I made the most amazing birthday cake for my husband. His birthday was a Saturday so when I finished teaching the Myofascial Stretch class, editing, and posting, getting the dogs, and all the things it was 4:30pm. That is not a lot of time for birthday cake mishaps. Even cakes made from a box. You gotta have a layered cake cuz that makes it extra special and yet there are two of us. I don't want to eat a whole cake and so I thought about cupcakes...and then I saw the waffle maker. 

Can you make a birthday cake in the waffle iron? Yes You Can! I googled it and all ya do is add an extra egg and another 1/4 cup of flour. Then waffle iron it up and we had a six waffle layered yellow cake with chocolate icing all spread out in between each waffle and the icing was all in the waffle crevices! Jim said it's the best cake he ever had! My brain was coming up with ideas for opening a waffle cake restaurant...This cake was done, iced and ready to be oooed and ahhhed and then eaten...

Remember restaurants? I'm still not there yet. Not really. Not in the carefree going out on a date and lingering while I had the eggplant parm, that salad that I love with artichoke hearts that I push to the side, the gluten-free fettuccini, the flourless chocolate cake, and a little decaf coffee...the loungy, life is grand sort of dinner. That feeling though...that full of life (not pasta) feeling is available right now, right there on your mat. Imagine you're taking yourself out on a date. Getting to know yourself, what you're thinking, what you love, and even what you might be struggling with. Your body is a doorway into your innermost feelings and your big beautiful heart.

If laying on the mat is taking too long and your brain is telling you all of the things you should be doing instead...sit with that and watch what happens. Remember the days of loungy dinners and relish in the get to know you phase as you woo your body with myofascial release. Maybe even add...

Sometimes it's the tiniest thing that can inspire and transform the simplest moment. Like when a memory comes through...my most recent wave was when my daughter, Emma, and I drove down Highway 1 to Santa Cruz. The rental car lady and I bonded and she ended up giving me a souped-up Dodge Charger. I can feel the freedom and love from that ride. It lifts me up and fills my heart, my body, my everything. Just like the sun when it peeks through your windows on its way down. The air sparkles and you can ride the wave.

Trauma is often a "big event" while healing happens under the radar and then shows up in those little, tiny moments that stop time as you are reminded of your beauty, your light, and your joy. 

In my Myofascial Stretch Method classes, I talk about bringing your attention down into your body. You can use your ball or noodle or your favorite prop and as you lay there for your 2-5 minutes you do the time, yes, AND you also feel consciously and with curiosity,...

She also had the knack for not putting up with any shenanigans which I don't think I appreciated until now. Lula grew up with a dirt floor and 10 siblings and was so country and soooo cool! An independent lady that family members wouldn't dare miss a get-together. And who would? It was sooo fun! (and pecan pie, right?) 

I wonder if Grandma Lula stressed about the house and cleaned all crazy and hoped the gravy was gonna turn out right?

 I never saw that part but I'm feeling it now as I have my Mom and Dad coming over tomorrow. With covid, it's been a while for guests of any kind and I'm just watching and wondering when did that become a part of holiday get-togethers? In fact, as I sit here I now declare that it will not be a part of my holiday. I can be the cool lady that followed her heart until she found what she was good at...helping people get out of pain, how to take care of their body, to listen, soften and feel. And that lady bought a cooked...