False Fall | Second Summer

Ever heard the saying "don't be a tease"? Or maybe someone said that to you before — ugh, I know. There's not a good feeling behind that saying. No one wants to be called a tease, and I sure wouldn't want to say that about our sweet Mother Nature. I mean, she's just doing the best she can with what we've all been dumping on her. 
Did we just experience a False Fall? Yup. And will it be back in the mid 90s this week for our Second Summer. Yup, it looks that way. We could try to wish it away all day, get annoyed, or whatever.... or we can shift our perspective. Fall didn't promise us anything. We just really wanted it to.

Don't be a tease — with yourself.

If you dangle an expectation in front of your own face and then feel wronged when life doesn't deliver it on your timeline, whose fault is that? Attachment to how things "should" be is the fastest route to being disappointed by things that were never guaranteed in the first place.

A little wisdom from Dolly
We lost Dolly Parton just days ago, and it's been sitting heavy on a lot of us this week. I wanted to give her a small tribute here, because she said almost everything better than I ever could. 

There's the story behind "Coat of Many Colors" — the song about the patchwork coat her mama sewed her out of rags, that other kids made fun of at school.
“That story was very important to me,” Parton told an interviewer. “That memory had been painful to me, but I didn’t realize it until I wrote the story. So many people wrote me and said it had healing properties for them. They had been made fun of… and made to feel less than what they are."

In the face of being teased & feeling the ugly of the world — she chose to make it beautiful anyway. She wore that coat proudly, and years later, she turned it into one of the most loved songs in country music. She called it, in the end, "a story of acceptance and hope." That's the real lesson, I think — it's all about what you choose to make of it. 

Your Yoga Practice
We talk about flexibility on the mat all the time — can you fold a little deeper, can you twist a little further. But the flexibility that actually changes your life is the kind that happens off the mat, in your mind.
Can you soften your grip on how you thought this week, how this class should go, how your body was supposed to show up — and meet what's actually here instead? That's the practice. Not just touching your toes. Touching reality, as it actually is, without the story you were attached to.

Healthy Habit:
This week, notice any disappointment without judgment. It's allowed to be there.
Take three slow breaths.
Ask yourself: "What is actually true right now?" 

Something Special
While we can't know what the weather will be like, what is true is that Autumn will be here September 22nd 🍁🍁🍁
Join us for a 75-minute gentle yoga practice honoring the Autumn Equinox — a time of balance, reflection, and softness. The Equinox falls just a couple of days before the Sun enters Libra, a sign that values harmony and equilibrium.

We'll open with a short discussion — "What does Libra season mean for me?" (about 10 minutes)
Then, we’ll move into guided breathwork and a gentle flow. 
Together, we'll slow down, turn inward, and create space for both strength and softness as we welcome the changing season.

Led by Dhara Baiden, RYT-500 and owner of Inner Quest Astrology.