Wonderemployment

I have been doing yoga on-and-off for the past five years or so. For most of my life, I wasn't that confident about my body or my physical strength, but over the years yoga has helped me tap into inner and outer strength that I never knew I had. I have seen my mentee G struggle with finding her strength too, which I think is especially difficult for growing girls. I see how hard it is for her to be able to stay positive and maintain a healthy self-esteem in the face of so much pressure to be thin, sexy, and popular. On the few occasions when I taken her to yoga classes with me, she always leaves feeling extremely relaxed, with a better outlook on life. It is truly remarkable. Despite her positive reviews of these classes, my experience in class with her left me noticing a lot of ways in which an adult class was not a good fit for someone her age. For one, they are not tailored for growing, changing bodies. The tone is more serious, and talking is generally frowned upon. Instruc...

As anyone who follows me on Instagram knows, Curtis and I love to go hiking. We've been slowly checking off the list of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles for the past couple years and it's been a great way to see new parts of the Bay Area. It's become one of our favorite things to do as a couple. In fact, this week one year ago, he proposed to me with a ring placed in this book, promising many more adventures together. He hasn't let me down so far :) For Earth Day we thought it would be nice to give back to these trails that have brought us so much joy and wonder. On Saturday we volunteered at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve to do some "habitat restoration", aka weeding. Two guides led us to a meadow area, showed us the invasive species that needed to be removed, and off we went! In the past when I've helped removed invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberries and ivy vines, they were big and obvious. This time, the invaders were small and looked a lot l...

This year, for the second time, I volunteered to judge student videos for the Directing Change  contest. This initiative is part of California's broader efforts to prevent suicide, reduce stigma and discrimination, and promote mental health and wellness. High school and college students create 60-second videos on one of two themes: Ending the Silence of Mental Illness, or Suicide Prevention . Last year I judged the suicide prevention category, and this year I judged the mental illness one, so I've gotten to see a good mix of videos. The videos are supposed to be geared towards young people (14-24), be hopeful in tone, and include resources for getting help and connecting with others. I signed up to be a judge for this contest because I believe so deeply in this cause. Mental illness is seldom discussed in public except in the context of mass shootings and homelessness. But there are so many other faces of mental illness. We just don't recognize them because they look so o...