The Archive

Originally posted on fb. I have edited and added to it here. Rape culture is a founding thread in the fabric of this nation. It’s not new. The system is not broken. It...

As a white woman I have felt that something is wrong for a long time but have also been unwilling to give up my position in society to really ask what that thing might...

The summer I was 17 changed my life. I was sitting in a dark car outside of Toe's house, madly in love and talking about what it means to wake up. I have basically...

Yesterday Antwon Rose, another young black boy, was killed without justice. Every day families are being torn apart – and not just at the border. There is a history of...

When you try to avoid the real pain living in your heart, mind and body, you begin to die. And you keep dying until you speak the truth, even if it is only in a whisper...

Whiteness as “normal” is just not true. Whiteness as “normal” is what supports the continued growth and efficacy of white supremacy. Waking up isa wonder-filled and...

I didn’t grow up talking or thinking about race. I was never asked to consider my part in the bigger cultural picture of decades of oppression, violence and how white...

I am compelled to write this because as I continue to teach people how to connect with their bodies, one of the biggest things that gets in the way is a striving to be...

How your body is like your community: - It’s a big thing made up of lots of little parts and pieces. - When there is discontent or pain in a part of it, it affects the...

Waking up with yoga is not just about your body. Here are some other thoughts about how waking up might also be a tool to dismantle white supremacy. To wake up in yoga...

We move to remember who we are. Move to remind yourself that there is a whole world of treasure within you that has yet to be mined. Move to acquaint yourself with the...

Self-Compassion is a life-long practice that begins right now. Too tired? Too fed up with the state of the world, over it? Just stop. Getting to know yourself with...

Self-care for a new age is about how you bring yourself to the now. There are a million and one things that take us out of ourselves on a daily basis and I think of...

The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble. Blaise Pascal When you offer your attention to a thing, you open up your...

The first time you start moving in a new way, you invite your body, mind and heart into a relationship where change is possible. You are no longer tied to yourself as...

Think about it, if you are over 30, your grandparents were probably OLD. Mine were. My granny was funny as all get out, but she was always old with her size 11 red...

Now is the time in the pacific northwest where there is a mass exodus to tend the garden. The weather is finally turning and the wan of winter aches for sun. We rush to...

In effort to consolidate and integrate, all of my writing is now posted at to move and awaken , where you can sign up for a newsletter of more written inspiration and...

This always remains one of my favorites. Thank you all for reading these words over the years. I've moved this blog, and have been writing like crazy on my new site, to...

A life of practice is a life of cycles. It is a life of living in the moment to the best of your ability, and recognizing that the moment is all encompassing as much as...

To rest is not self indulgent, to rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves, and to perhaps, most importantly, arrive at a place where we are able to understand...

When I make a quilt, I saturate myself in color. I locate the most beautiful fabrics I can find and then I cut them up into smaller pieces. I lay them all out and...

I'm in the middle of trying to figure out how to allow things to be easier for me without giving up. I have been associating the necessity of difficulty with honor and...

Tonight I showed my quilts for the first time. It was a real joy to watch people walk around them and look at them. Some came to talk and shared with me pieces of their...

Nourish yourself when you are feeling well. That way, it seems easier and the effort lasts longer. Nourish yourself when you feel loved, when you are surrounded with...

For most of my life, I have been pretty strong, but I carried a secret shame about feeling weak on the inside. I’ve had chronic low back pain for the last 15 years,...

“The psyches and souls of women have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting,...

The conversation turned abruptly as a young woman from the back asked, “But how do we hold a space for acceptance of ourselves?” Amidst questions about slap tears,...

I am writing from Portland where I am attending an awesome lecture and workshop series on Biomechanics. The teacher, Jules Mitchell, is a present and excited about her...

Sometimes the best part of a challenge comes at what you think is the end, but is in fact the middle, or the next beginning. For me it’s been true over and over in...

I always wanted soft hands, the kind that didn’t catch on clothing and crack open when the seasons change. Then there were those years when my palms ached most...

It’s time to talk about letting go. I’ll go first, I hate when people tell me to let go. I like to get shit done. I like to have a tidy home. I like to be organized and...

Every moment has the potential to burst you open with magic. The core of my work is about increasing awareness to transform your life. The way that you see yourself is...

We are creatures so blessed with the chance to experience our lives as we move through them. All of life is art as my friend Amanda says. Waking up is about how you...

I’ve lost myself more times than I can count. I’ve become unrecognizable. I’ve forgotten myself over and over. And then I come home again. Always back home. Recently,...

Our bodies are divine instruments of healing. It’s what they do. Without any intervention, our bodies mend and rebuild themselves, restoring us again and again to...

Over the past few months I have been experimenting with creating sacred ground for women in my home. When I started this project, having women over once a week in the...

This writing challenge is kicking my ass. It is asking me to show up publicly in ways that I never have before. I made a goal not to back down from the shit that scares...

One of my favorite memories of living in Paris was cycling along the Seine to an old movie house that was having an all night David Lynch showing. It was a small...

I am passionate about bringing awareness home to our bodies. Movement is the non-verbal language that we speak as we move through the world, wildly signaling information...

Self-care is a way to come home to yourself. It can really be anything that fills your cup and brings you to a place of kindness and connection. But most importantly,...

Today I dragged myself to Crossfit. It was 1 rep max day which means it’s time see just how much you lift. Once. For back squats, strict press and deadlifts. For all you...

Lately, I’ve been feeling really sensitive as a woman for all of the shit we are blamed for or made to feel inadequate about. And how I know that we internalize it to...

I have been teaching yoga for 14 years and as I move forward as a teacher and being, the thing that fuels transformation most is the quality of presence that we bring to...

This is the girl who knocked her front tooth out too early and was the only one with divorced parents at school. This little warrior took the world on and swallowed...

The role of and understanding of what Yoga is has shifted many times in our culture since it was introduced by Swami Vivekananda in 1883. Its purpose, acceptability, and...

Today when I was warming up at CrossFit, a few of us were talking about how Thin Mint GS cookies used to have that thin layer of mint crème in them. And then about 10...

Did you listen to the first season of the Serial podcast? Sarah Koenig investigates a (then)15 year old murder story, digging and uncovering so much conflicting...

Let not this change create a lasting despair within you. Let it move you to act. Let it enable you to reach out where you haven't before and make connections, feel...

If every step on your path were measured Not as an accomplishment or a failure But as a cup full of elixir - Sometimes splashing over the edges like tears, and others...

Days 3-5 the kids and I got outside and walked. Here are some shots from our adventures in the neighborhood and beyond. After a long day of training today, I'm gonna go...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBBwoWXEgxz/?taken-by=wonderhunter

Because my birthday is close to New Years, I usually wait till now to think and reflect on things for the coming months and year. I could make a long list of things that...

Here we all are, under my first quilt. I had no idea when I started what an awesome undertaking it was, nor how much pleasure I would derive from the whole process. My...

Saying no is a cultivated practice. Being Nice is a common courtesy. And these things are not at odds! Everyone can practice creating respectful boundaries around what...

Have you ever really felt the pull to do something, and then completely ignored it?! Me too. And here's how: - Watch The Sopranos before bed - Over-clean the house (if...

Monday is "my night". To exercise or sleep or sew or whatever I want after Bike Man gets home. Today was a particularly bedraggling day on the home front so I got all...

Two true things: I was raised by my mom, an eternal optimist. I am here as part of a legacy of familial depression. So, not without struggle but also not without hope....

Last week, the whole fam was in Arizona for a wedding. Tucson is a really special place for me and while there, I got to be with some of the people who remind me of the...

Bike man and I had back to back root canals today. Kids waited in the car while he walked his slow lopsided smile to us. Whenever I'm in the chair, I imagine that dental...

Yesterday was a day of real life yoga. We ran super productive errands all morning as a family and then I drove to Seattle for a rehearsal, are some delicious ice cream...

I lost some posts there. I lost a day or so of practice too, but not all. Today this morning was sweet. I practiced in the kitchen while he treasure hunted things in the...

Today I chanted for 30 minutes around the house. It turned a semi-anxious Whitney into a super grounded Whitney. Not immediately, but it lasted for a while. Yum yum...

Day 33 practice with animals. Day 34 practice not moving too quickly after a silly over-effort ing yesterday that left me moving selectively.

It is so nice to have a moment to have a mellow and sweet practice. I did a lot of supine stuff and forward ends in my newly arranged living room. Happy New Year! Happy...

Deliberate preparation and creative bursts for tomorrow's New Year's Day class. Yoga, it's all around us.

Morning is still my favorite time of day to practice, but nap time is a close second. Today and yesterday I had time to myself to (yesterday) stretch out some soreness...

This morning I went to a class taught by an old teacher and friend, Troy. The classes are in an old building on Capitol Hill where it always smells like delicious food....

I love to be a student, especially when under the care of an experienced teacher. It allows me to rest in my practice while being held in the arms of the greater...

Every one went on a walk, and mama got some time in the sun to practice. Yum.

Today I got to practice in the setting, warm sun. In my socks, on the driveway. I want to stand on this earth and be seen and held by her, to offer myself back with...

As with many things, there comes a point where the challenge of the "challenge" feels immense. It could be the traveling or the constancy of family, but doing even one...

Today is the shortest and darkest day of the year. I'm having a hard time keeping with my commitment to keep doing yoga every day. But I'm still doing something, even...

PMS practice. Lots of supine leg and hip stretches. And then these: which are super fun- you'll see how much I'm enjoying them. I don't even know if I'm doing them...

Tonight was the best real life yoga practice in a while.

Last night I got a few hours of fitful sleep and was up early today. For breakfast there was oatmeal and a kitchen practice that I would call totally successful.

Today I did a quick practice during lunch of the training. Nothing glamorous except the view This is actually just a shot of a cold December day recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pIgs03TYo4 This man is formidable. As you watch this, absorb his grace filled movements. I love his feet. Today, he is 95 and according...

Tonight I did not one, but 2 awesome yoga-things. The first was a special kosha-themed asana practice led by the esteemed Annie Barrett. Then I watched the movie Yoga...

Today brought a lot of wonders and challenges. The sunrise this morning was amazing. By the end of the day, I was really ready to stop being a parent for a while. I was...

Pranayama.

I'm starting to really like these last-thing-of-the-evening practices. Tonight I worked on increasing low back support via strong abs and glutes. So fun! And so...

Savasana practice today. Then a few handstands before teaching.

Another bedside practice tonight. I met a friend in college who is one of my spirit brothers. I haven't seen him in years now, but it doesn't matter. He told me once...

Today I was trying to jump my feet up to my hands from down dog with levity instead of consternation. It can be scary. It is an act of faith. It requires protoceratops....

Much of the afternoon today I was preparing for this weekends teacher training. We are almost finished with the first program which focuses on deepening practice. So for...

Late night hotel room stretching and breathing. It's funny to remember how many awkward hotel room practices I've done over the years. It often involves lots of...

I love going to a yoga class. Lately so much of my practice has been fleeting and/or distractable that giving a short but sweet hour of attention to breath and movement...

After dinner before bed kitchen floor practice.

Today for my practice, I did a lovely 60 min practice on Yogaglo with Kathryn Budig. I'm a fairweather vinyasa flow practitioner, but the Surya A on crack kicked my...

In response to an invitation from my friend JZ in AZ, I'm going to do 46 consecutive days of yoga. And post a little bit about each to keep myself accountable. Day 1:...

Dear Dave: Rain five days and I love it. A relief from sandy arroyos, buzzards and buttes, and a growing season consisting strictly of June. Here, the grass explodes and...

Hi! It's recently come to my attention that some people may want to try yoga but are nervous or reluctant about how to go about it (not to mention the rumors of farting...

Have you ever seen the episode of Portlandia where Kenneth from 30 Rock cameos as a dude who forget to bring his own bags to the grocery store? The store doesn't have...

I was just addressing an envelope today with my new forever stamps. Just in case I didn't remember right, I looked up Liberty. That's what I thought. Our land of the...

I am SO sick about the continual news of violence against women. Screaming! Today I heard something new about a hushed trial in the northeast surrounding a rape of a...

I just arrived home from a holiday trip out of town to a lone pumpkin staidly guarding our lawn while his brothers sat still uncarved and waiting on the front porch....

Question of the day: what would it take for you to get big? Let me break it down (insert beats here). To get big, you need a vehicle. Could be anything that's happening...

When you know who you are, you can make magic happen. I learned that from a great clown, Janet McAlpin. She is a tiny person. Fierce and tiny. She was one of two...

Today a friend of Rad's is in town who lived in Thailand for 5 years including his stint in Peace Corps. While Rad was at work we went shopping in Thai town for the few...

Today I went to my second yoga class since giving birth and it was awesome. Hard. I have become, in two short classes, one of those people who makes visible faces and...

Right now I am between my one year wedding anniversary and my wife’s birthday. For one of those events she requested that I start writing about what’s happening, so I...

Inspired by two friends and collegues, Jenny and Darren , I'm doing a 2011 retrospective and visions and goals list for 2012. In Jan I got married. Turned 33. Feb I...

What is the biggest thing or idea that you have ever had to let go of? How did you do it? For apparent ease, we are constantly referring to ourselves as markers of what...

Usually I don’t like this game - it’s all so, hypothetical. But recently when I was at the Anusara-Inspired Gathering at Squaw Valley I heard something that could...

Whenever I read those day-of-your-birthday books, it always seems exactly right for me. One thing that I have encountered a number of times is that my phrase is, “I...

It rained starting from around 4 this morning. This is the 2 nd week of the program’s health survey where they visit small villages, collect poop and blood samples from...

This morning on my way back from the internet I heard music in the street. In the middle of the day! This is unusual for sure. I saw one of my little friends dancing in...

While I am very aware that I am a visitor on the outside of the project here, I’m about to pull a Charlie Sheen and let you know the truth. This project needs some...

To deeply to know your body and mind, live in your heart and express your unique voice is the work of a lifetime.

Yesterday Simon, Javi and I went to find the river. We first tried a place where they had been before, sort of in the construction site for a tunnel for the new...

Last night it rained hard all night. It was really calming at first, but we have a metal roof and after several hours I could feel the beating rain poking into my bones....

Imagine the sound of an open palm repeatedly slapping the plastic window of a storm door. This is the sound that precedes the rooster’s song – the waking noise that...

I got an interesting note from a friend's mom who has lived in Africa for several years now, reflecting on the fear I feel and the wonder at what I will do. She said...

In the morning when it is still dark, the rooster noise starts especially for us. At 6 Simon's alarm goes off with the same sound that was the ring tone for my BFF- add...

Today was another big day of firsts. We arrived in Evinayong after a visit to the grocery store, a Fang lesson and the long drive through the jungle. It’s Sunday and...

Tonight we had a little party to celebrate Javi's birthday. Same as me, 33. Also with Don Pedro, Tomás, Rosa, Simon and me. It was so fun. Even though I couldn't filter...

Something crazy happened the other night. It was my first full day I was here, R and I had had a rough day which included our ejection from a restaurant, visiting an...

Saturday 12 March Today was one of the longest days yet and not only because I am pretty jet lagged. On Thursday night I arrived in Bata where I was greeted by my sweet...

Test blog go. T-36 hours to departure for my new life, via 24-hours or more en route to arrive at the much-awaited reunion with my husband. Yesterday, I was talking with...

This weekend I’m in San Francisco studying yoga with John Friend , the founder of Anusara yoga. In the hotel room on Friday night, this movie was on. If you haven’t seen...

Well, I just got married and in about a month I’m moving to Africa. That’s the answer I’ve found coming out of my mouth lately when people politely, or habitually, ask...

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This is Bliss and me circa 1997, at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island. It was a super magical summer that we met working as counselors, but I hadn’t seen or heard from her in...

Yo. This is me breaking my unintentional blog-fast. After a certain amount of time not writing, just like not practicing asana, the absence itself acquires some kind of...

I’m in Teacher Training in Tucson this week and we have been teaching each other asana in the morning. I really wanted to teach the group this morning, but I didn’t get...

What does it mean to live a creative life? How can we, how can I, meet that sparkly beautiful part of myself and greet her again and again with a grand and warm welcome....

This morning, I read an article on how and why to stop multi-tasking. It talked about how multi-tasking appears to be beneficial, but actually lowers our iq and wreaks...

Words by the great yogi Patthabi Jois. This post is for my teachers. I wrote it about a month ago, poolside, early morning from the hotel in Cincinnati where I was...

Here’s the thing. This path of yoga is hard. And I’m not talking about the burning that happens in this headstand to crow demo I did with my dear friend Brigette . It’s...

“Do you have advice for women today who want to rock? Yeah: have no fear. Fear is the single most destructive emotion we have. Fear holds you back. Fear will stop you...

Last weekend was the grand opening of the new Seattle Yoga Arts space and the Seattle Pride parade. I taught more classes than I have in a while. As you know, I’ve been...

Rest. What I’m working on to heal a shoulder that just endured a heck of a week.

This month I’ve been teaching classes that explore the theme of peace. Using the physical practice of yoga to enforce a harmonious relationship with yourself - to...

As I was on the way to my class yesterday I was listening to the radio and hearing about the origins of Memorial Day, and what it means to remember those who have fallen...

Less than a year ago, I lost a very special relative to cancer. In the last 5 years we developed a “father-daughter” relationship of sorts and I began to experience how...