Stress is not only a feeling. In many cases today, it can become a full-system storm, hijacking sleep, elevating cortisol, flattening mood, and scattering focus. What if not doing anything is the remedy? Yoga Nidra, a guided self-awareness practice from the yogic tradition, is gaining attention for its potent capacity to restore balance and harmony. Research is beginning to catch up with what ancient wisdom has long expressed: this practice quiets the nervous system, improves sleep, and supports emotional healing. Here is how it works and why both clinicians and everyday seekers are paying attention. READ MORE *Latest Article in Brainz Magazine

As the week comes to a close, it’s easy to remember the things we didn’t finish, the moments that felt heavy or the places we wish we had shown up differently. But gratitude has a way of softening those edges. It doesn’t erase what was difficult, but it shifts the way we hold it. In Yoga Nidra, even a simple reflection on one thing we’re grateful for can calm the nervous system and invite a state of rest. Gratitude opens the door to presence. Take a moment to pause. Breathe. And let one memory, one small thing you’re thankful for this week, rise to the surface. What is it for you? SHARE it below. Your gratitude might spark someone else’s. Remember to SIGN UP to the Virtual Gratitude Experience! ✧ Sept 21, 2025 | 10AM PT | Virtual ✧ 90 min online gathering ✧ Invite only (You have to Sign Up!) ✧ meaningful connection, reflection, and, of course, gratitude. ✧ mission: leaving people better than we find them.

At the end of our Gratitude Experience on Sunday, I felt called to share a blessing by the Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue. His book 'To Bless the Space Between Us' is one I return to often, and if you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve likely heard me draw from its pages before. As we ended our time together, I offered his blessing 'For Courage'. A reminder that as the Equinox ushers in a new season, we too are always changing. Each shift in season asks us to trust the unknown and to call on the light within to guide our next steps. I am deeply grateful for the way this community shows up, again and again, in presence, in heart, and in courage. Thank you for what we created together on Sunday. 🌿✨ FOR COURAGE When the light around you lessens And your thoughts darken until Your body feels fear turn Cold as a stone inside, When you find yourself bereft Of any belief in yourself And all you unknowingly Leaned on has fallen When one voice commands Your whole heart, And it is raven dark, Steady yourself and see That it is your own thinking That darkens your world, Search and you will find A diamond-thought of light, Know that you are not alone And that this darkness has purpose; Gradually it will school your eyes To find the one gift your life requires Hidden within this night-corner. Invoke the learning Of every suffering You have suffered. Close your eyes. Gather all the kindling About your heart To create one spark. That is all you need To nourish the flame That will cleanse the dark Of its weight of festered fear. A new confidence will come alive To urge you toward higher ground Where your imagination Will learn to engage difficulty As its most rewarding threshold! P.S. Long live Catherine O'hara haha 😆

This past weekend was a reminder that gratitude can also be vulnerable. In echo of Cat's share: Be Courageous. Each time we pause to appreciate what is already present, we open our hearts and space for something new to emerge. Let's continue to pause for gratitude! SHARE below what you are grateful for today! I'll begin... I am grateful for all of those who are sharing their voice in this community... When I see you being vulnerable and sharing your questions, creating bids for connection, and supporting those who share with a like or comment, it shows me... Although we can be a 'sleepy' community in nature, we don't push 'snooze' on connection. For those silent observers here, I encourage you to SHARE your moment of gratitude on this post! You deserve to be seen. Let's support each other!

╔◇═══ ஓ๑🪷๑ஓ ═══◇╗ I am Nelumbo flow Always been dormant nux Always be lotus flux ╚◇═══ ஓ๑🌱๑ஓ ═══v⁵╝ I want to sprout like. yesterday, but there's no forcing germination. —Þolinmæði þrautir vinnur allar— Patience conquers all trials, my late grandfather would say. But here's the thing... Quiescence knows no patience. It simply is, tikkin' au naturel ✨️ ​I figure when you simply are, everything just is. Being doesn't wait —being happens now— ​Take nuts and seeds: they aren't waiting to sprout, longing for spring; they pulse potential until moisture, light & signals unlock their intricate code. They aren't enduring dormancy; they ARE dormancy —esse dormientium—being asleep. Now I'm going a lil' nuts myself. I'm done being patient, done waiting to sprout. I am sentient seed of potent me. I am the conditions that lead to growth; I am pondbottom. I am light refracting in water. I am water. I am all without which not, sine qua non. Incidentally, lotus blossoms blooming —Nelumbo nucifera—are pretty nuts! Wouldn't you be a lil' nuts in a lil' pod after losing all your petals? nux scattered, empty pod :/ all part of the cycle, all part of the rest ;] —the lotus knows when to open— ◆ Quiescence ◆─────┐ ┌─ 🌱── sprouting <──┘ └─➤ rooting [for ma beibý] ┐ ┌─ thriving <───────┘ └────➤ blooming ──┐ ¡nuts! < 🪷 ────────┘ ↻Again. do it again! Loop it↺ ◇══ flow══════╗ ╔═════ into nux ═╝ ╚═══ grow ═════╗ ╔══════ into flower ══╗ bloom into self ════╝ 🪷✨️ ╚════════════v⁵ ╝