Getting Closer to the Ground
January 2026 Link Round-Up
I stumble into my yoga studio the day after Christmas feeling equal parts exhausted and energized, the way I can only imagine a runner might feel after passing a finish line, that bizarre combination of wow I’m tired fatigue and also hey I did it adrenaline.1
Right away, I notice the vibes are different. The lights are dim, highlighting a handful of LED candles scattered around the room. Normally the floor is empty at the beginning of class, a blank canvas of sorts. But tonight the room is pre-arranged: props dot the floor, set up like dominoes in neat little rows. Each spot has a bolster and blanket, beckoning all of us to stay soft.
Normally when I come to yoga, I want to work. I want to sweat. I want my thighs to shake, my biceps to burn. I want to have something to show for myself at the end of these 75 minutes.
Candlelight flow doesn’t have quite the same impact.
Here’s where I want to convince you (or perhaps myself) of the many strides I’ve made in yoga over these past three years. And not just in the physical sense—postures I can do now that I once could not, my increasing flexibility, the fact that I can do more push-ups at age 39 than I could in my 20’s—but also in the mental sense. How, at the risk of sounding woo-woo, I have learned what it means to simply “be on the mat.” To have, as they say, a yoga practice.
In spite of these strides, I can’t help but eye the props in front of me with a flash of hesitation. A little voice in the back of my mind, my ego, whispers, “Do you really need those?” To skip the props would certainly make the class harder. And boy oh boy do I like to do hard things. Or, should I say: I like the way I feel about myself after I’ve done a hard thing.
When the instructor makes her way to the front of the class, she cracks a joke about how quiet the room is. How exhausted we all must be after the holidays. How she can tell that we need an easy, restful class tonight.
The proverbial angel and devil on my shoulders start bickering like in a cartoon. The angel is content, relieved, reminds me that rest is a gift. The devil is irritable, frustrated, reminds me this class is a waste of time. I hush both of them and do as the instructor says: lie on my back.
To no one’s surprise, the class is restorative. Relaxing. In a single word, wonderful.
The instructor tells us to grab our bolsters, and reminds us why we have props at all: to get us closer to the ground. The ground, where it’s safe. The ground, where we can’t fall. The ground, you know, that thing that holds us?
As I prop the bolster under my back, I cannot help but spin toward the metaphor. Me, recovering workaholic. Me, stubborn Enneagram 3 in process. Me, the girl who will always be tempted to resist props in the name of being strong, impressive, independent. And yet, here is God handing me a block. A blanket. A bolster. Beckoning me to stay soft. Here is God dropping an abundance of women in my life to lean on: my best friend, my mastermind group, my team, my friends, my Book Club, the entire Exhale community. An embarrassment of riches. No matter what I’m working on, no matter what the day holds, by God’s grace alone—surely I don’t deserve this—there are women in every corner of my life helping me get closer to the ground. Slipping blocks under my hands, a bolster beneath my back, a blanket to cradle my neck. Reminding me I do not need to perform, or hustle my way into acceptance. Reminding me I am loved beyond measure, exactly as I am, separate and apart from anything I do.
My thighs do not shake.
My biceps do not burn.
And yet.
And yet.
I have so much to show for these 75 minutes.
I can’t wait to come back next week.
And now, onto the links!
Currently reading and/or just finished: Buckeye, The Names, The Bright Years, Same, When We Swung from Churchbells. Up next (for book club!): The Correspondent.
Shoutout to all the other moms out there planning January birthdays. This year we planned an ultra simple day with Presley’s BFFAF and it was perfect.
Related: What a great idea.
Related part two: recent home-run gifts for the 6-8 year-old girl crowd: these perler beads, this write-your-own-story book, this mother-daughter journal.
I loved chatting with Sarah Horgan about reframing creativity in motherhood.
Powersheets are on sale! While I am still using my trusty write-deadlines-on-a-post-it method, I’m getting back into Powersheets as a way of tracking long term goals/ intentions (and general big picture thinking). I also love this brain dump journal and have been using it to both start and end my day.
Being asked to endorse a book is not a privilege I take lightly, and it was nothing short of an honor to endorse this one.
I am technically on a shopping ban January 1-March 20th, but I think this is a safe space to confess I already cheated once. 🫠 My favorite pajamas ripped (!) and since I wear them all the time, I went ahead and purchased a replacement pair. Between an upcoming girls trip and the “TJs and PJs” Galentine’s party I’m hosting in February, this felt necessary. (Brett said I look like Tim Allen in The Santa Claus, so, jury is still out, I guess?)
Beautiful things I’ve read this month: I Hope You’ll Want To Have Kids, Oxygen, Local Life; National Injustice, How To Meet a Neighbor in Seven Easy Steps.
You know I’m a library girl through and through, but two authors I will always pre-order from = Shannan Martin + Anne Lamott. I cannot wait to read Counterweights and Good Writing.
If you, like me, have been nothing short of horrified and devastated watching the barbaric ICE raids in Minnesota, here are two first-hand accounts with tangible ideas on how to help: It’s Worse Than You Think, Minneapolis Residents Resist ICE Raids with Tangible Neighbor Love.
More hope core and joy bait, please and thank you.
My favorite luxury in the winter (see: pale) months = Saltyface. I’ve used the tanning water on my face the past few winters, but recently tried the whole body tanning foam and WOW. I’ve always been scared of tanning products because I do not want to look orange (!), but this stuff had me looking like I just returned from a tropical vacation. Natural. Easy to blend. 5/5 stars!
Alicia’s take on the prompt to be “as stupid, untalented, uncool, crazy, and boring as you need to be” made me want to write my own five things, immediately.
Finally, Brett and I don’t usually have the same taste in shows, but we both loved Plurbis (what a ride!) and are enjoying season two of The Pitt (Noah Wyle forever, IYKYK).
Saved the best for last: Coffee + Crumbs wrote another book!
In the spring of 2017, on the tails of releasing The Magic of Motherhood, a bunch of the C+C writers sat around my dining room table talking about whether or not we would ever write another book together. I do not remember the nitty gritty details of that conversation, but I do remember a seed of an idea being planted: If we ever write another book together, let’s write about friendship.
Nine years later, here it is.
You’re In Good Company is a (lovely! honest! gritty!) collection of essays about food, friendship, and hospitality. If I may be so bold, it is a book for such a time as this. We’re officially counting down to March 17th, but this is where I legit beg you to pre-order, because pre-orders matter so, so, so much!
Pre-order links: Amazon | Target | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
More on this book soon. We can’t wait for you to read it, but more importantly, we can’t wait for you to live it. ❤️
That’s all I’ve got. What are you reading? Wearing? Cooking? Watching? Tell me everything!
Quick disclaimer: My Substack is always free to read! I use affiliate links in posts like these, which occasionally give me a teeny tiny kickback if you buy something. Rest assured: I only recommend stuff I genuinely love.
The holidays were A Lot, is what I’m trying to say.
Ooohhh, a new Anne Lammot.. now it’s on the list 🙌🏻
this was the reminder I needed that I should still go upstairs and do my Pilates because it feels good to move my body, but it’s okay if I choose a restorative routine instead of a challenging one. 💕
my son’s birthday is also in january (on the same day as mine 🤪), and after scouring the internet and realizing every indoor thing costs a bajillion dollars per kid, we opted for a hot chocolate bar, popcorn, and “robin hood” alongside cousins, followed by chicken nuggets and tater tots and a chocolate chip cookie cake for dessert. going simple was one of the best decisions i made. i also love the idea of the pre-birthday date to talk with the birthday kid about what they want!