What’s Good May 2026
LifeUpdate: May recap and whats coming in June
GFT Body - Biology doesn't get the final vote
GFT Mind - Stay Out of Their Business
GFT Spirit - Zodiacs
Nutrition Corner: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Life Update: Bears! They are awake, snooping in the yard for scraps and tormenting our Georgie! Between the sightings I’ve been busy with teaching classes, subbing at the school and track meets. The kids had a fishing derby (Theo won 1st place and Alice 2nd for girls) and attended semi-formals. I ran with my team in the Divided Sky Foundation 5K. And when I got home I had received surprise gifts from friends far away. I’ve created a few recipes, admired gorgeous sky’s and started lifting heavy (for real)!
Did you know I’ve started teaching weekly yoga classes @ New Spring Farm Monday evenings at 5:30. The space is truly a sight to see. A portal of positive energy! The land is a vast scape of green complete with a rock fire circle, pond, cows, chickens, greenhouse and a house that hosts retreats. I’m enjoying this venture and the added yoga teaching practice. Each class has been unique (much like my fitness classes) and during each new wisdom is realized and conveyed.
I’m excited for June! It’s beginning with a week long camping excursion to Keewaydin with my daughters 6th grade class! Roughing it out in nature for 5 days taking a break from the normal. Not looking forward to the dining options on account of my gluten issue and wanting for 130g of protein a day…. but no fear, a scout is always prepared, I’ll pack protein powder and a shaker cup. The following week, the boys are going into the YES program offered by their High/Middle School during the last two weeks of school. It’s so cool, last year Theo went fishing every day, this year he’s going camping on a wilderness survuval adventure. The program is enrichment to enhance their learning beyond what has traditionally been offered during the school year and boy is it.
Sundays in June you’ll find me in Yaddo Gardens, Saratoga Springs facilitating outdoor yoga classes for their Art of Wellness program. Which, I’m excited to continue expanding my yogic offerings. My classes have been typically been composed of is a blending of Kundalini, Hatha and Vinyasa techniques and teachings.. A portion of class we turn the lens of awareness inward to the body to stretch using hatha cues, to mobilize with vinyasa flows and using kundalini techniques to alchemize, neutralize, release, nourish, heal whatever the body spirit and mind need will be provided by the divine creator.
Looking ahead to summer, I will be facilitating the Okemo Summit Yoga Series Saturday mornings 9 - 10 starting July 4th!
GFT Body: Biology doesn't get the final vote
Because really it’s just your nervous system response trying to keep you and your body feeling safe (the same).
Period. Your body does not like change. Think about it, how do you feel when you’re getting ready for bed and the room is kinda cool but you wanna change out of your clothes and put on your pajamas. Do you have a hint of resistance? Of course you do. You’re body is maintaining a nice homeostasis with the clothes you have on. To remove them will cause your body temperature to change, albeit slightly but still, enough to trigger a “I’d rather not” reaction. Your ability to overcome that minor hesitation is dependent on how safe your body feels.. That includes 1. Your level of stress 2. How tired you are 3. How hungry or fueled you feel 4. Your parental programming on the importance of changing prior to bed and 5. You’re ability to preserve and overcome objections or challenges (based on your bodies resilience to stress score).
Maybe for you it’s easy. Maybe for you the hesitation is in touching the cool water to wash your face. Or going outside the house on a cool morning, or dark night, maybe it’s bigger than that… maybe you have a hesitation in getting your heart rate up. Maybe it’s that you’re going to feel sweaty. Or trying to lift those dumbbell …. The thought makes you get uncomfortable and by golly the body does not like that feeling.
Thing is, it’s only a thought. It’s a blip.
You brain sends this signal to “hey we gotta do this thing” which goes to your Amygdala which ignites the “fear” reaction. “I don’t like this” ‘what if we die?” The thought bounces back to the hippocampus which uses prior memories to interpret…. “In the past that made us uncomfortable” “I have been able to overcome past discomforts and not die.” The conflict in your brain triggers your brains biggest player, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Reading the current state of the body, the conflict its facing and asks the human for a cognitive control. Because there is conflict between motivation and this preserved threat.
Then your prefrontal cortex (your brains manager) chimes in with some executive strategy and decision making (like a third base coach) “Can we handle this change?” “Should we avoid?“ “If we proceed, we may feel something” something might make the body change and it interprets that message and sends a correspond signal.
Signals going around is just biology (and yes neurology too).
The key:
When you feel that slight hesitation, that tiny resistance, your body is talking to you! But it isn't necessarily telling you to stop. Most of the time it's simply saying: "This is unfamiliar." "This requires effort." "Something is about to change." And your nervous system loves familiar. It loves predictable. It loves keeping things exactly as they are because from a biological perspective, familiar feels safe.
The problem is that growth rarely lives in familiar places.
Strength is built when muscles are challenged.
Confidence is built when you do something you weren't sure you could do.
Resilience is built when you experience discomfort and discover that you can handle it.
Every time you move toward a healthy discomfort—taking the walk, lifting the weight, speaking up, trying something new—you teach your brain a valuable lesson: "I can do hard things and survive." The next time that resistance shows up, instead of assuming it is a stop sign, get curious.
Ask yourself: "Am I actually in danger, or am I just uncomfortable?"
Most of the time the answer is that you're simply standing at the edge of growth. The uncomfortable feeling isn't proof that something is wrong, its proof that something is changing. And every time you choose to step forward anyway, you expand your comfort zone, strengthen your resilience, and teach your nervous system that you are capable of more than it originally believed.
So the next time you feel that little voice saying, "I'd rather not," smile. That's not weakness. That's biology.
And biology doesn't get the final vote. You do.
GFT Mind: Stay Out of Their Business
Alice is easily pushing Theo aside to enjoy her own bliss! Not allowing his cares to bother her one bit.
One of the most peaceful things I have learned is that not everything deserves a seat at the table in my mind.
We spend so much energy thinking about other people's choices, other people's problems, other people's opinions, and other people's reactions. The funny thing is... none of those things are actually ours to carry.
Other people's lives are their business.
Other people's thoughts about you are their business.
Other people's opinions of you are their business.
Your business is how you choose to show up, how you care for yourself, and how you spend the energy you have been given.
A simple example: I hear it all the time when a holiday rolls around or someone is on vacation.
"You're working out today?" "It's a holiday!" "But you're on vacation?!?"
What they're really saying is that they have decided a holiday means taking a break from healthy habits. And that's okay, for them. That's their choice. That's their business.
But if moving your body makes you feel energized, strong, and connected to yourself, why would you abandon something that serves you simply because someone else doesn't understand it? You do not need their permission to do what is good for you.
The same thing happens with people's opinions. So many dreams die before they ever begin because someone was worried about what another person might think. The truth is, no matter what you do, someone will have an opinion. If you spend your life managing everyone else's thoughts, you'll never have enough energy left to build your own life.
Another place this shows up is when we absorb other people's stress.
Maybe you have a coworker who constantly vents about their marriage, finances, family drama, or personal struggles. Before you know it, you're driving home replaying their situation in your head. You're imagining conversations. You're creating solutions. You're worrying about outcomes that have absolutely nothing to do with your own life.
Now their stress has become your stress. And that doesn’t help anyone!
Their problem has rented space in your mind without paying a dime.
Compassion is beautiful. Caring about people is beautiful. But carrying problems that aren't yours is exhausting. There is another way., you can be supportive without becoming responsible. Just say…. “That’s none of my business.”
The practice this month is simple:
When you catch yourself thinking about something that is outside of your control, ask yourself:
"Is this my business?"
If the answer is no, gently bring your attention back to yourself.
Back to your goals.
Back to your habits.
Back to your peace.
The more energy you reclaim from other people's business, the more energy you have available to build a life that feels good in your own body, mind, and soul.
» To learn more about this topic, I recommend looking into the work of Byron Katie or Edwene Gains for more.
GFT Sprit - “What’s your sign?” Meaning your Zodiac
I met a new friend last weekend (which as an adult is a rare occurrence). We shared a lovely experience running a 5K, had a fun time afterwards and inevitably exchanged socials. Texting back and forth jollily until a thought dawned on me, what’s her sign? I tried to guess for myself, using my powers of deduction knowing what I know about other zodiacs and I couldn’t quite place her. But the act of even asking (says a lot about me and my brain) is trying to sort and “figure her out” Which of course we can only take with a grain of salt because there are so many more factors that go into someones personality. Their moon station, their rising sign, how many letter make up her complete name, her enneagram score. Not to say that all these factors can definitively predict how a person will behave, but it is a form of human science. And asking her birthday allowed me to tap into Astrology. Just for referance, numerology and Enneagrams are pseudoscience 🤣.
All these tests and signifiers do is lead us to better understanding of ourselves.
Marion how is this related to the spirit? As a divine spirit of love and light you are having a human experience. You are inhabiting a human body, maintaining a human body and operating from a brain that resides inside a large meat suit.
The act of learning more about human-ness has always been a something I love. To have something I can look to that helps guide me to understand how my human body works (biology) and mind work (neurology and psychology) and that also help me understand my self and my characteristics…. What field of science is that? There is no definitive science of spirituality…. is there?
Every time I read something about my zodiac, I feel the connection. I see the correlations. When (using a scientific formula) I plot where the stars and planets were in the sky on the day and time of our birth I see a map of understanding. Caveat - I am no expert in this stuff. I can’t do mappings for people, don’t track my maps and know what influences/planets are pulling on me is happening when or the daily nitty gritty things. That’s not what this is about… that information is out there. For me, I use what I find helpful and leave the rest to the experts. I also do not live my life by this book, I use what I like and leave what overwhelms me.
Now, I can hear some of you…. many people say that “this stuff” is a bunch of hooey baloney. But perhaps that is one of their human traits showing itself. Skepticism. Or maybe its the refusal to want to look at your own creation, which is a comfort to many because you don’t want to take responsibility for knowing the truth. It’s easy to reject things we have no idea about. It’s easy to refuse to look at yourself with a zoomed out lens. Plus there is also the whole, can I trust this resource, what are they wanting from me, they are just out for money…… all the such negative thought streams that come when you start exploring something unfamiliar that maybe has gotten a bad reputation in the media. I can assure you this is not witchcraft, this is science, astrology, cosmic wisdom.
There are four elements in astrology: fire, earth, air, and water. The zodiac signs are divided into groups of three signs belonging to the same element. Each element has different traits, which each sign expresses in its own way.
Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): passionate, creative, confident, courageous
Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn): grounded, practical, stable, down-to-earth
Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): intellectual, independent, communicative, social
Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces): sensitive, intuitive, imaginative, nurturing
We are all infinitely unique in our human-ness however, there exists a frameworks that allow us to further understand ourselves and the cosmic nature we posses. And like it or not, in many ways they are directed by when we were brought onto this planet (born). By the stars and planets were in the sky on the day, and time of our birth.
After-all, a human body is just a collection of elements bound together by energy. Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These elements are directly affected by the elements that exist on this planet and by the gravitational pull of the moon…. and the other planets and solar flares. And every other planet and star in this galaxy we reside in.
Maybe I should have started this post explaining about that, how we feel the tides and moon cycles and if we are affected by them then surly you are affected by the other planetary forces that exist in this grand infiniteness.
For a fun experiment, take a look at the characteristics in the chart. Knowing your sign, do any of those feel true for you?
Zodiac Signs
Aries ♈️ : March21– April 19
Taurus ♉️: April 20 – May 20
Gemini ♊️: May 21 – June 21
Cancer ♋️: June 22– July 22
Leo ♌️: July 23 – August 22
Virgo ♍️: August 23 – September 22
Libra ♎️: September 23 – October 23
Scorpio ♏️: October 24 – November 21
Sagittarius ♐️: November 22 – December 21
Capricorn ♑️: December 22 – January 19
Aquarius ♒️: January 20 – February 18
This is just scratching the surface! Want more? You’ll need to know your date of birth (easy), time of birth and location (ask your mom) to calculate your Natal Birth Chart. I love this one. Word to the wise, maybe you’d like to try more than one place to see which one resonates best with you. This one. Or this one or This one From Costar I love their stuff, it always hits with me.
Nutrition Corner: If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to improve their nutrition is believing they need endless variety. They spend hours scrolling for new recipes, buying ingredients they'll only use once, and searching for the "perfect" meal plan.
Meanwhile, the meals they already enjoy are sitting right there waiting for them.
If you have a meal that tastes good, helps you reach your protein goals, keeps you satisfied, and fits your lifestyle—repeat it.
Success in nutrition often comes from consistency, not creativity.
For example, every morning I start my day with my "Mug Hug"—coffee mixed with collagen, creatine, vitamin D, and protein powder. It's simple, I enjoy it, and it helps me start the day with some quality nutrition already in the bank.
For the past several weeks, my breakfast has been nearly identical: one whole egg, 2-3 egg whites, sautéed Brussels sprouts, and beans. It gives me protein and fiber, and keeps me feeling full and I know i’ve done something great for my hormone health.
After my workouts, I have a protein shake. The only thing that changes is the frozen fruit I toss in depending on what sounds good that day.
That's it. Nothing fancy. When we find meals that work, there's no rule that says we need to replace them.
A few repeatable, protein-packed meal ideas include:
Low Fat, Unsweetened Greek yogurt topped with fresh berries, nuts and seeds (hemp, chia, flax, pepitas)
Eggs, egg whites, and vegetables
Grilled chicken and roasted vegetables
Ground turkey taco bowls
Salmon with potatoes and green beans
Protein smoothies with fruit and spinach
Tuna salad served over greens
Think of these meals as your nutritional "uniform." Just like you don't need a different outfit for every day of the month, you don't need a completely different menu every day either.
Find a handful of meals you genuinely enjoy and rotate through them. You'll spend less time stressing about food, make grocery shopping easier, and have a much better chance of consistently hitting your protein goals.
Remember: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
