All Posts

The other day, I was having a normal conversation with someone I had recently met. We were talking about family. Nothing heavy. Just the usual getting-to-know-you kind of questions. At one point, I mentioned that my parents are dead... There was a pause. Not a big one. But enough that I could feel it. The tone shifted a bit. The conversation kept going, but it didn’t feel the same. Later, they asked about my grandparents. I answered honestly again. One set of my grandparents

Lately, I’ve been noticing a shift in the way women are talking about fitness. Not just in the gym, but in conversations, on social media, and with clients who are genuinely trying to do the right thing. There’s a softer tone to it now. More focus on alignment, hormones, and listening to your body. And woven into all of that, I keep hearing the same phrase: “I just want a Pilates body.” Sometimes it’s said alongside conversations about training with your cycle, about lowering

Let me start with something important, because nuance matters here. Sometimes, weight loss is necessary. It can be a meaningful part of improving health, reducing disease risk, easing joint pain, and increasing quality of life. North America has been navigating an obesity epidemic for decades, and pretending that weight is never relevant would be just as unhelpful as obsessing over it. This is not an article about ignoring weight entirely. It is an article about what happens

Over the past few years, I have written openly about the most difficult season of my life. It was a six month period where everything seemed to collapse at once. My separation. The loss of both of my parents. The quiet unraveling of the life I once believed was certain. At the time, I was learning how to feel again. Before that period, I had spent much of my life doing what many people who grow up in difficult environments learn to do. I compartmentalized. I stayed functional

One of the most uncomfortable realizations I’ve had in professional life is this: A system can be completely legal, completely compliant, and still unfair to the people inside it. ❝ At what point does procedural correctness stop being ethical? ❞ Over the past few years I have encountered this feeling more than once, in very different workplaces and industries. Each situation involved different policies, different structures, and different people. But the pattern beneath them

This week, our province feels quieter. Kinuseo Falls, Tumbler Ridge The news from Tumbler Ridge has settled into our bodies in that heavy way tragedy does. Even if we live hours away, even if we did not know the families directly, something in us recognizes the rupture. A school is meant to be a place of learning, awkward laughter in hallways, ordinary mornings that blur together. When violence enters a space like that, it does not just take lives. It shakes our sense of safe

I keep circling variations of the same question. Is there a moment that defines a life? Something that proves the struggle was worth it. Something that justifies all the pushing forward. Or is that idea just a story we tell ourselves so we can keep going when things get hard? We like the idea of a defining moment. A breakthrough. A clear arrival point. We want proof that the effort mattered, that the suffering was leading somewhere real. That one day we will be able to look b

Lately, I’ve been having a lot of conversations about dating. Casual ones, thoughtful ones, late night voice notes with friends. It wasn’t until someone asked me for advice recently that I realized how much my perspective has shifted over the past year. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you are managing your relationship, you are not actually learning whether it works Photo by EduRaW Pro I say this as someone who has spent much of her life carrying the emotional wei

My sister recently returned to school after the holidays. This is the first time in many years that I’ve been able to spend a significant amount of time with her since moving across the province. Every time I visit her, we usually end up at the gym together. I help her refine her workouts, explain movements, and answer questions. This year, while I was getting settled into my new home, we were chatting and she said something that has stayed with me. She told me she wanted to

A few weeks ago, I found myself hovering over the purchase button for a new planner. You know the feeling. That small rush of anticipation. The promise that this year, with the right system, everything might finally click. This one was digital, beautifully designed, full of hyperlinks and colour-coded sections. I could already imagine myself drawing in it with my Apple Pencil, perfectly curated pages, aesthetic routines, a life that looked as calm and intentional as the templ

The months before Latvia were quieter than anything I had known in a long time. Not empty, not stagnant, but spacious. My life had slowed enough that there were no immediate fires to put out, no major decisions to make. For the first time in years, I wasn’t bracing for the next disruption. I had space to breathe, to move my body without proving anything, to let my nervous system settle instead of staying on high alert. Last week, I wrote about what it felt like to blow my lif

I used to think happiness lived at the end of a checklist: Find your soulmate. Build a respectable career. Buy the house. Have the kids. Do the grown-up things in the right order. Prove you made it out okay. Those expectations didn’t come from nowhere. Photo by Muneeb Babar I grew up in a home that was chaotic and unpredictable. From a young age, I learned that stability wasn’t guaranteed and that keeping things quiet, private, and controlled felt safer than telling the truth

A friend of mine recently shared something that’s been on her mind since moving across the world. She told me about the expectations she carried, how she imagined her time abroad as this life-altering experience. But the more she tried to make the experience profound, the less she actually felt it. She told me about a passage from Zhuangzi, the story of an archer who, when shooting for nothing, has all his skill. But the moment a prize is introduced (a copper coin, or worse,

I was recently listening to Soul Gum one morning (a podcast by Victoria Hutchins that explores creativity and growth). A line she said stopped me in my tracks: ❝ “Your new life will cost you your hollow sense of balance.” Victoria Hutchins, Soul Gum Podcast ❞ Her words landed like a quiet challenge. They made me question how often I treat balance like an accomplishment, something to check off once I’ve achieved the perfect ratio of rest, productivity, and peace. Even within

Ayana Flow is a space for shared stories and collective wisdom. Articles published by the Reader Submission program come from YOU, the reader. To submit your article or story idea, email info@ayanaflowblog.com with the subject line “Reader Submission”.

There are mornings when I lace up my shoes and step into the gym to teach yet another class. The bikes are lined up, the mats are...

There is something about travelling with someone that reveals who we are and how we connect. The long hours side by side, the decisions...

Somewhere between the first early mornings and the final check mark on my tracker, I realized this wasn’t just a challenge anymore. It...

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try to be a good partner, something still feels off? Like you’re showing up, doing the...

Just over a month ago, I packed my life into a few suitcases and boarded a plane to Latvia. Not for vacation. Not for escape. But for...