what the bones know
The majority of our ancestors (regardless of how your body is racialized today) lived in reverence to the more than human world. We all come from people who engaged in ritual practices; whose somatic intelligence was intact as they moved their bodies, told stories and sang around a communal fire. Our ancestors trusted the unseen and honored these spirits, protectors, gods, goddesses, and mischief-makers.
learning to fly
One evening, he wheeled the "Desert Rose," out of our garage. We made our way to the middle of our quiet street and he steadied my new ride, while I perched myself on its banana seat between pedals that seemed impossibly far away.
finding wisdom in what aches
My knee is tired. This simple truth lands in my chest like the thud of the old-school yellow pages on a hard desk. There's a heaviness here I've been dutifully avoiding. My knee is tired. It's tired of running, tired of pushing, tired of jumping, tired twisting and bending, tired of extending beyond itself to get just ... a little ... further.
And when I hear my knee, when I can really let these words in, I get it. Yeah knee, I'm fucking tired too.
an invitation to holding complexity
Because thanksgiving is holiday that's rooted in a painful history, we may focus only on what is wrong with it. We feel judgement of those who celebrate, or guilt about our own desire to participate. I believe this day is really about learning to hold complexity.
a tale of racial imposter syndrome
In the Salt Lake City suburb where I grew up, surrounded by whiteness and conservative values, when my “friends” called me an Oreo, I thought this was a good thing. They were saying I was like them, right? White on the inside?
why i care
I believe your body holds wisdom that is essential for creating the world we all deserve to live in – you know, where no one must hustle or compete to meet their basic needs, where all bodies are deemed valuable and every being has ample space for rest and ease. My intention is not that this sounds like a lot of pressure, but I do get it if holding such power makes you feel a little anxious.
freedom journey
Why do we do the work of coming back into connection with our bodies? So often the wisdom they hold is not immediately apparent. Feeling for ourselves means also feeling the places that are uncomfortable -- our physical aches, the emotions we don't quite know what to do with, the old wounds.
joy comes first
Do you remember the fable of the Grasshopper and the Ants?
As a child, I watched this story over and over shuddering at the foolishness of the Grasshopper. My 5-year old self promised to never be like him. I would always be a hard worker. Otherwise, the risk was clear: starvation, exile and death. That wouldn’t be my reality.
As I’ve looked back on this memory I’ve wondered, is this where I first learned the importance of hard work? Is this where I learned to distance myself from my joy?