From my women's retreat to a town fire: community is the medicine

From my women's retreat to a town fire: community is the medicine

Last weekend, I hosted my first Rooted Women’s retreat at my home in Colorado. It was a vision I’d held for years– to create a sacred space in nature for healing and connection. I was deeply moved by how we held one another, and how the land held us. By the magic that unfolds when you’re surrounded by people who believe in you and care for you. By what emerges when we sit together in the messiness of it all and someone says, “me too,” or “I hear you.”

Just days after the retreat ended, my little Colorado mountain town experienced an unimaginable tragedy: a fire tore through our downtown and destroyed 18 beloved and vital businesses– the heart and soul of our place– in a matter of hours.

Come back to your roots: a retreat for women this October

Come back to your roots: a retreat for women this October

“I can’t believe we get to share this place with people,” I said to my husband Travis with tears in my eyes, as we sat on our deck and looked out at the stunning mountain vista beyond the land we would now steward and care for. 

Finding this beautiful land in Colorado– a state that had been a home for me more than 20 years before– was one of my biggest dreams come true. For our entire relationship, Travis and I had envisioned building a home surrounded by nature where we could live simply and sustainably, grow food– and a family, and create a healing space to gather people where they could be connected to the medicine of the mountains, rivers, plants and trees.

After four long years of tending to this land and preparing the space, I am absolutely thrilled to offer my first women’s retreat here this October!

Embracing the Light (and Dark) of the New Year

Embracing the Light (and Dark) of the New Year

"Never underestimate the value of time spent in the womb," my teacher Eden said to me a few years ago when I was going through a particularly hard time. "Darkness is pregnant and full of life."

I've been reflecting a lot on these words as we just passed through the winter solstice- the darkest time of the year- and also as this baby boy has now spent nine months growing inside the fertile darkness of my own body.

A Process for Setting New Year Goals with Deeper Intention

A Process for Setting New Year Goals with Deeper Intention

As we begin the new year, you (like me) are likely thinking about new goals and intentions for 2021. With the start of every new year, I notice my desire to "start over", to create new goals and intentions, to lean into new supportive habits or get rid of old ones. I have definitely been deeply reflecting on what I want to create this year (I have some big plans!) and what I'm also ready to let go of so that I can move forward with less baggage and more lightness + ease (you have to let go to grow, I often say). If you are looking to go a bit deeper with your intention-setting process for 2021, I've created some questions that can help you.

The 5 Year-End Reflection Questions I'm Asking Myself

The 5 Year-End Reflection Questions I'm Asking Myself

Reflection is an exercise of the soul, a beautiful practice that turns experience into insight and wisdom. 2020 was an intense year for all of us and the lessons have been deep. All the more reason to spend some quality time "mining the pearls", collecting the valuable nuggets of your experience to get clarity on what you've learned so it can support you with where you want to go.

Your Healthy Holiday Meal Guide (some of my favorite recipes inside)

Your Healthy Holiday Meal Guide (some of my favorite recipes inside)

It's been years since I sold my organic meal delivery business, but one of my happiest places is still in my kitchen inventing new recipes (or perfecting old ones). Since I can't have you over for dinner right now, I collected a few of my favorites below to inspire some healthy holiday cooking. (side note: my post-Covid dinner parties are going to be EPIC.) Now push away the cheese tray, put on your apron and dive in!

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Want to feel more gratitude? Ask yourself this question.

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What’s the gift in this? It’s a simple and powerful question. And I’ve learned that like all good questions, the answers you find in the inquiry can transform you. These five words have helped me unearth gratitude in some of the hardest moments of my life, perhaps like some of the moments you've experienced in this crazy uncertain year.

Super simple (and seriously delicious) vegan, gluten-free bread

Super simple (and seriously delicious) vegan, gluten-free bread

I have a serious obsession with baked goods (like a serious one. It’s kind of a problem). For me, it’s a texture thing— actually, most of my cravings are based on food texture. Now that I’m on a gluten-free diet, I’ve been looking for ways to find that soft, chewy texture in a sans-gluten form. This bread is it! It’s super simple with just a few ingredients, made with real, healthy whole grains and seeds (not nutritionally deficient processed flours) and it is SO FREAKING GOOD. You can doctor it up to make it sweet or savory or just have it plain with ghee or butter and little sea salt. Shout out to my friend Adriana for delivering me this perfect recipe that is straight after my gluten-free heart.

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The #1 thing you need for these times (Hint: it starts with a J)

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“What is one thing you did yesterday that gave you joy?”

I heard my husband Travis ask his Zoom room of 7th grade students that question one morning last week. Apparently, this is one of the most common questions he asks them during their daily check-in call. (side note: I’m learning a lot about what an amazing teacher he is, as we've done the work-at-home space sharing dance over these last 6 months).

Eat Real to Heal Podcast Interview #2

"That’s so much of what healing is. It’s just being willing to be with yourself through whatever you’re experiencing and letting it be ok… There’s no playbook for how long it takes, at all. You just need to keep walking through it one step at a time."

I loved this recent conversation with Nicolette Richer who invited me on her Eat Real to Heal podcast for the 2nd time to talk about so many aspects of my own healing and how to take care of yourself during this crazy Covid time.

An Invitation to Rest

An Invitation to Rest

If you’re feeling exhausted right now, I’m with you. These last few weeks and months have been a lot to take in and show up for. I've been listening, learning (and unlearning), and reflecting on how I can be a better ally to the Black community. With our collective energy and efforts, I pray that something new is blooming— to finally help heal the racial divide in the US, to remind us of our inseparable connection to each other and all living things, and to help us see that what is done to one of us, is done to all of us.