Holiday Season

Happy Holidays… Not sure why this reminds me of the Christmas season, Christine and I saw all this lovely art in San Antonio in June. Perhaps because growing up Catholic (still somewhat practicing) there were always lots of decorations and fun colors and lots of movement. Maybe that is why, the movement. December was always busy at our house growing up. There were Christmas lights, trees, stations of the cross, saying the rosary, tamales (we started with a live pig, sorry I do not mean to offend, but living on a farm this is how you got meat), hosting tons of family and still we had to do the day to day on the farm. It was a festive and very busy time.

Even though that time is gone all the nephews and nieces now have their own families and it’s just Kev and I now. I have said this before but this year has just blown by!! So many changes and so many things that I had planned for my 65th year on this planet. What I learned is that the Bahamas are lovely, it takes an open mind to travel with folks, a best friend is the best cause you pick up right where you left off. There is a saying that goes something like this… “man makes plans and God laughs” that has been my year. I hope that I found some grace in this year even though my bucket list is still pretty full. There is always time to live your fullest, and I think I learned that this year. I can live my fullest with things that are around me, I do not have to look past my own backyard.

I am doing a lot of reflecting about what I want for the new year and where I want to put my energy. I usually find a mantra for the new year, this is still not clear to me, but I know it will come. I guess I just wanted to share what was on my mind, no particular topic or directions, just me writing down some thoughts. I think that I am missing the big family gatherings during the holidays. So if you are in Austin just reach out and say Hi, as I am feeling a bit nostalgic. ♥️

I love you all and I love that I can share with you all here and the community that surrounds and supports me! Tell me how are you feeling this holiday season?

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

Mars… that little stinker

Ever hear the saying “work smarter, not harder“? Well it has felt like I have been spinning my wheels since February, May, June… 2025 😂. It felt like each time I closed my eyes, another month went by and that I was just moving too slow for those things around me. It felt like I lived a year in a week. Even now, shocked that I have not done a newsletter since July it also feels like it has been years since July.

I had been thinking that it was the new job and the new culture of that job. I finally had to reach out to my Vedic Astrologer. I wanted to know what was happening with all this movement and the feeling of constantly being behind the curve. If you ever want a truly AWESOME Vedic Astrologer, please let me know!!

Turns out, it’s Mars and the effect Mars has been having on me. Seems like Mars is especially kicking me in the butt at this time. Mars is also influencing all of us in some way, depending on your birth chart, and many other things, which I do not really understand or have the bandwidth to begin to learn 😂 , which is why I have Rajeshwari, to help me navigate these things. Planets affect all of us, just think about the effect that the Sun and Moon have on us and our emotions.

While some qualities of Mars are universal, it can be different depending on your own birth chart.

Some basic ideas of Mars include:

  • Mars is the planet of action, energy, ambition, and courage.
  • It rules over the element of fire and is associated with the warrior archetype.
  • Influences on life: its position in an individual’s birth chart influences how they approach conflict, assert themselves, and pursue goals.
  • Potential for challenges: a poorly placed Mars can be associated with impulsiveness, anger, and rash decisions.

However this is more about me and my personal reading, and how it has come to affect me. The feeling that one day is as swift as a full year. Like how the heck did we get to November, when just yesterday it was June and I was starting a new job.

What has come through for me is the Warrior and Fire, feeling myself become super agitated at things that really have no effect on me, yet being stuck in the idea that I can and SHOULD change these things. A great Vedic reading will give you some direction, and clarity. And for me, it’s a wonderful roadmap. Like any good roadmap it will show you what is ahead, what to avoid and where the rest stops are!! All really great things, especially for me!!

So.. since Mars is with us for a bit longer, I offer the freebie for this month and a way to also appease Mars a bit… if that is something you personally need. I also encourage Vedic Readings at least once a year or when you have a major change in your life.

With so, so much love and light.

JennyO

Freebie For This Month śani chant –
 om śaneshvarāya namaha
(my salutations to shani/saturn) gratitude🙏

Restore…

Restore….the dictionary gives this definition: bring back (a previous right, practice, custom, or situation); reinstate. It takes on a whole new meaning once I share this with ya’ll. I had the great privilege to work with some wonderful therapists and doctors in this program called Restore. It was a trauma training program at our beloved and now closed Shoal Creek. As a going away present I was presented with this frame filled with quotes from patients. It brought tears to my eyes!! In 8 years, 38 groups, 446 patients 78.28% of the participants lost their PTSD diagnosis!! And this happened in a 6 week course!! This was such a wonderful program I cannot even fathom WHY the company that purchased Shoal Creek did not want to take this department with them, it freaking blows my mind!!


This program helped so many private and military patients. It was anchored by tours to The Blanton led by a VERY calm and even person named Ray. He was another component to this program. I just feel so, so, very lucky to have been a part of this program. My hope is that we can come back together and put it into effect once more in a different location. And the main person in all this was a very dear human and brilliant doctor named Val. She saw the beauty of bringing in Yoga Therapy and how it would help the patients connect to their bodies once more. It was a dream team and THIS IS WHY my job is NOT work, it is pure joy and amazement!! Seeing patients grow and connect throughout this program was pure awe and satisfaction. So many folks were helped!!

Go out and find what you love and never work another day in your life. I know that I am and have been fortunate to connect with all these amazing folks in my life. I will continue to fight the good fight, to teach and to share these tools that I have used in my own life to ease the suffering in those who show up in any way they can. It just takes one little step to reach out and show some support to another human in whatever way we can… and that is never more important than RIGHT NOW. I love you all.. Let’s take care of each other any way we can.

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO

Freebie: Video Recording of Using Patience Mudra 

Click Here To View Video

Teachings…

I love teaching and the picture above is one of the reasons that I love it so much!! All the smiles on the Goddesses that came to the Meditation and Journaling Event. We shared creative dance through GEM cards, created flower wreaths, laughed and shared community with fantastic women.

I love teaching because I love sharing Yoga, the thought that YOGA is more than just asana, contrary to what the West believes. Yoga is EVERYthing… its breath, movement, meditation, mindfulness, community and sharing experiences. I love Rebba Raines stories, so happy each time she joins us, and she showed up wearing Ukraine colors. Jan, your thoughtful planning of our journaling prompts, and Judy, just seeing you in that wreath looking through the Kaleidoscope made me smile all the way down to my bones!! Each of you brought JOY to my soul.

I love each and every one of you so much!! I love the lessons I learn from you, I thank you for showing up for me and mostly for showing up for yourselves!! My cup is full, this is why I teach. *Mic drop* 🙂

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

Spring Is In The Air…

I took this picture in 2017 in a street market in India. It has always reminded me of Spring. The color and vibrancy of the leaves, and the way it is stacked so beautifully. I can only imagine how long it took the gentleman to do this tower. I come back to this picture because it reminds me of Spring. Spring is all around, you can almost feel the “green” in the trees and at the same time that lovely lime green mist that comes from the trees in our front yard, dropping onto my car and making it sticky and dull. I am reminded of all the animals that are being born at this time, just learning to walk and getting stronger for the Summer season.

It also reminds me of Kapha, one of the Ayurvedic Dosās. It is full of birth, life and while it is moving away from winter there are still some ideas of denseness, mucus and heaviness. While this is so lovely and green and makes you feel full of life, imagine how the bottom layer feels with all that heaviness on top of it, this is Kapha. Please know that the Ayurvedic texts also see the good in all the Dosās. In these same texts Kapha also great qualities, it is devoted, very calming and has a great memory.

I think this is also what Spring Cleaning is about, sloughing off Kapha and finding self care for the heat of the seasons to come. What are you feeling now during this season of the year? What are you doing to slough off Kapha?

So as we move into the second season of the year in Austin, which is HOT, HOT AS HELL 🙂, we need to enjoy these days of coolness in the morning and the feeling of moving out of the dark of winter and into the light of Spring.

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

April Freebie Gayatri Mantra

Language: Sanskrit

Source: Rig Veda

Translation:

Aum – God/Brahma

Bhoor – Pranic Energy

Bhuwah – Destroyer of sufferings

Swaha – Happiness bestowing

Tat – God or Spirit

Savitur – Bright Sun/God (Savitur is also a deva some call upon using this mantra)

Varenyam – Greatest

Bhargo – Destroyer of misdeeds

Devasya – Supreme God

Dheemahi – Knowledge imparted/understood

Dhiyo – Intelligence

Yo – Who

Naha – Our

Prachodayat – Enlightenment

More Information:

This mantra is from the Rigveda which is part of The Vedas.

This mantra is known to impart wisdom, understanding, and enlightenment.

“The Gayatri Mantra is said to be the oldest and most powerful of mantras, being thousands of years old. It purifies the person chanting is as well as the listener as it creates a tangible sense of well-being in whoever comes across it. Translated, it means “May all beings on Earth reach enlightenment,” but as with all mantras, the meaning of the Sanskrit words isn’t as important as the effect the vibrations of the words have on the body and energy centers” – Deva Premal

 Gayatri Mantra

Construction 2025

Welcome to construction 2025… we are in the middle of some new construction of the house. New windows, doors, siding, paint and a roof. This picture is from February, the day they came to install windows in was 37 degrees inside the house and windy as hell. We were like little bunnies trying to burrow into the room that was the least cold, drank lots of tea and had on at least 3 layers on. It’s funny to see your home with no windows and even weirder to see your whole house taken down to the studs on the outside as they prepared the house for new siding. We are just waiting for the roof and then a new fence and trimming of the trees. We also took off the covered patio which is where all the plants were and now they are in the yard…and I am starting to worry that they will soon get scorched by the second season in Austin, Hot as Hell.

I am ruminating on all this because it has, of course, left the house in somewhat of disarray. It’s like a domino effect, not being able to fully clean or organize back again because of the next step, not to mention all the bits and pieces left by the crews both inside and outside as they work on the house.

It has really allowed me to look at my own patterning. In my Yoga Therapy work I tend to see folks through the lens of Ayurvedic Doshas which are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. They each have their own qualities and personalities. I think the two at the most opposite are Pitta and Kapha, which as luck would have it (smiley face) is Kev and I. So all this work has had my Pitta self itching to put everything BACK TO WHERE IT WAS…and my sweet little Kapha Kev is just watching and evaluating where things will go once the work is complete, ALL the work. I have had to pull myself back from implosion so many times, even though he is right. Nothing is permanent right now… it’s all still moving pieces.

So as the vacuum body lays in one place and the wand and stick in another location, I am practicing my Yoga!! And you know what I found out…that my limit with the vacuum is about 2 weeks hahahah…. You want to know what was reinforced in those 2 weeks? If it bothered me, all I had to do was move it. It was not directed at me, it was not a direct insult to my Pitta self, it’s just the sweetness and preciseness of Kapha. When I moved it, you want to know what I got in return? “Thank you for moving that, I was just about to move it.” I laughed with so much love in my body… this is the time differential between a Pitta and a Kapha. Who are you in your relationship? Vata, Pitta, Kapha and how do you navigate it?

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

March Freebie

The Three Doshas

Valentine’s Day Every Day

So….. this is Valentines Day, or rather a day after, not usually a day I celebrate 😂. A day that is usually influenced greatly by consumerism and marketing. A day when “love” is generally measured in dollars and not simple pleasures. I remember helping out in the floral department when I worked at Central Market, people, mostly men coming in with a dazed look and an open wallet. Looking for something that looked expensive and impressive. For me, buy me flowers the day after, I get twice as many because everything is on sale!! Send me something that you made or took the time to send something that truly resonates with me. THANK YOU for those gifts that I received this year…💖

I do not deny anyone this day, I have participated in some lovely Valentines Day celebrations in my relationships. But I always came away with the idea that, “why is it just one day that you are going to treat me “special” why not the other 364 days of the year?” Love me all year long, buy me flowers for no reason, bring me home a new kind of fruit, share some jokes with me, let me wear your favorite sweatshirt or share something funny that happened to you at work today.

I say all this, and yet, I give out Valentine’s Day presents, cause I love to do this. Remember those days in grade school when everyone gave and received paper valentines day cards, anyone remember those? When everyone received a note about love and happiness. In that respect I wish it would be valentines day every day, so that we could spread love and happiness 365 days a year.

And can someone please tell me what a “wellness charge” is? And why is a restaurant charging me for this?

In all seriousness though, I wish you all the best on this holiday, no matter how you celebrate it. Know that I will have you in my heart and in my prayers all year long. That I cherish all the time that I spend with you! Thank you LT for a lovely lunch today. Go out and spread love, spread joy and I challenge you to do it today, tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that….

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO

Monkeys

This is a story about Monkeys….2 actually, as you all know I love a good story! This first one is about the mug, a Christmas present from Kev. I read somewhere that in any given relationship there is a person who loads the dishwasher like a Ninja and the second one who loads the dishwasher like a spastic Monkey, well until I met him, I never had a dishwasher, so I am that Monkey 😀

The second is more of a quote which I always sort of shield away from, but in 2025 it is to become my Mantra…”Not my Circus, not my Monkeys“, it always left me feeling a bit dis-engaged, the ever knowing Universe, God, Buddha is making me rethink that.

There is so much movement around the first of the year and I know that many businesses and humans go through changes. I am sitting in a few situations that are now filled with confusion and chaos, which is not of my doing. BUT I chose to try and fix them, which caused a lot of unrest in my own system. Then the story of the Bhagavad Gita started to break through and I remember the struggle of Arjuna when Krishna says to him “it’s not your responsibility” (AKA “not my circus not my monkeys“) while trying to make peace with the idea that his family is on the battlefield and many will die (this is the cliff note version). We are not responsible for others’ Dharma or Karma for that matter. When we do not “create the mess” then it is not our responsibility to fix it, the responsibility is to US to our OWN system. For us to stay in balance and provide some sort of stability to the situation, especially when the stability benefits and supports our OWN behaviors and patterns. When we stay balanced we can respond more evenly when situations become overwhelming.

I reckon it is my pattern to try and “fix” things for everyone, but is it really? I CAN be supportive, offer tools and support the plan, this idea of Upeksa. Which is how I ultimately work with folks…so in short I Yoga-Therapied myself. So in closing I will say, embrace the Monkey, he is after all Hanuman. Hanuman is worshipped for his strength, courage, devotion, and protection from evil spirits, ghosts, and ill-intentioned people. He is a symbol of bravery and service. So be brave, protect yourself from evil spirits, ghosts and  ill-intentioned people even those who may not know they are being ill-intentioned…not “Not my Circus, not my Monkeys“, thank you Polish proverb.

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

Freebie For January

The full moon is super bright this month, if you are not sleeping well try these herbs:

Lavender: Known for its soothing scent, it helps ease tension

Skullcap: A gentle relaxant to help quiet the mind.

Valerian: A traditional sleep aid that’s been used for centuries.

Chamomile: A cozy tea perfect for bedtime.

Hops: Often used in brewing, hops also have sleep-inducing properties.

Passionflower: Known for its calming effects.

An Old Fashioned Christmas

 Tis the season to be: stressed, anxious, in traffic, too much food, too many emotions, too much family, not enough family, lots of dessert and did I mention traffic 🙂

How about we go back to the “good ole days” when fresh oranges and walnuts in your stocking were the best, and all that you expected. When a sewing kit was the BEST thing you ever got for Christmas. Going to Midnight Mass with the entire family, then coming home to fresh tamales and presents from Santa.

I vote to go back there!! A friend recently said to me this is the season “for too much stuff“, I agree. In this season of “everything” lets do LESS. Less pressure on ourselves to DO IT ALL, less of everything that brings up that level of “exhaustion” and instead go for the level of “excitement“. Excitement from spending an evening with friends playing games, or sitting in conversation without phones, watching the stars, baking cookies together or my favorite, a Tamalada. The only person that puts pressure on us this season is us, ever ask yourself why? Remember the kids eventually wind up playing with the box the toy came in or they move onto something else in like 5 minutes, cause the next best thing will show up. In this age of everything all at once, how about we take on the idea of one thing at a time. You will be surprised how this will slow everything down for you. When you can slow down and take in all the joy and beauty around you, it makes for a much less stressful season. Let’s bring back the good old fashion connection for the season, leave the anxiety at the door and just breathe.

With so, so much love and light. I wish you all the best during this holiday season and so much fortune for 2025. Celebrate all your wins!!

JennyO 

Freebie For December: New Moon Ritual

Peace and Love

We took some time last month to just go have some fun. The Dallas Museum of Art had an exhibit of Frida Khalo’s painting and some personal facts about her that I did not know. She had a total of 4 either miscarriages or abortions. The first one was a demand from her husband Diego. No wonder that so many of her paintings show what some would call a “dark” side. For me it’s about loss, and how we all go through LOSS so differently. Frida had a wonderful outlet, she had the ability to paint and express herself through her paintings. I think of others that go through loss and wonder how they may cope with loss, what they may take up to help move through the sorrow.

What also came to mind walking through the exhibit was the amount of strength that she had, how she chose to express herself, even committing to dressing in “traditional” fashion. Some critics say that this choice also drew her deeper into her painting style and her culture.

What we surround ourselves with is what we will attract. I recently purchased some sweaters that said “Peace” and “Love“. Just one word across the front of it, and I thought how lovely it would be if each of us or some of us bought the same sweater. So that those in charge could see these messages and take them to heart. While this is not a political commentary, I think we ALL, especially WOMEN could use some peace and love.

Let us surround ourselves with this idea of Peace and Love, go out and share it with everyone you know. Or better yet complete strangers. Let it widen like a ripple on the water, let others feel it and take it in, then pass it on to others. I often have folks ask me “what can I do?“… do this, share Peace, share Love. It benefits us all….

As we come to this month of Thanksgiving, I want to give THANKS to ALL of you, for this place to share thoughts, to accept wisdom from you through personal emails and comments, well wishes and acceptance from all of you…and mostly PEACE and LOVE.

With all my LOVE, and as my friend Kirstin says, “Peace In Peace Out“.
JennyO 

Freebie For November: How to adjust to the time change

Tips for adapting to the time shift:

  • Start your day with a bit of morning light. Just 10 minutes of the day’s early morning rays will help reset your internal clock and set you up for a better night’s sleep.
  • Stay active, incorporate some exercise, like walking, into your routine. Physical activity can enhance your mood and improve your sleep quality.

Natural sleep aids to help you adjust like:

  • Lavender: Known for its soothing scent, it helps ease tension.
  • Skullcap: A gentle relaxant to help quiet the mind.
  • Valerian: A traditional sleep aid that’s been used for centuries.
  • Chamomile: A cozy tea perfect for bedtime.
  • Hops: Often used in brewing, hops also have sleep-inducing properties.
  • Passionflower: Known for its calming effects.
  • California Poppy: Helps reduce anxiety & promote sleep. Especially effective for those who struggle to stay asleep.