November 2025

As the days get shorter, and the nights longer, it is a good time to find moments to go within - to write, to sit quietly, to dream, and, always, to move. We get so pulled out of ourselves by the world; be sure to find time to return to yourself and do what feeds and fills you. Imagine if we made this a priority for ourselves…

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In this issue:

• How does your body breathe?

• Muscle awareness creates strength

• Presence not effort

• Several people have asked me why I chose The Turquoise Body as the name for my practice. My response is that I have moved away from mainstream fitness and wanted a name that represents my perspective on the power, wisdom and sacredness of the human body. And there’s a bit more…see below.

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My current class offering, Foundation of the Turquoise Body, will be concluding in a few weeks. It has been a great experience and I am working on more offerings to begin early 2026. I will update that information in upcoming newsletters and on my website. Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone you think may be interested! Thank you!

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How Does Your Body Breathe?

When we breathe in, there is an expansion of ribs, chest, and abdominal area; and when we exhale, these areas return to their less expanded state. Many of us can, without realizing, restrict the capacity and fluidity of our breath. The movement experience linked below gives you an opportunity to discover what happens in your torso (while laying on floor) when you inhale/exhale and to explore a different way of feeling breath in your body. It is not a prescription for how to breathe, just an experience. You will notice how your breathing feels before and after. Click here to begin.

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Muscle Awareness Creates Strength

A muscle contraction occurs because the brain sends a signal to the muscle via motor neurons. Researchers have found that even just imagining the contraction of a muscle can increase the strength of that muscle. And combining the imagining with a physical contraction of the muscle results in even greater strength.

So this may be an easy practice with a muscle that you are clearly aware of. But what about a muscle that you don’t think about much? You can increase your awareness of it and thus the brain to body connection and strength of that muscle. For example, most people don’t think a lot about their gluteal muscles but they are key players in many movement patterns. Supine Butt Ups is an exercise that I created to help people to activate their glute muscles.

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Presence Not Effort

These words came to me, a few weeks ago while I sat on a rock looking out over a bay. I was just sitting, watching, absorbing the surrounding nature. I wasn’t thinking or processing anything (which isn’t always easy for me to do). So when these words drifted into my awareness, I noticed and I listened. Presence not effort. For me, presence is a sensation of ease, a grounding in self, in the moment, an allowing and being.

Focusing on effort was always my norm. It is what is expected of us: push, excel, achieve. It is our cultural norm. But it can cause a rigidity and tension within us and, when we are in this state, we can miss out on options and possibilities.

Presence is a practice. Some choose walks in nature, meditation, quiet reflection, journaling, mindful movement. And the goal? Can I, can we, more and more, hold onto a sense of presence even during those times that traditionally call for effort?

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Why call this The Turquoise Body?

I have always loved turquoise, both the color and the stone. The color reflects the sea and sky. The energy of the stone heals us physically, reduces stress, and encourages compassion. Turquoise balances our emotions and energy, enhances our spiritual connection and intuition, and improves our ability to communicate and express our truth. Imagine allowing all that turquoise, energy and color, to completely fill your body. That is what I imagined. And so, The Turquoise Body came to life to represent our embodied and authentic capacity to move, sense, intuit, communicate, and live in alignment and wholeness.