Start To Deepen Your Breath
Issue 76
Hello, dear ones. Welcome to the tail end of Tuesday.
Do not be surprised if I title a future issue, The Tail End of Tuesday, because that’s a very pleasing phrase to my ear. To yours?
Today’s title is a phrase I like much less. I hear it at the start of most yoga classes, and it never actually compels me to deepen my breath. Some might call that a cliche, but I find even that distinction cliche.
I’m not anti-cliche. If said cliche does the work it’s put there to do, it’s successful. It has earned its keep. The key to cliches is asking yourself, would the language compel me to act? Would my words work on me? Because good communication compels action, whether thinking, feeling, or doing.
Therefore, “begin to deepen your breath” would be better heard and acted upon if teachers kept the sentiment but played with how it was delivered. Even remarking at how the statement nearly compels you to do the opposite. Acknowledging truths relaxes people—deepens their breath.
This is how to get their ear, whether teaching a yoga class or communicating as a brand.
Tripping
Tomorrow is Wednesday—the day I set sail on an epic adventure with my significant other, partner, boyfriend, man, Stephen.
We’re driving from the Bay Area to Sedona, Arizona (with an overnight in Kingman to break up the drive).
I bought a travel trashcan. He bought snow chains. We “argued” over whose car to take. I lost. He drives a truck. Weather!
We planned the trip 30 days after we met, which was 94 days ago.
Let me tell you a little about Stephen. Before we met, I landed on a single non-negotiable quality I sought in a partner (and I wasn’t even looking for a partner—though I was online dating :)
I’m only interested in men who are engaged in personal growth. Period. Full stop. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Someone who has done, is doing, and will continue doing work on themselves—even better, with a partner—is someone I want to meet.
With one non-negotiable, the screening process is fairly simple. Only two men (with this quality) approached my virtual wall. Only Stephen got through.
He’s open-hearted. Kind. Compassionate. Nurturing. Positive. Active. Handsome. Passionate. Open-minded. Capable. And at least 100 other things I haven’t discovered yet.
I know this; my mom is pro-Stephen. Though she passed away almost two years ago, she most certainly had a hand in delivering him from her resting spot.
She once asked me if I felt cherished by my then-husband. “No. I’m definitely not cherished,” I said. By Stephen, I’m cherished. My mom was a nature buff, and Stephen is a Park Ranger. Both are geeks with lessons in every cloud, mountain face, and pile of bobcat scat.
My mom’s gravestone reads: Family is her legacy. Nature is her temple.
Sounds like Stephen.
*To my parents and siblings who haven’t met Stephen yet, I hope this section doesn’t urk you :) In due time…
Soda for (more than) Baking
While at Costco, I picked up a 20lb bag of baking soda I didn’t need.
It cost about as much as a box at a regular store, so I bit the bullet. I heaved the orange sac into my cart and muttered, “I’m never going to Costco again.”
I’ll be back.
Once home, I searched google for baking soda uses because I had baking soda to use. I learned one could go from cleaning the bathroom to alleviating heartburn to discouraging weeds to curing cancer to cleaning silver to get this… baking. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Apple, the Chinese government, or whoever controls our lives recruited Instagram to influence me, and I started tossing the soda into my laundry for whiter whites and brighter brights. I also sprinkle some in the dishwasher and into the cat litter.
From the list of 55+ uses, many caught my eye.
Stop the craving: If you crave sweets, rinse your mouth with one-teaspoon baking soda dissolved in warm water. Don’t swallow the mixture; spit it out. Your craving should disappear instantly.
I have a box of Girl Scout Cookies staring me down. It’s time to try this.
Clean crayons from the wall. A wet cloth with baking soda will remove crayon marks from a wall.
I bet this functions like a Mr. Clean Eraser but more natural and cool.
Discourage weeds. For a natural way to get rid of weeds, sprinkle baking soda between the cracks of your walkway.
Round up the Round UP. There’s a new sheriff in town.
Your takeaway: Go to Costo, buy 20 lbs of baking soda, and you’ll be ready for the apocalypse.
Daily Abundance
The folks who attended my visioning event in late January will recognize this prayer. I read it daily. I gave them each a copy and suggested they do so, too.
Because I know how easy it is to forget, this section is a nudge to those in the group, and offer the words to those who find them soothing and enjoyable.
The Abundance Prayer by Tosha Silver
I keep my copy by my bed, but sometimes I move it to my bathroom mirror for a daily nudge to read.
Dig This!
My latest writing project hit inboxes and mailboxes over the weekend. My friend and collaborator, Craig Frazier brought me on board a wonderful project for a winery in the Russian River Valley called DuMOL.
The quarterly publication we created is named The DuMOL Dirt and it takes you—issue by issue—into the vineyard, under the ground, into the bottle, and onto your table. Like a proper creative team, Craig designs and illustrates and I write.
Issue 01 on soil launched with great success.
I have a video of Emma opening the envelope, dancing and singing, “My mom wrote a newspaper.” She shares it with everyone. I had no idea she’d be so proud. None.
Issue 02 is drafted. Stay tuned.
Bonus Photo
Only the finest eating establishments for my children.
congratulations on new projects and have a great trip! loved this Letter as usual:)
Urk?!?$&”@/()#*??? Urk irks me ;-)