I started Charm & Magic almost 2 years ago – two weeks before my son was born.

Now, with about a month before the next baby comes, I have a new addition to the Charm & Magic collection… full sized malas. These necklaces are made with 108 larger beads that you can easily use for meditation + prayer. They are a delight to hold as you repeat a mantra, or wear as a reminder of a greater intention.

One mala is called Grounded Grace, but they all embody that essence : earthy colors mixed with heavenly ones, playful + asymmetrical with pockets of sparkle – all lovingly strung on silk.

These would be a great gift for any friends, sisters, moms, daughters, yoga teachers, (or yourself) … that appreciate beauty + accessing their inner calm. These malas are a beautiful tool to ground + guide you as you connect to yourself and move fluidly + ease-fully towards what you are most wanting. Plus a portion of your purchase will go towards Girls on Fire… and well, you can’t beat supporting a meaningful cause while you shop!

Eight months ago I was in a tricky transition. We moved back to Brooklyn after living in Germany for six months, and I had trouble figuring out how to navigate motherhood, my own passions, and everything else that is required in city living.

Overwhelmed with the seemingly many directions I could go in, paired with the responsibility of being a full time mom – plus the desire to make something, I didn’t know how to direct my energy. Until I began these Pop Up Yoga Classes in motion, which became both a sacred pause and my anchor.

photo by thenuminous.net

Each class has been incredibly unique. We have gathered in a sweet little studio in Brooklyn, in an expansive space in Chelsea, NYC, and have even had one virtual celebration on the internet. They have ended with chocolate, red roses, prayer arrows, and conversation. They have been an incredible vessel of shared magic while celebrating the  moon.

This month will mark the final Pop Up in NYC, as we are about to embark on yet another big transition as we pack up and move to Lancaster, PA in a month or so – which is a whole other story, filled with many, many emotions that I will save for another time!

So join me for this next Pop Up that will be bursting with magic:  This Tuesday, June 2nd at 7:15 pm @ The Yoga Collective // 135 West 29th St. // $20 // RSVP here. 

This final class will be a celebration of desire, of possibility, and of the unknown. It will be a chance to rejuvenate and connect to your higher self – while stepping out of your mind and into your body. You will get to create the space to receive a lovely collection of blessings that are just waiting to tumble down upon you.

Hope to see you there – or somewhere – before we leave Brooklyn and call Lancaster home. 

Becoming still is why I move.

Savasana is why I vinyasa.

If there aren’t moments of pause tucked within, around, and beside the movement – it becomes tricky to soak in the gifts. I become too wrapped up to see the sparkle shining right in front of me.

Stillness allows our bodies to absorb blessings.

Stillness allows for reflection, which gives way to meaning.

Savasana is the point of all the shapes in yoga. They prep us to simply lie on our backs and receive: our breath, our worth, our light, our impact we have both on ourselves and in this world.

Pause and breathe, so you can receive.

with a lavender eye pillow resting on my eyes, my japa mala in my hands, and my heart very full.

I just came back from my first yoga retreat ever! It was just for moms in upstate NY. There was a lot of stress and angst leading up to it, and I wasn’t even sure if I should leave Luca for the first time since he was born (!). But I did, and I’m glad I carved out a weekend for myself, my thoughts, my breath, and my heart.

I remembered there is nothing to prove and there is plenty of room to strive less. I was reminded that I choose my value and to not diminish my light. And that I get to soften again and again to remember and re-remember this all.

I entered back into my life completely reorganized internally, and for this I am incredibly grateful.

Honored that this passage below is featured on the Prema Yoga website – highlighting the focus of the month: Stillness + Savasana.

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Magic happens within the moments of stillness and the surrender of savasana. Something deceivingly simple as doing nothing, is tremendously rewarding – but can be difficult to practice.

It’s when I’m the busiest that I need to pause the most, yet it is in those times where it feels highly impossible. I become tricked into believing that I have no time for any space in my day to be quiet – to connect to my breath, drop into a down dog, journal, or meditate.

So I fill whatever space I have with as much as I can cram in – even though it feels so good to empty. I remind myself over and over, there is tremendous power in stillness – in lying down with palms facing upward absorbing and receiving.

In asking. In doing less. In playing more.

And when I forget, which I almost always do – I close my eyes and return to the breath so I can let the mind settle – and get quiet until I feel good again.