Sophie is very excited about Christmas. Making gifts for those she loves, planning a special meal, and of course, baking cookies.

She is surprised that Marianne doesn't feel quite the same way about this holiday.

Yes, there are some precious childhood memories, but after studying religions of the world, it is clear to Marianne that the solstice is what was really celebrated at this time of the year.

To our long term listeners, it will be no surprise that the consumerism of this season does not sit right with Marianne as well.

As always, our conversation takes us to many places and we are curious what you all think about this season.

Do you celebrate?

Do you have traditions you follow during this time? Or are you creating your own?

Join us on Patreon and let us know what you think.

Psst. If this is a stressful time for you, Sophie got you with tips on letting go of stress and of course, with her meditation and Yin Yoga series.

Wishing you the best

Marianne and Sophie

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Blue Sky

and please subscribe to our podcast via your favorite podcatcher.

Both, Sophie and Marianne, decided it was time to take a break from podcasting.

Sometimes, when life gets to busy, even an enjoyable thing needs to go to the back burner for a while.

In this episode, mostly Sophie shares what she has been up to. Some big and exciting news for you all.

Since time is limited, we are mostly going to use Patreon as our social media interaction platform.

We hope to see you there to engage in conversation with us and with each other.

Please join us on Patreon

Self Care

Do you like to iron? I (Marianne) do not. But Sophie finds her time at the ironing board relaxing and a form of meditation.

So, what does ironing have to do with self-care?

According to Sophie, self-care is the ability of us to be aware of our personal needs.

Sometimes, we have to decide what action brings us more peace of mind: visiting with our family or taking care of unfinished tasks.

We do talk about a mangel which actually makes ironing fun. If you have never seen one, do a search for many different models - a new model you can but today runs about $ 2,500.00.

But this photo I found online is close to what we had in our home and used for the weekly ironing marathon.

When Sophie and Marianne were in Yoga Teacher training, we started a little book club. One of our favorites was Loving What Is by Byron Katie. We both highly recommend that you read this book. Please get it from your local library or support an independent bookstore!

Does Self Care sometimes feel like a chore? If it does, is it still self-care?

Sophie describes the Ayurvedic practice of Abhyanga. Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry. If you are knowledgeable about this subject, you can help improve the article. And while you are at it, donate to Wikipedia. Now, more than ever, we need sources of information.

Our conversation did bring us to mental self care.In particular, letting go of guilt and stopping comparing ourselves to others.

As always, our conversation takes us to many different topics. Here is one tool to calm ourselves when unhelpful thoughts are taking over: Sing a song or repeat a mantra over and over.

Join us on Patreon for many guided meditations and our Yin Yoga Series.

Patreon: Explore Soma

You can also find us on Instagram Explore_Soma_Podcast

and on Facebook Explore Soma Podcast

BlueSky @ExploreSomaPodcast.bsky.social

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Sophie & Marianne