Blissed by Nature

05/15/2026

The woods feel different in the early morning.
Before the trail fills with footsteps.
Before the world asks anything of you.

Just cool air in your lungs, birds waking up one by one, and the soft hush of pine needles under your feet.

I go there for the kind of solitude that doesn’t feel lonely.
The kind that helps me hear myself again.

What would your day look like if you stopped believing that stressed out is an unchangeable state?

05/09/2026

“Meet me at sunset.”
At the hour when the desert exhales.

There’s something about walking at dusk that softens the edges of the day. The nervous system begins to downshift. The mind stops gripping so tightly. Light turns golden, then lavender, then blue.

You notice things you would miss at noon — the glow on the mountains, the scent of blooming chokecherry bushes, the fleeting wildflowers already preparing to close for the night. Ephemeral beauty asking only to be witnessed.

This in-between time matters.
Not fully day. Not yet night.
A transition the body understands deeply.

Maybe that’s why evening walks feel less like exercise and more like returning to yourself.

05/06/2026

Barefoot on the earth this morning. No agenda, just skin to soil and dewy grass.

There’s something quietly regulating about it—like the nervous system remembers a rhythm it never actually forgot. The ground is steady, and in that steadiness, the body softens.

They call it “earthing,” but it feels more like returning. Studies suggest it can help reduce inflammation, support better sleep, and calm stress hormones. I don’t need all the science to notice the shift—slower breath, softer jaw, a little more space between thoughts.

On the mat, we talk about grounding all the time. Off the mat, it can be this simple: take off your shoes, stand still, feel what’s holding you.

Less doing. More sensing.

05/05/2026

Woke up to that rare Reno perfume this morning—the earthy, almost sweet smell of wet sagebrush after rain. 🌿
If you know, you know. It’s the kind of scent that makes you pause before coffee, step outside, and just breathe a little deeper.

Rain in the desert isn’t just weather—the birds jubilantly announce the morning, the aspens seem a bit greener, the trails soften, the dust settles, and for a moment, everything feels quieter, closer, more connected.

These are the mornings that remind me why I love it here. Less rush, more presence. Less noise, more noticing.

05/02/2026

NExt time you see a fallen tree, consider that it still provides habitat for so many species.

A branch fell off your oak last fall. You've been meaning to haul it to the curb. It's been on the ground for six months.

In that time, it became an apartment building.

Year one: Fungi colonize the exposed wood. You can see the first brackets forming on the bark — small, shelf-like growths that are breaking down the lignin and cellulose inside. The branch is getting softer.

By year two or three: Beetle larvae have tunneled into the softened wood. Their galleries — winding channels the width of a pencil lead — aerate the interior. Woodpeckers find the branch and drill into it to extract the larvae.

By year five: A red-backed salamander has moved into one of the beetle galleries. She lives in the damp, rotting wood and hunts pill bugs, mites, and springtails on the surface. The branch is now a hunting ground and a shelter.

By year ten: The branch is mostly soil. The fungi, the beetles, the salamander, the woodpecker — they converted a fallen limb into nutrients that are feeding the tree it fell from.

🌿 A different way to see the branch:

- A fallen branch is not debris — it's a building under construction
- If it's not blocking a path, leave it where it fell
- The fungi that colonize it aren't disease — they're decomposers doing their job
- One fallen branch can support more than thirty species over its lifetime

You almost hauled it to the curb. Thirty species are using it now. 🌿

04/29/2026

This weekend: Take a morning retreat with a YOGAhike - https://mailchi.mp/d42757f36712/yogahike-unplugged-day-retreat-14767618

04/28/2026

Not every hike is about how far you go.
Some are about how deeply you arrive.

This one looked like slow steps, long pauses, breath synced with movement, and noticing what’s usually rushed past.

We didn’t chase miles.
We practiced presence.

And somewhere between the trail and the stillness… something shifted.

Less miles. More meaning.

If you’ve been craving a different kind of outdoor adventure—this is it. Sign up in bio.

slowdown hikingwithintention yogalife outdooryoga presencepractice

04/27/2026

mornings matter 🌿

before attending day three of a yoga teacher workshop, before the noise, before the doing…
I gave myself a slow Sunday on the trail from Lands End to the Sutro Baths in San Francisco

wild blooms everywhere
ocean waves in every breath
steps unhurried

I picked up a little trash
and somehow put a little more care back into the world

funny how that works—
leave a place better than you found it,
and the place inside you shifts too

the way you start your morning
sets the tone for the rest of the day

start it outside

landsend sutrobaths yogateachertraining slowliving leaveitbetter optoutside

04/22/2026

Can’t wait to read and practice with this book by my friend Dr Heidi Schreiber Pan. Get a copy today!

It’s here. Today - Earth Day - The Ground Beneath Our Work is officially in the world.

This book has been growing for years. It started with a question that wouldn’t leave me alone: why do therapists, teachers, and helpers turn to nature for their own healing but rarely bring it into their work with others?

That question became the ROOTED™ framework. The framework became a practice. The practice became a community. And now it’s a book - for licensed clinicians, educators, healthcare workers, chaplains, park rangers, coaches, and anyone whose work involves caring for others.

Inside you’ll find: - The full ROOTED™ model with case stories, research, and session tools - A 30-day implementation plan - Reproducible worksheets - Chapters on eco-grief, neurodiversity, outdoor safety, biophilic design, and more - A foreword by Robert J. Wicks, Psy.D.

Available now in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.

If this resonates with you, the most helpful thing you can do today is: → Buy a copy → Share this post → Tag someone who needs this in their practice.

Thank you for being part of this. You are the roots.

12/13/2025

Get outside. You won’t regret it.

I’ll be starting YOGAhikes and ZENwalk Tahoe in January 2026. Leave a DM if you want to get on my mailing list.

Also in the works: an online training for yoga teachers on how to use nature as an ally in creating transformative experiences. Are you interested in?