Stoking the Fire
Summer offerings to keep your inner flame lit
TL;DR: I’m teaching “Mothering Boys: Boundaries and Consent” with Courtney LaCava on May 16; “Body of Work: Bringing Your Body Into Your Writing Practice” with Margo Steines on June 11; Summer Round of Mother Fire will begin July 1.
Read on for full details.
I’ve been in a moment, y’all.
A confusing, vital, rich, soul-clarifying moment.
As I mentioned in a previous missive, the Lunar New Year tied my feet to the back of the Fire Horse, slapped that horse’s ass, and off we went into the underworld.
It has taken time to get my feet out of the ropes and onto solid-ish ground, and just like a train that has been brought to a complete stop, I am now beginning the slow chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga toward my working pace. Thank you for mixing metaphors with me.
I am actually really fucking excited for the next few months, which is encouraging because summer usually feels daunting at best (work slows down, kids’ schedules are WILD and unpredictable, and Tucson gets really, really, really hot.) But this year I’ve got exciting collaborations and creatively-informed offerings to date.
Coming up first is my very special and, in my opinion, truly revolutionary collab with my friend, Courtney LaCava, called “Mothering Boys: Boundaries and Consent.” This workshop (on May 16!) is an extension of Courtney’s big work, The Mothering Boys Collective, inside of which she offers mothers nervous system, community, and Ayurvedic support for staying resourced, grounded, and resilient while navigating cultural upheaval, perimenopause, and raising a young man without projecting your internalized fear and trauma onto him. Like I said, it’s big work.
Courtney and I were roommates at Ghost Ranch three years ago on retreat with Kimberly Ann Johnson. We instantly connected and rekindled our friendship this past December at Ghost Ranch again. Between Vedic Astrology, South American adventures, deep dives into marriage and intimacy, and Heated Rivalry, Courtney and I really are soul sisters, and I am honored to be teaching alongside someone I respect so deeply. Ok, crying.
Next up is another awesome collab with ANOTHER beloved (this is all I want to do for the rest of my life - collaborate with brilliant women in support of the brilliance of women.) Margo Steines - writer, educator, mother, and coach - and I will be offering you the first of potentially many workshops bringing the body into your creative practice. Our first workshop is called “Body of Work: Bringing Your Body Into Your Writing Practice.” This will be on June 11, 10am-12pm Pacific, and registration details will be coming in the next week or so.
Have you ever had a desire to express yourself creatively and in contemplating how / when / where / what the point would be, experienced a mental spiral? Cough. Well, in that case, perhaps you’d like to experience the incredible anchor and generator that is your eroticism. This is the inquiry of our seminar (and forthcoming series, maybe a retreat…) and I would love, love, love it if you’d join us. I just returned from a four-day writing intensive with Margo where I offered Somatic Experiencing and yoga to the group and the intersection of our practices was chef’s kiss.
If you are in Phoenix, I’m coming to teach IRL!!! I’ll be bringing my Touch Rx workshop to a wonderful venue called Abundant Space. I led this workshop in April in Tucson, and it was a total blast. The couples who came out left smiling and snuggling their spouses, and also more clear on what they need as individuals. I hope to make this a regular in-person offering, because, damn…we need it.
When it comes to intimacy, having kids changes almost everything. The stakes are higher, the time to focus on each other is less, and what reliably worked in the past often doesn't anymore. Intimacy can become transactional. But what if it could be medicinal? nutritional? What if touch could become the place you meet to communicate what words fail to capture, and to provide one another with that much-needed relief and reciprocal care? That’s what Touch Rx is all about. Please spread the word if you know any folks in Phoenix!
And last but not least, little ol’ me filling up your summer with the next iteration of Mother Fire! Over the last six weeks, I’ve been in the flow with a group of mothers on the subjecting of partnering while parenting - navigating the identity shift, the attachment patterns, the emotional hamster wheels, and the freedom available to us through nervous system and creative practice. Based on what we’ve learned together, the power is in showing up and telling the truth and being witnessed. Full stop.
In terms of timing and pacing, I’m switching things up a bit and will be updating the format and flow. It’s my hope that it makes things way more accessible for all y’all trying to keep it together. My renewed goal is that this project (Mother Fire) becomes the resource that keeps your inner torch lit so you don’t constantly question if you should burn it all down. My friend Nicole Parker (@theseedofjoy_) just wrote something so perfect that I’ll be reciting mantra style through our time together:
“Creation is innate to Mother, but it is only creation that reflects her that has the power to feed her.”
The world needs your art, your Truth, and you won’t be able to access it if you’re not tending this inner flame ardently and with devotion (Mr. Darcy vibes, anybody?) Summer Mother Fire will begin in July and give you the juice and focus you need for getting on with it - out the spiral, into yourself. Again, full details and registration info to come.