I am so hormonal that it is difficult to distinguish what is what. My emotions are in a bit of a murky slurry as I navigate leaving a teaching gig that I have enjoyed for the last 6 and a half years as well as say goodbye to a supportive homeschool community full of deep and guiding connections, and embark on moving our growing family across the country to the side of a mountain. To say that there is a lot going on right now is a class act understatement. And yet…. And yet, I am so inspired by what is and delighted by what is to come that I am not ever clear if the tears are led by grief or simply the exhaustion of a 6.5 month pregnant, working, homeschooling, mama.
I recently took on a venture in direct sales with the skin care and cosmetic company Beautycounter. This may seem out of left field, but to me this is a natural extension and addition to the mentoring that I have been doing for years. After all, it is all sales anyway. Sales and rapport, as I continue to learn from my smarty-pants spouse every day. We are all selling something, whether we want to admit it or not, and I simply rather take a conscious and active roll in that selling.
I was introduced to Beautycounter by my former colleague from The Studio, Aja Lefebvre. Of all of the folks I have worked with in the yoga world over the years, Aja has stood out to me as someone with keen perspective, a lot of drive, and a lot of vision. She and I made a lot of cool shit happen together and when she moved on, I paid attention to where she went. However, it wasn’t until Maple began expressing interest in exploring makeup that I contacted Aja regarding Beautycounter. I knew that I really wanted to support Maple through her self discovery but I also knew that I wasn’t comfortable with her putting just anything on her skin. I have always sought out cleaner options when it comes to skin care, but some of it can be murky at best and is often very limited. We use very little as a family- and I certainly am not one for makeup more that once or twice a year. I gravitate toward oils and simple soaps, many made by my longtime friend Rachel from LuSa Organics. I also end up cutting corners when it comes to things like shampoos and conditioners and sunscreens. And at 41 years old and after 3+ years navigating fertility difficulties, I knew I needed to be watching what was going onto my skin and into my body with keener attention.
So Beautycounter caught my attention. I wrote out all of the reasons why I am into this company and why it feels right to get involved, but Maple told me that it sounded too much like an ad and she was right. So I deleted that. If you are curious you can follow the link above and read about them for yourself. Or you can ask me about it and I will be happy to chat you up. I realize that when I get into something I become a walking advertisement which can sometimes drown out the actual message, so let it suffice to say that Beautycounter is awesome and the work they are doing is making a real difference for the health of the planet.
At this point in time, we are on the edge of a real point of no return when it comes to planetary and personal health, and it is every single choice and action that makes a difference. I want to do everything that I can. It is about honesty, it is about integrity, and it is about accountability, and it is the very heart of what Life of Practice has always been about. So, as much as I love to support people in the pursuit of their asana practice, I am also passionate about educating people in the direction of their own empowered self-care and lifestyle choices. That passion is what Practice, Wellness, Community was born from. So this involvement with a business like Beautycounter is a natural extension of that same vision. I want to be a helper. I want to elevate what is good and be honest about what is not. I want to close my eyes at the end of every day knowing that I made some sort of further reaching difference, no matter how small.
So this new direction, along with getting ready for Life of Practice Mentorships, are what have a good deal of my creative attention right now. Mentorships will begin in October. They are available by application and will be on-going with a minimum 3 month commitment. The program will center around weekly asana practice with monthly refinement of goals and accountability. There will be one on one support throughout the month as well as an encouraged opportunity for postural and technical review and refinement. I am exploring an on-line coaching platform to host us, but it may just be a little more low-tech as often suits me best. TBD. Anyhow, it is not a bad idea to let me know if this is something that you may be interested in now, as space will indeed be limited.
Other than that, my last public classes are at The Studio this week. I would love to see you on your mat, but if we don’t connect, no worries, there is so much more to come…
xxx,m