Hi there, readers.  It is with great honor and gratitude, that today I can reflect on the continued manifestation of not only this blog, but also the development of my business, EmBodyed Tides.  Goal being: to provide family therapy services as well as individual/group private yoga instruction, as tools for deliberate and authentic living.  Some have asked about the name.  Well, what’s in a name, anyways?  Believe me when I say, that I was never the child who envisioned herself as a woman starting a business.  Even seeing that in writing makes me feel slightly uncomfortable.  But, I am actively practicing to sit with such discomfort.  And, all the while, it is incredibly exciting to be fostering professional passions, around which I hope to serve others.  To be carrying out these next steps with my daughter and son witness to the empowering position of entrepreneurship.  (*Insert next seat of discomfort and vulnerability, here).

It was about one year ago, at the end of my first yoga teacher training, when I decided to begin this blog.  I had spent the bulk of that year embraced by and absorbing into some of most prodigious practitioners, mentors, and texts of yoga magic.  While I ‘found’ a more methodical practice back in 2008, in so many ways before then it had already saved me.  I have expressed to you before, that I realized inevitably during my training, that yoga itself has shown up to be a profoundly intrinsic exploration and journey of un-learning.  In the sense that yoga is a part of being, not accomplishing.  In the sense that it is a part of something that we are, not what we do.

I began my counseling experience officially in 2010, when I entered graduate school for Clinical & Counseling Psychology, with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy.  Informally, I have worked with families since the age of 13, which is when I began babysitting.  And perhaps prior to that, considering the very structure of my immediate family; I tend to thrive when surrounded by others.  At least to a certain extent – I am also actively practicing to respect my alone time, cherishing how it affects my overall peace and functioning.  In these early years as a therapist, the processes and flow among various cases, prove to me again and again my adoration for the field.  In part, I am reminded by so many clients that the power of being heard is an inherent right for each of us.  Through their shared stories, I continue to be sustained professionally, helping address strengths and barriers across a multitude of relationships and situations.

And so, these two disciplines of my life merge more intricately each day.  I sent a message to my husband back in 2016, exclaiming that I would open a private practice within the decade.  It was, in part, the enthusiasm of focusing on our joint ambitions, as well as putting out into the universe an idea – an idea that has so graciously led to my earlier-than-planned rendition of what is now, EmBodyed Tides.

And…it also sort of began with the social media outlet, Instagram (*eek).  My family had been involved with this platform, and it was funnily enough my mom who kept “tapping my shoulder” about participating in it.  “Okay,” I begrudged, but what’s in a name?  How would I generate a presence that felt genuine and centered around my occupational aims?  My love of the ocean is no secret; growing up on a coastal town seems to have cemented my way with salty waters.  It brings much peace and reflection, and yet I know of the sea’s powers.  I’m not sure exactly when or where, and I want to say it was late one evening in that sweet altered state of dropping into sleep, when I arrived at “EmBodyed Tides.”  From there, and through the auspicious symbolisms that grew out of it, I felt more and more certain…

Past, Present, and Future.
Physical, Emotional, and Mental.
The Tangible, Energetic, and Unconscious.
Sun, Moon, and Sky.
Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Id, Ego, and Superego.
Swells, Peaks, and Barrels.
Parents, Children, and Family.
A, U, and M.
Division of 9.
Triangles.
Sisters.

I believed so much in this conceptual song, and now it needed lyrics to be written.  Then, in settling on commissioning logo work this Spring, I was (benevolently) hooked up with a local PA designer.  Considering I never envisioned starting a business, you might imagine I never dreamed of being a part of the integrative process in branding, either.  Paige was receptive and intuitive, as I suppose a solid graphic artist need be, and she was so encouraging throughout.  She got it.  She got the power of 3.  With a few back-and-forth exchanges, it produced itself beautifully.

Each of us is engaging in a physical manifestation of the world.  It can cause disruption again and again – as will the human emotional experience, too.  We will always be riding these energetic waves that repeat, persist.  They do so, despite our greatest efforts in acknowledging insecurities or marking our personal achievements in the sands of time.  It is up to us to maintain the surf, knowing that regardless of its ebbs and flows, we are capable of persevering, too.  Through our support systems (family & friends).  Our bodies (lifestyle & nourishment).  Our relation to the divine (in whatever forms are significant for you).  These tools are conduits for your life.  When you need a reminder in how to find them, please feel free to come here and read.  Feel free to come and work with me at EmBodyed Tides.  I am here to listen and advocate for your true paths.  Thank you again, for your being here, too.

(*Stay tuned! Additional site improvements and expansion to happen in the near future!)