Coming Back.
As I am writing this post, I can’t help but to stop every so often to check my feeds for news— a new heartbreak, a new policy, a new act of violence against the least of us. And I am shaking.
Every day seems to bring with it new horrors, new fears, and new griefs to carry.
Before founding The Love Ethic in August of 2020, my personal and professional foundations were in a similar state of disorientation. The height of a global pandemic had shaken me. I had to make some hard decisions with regards to the circumstances through which I was living at that time. And those decisions required a huge leap of faith, a deeper commitment to myself, my values, and my vision.
Today, I am happy to be living out the after-effects of those choices.
But 2025 has brought with it a similar set of news— a new administration, a new way of doing politics, a new “normal”.
It is hard to remain steady in the face of so much “new.”
But I am also heartened by the old and ancient, which has prepared us for this moment.
I am recognizing this as an invitation to return to the practices that have helped to steady me in mind and body through previous hardships. And I thought maybe I should offer you this invitation as well.
These are the practices of both stillness and movement.
Of yoga and breath.
As we are now living through some of the most destabilizing and disruptive times in recent U.S. history, it is easy to become shaken, frightened, and overwhelmed. This is by design.
It is easy to give in to our oppressors when we are in a state of shock or fear. When our sympathetic nervous systems are activated in this way, the breath becomes more shallow. Our bodies produce more adrenaline, and we react— “fight, flight, or freeze.” We are easier to manipulate and control in this way.
This is why it’s important to take time to calm and center ourselves as we learn to navigate this new reality. And as we resist.
During a recent practice of Yoga with Adriene, I was comforted by this reminder—
That it is normal to sometimes forget about our breath.
It is normal to feel tense, to stiffen and gnarl and wrench as we contort ourselves to fit into this warped new reality.
But we do have agency.
And God (the Divine) has equipped us so that we don’t always have to think about the breath.
We are alive.
We are still breathing.
Still being breathed.
And at any moment, we have the opportunity to return to this breath— consciously.
To co-create with the Divine.
One breath at a time.
One moment at a time.
One step at a time.
This is the practice of coming back to ourselves.
This is how we resource ourselves in this moment.
And this is how we resist.
Here’s a link if you’d like to enjoy the full practice: