2024: A Year in Review

A couple months ago, I was journaling about discomfort, and specifically reflecting on a period of time when I was flooded with feeling like an imposter. During the early months of 2022, I struggled to portray a certain image of myself; I failed to convince various parties that I was worthy of a particular opportunity. I didn’t get the thing I had thought I wanted. Over and over, I was told no. And it wrecked me. I’d been rejected, was profoundly dejected, and left a weeping, quivering mess.

Nearly three years later, an idea appeared in my brain. What if, during that time, the discomfort I felt was the universe’s way of letting me know I was not stepping down the right path? What if the rejection I received was in fact a form of guidance? Do I feel at ease now, and if so, is that a sign that I am where I should be? The concept was like a bell ringing through my skull it felt so clear.

On New Year’s Eve, I taught a late-night “transition” practice at JP Centre Yoga. The offering ran 10:15 pm to midnight, and I had sketched out periods of vinyasa flow, restorative shapes, an extended savasana and then silent meditation as the clock rolled over into 2025. Earlier in the day, I looked at the registration list and saw about fifty practitioners listed. Freaking out at the idea of leading that many people, I texted my sister in hopes of being soothed. I intended to type simply, “I’m scared!” but I accidentally transposed a couple letters, and what I wrote was, “I’m sacred!”

I paused. Decided that being sacred was the frame I wanted to put around the experience of that NYE practice. Honestly, I would like to reframe my whole life that way, believing myself to be a sacred being. That’s my wish for you, too, as 2025 begins: to hold yourself, tenderly, as sacred. As loved.

Teaching yoga in 2024, by the numbers:

• led 827 sessions (studio classes, corporate classes, and private sessions)
• moved with a total of nearly 10,000 students
• cheered for 29 new babies born to prenatal practitioners (including one on New Year’s Eve!)
• held space at 10 regular locations and about half a dozen one-off locations
• crafted content and movement for 13 workshops

I gave up on making resolutions some years ago, but I do have some intentions. I intend to kiss Tillie on her little coconut head a lot; I intend to try a new recipe about once a month. Work-wise, I’d like to provide more mentoring to new teachers, and I think that will require putting some structure around my offerings. I’ve been chewing on programming movement especially for hypermobile bodies. I’d love my next investment in learning to be either a cadaver lab (!) or another large-scale training program (i.e. 300 hours in pranayama study).

Other Milestones

• earned an E-RYT 500 rating
• became a Continuing Education Provider via Yoga Alliance
• launched and nurtured the first regular (weekly) Prenatal Yoga class at JP Centre Yoga
• joined the Teacher Training Faculty at SOMA Yoga Center
• provided flagship classes at the new House 403 in Lexington, MA

Media that moved me over the year:

• Favorite Books (Fiction): I read some excellent novels this year, stories that stayed with me for weeks after finishing and words that moved me to tears or triggered heart palpitations. I highly recommend Real Americans by Rachel Khong, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. Each of those three were symphonic, their authors deftly weaving multiple story lines and narrators. I also deeply loved Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, but then so did everyone else.
• Favorite Books (Nonfiction): Mirabai Starr offers the warmest, most welcoming approach to spirituality in this year’s Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground. I giddily read Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel E. Gross, which charts not only the fascinating historical and medical facts about the vagina, but gives insight to its cultural and societal impact.
• Favorite TV: On weekends, my husband and I loved to couch cuddle while enjoying the newest seasons of Only Murders in the Building and Shrinking. My comfort watches are the Great British Baking Show and Queer Eye. I am stoked for the second season of Severance, debuting on January 17, finally!
• Favorite Audio: I’m increasingly tired of listening to white men talk, so I’m choosing to listen to the voices of more women, trans and nonbinary folks. The Handsome podcast, with the glorious triad of Mae Martin, Tig Notaro, and Fortune Feimster cracks me up like nothing else. I was late to the game, but Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus is reliably sweet, poignant, and joyous. I’m partially through The Telepathy Tapes, hosted by Ky Dickens, which is a fascinating and thoroughly researched examination of the ways in which non-verbal/non-speaking individuals communicate. I was completely ruined by Meryl Streep reading Tom Lake: A Novel by Ann Patchett. Meryl is uncomparable, obviously, how will any audiobook every hold a candle to this performance?

Trusted Products

Lastly, here are the products that drastically improved my life as a movement professional this year. None of these are sponsored, I truly just love them.

• Corkcicle Classic Canteen: I bought a second Corkcicle canteen water bottle this year, in 16 ounces, after thoroughly loving my 4+ year old larger 33 ounce canteen. These things stay cold as promised. I’ve taken them to the beach and left them in the blazing sun for hours and they retain the icy temps (and actual ice!). The seal on the screw top is unbeatable. They do not leak. Ever. Sometimes I load them upside-down in my bag just because I can. They do not dent. They come in various sizes in colors. I have a shiny gold one, and lots of people tell me it looks like a cocktail shaker, so it’s also a conversation-starter.
• Flex Disc: I credit my comrade Rachel (of Fueling Strong, go check em out) with introducing me to the magnificence of the Flex disposable menstrual disc. I am not exaggerating when I say these have changed my life. No tampon strings getting caught in clothing, or changing tampons every few hours between classes and clients, no leaking worries. I’ve tried other reusable discs and cups in the past, but haven’t found them comfortable or I get set into a sweaty panic because they are so hard to remove. These discs as pliable, easy to insert and remove, and hold up to to 12 hours of flow. Lots of users report reduced cramping (because the product collects, rather than absorbs). A box of 12 retails for more than a standard box of tampons, but you will use far fewer per cycle. And I often find a bulk bag of of 24 available at Target at a reduced unit price.
• Jabra Elite 8 Earbuds: I hate Airpods, which never stay in my ears, and my previous favorite in-ear buds from Bose were discontinued. After months of researching, I found the Jabra brand and their military-grade Elite 8 earbuds. They are extremely comfortable and sit securely in my ear. I use them for all my virtual and hybrid classes, and students report “crystal clear” audio. They connect to every device on the first try without issue (Macbooks, Chromebooks, iPhones, Androids, etc). Sweat-resistant. Waterproof. Windproof. And the Active Noise Cancellation almost brought me to tears the first time I employed it on a crowded rush-hour train car―I couldn’t believe how peaceful I felt with ANC on.

Wishing us all abundant love in the new year.
xo