diving

Abby Kojola standing at the end of a diving board during a high school CCS diving competition

My dad found these old black-and-white photos that he took of me diving when I was in high school, and looking at them brought back all of these memories that feel so physical and visceral, like my body remembers this whole life that I haven’t thought about in years.

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breathe

Today’s message from love: Take a few long, slow, deep breaths. Take a few more. Breathe deeply all the way down into your pelvis. Breathe space between your ribs. Breathe into your back body. Generously give your lungs cool, fresh air. Let the exhale fall out of you gently. Let the air and the breath…

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cold plunge

cold plunge, china beach, san francisco

I went in the ocean at China Beach around 8:30am today. A friend was celebrating her birthday with a cold plunge in the Pacific! The bay by my house was glassy. As I drove past, I glimpsed the sun dancing across the surface. It reminded me of Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe. For years,…

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what really matters

There’s an explosion of new green everywhere, I saw the first poppies on the hillside today. Light pink blossom petals are silently fluttering to the ground with the slightest breeze. I’ve been easing my way back into my yoga practice after a 2-month break. I’ve found some energy and inspiration to cook a few meals…

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restorative

6 weeks ago I rejoined my local yoga studio after a 6 month break. For the first 4 weeks, I went to 5 restorative classes a week. I kept commenting to people about how I needed to pay money to lie on pillows and breathe. It felt like a humorous thing to say, but making…

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47

Wisdom of just barely 47. Sitting and breathing fully is the most healing choice and a gateway to my own wisdom. A birthday can be quietly nurturing and soulful. My own secret adventures make me happy. Magic happens alone in the redwoods under a waterfall. Fully receiving all the birthday love from those available to…

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George Grey Eagle Bertelstein

Today my friend George left his body. With all of the people he loved so deeply, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for him to let go and cross to the other side. He did it. His death has already been a deeply meaningful teaching. It has only just begun to…

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Healing the War Inside Myself

I tried to claim to my journal that I don’t understand righteousness, but then I felt and saw that I do. Righteousness lives in me if I can undefend myself enough to see and acknowledge it. I can see ways righteousness owns me, if unchecked. There are layers of impact seared into flesh and strewn…

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I am included

Today I took the long way home through China Camp. I drove slowly along curvy North San Pedro Road which hugs San Pablo Bay. 4 miles of nourishment. I love when the tide is coming in. I see rhythmic ripples in the smooth, glassy water making their way towards the shore. I admire the marshy…

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Wild Woman

Plus-size woman standing in water with head thrown back laughing holding handfuls of mud with sun bursting through trees behind her

Before the Unleash Your Inner Wild Woman photo shoot. Who is my wild woman self? What does she long for? How does she move through the world? How does she move her body? How does it feel inside of her when pleasure rises up through her root chakra and explodes throughout her whole body? How…

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