2026 Issue #34

Sometimes “moving on” isn’t the same as letting go.

Hi Reader,

Recently, I was working with a client who was struggling with poor circulation in his legs. During our session, I kept getting a very specific—and seemingly random—impression.

“Did you ever work in construction?” I asked him.

He looked surprised.

Yes. He had.

I told him what I was sensing:

“I keep seeing your legs taking you somewhere you didn't want to go. You went because you had to, but your heart wasn't in it. It feels like there was a disconnect between where your body was going and what your heart was experiencing.”

And then he told me a story I never could have known.

When he was in high school, he had a construction job.

During that time, his 17-year-old high school sweetheart unexpectedly died in her sleep from an undiagnosed heart condition.

He was devastated.

But he was also captain of the football team. Life didn't stop and give him time to process what had happened. He played in a football game the very next day, despite the enormous emotional pain he was experiencing.

And then he kept going.

He went to work.

He showed up.

His legs carried him where he needed to go while, emotionally, his heart wanted to be anywhere else.

That happened nearly 50 years ago.

I can't tell you that an experience like this caused a physical condition decades later. Our bodies and health are much more complicated than that.

But the experience left me thinking about something I've become increasingly fascinated by:

What happens when our minds move forward, but our bodies are still responding to what we've been through?

We don't always get to stop when something difficult happens.

We raise the kids.
We go to work.
We take care of everyone else.
We get through the divorce, the loss, the scary diagnosis, the financial stress or the season when everything felt like too much.

We do what needs to be done.

And sometimes we don't realize how much tension we're still carrying until we finally become quiet enough to notice it.

The clenched jaw.

The shoulders that never quite relax.

The breath you didn't realize you were holding.

The feeling that you always need to be doing something.

The difficulty simply allowing yourself to be still.

This is one reason I'm so interested in somatic practices.

Rather than only asking, “What am I thinking?” somatic work invites us to become curious about:

“What am I feeling in my body?”

Through breath, gentle movement and body awareness, we can begin noticing our patterns and give ourselves an opportunity to soften, reconnect and experience what it feels like to slow down.

And that's exactly what we're exploring at our next event at the farm.

🌿 Breathe-In the Blooms
Breathwork + Somatic Release in the Garden

Emily from A Perfect Touch by Emily will guide us through breathwork, gentle movement and somatic practices.

You don't have to tell anyone your story.

You don't have to relive your past.

You don't need previous yoga or breathwork experience.

You simply get to spend an evening tuning in to what you body has been trying to tell you.

Thursday, August 27 at 6:30 PM
$5 at the door • No reservation needed

Bring a yoga mat, blanket or anything else that helps you feel comfortable.

We'll have sample herbal tea and infused water available, too.

If you've joined us for a sound bath this summer, we'd love to have you back for this next experience.

Maybe your mind has already moved on.