Today marks the last day of Mental Illness Awareness Week in Canada (October 1 - 7, 2017). October 10, 2017 is World Mental Health Day. I wrote this blog post 18 months ago (March of 2016). Truthfully, I haven't been able to publish it due to feelings of shame, guilt, and fear of stigma. Yet there have been many situations and stories of peoples' challenges with mental health that have deeply touched me since then. My husband's friend and former classmate in our community

We have some exciting happenings at Tapestry over the holidays! Yoga for Peace Like many others, I've been affected by the news of recent terrorist attacks. In the days after the attacks in Paris I practiced a mantra meditation chanting "Om Shanti Om" 108 times. Shanti means "peace;" when I create peace in myself I reflect it back out into the world. So when Roxanne approached me about hosting an event at the studio to support the Syrian refugees my answer was an enthusiatic

Crisp morning and evening air, warm sun, colourful changing leaves on the trees, steaming chai, curling up to watch documentaries with my family, new yoga classes, routine, oversized sweaters, warm oatmeal, preserving and canning food … all are some of the reasons why I love autumn. Perhaps one of my favorite things about this time of year though is Thanksgiving. This holiday’s origin of prayer and ceremonies of “thanks” for the harvest may also resonate with me because of my

This is a little photo blog of the studio and how it is progressing. Keys to the studio! Paint colours Subfloor is in, having fun with the paint. OM. Goodbye seahorses! This mirror found a home at the Restore, any takers?! The flooring, ready to install. It took countless hours for my husband and I to put it in, we worked in the evenings after our day jobs to get it done. I learned how to use the mitre saw and finishing nailer! Construction zone! 160 feet of base board to pre

I must confess I am not a risk-taker. I am an introverted, highly sensitive person. I proceed cautiously, methodically; I observe situations and people before I (slowly) move forward. Don’t take this the wrong way; I am not ashamed of who I am, actually the opposite is true. I know and love myself. I simply have a comfort zone that I am pretty comfortable with. I thrive with my alone time and calm environment. The year that my dear Yoga teacher Karen moved away I took a

When I think back to thirteen years ago it's a bit of a blur. I was in my early twenties, newly married, I had two toddlers and a six month old baby. I was in the middle of my bachelor of social work program and my husband in his education program. Phew, it stresses me out just writing that! What I do remember though is Yoga was something I had been interested in for a long time. When I moved out of the home of my family of origin I brought with me a Yoga book from the 197