The way you show up in the world is perfect because you are an expression of the Perfect. The Universe is already a Perfect expression of Itself. A perfect Universe can only express itself perfectly. So you, just as you are, are already an expression of that which Is. 

This pic popped up on my “memories” and after, going 🥹 I remembered how at that moment I felt very synced up, very connected to this little person.

Years later, when Jack and I were having another high vibes moment I asked him, “What do you think buddy, do you think we’ll always be friends?” He said, “I don’t know mom. I mean, years from now I will have a totally different brain. I don’t know if my brain will want to be friends with your brain.”

The quest for self-discovery still feels endless. My navel-gazing is neck-breaking. My internal interrogations make it impossible to relax. I am working on letting go of my resentments, my impatience, my perfectionism. I am learning to be gentler with myself instead of spiraling into negative self-talk and silent lectures about never doing enough, never being enough.

Unlike that first experience at 27, nowadays, at 41, each time I roll out my mat I focus not on how I’d like my body to change but on how my body is. Sometimes my lower back asks me to skip upward facing dog and I respect that. Sometimes my body craves going upside down and I respect that too. I am constantly humbled by the poses I want to do but cannot. More often, though, I take pride in my newfound ability to overcome the “shoulds” and just let things be.

This is a letter of gratitude and admiration for every single member of the Three Sisters Yoga community. I feel so warmly embraced and so deeply valued whenever I arrive at our cozy studio. My evolving roles within this space over the past few years have given my life richness and meaning. As a student, an asana teacher, a YTT teacher, and the voice behind much of TSY’s social media and marketing content, this community has helped me grow into a version of myself I’m truly proud to be.

We recently sat down with Justin Randolph, owner of Sol Seek Yoga, to speak to him about how his teacher training with Three Sisters created a strong foundation for his career. Read on to hear his thoughts on diversity in yoga spaces, his personal practice, and the business of yoga.

Meaningful impact as a teacher happens when you get people to congregate and communicate, when you connect with another person and share. You can be intentional, devoted, good at what you do and be relatively unknown, uncelebrated and still be successful. The people in your orbit are important enough to care about and extend yourself for. It doesn’t need to be more than that. 

Not one person in this community has ever made me feel “less than” for the size and shape of my body. In fact, I have always felt empowered to try new things to make myself more comfortable, like Jan’s suggestion to stand with my feet at hip’s width distance instead of touching in standing postures, which has been a godsend for balance as someone with hips as naturally wide-set as mine. Who knew one simple shift could create such a strong foundation, literally and metaphorically?

Parker Palmer, a Quaker, writer and teacher, talks about the “Tragic Gap” – a place between “irrelevant idealism” and “corrosive cynicism.” This is a place where we sit and do the hard work of being uncomfortable and working to change. The Tragic Gap means that we don’t spin out into platitudes and generalities about “love and acceptance” without taking stock in what we mean/how we are going to make that happen. It means we don’t give into despair and give up because it feels overwhelming or futile. It means we accept that it is hard and frustrating, and we do it anyway.

And so, my friend please do not worry if you are not “doing so well.” We are all trying to make it through in whatever messy way we know how. You do not have to do anything. This is not a vacation. This is trauma. Be gentle and be careful with yourself. If you can, do the things; drink water, meditate, yoga it up, but if watching cat videos and eating cheese is helping you get by, that’s OK too. Hold your expectations lightly, put your feet in the water.