Soul Calling Sanctuary

08/29/2026

Join me tomorrow night at 6pm for one more restorative yoga class at Whimsy Willow Wellness! I'll be taking a pause from community teaching for a bit but will certainly be back. 😊

Hope to see you on the mat tomorrow!

✨ 75-Minute Rest & Restore with Yia ✨

There is something truly magical about a Rest & Restore class with Yia. 🤍 With the gentlest hands, the kindest heart, and an energy that seems to whisper you can let go now, Yia creates a space where you feel completely held—inviting your body to soften, your mind to quiet, and your whole being to simply be.

“There is a quiet kind of magic in being held so gently that you remember how to soften.” ✨

And perhaps there couldn’t be a better time for it. As summer begins to give way to fall and back-to-school routines, changing schedules, and fuller calendars return, give yourself this gift—one long, slow exhale before the pace begins to pick up.

This Sunday is an especially meaningful one, as Yia teaches her final regularly scheduled Rest & Restore before stepping away from teaching for a bit. While this chapter of Sunday evenings may be closing for now, this is certainly not goodbye. Yia is such a beautiful part of the heart of Whimsy Willow, and this will always be a home she can return to. 🤍

If you’ve experienced the magic of Yia’s classes, you already know. And if you’ve been meaning to join her, this is the one you don’t want to miss.

✨ 75 minutes to rest.
✨ 75 minutes to receive.
✨ 75 minutes to breathe, soften & be held.

Come close out the weekend, savor these final days of summer, fill your cup for the season ahead, and help us surround Yia with all the love she has so freely given within these walls. 🤍🍂

Sunday Evening | 75 Minutes
🤍 Advance registration required

Sign up here: https://whimsywillowwellnessspace.as.me/schedule/ff070fcc/appointment/90507343/calendar/13175980

Come as you are. Leave a little softer.

08/28/2026

What a day, friends. The rivers are incredibly low, and goodness, there are many, many mussels to be saved. You can see in this first picture that a mussel sitting in the exposed riverbed is sticking out. This area has also gotten quite warm, which is fatal to these friends who keep our water filtered and cleaned. In an hour, I gathered and tossed 70 of them into deeper water, and my hope is we get more rain soon.

If you visit Phoenix Park, consider tossing a few stranded mussels into deeper and cooler water. I found a majority of them today in the exposed riverbed, which you’ll see right away as you approach the river. My bucket got so heavy that it broke, and I had to stop. Next time I go, I’m bringing more buckets and a whole crew! 😉

08/25/2026

And just like that, the super generation is off! 🦋

What a joy it has been watching these tiny miracles grow from a single egg into beautiful butterflies. Fly high, little ones!

P.S. If you spot any of these travelers wearing a small sticker tag along their journey, please note the code and share it with Monarch Watch at monarchwatch.org. This helps scientists track their flight and protect future generations.

08/22/2026

I’ve taken a pause from caterpillars and butterflies to sit with mighty oaks for a few days. This one is a shaman tree. Here, I tie a ribbon full of prayers for my loved ones.

May we be filled with loving kindness. May we be well. May we be peaceful and at ease. May we be filled with joy. ❤️

Nature is reminding me that in the process of letting go, we allow more light to come through. What is Nature teaching you with the changing seasons?

08/15/2026

Meet Sky. He hung out on my finger for a long time before taking flight. Goodness, can he fly! I’m not worried one bit about this little one making it to Mexico. 😊

Nature invitation: wander out and notice what is moving. 🦋

08/13/2026

My piñata friend and I are ready for four rounds of yoga tonight! We’ll be flowing with students from the Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Program (WEOP). Excited to share this practice with students in our community! ❤️

08/12/2026

Meet Squish. 🦋

Several weeks ago, I accidentally squished him while cleaning milkweed. Baby caterpillars are incredibly tiny. Squish curled himself into a little ball and stayed that way for a long time. I decided I'd bury him in my garden.

But Squish had other ideas.

Yesterday, I watched as he emerged from his chrysalis, and though I was so proud of him, I couldn't help being sad, too.

Squish would be leaving soon.

Today, he showed me how strong his wings are as he fluttered about in his mesh habitat. Squish is part of the super generation of monarchs, the ones destined for Mexico. I thought of all the reasons why I should keep him though. He did get squished, after all. Maybe he wouldn't make it. Not every monarch does. Flying 3,000 miles is too big a feat. Maybe Squish should stay. It's safer in his mesh habitat anyway.

Who knew I'd fall in love with a teeny tiny caterpillar and want to keep him forever? I think it's because Squish reminded me of all the ways we are stronger and braver than we know.

When I finally brought Squish to the prairie, I reminded him again that he was going to be okay. And again, I think that message was more for me than him.

I placed him on a flower, and he happily sipped the nectar. Then he began to explore his new home. So many flowers. So many other pollinators. And the sky so open and free.

Squish and I were going to be okay.

In the coming weeks, Squish will attempt the journey to Mexico with millions of other monarch butterflies. It's estimated that only about a quarter of them will make it. I'm not sure what will happen with Squish, but goodness, if my friend can survive being squished, then anything is possible for him.

May your path be filled with wildflowers, Squish. Fly free, my friend.

08/08/2026

Hey friends! If any of you are hanging around the Chippewa River, consider tossing stranded mussels (aka ecosystem kidneys!) into deeper parts of the river. These little fellows are important natural filters for our lakes and rivers, and nearly half of our native species here in Wisconsin are endangered. Because they are slow moving, sedentary critters, they can’t quickly get to deeper water when our rivers are low. This is where we come in! Here, we’re all about calling lost and broken souls back home. Let’s call some stranded mussels back to the river! 😊

In just one hour, I placed 45 mussels further into the river. Doesn’t look like we’ll be getting rain any time soon, so come hang out by the river and save a mussel or two. And of course, be safe while you’re out there. 🙂

08/02/2026

Join me tonight for a restorative yoga class. We'll settle into the breath and find rest in the body. See you on the mat! 🧘🏻‍♀️

🌿✨ A New Month. A Fresh Beginning. A Chance to Pause. ✨🌿

If you’re looking to start this new month with intention and close out the weekend in the very best way, we’d love to welcome you to Rest & Restore with Yia this evening.

This 75-minute practice is an invitation to slow down, soften, and simply be. Through gentle, fully supported restorative poses, you’ll give your body permission to rest, your mind space to quiet, and your nervous system the opportunity to reset before the week ahead.

Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is pause.

🕕 Rest & Restore with Yia
Tonight | 6:00–7:15 PM

✨ Space is limited, and advance registration is required. Registration closes one hour before class.

Reserve your spot at www.whimsywillowwellness.com.

Come exactly as you are. Leave feeling grounded, restored, and ready to welcome all that this new month has to offer. 🤍

07/31/2026

Just wanted to share a friend with you all. 🙂

He was supposed to go with all of the other caterpillars to the lab, but I accidentally squished him when I didn’t see him tucked inside a tiny leaf. He was so itty bitty, maybe only a few days old. I waited and waited, but he just laid there on his side, curled up and sad. Afraid that he wouldn’t survive, I kept him so I could bury him in my native prairie garden.

But he didn’t die. Instead, he ate and ate and ate until one day, he thought, “It’s time.”

He climbed all the way to the highest point he could find because he remembered how very brave he was. How very brave he is. He survived being squished, after all.

I watched as he curled himself to prepare for his next journey. And I knew this was it. I wouldn’t see him again. Not this version of my friend, at least.

So, I cried.

I watched as his little antennae began to wrinkle. He was letting go. Trusting the process.

I’ve seen many, many caterpillars go into their chrysalis stage while at the lab, but hanging out with this little guy the past few weeks felt different.

Maybe because I squished him.

Maybe because he was supposed to die.

And maybe he reminded me of all the times I felt life squished me around, and I thought it was the end, too.

How many times have we each felt like that?

I’ve whispered more than once to my friend that he’s going to be okay. He was meant to become a butterfly, after all. But I know change is hard, even if the next stage greets us with specks of gold. Even if we can fly.

I said goodbye to my little friend as he entered his cocoon tonight, and in a couple weeks, I’ll be greeted by a new version of him. I’m sure I will cry when I watch him take to the skies. He was squished, after all.

But he’s determined to fly. 🦋