✨Choosing joy, even in the hard years ✨

A year ago, I stopped practicing yoga. I was in so much pain I could barely move. Two months later, still mostly bedridden, I was diagnosed with severe spinal stenosis.

Today, I found myself back on the mat.

The thing about returning to the mat — or to any healing practice — is that you never quite know what will be revealed. Sometimes it's a million-dollar idea, other times it's old pain rising up, unexpected joy, deep emotion, or sudden euphoria. The possibilities are endless, because youare a new person every time you return.

This morning, what came through while in Tree Pose was a phrase:
Rooted and watered.

The past year has asked me to grow in ways I never expected. It required entirely new tools, new language, new support.

So what does rooted and watered mean?

For me, being rooted meant returning to my body — again and again. It also meant anchoring into the people, practices, and presence that helped me feel safe and supported. Community. Boundaries. Ground.

Being watered was about emotional nourishment and spiritual connection. Letting myself feel. Letting myself cry. Letting myself be held — by Spirit, by my breath, by the invisible and visible hands that surrounded me. Water has always been my gateway to my highest self.  

These two forces — rootedness and watered — carried me to this very moment on the mat.

It wasn't a long practice. Just 25 challenging minutes. My body is still tight. It wasn't easy. I whispered to myself again and again, “This is what I wanted.” And when it was done, I was so grateful I stayed with it.

I came back to the mat because I needed something for my nervous system. Usually, I walk to clear my energy — but right now, where I am in the world, even walks aren't possible. But a 20-minute practice? That, I can do.

And that is a gift I feel so grateful for!

Here's what I want to share with you:
When we are rooted and watered, healing doesn't get easier — but it does become more joyful.

Yes, there will be pain, grief, tightness, rage. But when we are in our bodies, when we aren't numbing out, when we are connected to a greater source and surrounded by chosen community — transformation feels different. It lands differently. It integrates.

Studies show that community reduces trauma impact, and is an important part of healing and recovery.
Anthropologists now believe our ancestors didn't survive because they were the strongest — in fact, they weren't even top of the food chain. They survived because of empathy. Because of community. Because of each other.

We don't thrive through isolation.

We heal through connection.

I could have chosen a path of fear.
But I chose to be rooted and watered.

That choice has led to some of the most incredible growth of my life.
Not easy growth. But honest.
Grateful. Joyful. Deep.

This is your reminder, Dorothy:
When life brings you to your knees, you are being offered a doorway — a chance to choose love over fear.

Choose compassion. Choose empathy. Choose softness.
Choose community. Choose connection. Choose kindness.

They are the paths that will carry you toward joy.
They are already inside you.

Sending you love,

Dorothy (she/her)

Certified Holistic Sex Educator