Zenful Mindings LLC

12/17/2025

We’ve all been so many beautiful, wonderful, and brilliant people — so many different versions of ourselves on the way to becoming who we are today, and we’re nowhere near done evolving and growing.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t always been proud of who I’ve been or where I’ve come from, and I also know that I wouldn’t be the me I am now if it hadn’t been for each of those older versions who have come before.

It’s a good time to love on ourselves and honor our personal histories as we head into the reflective winter season, so today I’d like to offer you a meditation of gratitude for all the people you’ve been.

There is no recording for this meditation — it’s best that you set the pace yourself. Block out some time — at least a few minutes. Create your space — somewhere you can sit or lay down comfortably and sustainably. Decide if daytime or nighttime is the best match for your energy. Maybe light a candle or grab a supportive object. Make yourself cozy.

Then, however you can, connect with the lifetime of all the yous that have existed beginning as far back as you can recall. Visualize them or call upon memories, however feels best to mark time. Maybe it’s by places you’ve lived, partners you’ve had, life events — maybe a hodge podge of whatever wants to flood in. Notice yourself in all those spaces and times — on the way to becoming the you that you are today. Really take some time and breaths to soak it in.

When you feel ready, give all those ancestral versions of yourself an offering — flowers or whatever might feel good — and allow them to give each version of you (including present you) an offering in return. You have all done this together. Though separated by space and time, you are in union with yourself — a whole being and source of your own magic.

When this feels complete for you, take a few deep breath cycles to come back to your now and feel free to revisit this anytime that feels best.

May your reflective season open your heart to all the good you do ✨

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12/10/2025

I used to get frequent headaches after a yoga practice that included plank pose. I thought I was powering through and improving my strength because I would be holding on for dear life until whoever was leading the session cued moving on. And then a smidge after practice…tension headache city.

Wamp wamp.

I thought it had to be the posture, not me. Somehow my body wasn’t made to do that. So I avoided it and just stopped.

But I realized through a LOT of self exploration that this was happening because I was trying to push through the effort using the muscles around my neck and shoulders rather than my deep core.

I was utilizing an inefficient (and inadequate) set of muscles because the larger muscle group built to do that work wasn’t ready to do it on its own AND I hadn’t learned how to tap into that larger muscle set in a supportive way.

Sensing into our bodies can be hard because there’s a lot of noise and it can feel overwhelming to distinguish sensations. It’s like having too much on your task list — your attention is yanked in all kinds of directions and instead of intentionally giving your focus to one thing well, it feels haphazard and reactive.

Enter more consistent prop use. I’m still not the best with plank and can find myself relying on those smaller muscles at times, but it’s easier to catch and shift effort because I’ve spent the time getting to know my internal experience by quieting down the loudness with props.

Think of props as the equivalent of simplifying your to-do list — they gift you the opportunity to stop struggling against yourself, your ego, and overwhelming sensory information so you can give your attention more fully to the nuances of your internal experience.

Props can be the raddest addition to your practice and they’re no different than any other support system you lean into. I get that we have pride and we want to feel awesome at all the things, but awesome isn’t about projecting an inauthentic outward image. It’s knowing your body’s language and capabilities, leaning into where you’re at, which is ever-changing because you’re human living in this world.

So be kind to yourself and let something else support you.

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12/03/2025

I write to you on our first official snow day ❄️ of the season! Overnight, it snowed 4-5 inches, my daughter has the day off school, and we are here for it!

Last night we did A BUNCH of snow day rituals to help the cause: flushed a few ice cubes down the toilet, danced around, wore our pajamas inside out and backwards, and slept with spoons under our pillows. I have no idea where these come from, and I don’t remember any of this from when I was little, but it was great fun and an absolute delight when we woke up this morning and saw all the snow :)

What magic ❄️

Do you remember the excitement of snow days from when you were a kid? I hope you had that experience. As a grown up, it’s so easy to forget. Very few of us get snow days, and when we do, we might feel relief, but not the tangible electric excitement of snow days of our youth.

In anticipation of today, I made sure to pick up a couple new sleds yesterday since ours broke last year, and we are making time to go try them today. Thrill or fail, it’s going to be a fun time, especially followed by homemade hot cocoa with fresh whipped cream and marshmallows ☕

Today I urge you to remember that feeling from when you were younger and not so bogged down with the serious of being a grown up. Regardless of how many very important responsibilities you shoulder, you still deserve playdates and adventures. We should never grow out of that.

Whenever you see this, it’s your sign to invite yourself to get nostalgic. Have some fun and get silly. Feel good about it. And get down with your bad self ✨

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11/26/2025

I’d like to first send out a ginormous wave of gratitude for all the support and community I’ve connected with over this past year. I’m extra grateful for the opportunities I have to spread some mindfulness and joy in places that are receptive and in need. May we all be so lucky ✨

I’d also like to take this opportunity to reflect on how grateful I am for the hard things we go (and grow) through. I’m specifically referring to the smaller scale things we handle, maybe on the daily or weekly — things we might get so frustrated and annoyed with. And while I wouldn’t wish them on anyone on purpose, I see how we emerge more capable, more resilient, and even brighter than we might have ever thought we’d be.

We’re going through a good string of growing pains in my house. My daughter is growing up, and that means we’re experiencing a healthy mix of separation and maturation, temporarily regressing back to younger childhood behaviors, and springing without warning into teenage mentality. It’s a wild ride for us both.

There’s a lot of tension sometimes, and there is also so. much. awesome. — from the amazing conversations and ways we connect on deeper levels now, to watching her express her own needs and get curious about her interests, to getting a little more free time to explore things that fill me up in different ways, and still leaning into these beautiful family traditions we’ve built together. Pure magic ✨

And today I’m extra grateful because it really landed within me how much I’ve grown and healed from being a parent. I’ve learned stability in love and family, what it feels like to know that an argument isn’t the end of the world, that you can always take a mulligan, and that hugs have this ancient healing power that we don’t tap into enough.

The way I grew up taught me none of that, but along the way, as I’ve been learning how to be the parent I want to be, I’ve been reparenting myself. And that is some big love, and I’m bursting with gratitude for all of it.

In the face of all the things we witness going on in the world today, I hope you recognize how you yourself are a pocket of light. You are a mystical being who has done more than anyone knows or gives you credit for, and you not only persist, you flourish. You make the world better. Thank you for all the ways you show up through the hard things for yourself and others.

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11/19/2025

I have NKOTB’s You Got It (The Right Stuff) stuck in my head (and maybe now you do too) as I’m thinking about today’s topic: right resourcing.

This story begins with the breaking of my beloved French press on an afternoon not too long ago when my daughter was home sick from school. Picture this: I’m washing dishes post lunch, dreaming about a delicious and hot cup of coffee that I’m about to make when my French press slips right out of my hands, shattering into the sink.

A travesty.

My best solution at the time was to use a shopping service to get a replacement delivered quickly, but all the available French presses seemed like junk, so I seized this opportunity to try a pour over that I’d been eyeing. It was delivered promptly and I got to make myself a cup of coffee.

But the coffee sucked. It tasted like actual bean water, lacking the bold vivaciousness I dig.

I thought maybe I had to get used to it. After all, I love a good pour over from places like the Village Farmacy. It had to be something I could tweak. I adjusted how I grind my beans and the amount of beans I use. Nothing worked. The water just wasn’t staying with the grounds long enough to extract the flavor I need.

During this process of trial and error, I purchased a goose neck stove kettle I had on my wish list for awhile, but it was taking a long time to arrive. The kettle I had from my French press era was giant and clunky and meant to douse water into whatever vessel you were pouring into without the control and nuance that pour overs require.

I was ready to give up and go back to a French press. But then my new kettle arrived.

And it’s everything I needed.

It’s the right resource to control the pour rate of water so I can tease out the flavor of my coffee beans. It also brings this renewed sense of magic to my coffee making ritual — it requires more patience and gives me time to mindfully immerse myself in the process and infuse my coffee with positive energy as I pour. It’s also just downright sexy.

And now everyday when I’m making coffee, I have this extra delight, not only in all the ritual of it, but in the decadent taste and experience of drinking this beverage I’ve brewed for myself with such care and love.

Do you see where I’m going here? I finally had the right resource to meet my needs.

Whether it’s a tea kettle or blocking off an hour in your calendar or putting an extra blanket on your bed, do it already. You’re worth it. Give yourself the right resource.

Don’t make do and make yourself a martyr because you were taught that’s the cool and chic thing to do. We all deserve to have our needs met. And every time you lean into that resource, you’re reinforcing how much you care about yourself, and that’s some BIG magic ✨

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11/17/2025

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11/12/2025

As I’m sitting down to write this, I’m cozy inside watching blustery snow fall and flitty birds gather snacks at the bird feeder outside my window. I love this season so much.

I find such joy in the magic and possibilities that snow brings, and I think we could all use a little extra oomph to tap into our imaginations right now.

Imagination might seem to be in opposition to mindfulness: letting your mind wander and dance with ideas that have no bearing on the present, dreaming of things that aren’t current reality, and creating fantasies that have no sure-footed roots. But I don’t think imagination is a foe of mindfulness. I think they need each other quite deeply and fervently.

How can we ever find joy in a world where we don’t have the ability to see magic and where we can’t imagine our wildest dreams? How can we even entertain possibilities that imagination inspires if we can’t be with ourselves in the here and now? How can we ever turn inward with wonder if we aren’t excited at what we might meet there?

At some of the lowest points in my practice, where I find I’m physically showing up but I’m not all in, it’s because I’m stuck in drab practical mode finding it difficult to connect with my dreaming self — I get too serious and too structured and too intense about routine and security and adulting, and I rob myself of my own whimsy.

And baby… I’ve got whimsy coming out the w***o. But when it gets buried in there, it feels lightyears beyond reach.

Which is all the more reason to seize the moment when inspiration comes around (whether that’s in the form of frozen falling water or something else). So follow your whimsy and get silly. Daydream and catch snowflakes on your tongue. Let your imagination run wild and free.

I’d love to hear how this lands for you and what you dream up, so feel free to share :)

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11/05/2025

Today’s Mindful Morsel is a reminder that you deserve to speak up. For yourself. For others. For what you believe in. And you deserve to feel safe in doing so.

The other day I was sitting with some parents while my daughter was in her dance class, and I overheard another parent saying that he would pull his daughter out of public school if he found out they were including anything with LGBTQIA+ in the classroom, saying that there was no reason to include “that” in schools.

Without hesitation, I spoke up.

I told him that including materials that include the LGBTQIA+ community teaches empathy and kindness for real-world diversity. While there’s a lot more that I wish I would have said in that minute-long interaction, I’m really proud of me for using my voice, especially because many past versions of me wouldn’t have.

As a q***r woman, I’ve experienced a lot of situations where it hasn’t felt safe to speak up, and I know many of you have encountered those too. It’s sadly all too easy to stay stuck in danger-detected mode. Living in a world where most things feel like an immediate threat to your own or your family’s safety dulls your ability to discern when it is safe to speak up.

This is one of the reasons that mindfulness practices are so important – so you can stay with yourself during the hard things. So you can have the presence to speak up. So you can recognize when it’s safe.

Without my own mindfulness work, I would have checked right out of that situation with the other parent. All my radar would have gone berserk and I would have absolutely shut down out of fear. Instead, without thinking, I found myself breathing and forming articulated words. I recognized that I felt grounded enough in my body and safe enough that I could do those things.

Today, I’m thanking myself for speaking up, for exploring all the mindfulness practices I do, and for being courageous and ever-hopeful in planting seeds of change. I’m also grateful that I get to share all these things with you, out loud and in writing. May we continue to plant the most brilliant seeds together 🌱

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10/29/2025

It’s turning into a lovely autumn season where I live, and it’s my favorite time of the year to hit the trails (and the sidewalks). I adore falling in love with the different color palettes and patterns I find in nature, and at the same time, one of the hardest things for me to do is give myself time to really soak it in — free of scheduling and task worries.

There. Is. Always. So. Much. To. Do.

It feels miserable.

I’ve been getting a lot of tension headaches lately, and I realized that I’m experiencing a lot of anticipatory tension. Do you ever get that? I’m so worried about keeping up with my schedule or getting something done on time or getting to a certain point in my work or balancing my time or doing something fast enough that I’m clenching my body. Constantly. Like I’m dragging myself forward by the chin and shoulders just to eke across a constantly moving finish line I’ve imagined.

I find myself trying to cram more in and living in a constant state of troubleshooting my scheduling issues, but what I really (really, really, really) need is to be doing less. So I can stop distorting my bones with muscular tension. So I’m less panicked about time. So I can be more present with people and things I love. So I can hit those trails and soak in all the autumnal magic.

I’m looking into what I can put down, especially as I know that more things are coming up with the holiday season. I don’t want my being to burst at the seams in some vain attempt to ‘hold it all together.’ Because no thanks — I have a long history with holding it all together, and while I’m pretty good at it, we really need to part ways on my terms. That’s just not how I want to live.

So this week I’m offering the radical notion that we can all put some stuff down, and we all really need to. Feel free to be gentle or drop it with a loud thunk, but let something go already.

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10/22/2025

This past week I caught a glimpse of something somewhere that was discussing the harshness of the language we use to talk about success. I forget where I saw it, and it was just a snippet, but it clung to me like sticky jam.

It specifically mentioned how the words we use are pretty violent (killing, dominating, etc.), and I thought about all the ways we whip ourselves with words daily: should, have to, must, can’t. What terrible verbal vitamins.

We could really use some mindset and intention shifts — some cleansing of diction that harms. I know this is especially difficult when we’re surrounded by media and people and bosses and systems that use the language that promotes us “killing ourselves” to be successful and worthy. And the truth is that we can’t change all those things in one day or with one powerful and well-crafted statement.

But it is possible for us to notice the language we’re using internally and within our own spheres of reach. Those are things we can directly affect and shift.

I can’t tell you exactly what I want my life to look like in 10 years, but I can tell you that I want a soft life filled with love that gives me smile lines and space to breathe deeply as I take in all the minuscule wonders around me. I want to notice things and live them and give hugs freely and feel rooted in both possibility and groundedness. And none of that description vibes with harsh must-dominate energies.

I want to use my words to weave spells that lift me and sprinkle kindness outward. I want to acknowledge the strength and fragility of my being in ways that build rather than tear down. So I’m using this moment as a reminder to infuse intention into my speech and writing, and I hope by sharing, you’re inspired to do the same.

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10/20/2025

Tomorrow is the start of a brand new lunar cycle, and the Lunar Love Letter will dance into inboxes! This cycle's letter offers some loving energy toward this season of transition.

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10/15/2025

I’ve been giving a lot of intentional energy into what I’m putting into my body lately, specifically how it is or isn’t nourishing me. I’m currently trying to cut way down on processed foods and incorporate more whole foods to see how my body responds, and I have to say that so far, placebo or not, it feels good.

A big part of that goodness is coming out of making intentional loving decisions about what I want to consume AND how I want to feel after.

To no one’s shock, I’m also extending this into what I’m letting into my psyche and energetic fields.

Basically, I want to consume all the hope.

I want it to fill my body and overflow into every heart that surrounds mine. I want to feel solidly into my connection with my own humanity and that of those I’m in relation with. I want to let whatever glimmer of brightness in me has thrived all these years to burn brighter than it ever has, and I want it to be seen and shared.

And I recognize that this requires me to give that same attention I’m giving to food nutrition to other things I’m consuming.

I’m leaning more and more away from social media, a legit detox and overhaul process, and I’ve been trying to fill myself with more nourishing things — creative projects I’ve mentioned, people and adventures I find joyful, and specific books and media I find mentally and emotionally yummy.

There is a lot of talk out there about living off the screen, and if you’d like a gentle nudge of inspiration, check out this video that’s a hot reminder that we’re people — not numbers and likes and algorithmic feeds. We’re real live people with lungs and hearts.

I’d also like to recommend the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. We’re currently reading this book at bedtime in my house, and it’s wonderfully hopeful. The main theme is finding purpose and a way to endure that’s rooted in how we dream of the future — how hope feeds us — even in the bleakest of circumstances.

TLDR - hope is punk AF and I’m on a mission to spread it.

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51% of the internet is bots... but 100% of You is human.(Shot this on a 20 year old camera because it made me feel something)Big inspiration (and the damn ti...