. I was consistently deficient in Iron and B Vitamins even though I regularly ate meat.

Homeopathy and Traditional Medicine

Eating as many whole, un-processed foods as possible supports a body seeking to reduce inflammation. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and even meats in moderation can support this goal.

Hint: It doesn’t always have to be a salad! Try soups, stews and “roasting” your veggies and fruits as you would meats for a new flavor and texture. Beans are a great protein alternative too, either on their own, or as part of a hearty dip.

In my early 30’s, on a hunch, I visited a new-in-town homeopath named Jason that had set up an office only a few blocks from my house. After meeting with me for over an hour and me filling out a few pages of detailed questions on personal and family history we started with what he called an Elimination Diet. I wasn’t there to lose weight and the word diet actually just means literally, what you eat. He explained that the Elimination Diet over a course of 4-8 weeks helps you to figure out which of the top allergenic foods are causing you problems by eliminating all of them, and then slowly introducing them back into your diet to see how you feel in a system that has removed a potential source of irritation and inflammation and to see if they cause a reaction. Here are the top most common food allergies:

1. Cow’s Milk & Cow Dairy Products

2. Eggs

3. Tree Nuts & Peanuts

4. Wheat

5. Soy & Sesame

6. Shellfish/Fish

Jason also encouraged me to work in tandem with my regular medical doctor to arrange for allergic testing, to confirm anything to be especially concerned about. Severe nut allergies run in my family although I didn’t ever seem to have trouble with them personally. The testing with my doctor at the time (this was in the early 2000’s) confirmed moderate allergic reactions and an inflammation response to dairy, wheat and shellfish. I’d actually already had one very scary episode with shellfish in my early 20’s that resulted in difficulty breathing, hives all over my body, vomiting and diarrhea. The Elimination Diet at that time was challenging for me. I had milk, eggs, wheat and fish products pretty much daily. But my discomfort level was so high, I was willing to try anything. Low and behold, the elimination diet truly helped, and the doctor testing combined with the homeopathic approach confirmed each other.

Something More

Mild to moderate gut issues are often the first signs that something is out of order in the body. The last two decades have seen huge increases in diagnoses of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Celiac Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Ulcerative Colitis, Dicericulitis, Peptic Ulcer Disease, and the list really does goes on.

Sometimes, we can change our course before these things set-in, or assist with alleviating discomfort once there has been a diagnosis. (And sometimes not.)

But since that time, I’ve continued to struggle mildly, moderately and at times, severely. What else was going on? In my mid-thirties I had an "episode” I’ll call it where I felt so unwell that I ended up in urgent care. The main symptoms were that I had painful and itchy red rashes all over my body, I lost seven pounds in three days and seemed to have a fever that came and went. My doctor suspected at that time that I might have Celiac Disease or another autoimmune condition and started asking me about what I was eating. Since learning about the wheat and milk allergy, I had mostly eliminated them from my diet. I say mostly because I would still have the occasional ice-cream, cheese or slice of toast. The gluten-free product availability at that time was not then what it is now and alternative products tasted terrible. I also didn’t realize the full impact of what I was doing. Long story short: it took seven more years to conclusively diagnose me with Celiac Disease. What many people don’t realize is that Celiac can be quite serious. Yes, you need to avoid wheat which seems easy enough right? Just don’t eat the bread. But it’s complicated because wheat gluten is found in many products because it’s a binder. I’ve seen it in chips (pringles), sauces and dips (soy sauce - a double whammy if you’re soy sensitive, which I now am also), and main course dishes at restaurants (the coatings they use for fish or other proteins, even salad dressings at times). Truly, the list is endless where you can potentially find wheat gluten and since it damages your small intestine it does everything from blocking nutrient absorption from the food you eat, to predisposing you towards heart disease and bowel cancers (if left untreated). It is an inflammation of the small intestine, leading to discomfort and pain. So for everyone who says, “can’t you just have a bite or a little bit?”, it’s a really, really bad idea. As the celiac.org website reveals, even ingesting tiny amounts of gluten, like crumbs from a cutting board, can trigger small intestine damage.

Gluten isn’t just found in breads.

It’s common in sauces, dressings, chips, snacks, soy sauce and many restaurant recipes in some way. It’s not at all about simply avoiding bread or thinking a little bit will be just fine.

Inflammation Station

We now know from science that chronic inflammation is the culprit behind almost every single disease on the planet. There is a difference though in terms of acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation is the redness, heat and swelling around tissues and joints that happens when you hurt yourself (like cut your finger or bang your knee). When the body has an injury, your immune system sends out a rush of white blood cells to surround and protect the area that has been injured. This kind of inflammation is good in the sense that it helps to protect an injured body or, fight off invaders like influenza, pneumonia and the like. Chronic Inflammation often initially affects the stomach, but eventually it becomes systemic and can affect nearly every organ in the body. The same reaction as in acute inflammation takes place except now the white blood cells flood the problem area and end up attacking nearby healthy tissues and organs too. Not a good scene.

So let’s fast forward now to the recent past, the fall of 2020. After 7 months of the pandemic lock down, I, like many others seemed to have put on about ten or so pounds. I felt sluggish, I knew I was drinking too much wine and rewarding myself with too many “once-in-a-while foods” like sweets and snacks on a more regular basis. Even though I worked out almost daily, I wasn’t as active as when I was going too and from work each day in general and let’s face it, the stress of 2020 with one upsetting event after another raised everyone’s blood pressure and stress factors to the limit. Stress DOES play a big part of how much inflammation you have in the body too by the way (and yoga and mediation are a great way to help reduce that kind of inflammation!)

So, what are the biggest inflammatory causing things that affect most bodies that we can control?

Alcohol, Caffeine and Sugar

Processed Meat and Refined Carbohydrates

1. Sugar, High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Caffeine & Alcohol

2. Processed Meat (sausage, bacon, ham, smoked meat, beef jerky)

3. Refined Carbohydrates (candy, bread, pasta, pastries, cookies, cakes, soft drinks & some cereals)

4. Artificial Trans Fats (fried food, margarines/shortening, packaged or processed foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil)

So I made a decision. I wasn’t as concerned about the weight as I was about how I felt. I was concerned that I was developing habits that weren’t healthy and that my long-term health might be seriously impacted if I didn’t make a change. So based on everything I’d experienced before in my life, what I knew now and combined with both doctor and alternative health testing and counseling from my past, I did the following for about three months:

1. No alcohol

2. No coffee (in fact, I’d stopped drinking coffee daily about a month into the pandemic, but now, eliminated it totally)

3. No cows milk products, no processed meat, no refined carbs or trans fats (to be honest, these aren’t really part of my diet anyway)

4. I still had sugar in the form of fruit, maple syrup in my morning tea and the occasional bit of dark chocolate

5. No refined carbohydrates at all, but I did have sweet potatoes and yams and sparingly, brown rice, quinoa and white potatoes.

6. Daily movement in the form of yoga, walking, running or strength training for a minimum of 30 minutes

Here’s What Happened

Better skin. Better sleep.

Lost inches. Gained clarity.

First off, what helped was working out as much as possible, staying hydrated, planning good meals and getting a good sleep. I started reading a lot more, just for pleasure. After the first week, I didn’t get a single headache. I normally get at least one headache per week and several migraines per year.

Second, I lost about five pounds.

Third, while I didn’t lose a lot of weight, I noticed that my clothes fit better and things that had become too tight in the last year suddenly fit again. As the overall inflammation in my body went down I did lose some pounds, but mostly what I lost was INCHES (i.e. a bra size, a pants size). My waist became more defined again and the persistent breast pain I’d developed in the last few years has DISAPPEARED.

I also want to be clear here that I’m not advocating for weight loss or inches loss. A thinner body does not equate to a healthier body any more than a bigger body is supposed to signal that something is wrong. While BMI has long been regarded as the gold standard, even it has been criticized as flawed when it comes to different types of bodies and being unable to distinguish between muscle mass and fat mass and different body types. My purpose here is to investigate inflammation, and how reducing chronic inflammation helps the body, regardless of your weight or size.

Alcohol

Many of you may know this, but the radical difference of a good night’s sleep without alcohol is second to none, and although that first week was really hard and I wanted my nightly glass of wine more than anything, after two weeks it was totally fine and I didn’t really think about it anymore. Sparkling water became my best friend along with non-caffeinated teas. Now, I do allow myself a glass or two on weekends if I really want one, but not at all during the week. I’m considering cutting that back too, maybe only to special events or occasions or even giving it up altogether or only indulging as a rarity. Also, red wine makes me flush, sneeze, get congested and even sometimes cause a mild headache within just half a glass! I can start to feel the difference in my body very quickly now, it’s an inflammation alert and that tells me it’s either time to stop, slow down, or choose something else.

All The Rest

Since I don’t usually eat a lot of sugar, drink a lot of caffeine or processed meat, refined carbs and trans fats regularly, I don’t think their elimination from my routine made a huge difference, but overall I felt so much better than I had in months and if you DO eat them regularly, I would encourage you to try a few weeks without. Eating foods in as close to their natural form as possible continues to be reinforced as an optimal way to achieve health and balance. I recently tasted some beef jerky and was horrified at the taste and salt levels that my tongue could now detect.

My energy levels were higher and the longer I kept at it, I slept better and better, and I’ve always been a terrible sleeper. Combined with movement, meditation and eating simple, wholesome foods without a lot of sauces, I learned to taste my food better and eat more mindfully. I eat a lot, I’m a tall person (5”11) with a lot of muscle mass, so I get hungry. I didn’t starve myself at all. I eat when I’m hungry. The best thing I discovered again during this time was Oatmeal. Yes, oatmeal! Full of fiber and antioxidants, oats are very nutritious, make you feel full, help with constipation and it pairs nicely with fruit, chia and my favorite: nut butters. I could write a song about the beauty of oatmeal, but I’ll spare you. Another tip? If you really struggle with constipation as I have my whole life, try a natural supplement called Triphala. I was introduced to this about four years ago and I now take it daily. It’s a life changer. Another tip? I’ve found Ayurvedic Brands who often have a commitment to sustainable, organic and fair trade practices work much better than store or generic brands.

The gaining of wisdom and the aging process is one that

I support and respect wholeheartedly, even though it can

be challenging to see the changes happening in the

mirror everyday.

Reducing inflammation helped me to look and feel better AND embrace the parts of me that are evolving in new ways.

Lastly, I have to say that this experiment also renewed my skin. As a woman in my 40’s, I’m watching the gray hairs come in, my skin is changing rapidly and my waist has started to expand. This is not strictly about aesthetics and there is a certain beauty in embracing all of that as part of the inevitable in some ways, the wisdom and aging process is one that I wholeheartedly support. However, I also noticed that my skin improved quite dramatically. I lost a couple of inches on my waist. I saw less redness, more even tones. I noticed overall less dryness and flaking, more smoothness and softness. And my teeth? Well, if you’re not drinking coffee or red wine, they sure look a lot brighter too. But truly, it was the difference in my clarity of thought, my ability to concentrate, and how GOOD I felt. My main reason for writing all this out is to show how from the inside-out, your mind and your body are truly amazing at what they can do when they work together. So I’ll close with a few summary thoughts about what I learned, in the hope that it encourages you too:

Feeling good is possible.

You can be your own cheerleader and say nice things to yourself.

Asking for help is also a good idea sometimes.

Taking care of your mental health is a priority.

Being honest with yourself about your habits and whether they are healthy or not is important.

Love and learn from yourself through all the ups and downs.

Get comfortable with asking: how do you really feel, from moment to moment?

You’re a beautifully imperfect and fledgling human being who deserves all the love anyway.

Learn new things and have fun doing those new things.

Laugh at how many times it took you to absorb the lessons you kind of knew all along.

Taking care of your mental health is a priority.

Being honest with yourself about your habits and whether they are healthy or not is important.

Love yourself anyway.

Interview with Wanda Abney of Full Circle Radio, FM 97.5

I was so fortunate and frankly, thrilled to be asked by radio personality and host, Wanda Abney to come on her show. It’s called Full Circle and it is dedicated to helping women live their very best lives. Ms. Wanda's Full Circle is a show that takes a 360 degree look at womanhood, focusing on the issues women face today. The show's purpose is empowerment through conversation. Each week featured guests offer valuable information that empowers listeners to achieve the desired vision for their lives. Specifically, she asked me to come on the show to talk about my book and also to speak about the launch of MYA~My Yoga Audio. We had a wonderful time and if you would like to listen to that conversation you can listen here on Spotify and all other major podcast networks under the name, Ms. Wanda’s Full Circle Radio.

Why MYA

Welcome to MYA ~ My Yoga Audio, my name is Megan Morgan and I’m a yoga teacher, writer and artist. This idea of a yoga class that’s purely an audio type of experience is something that started unconsciously planting seeds in me over eight years ago when I was in yoga teacher training in Canada. As part of our 200 hour registration requirements, we had to teach classes in multiple formats, one of which included verbal instruction ONLY, no demonstrating, no moving around whatsoever. It was to teach us that our voice alone, our cues and phrasing should be specific enough, that a student could even keep their eyes closed and still practice successfully without seeing you every moment. In fact, I’ve attended several classes where some students were legally blind, the teacher was aware, and other than providing occasional hands-on support to help steady them, they practiced wholly on their own.

Stepping into a yoga class is a little bit like stepping of a ledge, into an abyss.

But even though it may feel a little bit intimidating, yoga movements don’t have to be complicated or difficult.

There are so many to choose from.

I’ve also been in several classes (or taught them myself) where we’ve been encouraged to close our eyes to practice. To trust ourselves and to trust that the ground is right there where we need it.

Don’t move the way fear makes you move. Move the way love makes you move. Move the way joy makes you move. – Osho

While there certainly are controversies about Osho as a teacher and leader, I think that quote from him exemplifies what I’m trying to help listeners achieve here, which is practice and movement without fear. We’ll also look at some of the roots of yoga and their teachings. What do things written hundreds and even thousands of years ago have to do with today? You might be surprised at how the human condition still spirals around the same issues.

The most important thing to do in yoga, is breathe.

 So to go back to how I got here for a moment, I’ve been practicing for twenty years and teaching for eight years, but a little over one year ago I stopped teaching public classes. I had a family crisis that needed my full attention at the time and I’ve only worked with students one-on-one, or in workshop type small group settings ever since. While the crisis in my personal life abated somewhat, I still felt drawn to teach in another way, but I didn’t know what that path was, for quite some time.

Then the pandemic of COVID-19 hit all of us in March of 2020 here in the United States and Canada and virtual Zoom Yoga became our new yoga centers. But somehow, that still didn’t seem to be what I wanted to do, as much as I applauded and still do, everyone making it work in this format. I realized it still emphasizes the visual and that’s even harder to do on a laptop computer in the middle of your living room, or wherever you’re practicing.

I had a dream.

Then, one night a few months ago I had a dream about this, about MYA. Not the name MYA, but just the concept of doing voice only yoga classes and it felt SO RIGHT. It’s the kind of class I’d want to take, and also, the kind of class I finally wanted to teach again. I’ve been listening to podcasts for a few years too, and that has only increased since I’ve been working from home.

I’m fortunate that former students and friends have reached out almost continuously since I stopped teaching to ask WHEN, when would I teach again? And when the pandemic hit, when would I be on zoom? But I continued to think on it, post my short yoga tutorials on Instagram and try to figure out where and when the teaching would come. And then it did.

One thing you should know is that I wrote a book last year. It’s called The End of Me – and this isn’t just a shameless plug. I bring this up because one of the things I talk about in the book is how all my life I’ve been a very vivid dreamer. So vivid are my dreams that sometimes, things I dream about come to fruition in real-life. Sometimes they’re worldwide, massive events, but more commonly, it’s insight into my own life or about people I know and love. So when I awoke knowing that this concept was my next step, I stumbled out of bed, trying to get it together. This turned into a two-week flurry of activity and about three hours later, while writing everything down at the kitchen table and excitedly explaining my idea to my husband the name came – MYA~My Yoga Audio. It settled into my bones, the hair on my arms stood up, tears came to my eyes. My intuition was confirmed when I could claim the name as a website, email address and on social media pages.

So, what can you expect as we move forward on this podcast?

Well, initially, I’ll provide some basic teachings on guided meditation, yoga basics and yoga flows. We’ll also look at breath work, mantras, philosophy and tips and tricks. I’ll have guests on the show too and have some expansive conversations on different types of yoga, have them guest teach classes and maybe even contribute to the blog with guest posts! I have a list a mile long of amazing folks that I want to invite who all teach, inspire, create and activate and I can’t wait for you to hear from them. I also have a big dream to bring in more about books and art – not just written or done by me, but by other artists and writers in our local and global community, because creative capital like art and words are important and provide numerous pathways to healing too.

Also, I want to encourage you to ask questions. Each episode, I’ll answer questions I’ve received. You can email me at myyogaaudio@gmail.com and you can also ask questions through direct messaging on Instagram through the MYA page which is here. My plan right now is to provide some visual support on the Instagram page for some of the teachings I’m putting out on the podcast. This is not only because an Instagram presence requires imagery, but also because I understand that for some, especially if you’re newer to the practice, you might just need a little more than the audio, at least at first. I honestly believe that what we’ll do here will bring value to both the beginner and seasoned practitioner. We are all, forever students and there’s so much we can continue to learn and experience.

Believe me, I know I’ve signed up for a challenge, I’m a visual learner too – but the one thing I’ve found is that for yoga, the most powerful and revelatory practices I’ve ever had, have been when I kept my eyes closed or managed to narrow my gaze to only my immediate surroundings. When you can achieve that kind of stillness and trust within yourself and your practice, whole new worlds of possibility and knowing can form. Essential truths reveal themselves and fill you up with a confidence and surety that I’ve yet to experience through other practices.

At the same time, I want to generate and help you all be part of what I hope will be a genuine MYA community. One of the hardest things for all of us right now is the inability to be together, physically. For me, listening to someone speaking in my ear can be quite an intimate experience, one that brings a feeling of closeness with another, with yourself and your own mind/body connection. It’s quite literally, personal.

I want that for you.

I want that for everyone.

So while focusing on your own practice is the main goal of this podcast, I do hope you’ll also feel part of something bigger and expansive as well. As things continue to evolve for this show, I’ll keep you informed. My initial plan is to release a new episode every two weeks, but I’m a human, so forgive me now if things ever get out of sync. If you’d like to sign up for what will be an eventual newsletter, navigate to the MYA Instagram page where the link in bio will take you to where you can sign up for it and I will let you know every time a new episode drops.

I cannot wait to go on this continuing journey with all of you and I always, always, welcome your feedback, questions and suggestions. Coming up next on Episode 2 will be a powerful, guided meditation that I learned from a seasoned mental health professional that you can return to again and again, whenever you need to ground yourself or when the world feels like too much to bear.

Finally, a huge thank you to Chase Mitchell of Upstarter Podcasts who’s been coaching and guiding me through this new world with kindness and expertise, I can’t recommend him enough.

Until next time, continue whenever and wherever you can, to listen closely and expand exponentially, it’s time for your mind to be on the mat.

Yoga can be as simple as being still.

Yoga is about learning to calm your mind through the practice of movement and focusing on your breath.

Yoga primarily takes place, in the mind.