I have been reflecting a lot on the idea of forgiveness and the differences between forgiveness in religion, as opposed to spirituality. Growing up in the Catholic faith, confessional was an integral sacrament for mitigating sin. We would go to a church, sit in a dark little booth and acknowledge our sins. Shame thrives in secrecy and dark places. My experience of spirituality is a bit different.

The holidays can be a season of welcomed joy and celebration, twinkle lights and tasty treats, but for many they can also be laced with grief and loneliness. People may yearn for loved ones who are no longer with them, or for a parent or child they never had, or find themselves wishing to be with someone far away. Whether you are spending time alone or with family this holiday season, here are a few thoughts for navigating the holidays using the guiding principles of the yamas and niyamas.

Last night the batteries went out in one of our smoke detectors. Each time the familiar agitating BEEP rang out, Hank, our hound dog, would shake vigorously, tail between the legs, ears perked, and eyes jolting around the room—a trauma response.

Hank had a tough start. I tried out fostering dogs while I was in social work school, and he was my first (and only).

When I was first training in yoga therapy nearly a decade ago, the primary line of thinking about our autonomic nervous system, was that it could be broken down into two parts: the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).

Black and white thinking is a trauma response that is important to break down for our overall happiness and wellbeing. When we are not feeling safe, it’s easy to slide into rigid thought patterns such as everything is either good or bad, friend or enemy, kind or mean, awesome or awful etc.

When I first set out to make a video about Diastasis Recti, I had no idea it would blossom into the viewership that it has. A friend overseas was having a hard time finding information and resources about diastasis recti after the birth of her firstborn and was eager to return to her prebaby workout regimen. Using yoga therapy and principles of anatomy, I developed the first diastasis recti video.