One of the many things I love about my culture is that, collectively, we know our worth and will never stop fighting for political, social and economic equity. We are the original activists. From subjugation, violent oppression, and institutional racism we have led the journey toward progress by birthing leaders, ideas and opportunities for us and others. We are resilient visionaries and social justice warriors.

ace, racism, and discrimination is different. So it’s important to listen, even when things get uncomfortable. For some it stirs up SHAME, GUILT, or DENIAL while, for others, FRUSTRATION, ANGER and EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION. I remember when a Pilates student of mine casually declared that racism didn’t exist anymore. My blood instantly boiled before leaving my body. My brain filled with expletives and a gazillion snarky responses. But …

In 2022 I’m gonna fall in love. Das da bucket list, baby! Yep, I’ma throw that out into the Universe but also clarify – ‘cause y’gotta do that with the Universe sometimes. I will not “settle” into love. Nor will I “fall” in the dizzying sense that obscures all the red flags. Those are life lessons I’ve failed and repeated too many times. I’ve finally graduated from messy, toxic love and situationships. And please rest assured, I’ve done lots of self-reflection, personal growth sh*t and deem myself a constant work in progress toward the best version of myself. Nevertheless, I love the here and now version of myself! So #sheready! I’m ready for that grown and sexy kinda love.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Five things that make me happy? Easy-peasy.
1.) Learning/Teaching: When it comes to learning, I’m like a 2yr old who constantly asks “why?”. Not to be a brat but, if I’m intrigued by something, a superficial overview simply ain’t enough. I got questions. I wanna dig deeper. I wanna understand the nuances. And the more I understand something, the more excited I get about sharing it with others. And that’s why I love teaching so much. I love the challenge of finding effective ways to communicate concepts, ideas and skills to others; especially in ways that inspire curiosity and excitement in them too.

As much as I’ve always wanted to be a super-hero, I will love myself better by remembering that I am not, in fact, super-human. That I’m actually powered by rest, food, oxygen; water, a clean & healthy environment, touch; movement and personal space to recharge. When I maintain those power sources, I am capable of extraordinary things because I have energy, strength, emotional balance, and mental clarity. I’ve learned the hard way that caffeine and adrenaline aren’t lasting power sources.

I started upgrading my self-care during the holidays with REST. Like, the stay in bed all day kinda rest. Like, the Netflix, nap and repeat kinda rest. Over the past two years I’ve been highly productive but also overworked, full of anxiety and totally depleted. My weekends? Gone. My 2hr bi-monthly manual MFR treatments? Gone. My sanity? Gone. What did stay consistent was my Pilates routine. Five days per week! That’s the glue that held me together; physically and mentally. That, plus journaling. But even that suffered. And when I’m not journaling, it’s usually because I’m avoiding the truth of my current emotional state.