Openings…

“We seldom notice how each day is a holy place

Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,

Transforming our broken fragments

Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.

Somewhere in us a dignity presides

That is more gracious than the smallness

That fuels us with fear and force,

A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.

So at the end of this day, we give thanks

For being betrothed to the unknown

And for the secret work

Through which the mind of the day

And wisdom of the soul become one.”

~ JOHN O'DONOHUE

I’m writing on my 50th birthday from an LA that, even in its quieter corners, feels like a beating heart that has cracked wide open as we stand strong for our loved ones and neighbors. What a potent year since we’ve last been in touch. These ever-dynamic times continue to ask us to be real and present with our internal climate as we navigate the external one(s). How are we showing up for each moment? How can we continue to garner clarity about who we are and how we wish to live our purpose in this precious world? 

I’ve pondered these questions deeply as I’ve approached this milestone birthday. The inquiry has closed doors and opened others. Nearly a year ago, I found myself on a yoga mat in a room of mostly strangers at a retreat with Trish Whelan near Glastonbury, England. As I moved my body, I felt a profound grief—from my past, for our world. I let it breathe. I let it go. I welcomed the release and soon felt distinctly lighter. Weeks later, I enrolled in Trish’s 200-hour Shamanic Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training to learn how to share this transformative experience with others. We are being asked to shake off old storylines and outdated ways of being to make room for new possibilities that are more inclusive and expansive for all. 

Today, I’m excited to announce the launch of my new website that will be home to an offering that merges all of the chapters we have shared. In the coming weeks, I will be announcing my SKY yoga class schedule (online and in-person in LA) plus multi-day programs, workshops and retreats for deeper work in community. The workshops will include writing and build upon themes present in both LAST CUT and MY BEAUTIFUL ALIEN. I will also be offering gatherings specifically for my non-binary, trans and queer community and complimentary restorative classes for all. In the meantime, I invite you to take an hour for yourself and enjoy this relaxing Yoga Nidra class I’ve recorded as a gift to you. The invitation is to close your eyes as much as possible, tune back into your breath and meet yourself wherever you are without judgment. 

In the past, most everything I have done has centered around making sense of things in large part in the mind. It’s been active, cerebral and full of words. This year, as I have moved through this training, I have discovered the beauty of deeper silence. It has been one of opening the heart and coming home to the body, releasing story and feeling into presence. A letting go and a letting in…a deeper sense of connection to myself, my family and the world than I have ever imagined possible. I have savored the potent pause in between the breath and the subtle twinkling that dances in the vast silence within each of us. 

There is more to share. All in good time. Today, I simply wanted to say hello and tell you I’ve thought of you often. I am excited to start this fresh chapter together. The world is ready for us. 

In Truth,

Sam x