Get Kids Moving

The outdoors is the best place to be as we fight Covid-19 and experience the beauty of fall. Don’t miss the opportunity on warm days for water play, bike rides, creek walking and neighborhood mapping. Go ahead and get lost!

Sprouts

Stretch your parenting skills for your stay-at-home kiddos with the Next Step kids’ Garden Curriculum! Easy-to-use activities, experiments, and gardening tips for first-time AND experienced gardeners as well.

Covid-19 Challenge

Even days you don’t feel like going out…do it anyway! We have some resources for planning outings–Iowa’s #99Parks Funpack and The Family Adventure Bundle

Forest Bathing

No matter where you are today, walk outside. Breathe the fresh air. Touch the earth. Pick up a handful of soil. See how you feel.

Chalk Art

Watch your kids’ faces light up as they reveal their first horizon line–priceless! Chalk Mountains is a unique way to create a design and experiment with color. It helps with focus and flow. #aSTEaMactivity

FUN!!! With Kids & Worms

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about worms, and more! Create your own worm composting bin. Learn about the important jobs worms do for us. Talk about garbage!

Summer Days

School has started now, and I’m reflecting on our summer together–trying to decipher what made it so special. Although our calendar looked wide open, never once did I hear the words, “I’m bored.”

There’s Always More

So many reasons to be excited about yoga. I teach it. I practice it. I study it. There truly is always more!

Excited–check out this article about some preliminary research on how yoga may help with recovery from stroke and lessening the impact of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

I teach at Shakti Yoga Shop and we have some very cool opportunities coming up this fall. Desiree Rumbaugh is bringing her Wisdom Warriors training here in September. She developed it a few years ago when she turned 50 (you’d never guess it). Then, a couple weeks later, Becky and I will do our Intro to Yoga class.

I’m all set to head to the Finger Lakes region of New York for my second visit to Dr. Douglas Brooks’ summer camp. I’ve rented a “cottage in the woods” to retreat to all by myself after days of listening to stories of Rajanaka, the very tiny branch of Hinduism that we study with Douglas.

Looking forward to curry dinner at Douglas’ place and at least a short conversation with his talented and beautiful wife Susan. Four of us are going this year from Des Moines. We will be a force to be reckoned with.

This time studying with Douglas and friends will provide material for my paintings that are also reflections on my trips to India, the stories and philosophy we explore.

Puja at Rajanaka summer camp

Practice–I’ve been lazy about having a home practice. I go to class or teach nearly every day, so why do I need to get on my mat at home? Well, yesterday I made a commitment to do just that.

I took just a few minutes after a walk to stretch my hamstrings and quads and root the head of my femurs deep into the hip sockets. Then I stood on my head for a few minutes. Felt great. But I’ll need to do it again today to really start making it a habit.

The study of yoga–there’s always more. Come along on the adventure!