Community

I want to give a shout out to Kaytee and Castle Hill for inviting us to play at Waterloo Greenway. It was a gift from us to everyone who joined us as well as a gift to be able to share space with a great human!!

I came away from this also thinking about Lisa, who I have known for I do not even know how long now, and provided this beautiful opportunity. We first met at Yoga Yoga and continued through that whole mess and the birth of her daughter Nugget. I think I am the only one she lets get away with that name 😀. My point here is that it’s all community! This is Yoga!! We go out into the world and we share experiences whether it is to a crowd of 1 or 700. We do it for Seva, selfless service, because let’s face it we don’t do this job because it will make us a million dollars. We do it for students that we have taught or will teach and we do it to support other teachers. Mostly I love that we can support women as women.

As women we should continue to support other women, because when we are in community, there is nothing stronger or more efficient. Think of all the ways we have come together through the decades. Sewing Circles, Birthing, Sit and Sip, Red Tent, Meetings, Gatherings, Self Defense, Dancing, Book Clubs, Women’s Circles… I am sure there is more that I cannot bring to mind.

So go out and find a “group“, start a group, support each other the way it’s always been done. If you are looking for something fun to do, go howl at the moon with my good friend Amy!

We should not complete with one another, there is space for everyone. Feminine energy has always been about nourishment, not scarcity. Scarcity is when it becomes less supportive. So when you are feeling that scarcity, reach out to a friend, colleague, teacher, student, loved one. This is what we were meant to do and honestly wouldn’t it make the world a better place if everyone did that.

I am also thinking about Annie weeks away from giving birth and the lovely idea that she shared with me. To just “be” with her newborn on the porch with women being supportive and loving. What a lovely vision that I will hang on to and I will be there on the porch with her… nothing better than shared feminine strength, love and grace.Love and Light to you all. Thank you all for your support and always being there when I need support,
JennyO

Freebie For This Month 

While not specifically Yogic, it’s always lovely to be able to untangle ourselves from something that does not serve.

Mary, undoer of Knots

Rain…

April Showers bring May Flowers. Rain, Water, so nourishing and so good for us, especially now when so much needs to be cleansed and nourished. We are in the middle of some huge things happening, and while I will not dive into that, I do pray that you and yours are safe and sound. I do want to encourage you all to nourish yourselves both mentally and physically.


When you are nourished you can function better, you can think more clearly, there are no antatayas (obstacles). Yoga Sutra 1.30 lists the nine antarayas that impede progress in yoga (and as we all know, yoga is everything and everywhere) and cause mental distractions. These impediments – which includes sickness, doubt, sloth, and more – are often described as “tricksters” that distract the mind from concentration.

I have always loved to just “hang” when it rains, there is not much that can be done when it rains. So for me it has always been a chance to stay inside and simply be, to listen to the rain against the house and watch it fall to the Earth. It’s all so very soothing to me and it is ONE way that I can truly wind down. It’s the one time that I can absolutely do NOTHING… so what makes you slow down? What is the one thing that results in you doing NOTHING? Whatever it is, go out and do it, and enjoy it, no guilt, no second guessing yourself. Enjoy your down time and enjoy the rain and water…

Love and Light to you all…
JennyO 

Freebie For This Month 
Lapping waves swaying back and forth in a gentle rolling motion. Inhale as the tide moves out dissolving this moment, and exhale as the waves roll in projecting its energy forwards from the vast abyss of the water, as far as the inner eye can see. Imagine the abundance of life forms under the blanket of the waves. A chalice of wonder, vibrating and alive and yet barely understood by Earth, or humans. Dive deep into this water and dare to dream the dream.

The soft overcomes that hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows that is true, but most of us cannot put it into practice. Our inner current is gentle and soft guiding us quietly towards our true desires. To quiet those internal voices that are hard, judgmental and critical, those words that sink into our cells, use this Cleansing Mantra.

Cleansing Mantra

I am recharged.

I am restored.

I release myself from the burdens of the past. I nourish myself in a comforting golden light.

I wash away any energy that is not mine to carry.

Bruce Lee quote – “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you will find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stay rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”

Words to live by…

You know that best friend that you have known for 25+ years and each time you meet no matter how much time has passed, you can pick up right where you left off? Well this message is from mine ❤️.

I was drawn to this because of the message that she wrote in the card. It was such a great reminder that the “day to day” is taking its toll. She did not know it at the time, it was a simply lovely message from her, but it made me think…

As I thought of what she was suggesting: to be in nature, see friends, make food, notice the world, resist oppression and be loud about it I came to a conclusion, I was missing this. I got so lost in the mundane, the oppression of where the political, cultural, and spiritual landscape is right now, and two sets of aging parents. I was missing all these things that she spoke about! Especially being in nature, that has always been so strong for me, I had stepped away from nature and ritual to deal with aging parents, friends that drifted away, and I felt completely depleted and tired, it all came screaming home and set up house in my body.

The biggest strain is the mental stress that comes from aging parents. Some of you are there and some of you WILL be there, when parents become children and the children have to manage the parents, and this is big, so big!! I say this to let you know that it is a stressful time, a time when all your resources feel depleted, when you are addressing issues that take so much micromanaging! That role of caretaker is real!! Maybe, but maybe not on the level of physical care for someone, but just as stressful because you are trying to figure out something from so far away or just trying to figure out WHAT the problem is.

I say all of this so you know that when this happens it is about self care, it’s about nurturing yourself, your body and your mind. So go back to nature, look at the list Christine sent me and put some of that back in your life.

Most of all, be kind to yourself and your body.

Love and Light to you all…
JennyO

Freebie For This Month 

Understanding the Caregiver Experience

Caregivers may experience:

  • Emotional strain (fear, anticipatory anxiety, relief + guilt post-surgery)
  • Physical exhaustion and disrupted routines
  • Hypervigilance around medications, infection risk, and symptoms
  • Identity shifts and isolation

Normalize this: Caregiving is both an act of love and a sustained stress response.

Practice: Pause after the exhale from 3-5 counts. Do this sitting, laying down, morning, noon, night. Anytime you feel any of the items listed above. 🥰

Happy Valentine’s/Heart Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day or I like to say cause we really do not entertain “Valentines Day” is Happy Heart Day!

Valentines Day is one of those days that is so commercialized, in my eyes. Everything costs more, it’s crowded and so much over stimulation. I celebrated previously with, a lovely dinner with some flowers, candlelight, romantic music and a million others all crowded into the same space.

So then I said, hey, instead of spending $50 bucks (this is how long ago I celebrated this day) on ONE day, how about you randomly bring me flowers, buy me chocolates, take me out to eat, tell me you love me. If you do that 365 days a year or 165 days a year think of all the money you will save!! 😂 Well that was my thought process.

Now I am more about spending time and money on what makes ME happy, hence Happy Heart Day. Honestly it generally comes back to Kev and I spending that time together if we are not working. However I still allow for that week to be what WE want to do for ourselves. Whether that is him watching an entire night of Winter Olympics or taking a nap while I am reading or binge watching Game of Thrones (Yes I am probably the last person on the Earth who has not watched it!!) we do what our Heart wants and that makes me HAPPY to make him Happy without guilt or “shoulds” its guilt free and supportive of our own hearts.

Personally I like to share the day by sending out love to my friends and family. It may not be a physical thing, but it’s energetic. I send that love far and wide, I make it a ritual to send out love to the world, in my eyes that goes much further than anything else you can put forward that day.

I am encouraging you all to find something for YOU.

And yes, this is a shameless plug, join us for the Intention Workshop next week on the 22nd. Make it about you and what would make you happy or propel you forward into sharing love and light with yourself and others. it’s also as perfect time of the year to set intentions, the: “I have to find an intention now!!” is over, the Year of the Snake is coming to an end it’s perfect timing my friends.
Click here for more info on The Despacho and Drum Journey

Happy Heart Day… Remember what the billboard behind Bad Bunny “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE” and where does LOVE come from…the HEART 🙂
 

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

Freebie For This Month 

Click the link below to see the Meditation for a Calm Heart

Meditation for a Calm Heart

2026 The Year of The Horse

I feel like I just said this, but can you believe it’s 2026… Although I am pretty sure I said that about 2024!!! 🙂 It’s time to ground and connect with 2026 and see what it has in store and what has transpired in 2025.

Some things I find interesting about 2026 is that the Year of the Snake is on its way out and the Year of the Horse is on its way in. The Snake’s focus is on introspection, spiritual detoxification, and dismantling old habits. It is a time of “quiet truth“, where one faces uncomfortable emotions to gain clarity. The Horse shifts to embodiment and takes action on the insights gained. It is a time for “running wild and free“, where you apply your wisdom to real-world situations. This is the phase of, “The snake cleared the path, now the horse carries you forward“.

I love this part and I think a lot of us can use this idea of Shedding, shed what no longer serves you (old roles, relationships, or mindsets), the Horse year encourages you to build, create, and launch new initiatives. It is time to move from “survival” mode into “creation” mode. And for me, and maybe for some of you… I have been in a BIG survival mode.

How this affects our energy; Snake (2025): The energy is slower, deeper, and more calculated, favoring patience. Horse (2026): The energy is fast, impulsive, and energetic, often characterized by sudden opportunities. You may feel a mix of fatigue from the intense inner work of the snake, yet restless and eager for change. The Snake allows us to understand our true nature beneath all the survival and our defenses against survival. The Horse allows us to use that understanding to set a new direction for your life.

Let the Snake Finish Its Work: Use the final weeks of the snake year (leading up to Feb 17th, 2026) to rest and reflect, rather than forcing new, rapid beginnings too soon. Prepare for Speed: The Horse year will bring fast changes, so it is crucial to have your goals, boundaries, and energy levels prepared for high activity. This transition is often described as “the last coil of the snake” meeting “the first thunder of the horse“, representing a powerful, necessary, and exciting shift toward a more liberated and empowered state of being.

This is why I also think it is useful to wait until January has passed to set intentions and begin a new way forward. A shameless plug here for an Intention Setting workshop. I am super excited for this year as there is a different way to look at it,  A Despacho and Drum Journey. I hope to see you at the Intention Workshop so that 2026 can be all that it can be for you.
Click here for more info on The Despacho and Drum Journey

With so, so much love and light.
JennyO 

Freebie For This Month 

Click the link below to see the Cinnamon Ritual

Cinnamon Ritual

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