Mindful Mourning - June 2025

Hello, friends, and Happy Summer!

My brother paid me a visit recently, and he and I were reminiscing about the many adages that our mother used to say; she had one for just about every occasion. Over the course of our lives, she repeated her many old saws more times than we could count. “Waste not, want not,” she would say when we left food on our plates. “The streets of hell are paved with good intentions” was her message when our efforts to behave were not up to her standards. Whenever prices rose, we’d hear about “highway robbery,” and we were reminded quite often that she wasn’t made of money, nor did it grow on trees. Our mother was big on Parenting By Platitude.

Although I didn’t always love my mother’s sayings, one of them in particular is pretty apt for all of us grievers: “Life goes on.” It’s horrible and unfair that life continues after we experience a big loss, and yet also poignant and maybe even in some ways comforting. Although I miss my kiddo every single day, I don’t want to miss the things I have in my life that are worth celebrating. Recently, those things have included a wonderful vacation, a wedding anniversary, and surprisingly pleasant weather. My surviving child is doing well. In the upcoming months, I’m looking forward to a retreat in Puerto Rico, a significant birthday, and spending time with dear friends. Impossibly, life does go on, despite how very much we miss our lost loved ones.

One of my favorite affirmations from my Yoga for Grief work is “Life isn’t the way it’s supposed to be; life is the way it is.” (It has kind of become the adage that I repeat to others, perhaps much like my mother did.) Learning to accept life exactly the way it comes to us is not always easy. My hope for each of you is that you will seek out opportunities to embrace the beauty and wonder of all the life that goes on, despite your losses.

📖 Now Available! 📖

My biggest news this month is the publication of the book I’ve been working on. I’m really pleased to announce that the first edition of The Yoga for Grief Workbook is now available for purchase on Amazon. Click here to order. If you order a copy and find anything within its pages that resonates with you, I’d appreciate your positive review on the site.

Join me on June 7 at 2:00pm at The FREE Wellness and Harmony Event at the McKinney Cotton Mill, 610 Elm St, McKinney 75069. Here’s the scoop on my session. 👇

Avy’s Sunshine Kite Festival 

If you’re looking for a unique opportunity to honor your lost loved ones, don’t miss the second annual Kite Festival on June 21, 10:00am-2:00pm, at Old City Park in Dallas. I love the idea of flying a kite to remember those in my life who have gone on before me! Read the FAQs about the kite festival here.

⭐ Next Yoga for Grief Sessions ⭐

✔️Gentle Yoga for Grief 6-Week Series, Sundays, July 13, July 20, July 27, August 3, August 10, August 24. 1:30-3:00pm. The Mat Yoga Studio, 17390 Preston Road, Dallas 75252. Click here to register.

✔️Gentle Yoga for Grief 6-Week Series, Sundays, September 7-October 12, 1:30-3:00pm. Dallas Meditation Center, 810 W. Arapaho Rd, Richardson 75080. Click here to register.

✔️Gentle Yoga for Grief 4-Week Series, Sundays, November 2-November 23, 1:30-3:00pm. Yoga-Art-Music, 9850 Walnut Hill, Dallas 75238. Registration info will be available on my website soon.

🧘My “Regular” Yoga Classes (NOT Yoga for Grief)🧘

• Chair Yoga: Mondays and Fridays at 1:30 pm, Good Vibes Yoga Studio, 4231 Sigma, Dallas 75244

• Gentle Yoga Flow: Tuesday evenings at 5:30 pm and Friday mornings at 9:00 am, Richardson Senior Center, 820 W. Arapaho, Richardson 75080

• Gentle Yoga Flow: Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am, Good Vibes Yoga Studio

• Chair Yoga: Wednesday evenings at 5:30 pm, Richardson Senior Center

• Deep Stretch: every-other-Saturday at 10:30 am, The Mat Yoga Studio, 17390 Preston Rd, Dallas 75252

☎️ Call or text (972-824-8348) or 📧email for info on prices/registration.