Teacher Spotlight on Betsy
Name/ Pronouns: Betsy Brandl Rippentrop (She/Hers) What brought you to and how long have you been practicing yoga? I came to yoga in the midst of massive stress my 3rd year of my graduate PhD program. I was preparing to take “comprehensive exams” where we were told to know “everything” about psychology…theories, statistics, specific citations. I had several […]
Righting the Negativity Bias
I’ve taken on an extra job of taxi driver this Spring carting kids every night to soccer, flag football, cello, golf, or running club. I’ve felt irritable and a bit crazed by the extra activities and my mind has focused solely on the downsides of these choices. It helped me this week when I ran […]
Empowered Pregnancy Summit
While many woman love being pregnant, it was a struggle for me. The changes in my body, the rush of hormones, the intense emotions, the fears….it was all so intense! Despite diligently preparing for each birth, none of them went the way I imagined, requiring me to work with disappointment and ultimately acceptance. I […]
8 Conscious Parenting Tips + Free Meditation
I had a great conversation with Valerie Friedlander, founder of the business “The Unlimited Mom”. She has put together an amazing FREE online event – Motherhood Unlimited. If you want to re-energize Mom-life, re-ignite your relationship, and renew your engagement and mindfulness as a parent then you don’t want to miss out on this event! […]
The Wisdom of Meditating Children
My friend Zac Wedemeyer, founder and leader of Taproot Nature Experience in Iowa City, asks me every year to come teach yoga to his group of junior high and high school students in his week-long outdoor leadership camp. This year we met at Palisades Park on Memorial Day for some yoga along a sandy stretch of beach right next […]
Self Love…A Lesson from my 2-year-old
My 2-year-old, Gretta, was my teacher this week. I had just put her in a cute dress and colorful hair bow. She immediately ran to the full-length mirror, and squeals of delight and joy abounded as she admired her reflection. She was so authentically happy to bask in the beauty of herself, that she proceeded […]
Meditating With My Kids
After talking with a friend whose kindergartener was learning meditation at school, I was inspired to try this at home with my 8-year-old and 5-year-old. Even though I’ve been working on a meditation practice for nearly 20 years, it hadn’t dawned on me to teach my kids this invaluable skill. I always believed that the […]
The True Teacher Within
Are you a rule follower? I am. Always have been. I even feel guilty when I park a bit askew, getting too close to the next car. But right now, my tendency to “toe the line” is not serving me! As I keep adjusting to life with a newborn whose needs change daily, I hear […]
Acceptance
My new daughter Gretta is 3 weeks old and continues to amaze me…except at night when the sleep deprivation sets in and I can’t remember how many times I’ve pulled myself out of bed to feed, soothe, comfort or rock. This morning, I found myself pulling baby books off my shelf searching for tips about […]
