For many people 2025 has been one wild and not so fun roller coaster of a year. Certainly it has been here. And as I review my year, given that hindsight is a lot clearer than foresight is, I really see what happened.
You see in March there were tornadoes. A lot of them. Three in my county at the very least, all within about 15-20 miles of me. Thankfully none hit the farm here, though there was a warning for something that probably touched down a few miles away and went northeast (away) from us. I work from home. My boss never checked in to see if I was okay, if I had power, if I needed help, and considering that Convoy of Hope came a few times to our town, I don’t think that was an unreasonable ask.
I’ve ridden out severe storms before. Had the siding in a former home punched out by egg-sized hail (and bruises on my arms as I shielded my head on the run to the tornado shelter), seen the damage done in my hometown by severe winds that destroyed the fire station and the bricks hit my grandma’s house half a block away. I lived in Iowa for most of my life. In a mobile home. Severe storms and I, we go way back.
This was different. This was the worst of severe weather paired with a reminder that I am pretty much alone here in my local area. Yes, I have my spouse, but I’m usually the one who takes care of things, and for most of my live, has been the one to take care of things. For myself. For my mom. For my family.
As I moved the box of storm supplies that we did receive (because we had some cleanup and was without power, plus lightning from the storm had fried our well pump), I realized that had been sitting there since March. Nine whole months. I’d meant to pack it up, to make a storm preparedness kit, and had promised my spouse the tote it came in.
It was only now, after a year where the hits kept on coming, though some would say that since 2025 was a snake year in Chinese Astrology I was simply shedding what I didn’t need anymore. Like a vehicle (my old trusty 2007 Kia Sportage with 185,000 miles on it). Like the loss of my grandma. Like my thesis being pushed back so I graduate in the spring (more breathing room). That I realize it wasn’t until now, when I could finally regulate my nervous system and begin the work of tending to my systems of creative care. I’d built those systems, but they’d become frayed over the years, and now it was time to tend them.
This is why I talk about yoga, meditation, yoga nidra, mindfulness, and spiritual storytelling because if we don’t regulate and tend to our nervous system first, there’s no way we can move into the next phase which is crafting systems of holistic spiritual care.
The holistic in there is important. It means we need to tend to our WHOLE selves, not just the parts that it’s popular to tend to. It means we need to tend to those in our lives like our animal companions and our relationships with them. It means that it’s only possible to look up and see the dawning of a new day when you can lift your head, instead of looking down and constantly worrying about where you’re going.
It’s why I crafted a free 7 day yoga nidra retreat. Because yoga nidra has been one of the tools I’ve used to tend to my nervous system, to put my holistic spiritual care back on track. I love yoga nidra. First off, it’s done in corpse pose (shavasana) so you lay there. It’s all done through a rotation of body awareness and breathing. If I’m having a bad pain day, if I’m stressed, if I’m just feeling ugh, then a bit of shavasana and yoga nidra can help bring me back to myself and breathe life into my senses, even as I turn them inward.
I hope you can join me on this free yoga nidra retreat. It’s all recorded so you can work it into YOUR schedule. Less than twenty minutes a day, and I encourage you to see just how strong the transformation can be. Sign up for my free 7 day yoga nidra retreat today.
