It’s always been a wish of mine, Reader, to get regular manicures and pedicures, but I’ve always kind of thought that getting your nails done was frivolous.
A luxury.
And a vain attempt at self care.
Until I was sitting in the manicure chair and tears started streaming down my face as my heart was bursting with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and awe.
I rarely go to a salon to get my toes done – it’s a treat for me mostly because I don’t have a lot of extra cash laying around for things like that, but also because I’m just not that attached to having perfectly pedicured toes, even though being barefoot teaching yoga makes up 75% of my business.
Even more rare is it for me to get a manicure.
I’m just too hard on my hands.
Always using my nails to pry something open or scrape sticky stuff off of some place it shouldn’t be.
Precisely why I actually need these services to care for how hard I am on my feet and hands.
For Lulu’s birthday she wanted to get her nails done as part of her gift, so when we had a free day together because the big kids were off having their own fun, we went to the nail salon.
I splurged for a deluxe pedicure and a basic manicure with no polish.
While getting my feet and legs worked on, I began to think about how much my body actually needed this service. How this wasn’t really frivolous, but instead something that was showing these parts of my body that carry me everywhere deep care and nurturing.
There are times when I invite this idea into my classes, but I certainly don’t care for my feet and lower legs with such attention every day… or even every week for that matter.
The more she worked on my feet and legs, the more I became present.
Present to all that was happening around me, including the woman taking care of me.
When I moved over to the manicure chair, I was in sort of a meditative state.
I went inward and what came to me was a connection that I couldn’t have expected.
Watching her hands take care of my hands led me to wonder about her story. Her full story.
I knew she came to the U.S. from Vietnam and had children here, one old enough to be a senior in high school and working there, taking care of my daughter’s feet and hands at the moment,
But I didn’t ask for more information.
Because at that time, as my heart was filling with this immense gratitude and awe for her hands and the work that they do to care for others, the tears just started falling.
Nonstop.😭
She looked at me and apologized.
I tried to tell her, it wasn’t anything she did or was doing that was wrong, instead it was a deep sense of connection and appreciation.
That I was kind of having a spiritual moment as I was meditating while she was taking care of my hands.
I don’t know how much she understood, but she kept assuring me it was OK while I just kept apologizing, not knowing where the emotion was coming from.
It was then that my perception of “getting your nails” done changed.
Because, as I experienced, it can indeed be a spiritual practice when intention and mindfulness are combined with it.
In fact, anything can be.
The only thing that’s required is presence.
And an openness to seeing the world differently with a soft and gentle heart.
As we said goodbye, she gave me a hug and I once again just tried to tell her how much of a blessing she was and how grateful I was for her and her hands and the work she does.
I hope she understood and felt the love I was extending to her.
Perhaps the next time I’m in I’ll get to hear more of her story.
And may that next time be sooner rather than later.
Because connection – with ourselves and others – is really what cultivating health, harmony and happiness is all about.
Have you ever had an experience like this one? Where something totally unexpected released emotion within you that helped you see the world with different eyes?
Write me back; I want to hear about it.
Cheers,
Cathy
P.S. If that story landed for you, feel free to help fund my next mani/pedi (the hands and feet that carry me through every class)... click here to do so.
Totally optional, just grateful. 🙏
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My everyday self-care practices become spiritual when I practice presence.
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Special Events:
SATURDAY, JUN 13 - Yoga in the Park - Free Childcare Available!
8:30 AM • Veteran's Park
Yoga in the Park is BACK this Saturday — bring a friend and both of you practice for the price of one! Just $20 for two, no registration needed.
Please bring a mat or blanket to practice on. Other yoga props will be provided.
💥Now offering FREE childcare during class. Bring your little(s) and a trained babysitter will entertain while you have some much needed self-care.💥
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In these sessions I guide groups through practical, embodied practices—like breath work, mindfulness, gentle movement, and/or emotional awareness—to build stress resilience. Each session offers simple, effective tools to help participants reset, regulate, and respond with greater calm and clarity in everyday life.
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