Polarity in Action: Aligning Your Being with Your Doing
Moving Meditation: The Dance Between Doing and Being
In this issue:
✨ Polarity at Play — new blog post on balancing opposites
🖋 Journal prompt for tuning into your energy
🧘♀️ A yoga flow to ground and energize
🌟 Offerings & services to support your journey
🔥 Inspiring reads on energy from around Substack
🍲 From the kitchen: a nourishing new recipe
🏃♀️ What’s next: my NYC Marathon training update
Polarity at Play
There’s a quiet power in stillness, a polarity that lives between doing and being. When we find balance between the two, our actions become intentional by being in devotion to our dreams and goals. From that devotion, a natural spaciousness arises, making room for being, enjoying, and simply living.
One of the clearest examples of this is meditation.
Meditation invites us to slow down the overthinking, over-productivity, and chaos that often take over our lives. Through this stillness, we create space to realign with what matters, to refocus our energy toward purposeful action. Without that pause, we risk becoming busy for the sake of being busy spinning our wheels and burning out, rather than moving forward.
The way we begin the day can change everything.
Imagine starting the first few minutes of your morning grounded and focused. Most of us don’t wake up centered. But with intention, we can shift that. Whether it’s prayer, intentional breathing, or simply naming five things you’re grateful for, these practices can rewire your entire day. Over time, they become second nature. A quiet ritual that aligns you with yourself before the world begins to ask things of you.
When we find even a few moments of stillness, away from phones, notifications, and distractions, it carries over. Suddenly, your actions become more intentional. You’re reacting less and choosing more. Your nervous system finds calm. Health and vitality are invited in.
Have you ever noticed the mother with four kids who somehow remains centered and calm, present with her children, loving and listening, unhurried by the chaos around her? Or maybe it’s the teacher who exudes self-assuredness, a quiet confidence that says, “This is what I believe, take it or leave it.” There’s something magnetic about that presence. That being.
For me, it’s watching my own confidence bloom through a committed practice of prayer, meditation and yoga. Each session builds my trust in myself and increases my sense of worth.
During a recent 40-day meditation period, I noticed something shift. My focus typically elusive, thanks to a short attention span, became sharper. I wasn’t just doing; I was present in the doing. I finished tasks I would’ve normally abandoned halfway through. That’s the polarity at work. Being in the doing, devoted to the goal, steady in the process. That kind of focus begins in stillness.
And yet, for some of us, stillness can feel impossible, especially first thing in the morning.
In yogic philosophy, the three doshas, Pitta (Fire), Vata (Air), and Kapha (Earth), can offer insight into our tendencies. As someone with a dominant Pitta nature, I often need to cool down, ground myself, and balance the fire, hence my love of the water. Morning stillness doesn’t always work for me, but moving meditation does. I often begin my day with breath work, a mindful walk, or slow yoga. In the evening, I return to stillness with yoga Nidra, deep breathing, or yin yoga. Find the rhythm that matches your uniqueness. Let your body, mind, and spirit guide your routine.
We live in a world of fast food and fast scrolling. The convenience of it can be addictive, but ultimately empty. Social media can be like junk food for the soul. Awareness is the first step in breaking the loop. Yoga teaches us to listen to our bodies, our thoughts and our energy.
The more we listen, the better we choose. The more we choose better, the more our lives begin to reflect the things we truly value.
Journal prompt:
Where can I let go of habits or routines that are no longer in service to my goals or dreams?
What I’m teaching Yoga class:
Class theme: Moving meditation in honor of Easter week.
We slowed it down to connect breath with movement, holding a focal point to center the mind and body.
The Flow:
Inhale – High Lunge
Exhale – Tree Pose
Inhale – Archer
Exhale – Mountain Pose
Repeat, alternating sides. This steady rhythm gives us space to drop into the moment and truly move with the breath.
How can I support you in your athletic adventures…
Monday morning yoga class - start the week off moving and recovering from the weekend. Monday’s 7:30am CT. Message me for details.
Recover and Restore 4-week Course - includes eBook yoga journal, weekly yoga videos specific to recovery, weekly check in email. This link offers more details.
Paid Subscriber: Once a month master runner specific yoga class, community Q&A and additional runner specific resources. Hit Subscribe below.
Founding Member: Yoga video library structures around an annual plan that aligns with the natural rhythms of the seasons—Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter—while complementing the key training phases of Base, Build, Peak, and Recover. Hit Subscribe below.
What I’m enjoying right now:
Energy is the theme—tuning into our unique inner guidance helps us work with energy rather than against it.
Time2Thrive’s April walk challenge has boosted my daily step count and my creativity. Taking walk breaks clears the mind and opens space for new observations and ideas. It’s mid-April, but it’s not too late to join in and add more steps to your day.
Angie Pomeroy Yoga shares a beautiful newsletter on life force energy.
Anu Morris’s newsletter offers deep insight into trusting our gut feelings.
RAWR: Reiki & Writing explores sacred energy and asks a powerful question: “What does my energy want today?”
FROM THE KITCHEN:
Veggie dip - Power up
Using nonfat greek yogurt rather than mayo or sour creams, increases protein and lowers fat.
1/2 cup greek yogurt (Oikos Blended Plain Greek Nonfat Yogurt)
1/4 teaspoon of each:
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Sriracha hot sauce to taste
Blend with yogurt; serve with fresh cut veggies.
Approximate nutrition:
Calories = 156
Protein = 23g
Carbs = 16g
Fats = 0.1g
What I’m working on…
NYC Marathon Training: A Slow Runner’s Big Dream
I never imagined I’d be training for the New York City Marathon especially at 59 years old. But here I am, lacing up and getting ready for one of the biggest races of my life. Not my first marathon but certainly the most iconic.
This isn’t about chasing a personal best or proving anything. I’m not fast, but I love running. I love what it teaches me. I love how it challenges me. And I love how it continues to shape who I am physically, mentally, and emotionally.
My runs aren’t easy. Most days, they’re intense. I break a sweat. I struggle sometimes. But I always feel more alive when I’m out there, one step at a time, facing the terrain and myself.
Over the next several months, you’ll see:
🏃♀️ Marathon training tips tailored for masters athletes
🧘♀️ Yoga practices and recovery tools to move well and age strong
🍳 Nutrient-rich recipes to support active bodies
✍️ Reflective essays about life on and off the trail
💬 Invitations to train along, journal, or chase your own version of “more”
This is a training season, but more than that, it’s a season of becoming. Of showing up. Of staying open to the magic that only happens when we commit to a heart felt goal.
Thank you for being here. Let’s lace up. Let’s write new chapters.
Keep moving forward shining your light on and off the mat.
My newsletter is especially devoted to masters athletes—those of us 40, 50, 60+ who are redefining what’s possible in sport and in life. If you're chasing a dream, a personal best, or simply a sense of connection through movement and story, you’re in the right place.
This is more than a newsletter, it’s a call to live fully, creatively, and actively, no matter your age.
Thanks for being part of this. I can’t wait to share the road ahead with you.
With strength and joy,
Jill
This veggie dip recipe looks like a winner! I usually skip the dip and eat raw veggies without it, but I think I will make some of this for the weekend. I prefer the full-fat Greek yogurt when I can find it, though. They make it hard in the store!