Mindfully Putting Together a Fall/Cooler Weather Capsule Wardrobe

I see something I like, I see if I can afford it, I buy it. That’s the way I used to shop for clothes. You know how that story ends: with a closet full of clothes that I only liked for a week or that just don’t work together to make outfits that fit into my life. I started building capsule wardrobes for myself back in 2012, and it’s saved me a lot of stress over the years.

Now I’m not saying to go out and buy yourself a completely new wardrobe. I love slow fashion brands, but the most sustainable way to shop is to not shop at all. Rather, shop your own closet. See what’s already there that you love, that’s well-made, that fits you now, and that you can wear repeatedly. Once you’ve made a pile of those pieces, see what you need to fill in the holes in your capsule. Maybe they can be filled with secondhand items from brick-and-mortar thrift shops or from sites like Poshmark, Depop, or Noihsaf Bazaar. Better yet, you can trade your slow fashion pieces on my favorite app, Lucky Sweater. As far as the clothes that no longer fit into your life, you can resell them on the sites listed above, or you can donate them via a Take Back Bag from Trashie. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not shaming anyone for shopping new.  I’m one of the last people on Earth with the right to do that. It’s just that if more and more of us begin to shop mindfully (or even learn to make some of our own clothes!), the healthier it is for our planet. I’m not saying that I buy from all sustainable fashion brands either. Unfortunately, most of us can’t afford to do that. My closet is a mix of slow and fast fashion. As with everything else, it’s important to try to find balance.

If you are shopping for some new staple pieces, here are the links to my picks from these images. Maybe you get some inspiration from them, or maybe they’re not your style at all! When I help people curate their clothing, it’s about them, never about trying to convert them to my style. And again, the idea is not to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe. It’s to think about building a mindful closet that you love and feels like you, that doesn’t waste your money, and that hopefully helps to reduce waste if more of us are intentional about how we get dressed.

I can always help you style your own sustainable capsule wardrobe if you’d like some guidance. Click here to learn more.

Dinner Date

(Window?) Shopping

Lunch in the City

Coffee Shop

Work ----> Happy Hour

Brunch

Comfy Travel Outfit

Weekend Chic

Yoke Yoga App is Here

I’ve been waiting to share this exciting news for so long, and the day is finally here!

Come join me for an incredible wellness experience on the Yoke Yoga App 🙌

I just uploaded a free class that I created exclusively for Yoke Yoga, all about why the physical practice of yoga is still important even though it’s just one part of living yoga. This class will help you to link your breath with your movements in order to attain a deeper state of awareness.

When you download the app, you can scroll through a beautiful, diverse collection of yoga and wellness content for free. Plus, for your first two weeks, enjoy ALL ACCESS to their premium content absolutely FREE!

Download Here and Take My Class!

Yoke Yoga is

• ALL the fun of social media… without the risk of doom-scrolling

• ALL health and wellness, ALL the time! (as opposed to wealth and hellness 🫠)

• ALL bodies and identities are welcome and celebrated

This app gives you access to a world of yoga and wellness, at your fingertips. You can find practices on-demand, whenever you need a lift. Yoke makes it easy to incorporate yoga into your daily life. And the best part is that this app is built firmly on the belief that all bodies deserve access to wellness – beyond diet culture, beyond impossible beauty standards, beyond watered-down yoga. I’m truly so grateful to be part of this.

I hope to see you inside!

The Yama Everyone Avoids Talking About

The first limb of yoga, the 5 yamas, are yoga ethics. Almost everyone is on board with non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), not stealing (asteya) and not being greedy (aparigraha), but a lot of us like to ignore this last one… celibacy? Nobody likes to talk about brahmacharya. Some translations I’ve seen for this yama include abstinence or the reining in of sexual energy, but moderation in “sensual” activities doesn’t have to mean sexual. It’s literally about avoiding succumbing completely to your five senses.

I was taught that it means turning inward instead of having quick, knee jerk reactions to stimulation of your senses which can cause us to depend on certain crutches that aren’t serving us. Practicing brahmacharya helps us to find freedom from these dependencies, or at least practice balance when it comes to them.

I definitely experience overstimulation as a parent and am quick to just put on YouTube or a video game for the kids when that wasn’t my original plan. Don’t get me wrong. We fully use screens as a third parent sometimes, but I’d like to find more balance, do it less often, and keep from having that be my immediate first reaction. I’d also like to be more mindful about the books my kids read and the movies they see and to be more moderate about the screen time so that they don’t get sucked in and disassociate. I want to teach them to be mindful and focused on the important things that truly deserve their attention, like their relationships with friends and family, instead of tuning us out when we try to talk to them when they’re watching something. I want them to save their energy for their true friends instead of worrying about trying to please kids who maybe aren’t the nicest to them or who don’t seem interested in being their friend in a mutually supportive relationship. This mindful spending of our limited amount of energy can create the balance and benefits we find through brahmacharya.

Fundraiser for Relief in Palestine

As a US citizen, I’m disgusted that my tax dollars are continuing to support the genocide of Palestinians. If you’d rather spend your money to help refugees in Palestine, join me for a donation based Zoom yoga class on Thursday, 2/8 from 6-7pm EST. Pay what you can, and all proceeds will be donated to unrwa to send relief to Gaza. You can Venmo me (@Emily-Haight-5), and I’ll be posting receipts so that you know your donations are going to the right place. You can also donate directly here, especially if you can’t make class but still want to help. If you are attending live on 2/8, just send me an email, and I’ll send you the Zoom link for the class – a gentle vinyasa flow.

Yama (yoga ethics) include ahimsa (non-harm), and (asteya) non-stealing. As of February 2nd, over 27,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli and United States governments since October 7th. Over 66,000 have been injured, and according to The World Health Organization, there are NO FUNCTIONING HOSPITALS left in Northern Gaza. C-sections and amputations are being performed without anesthetics. Lives that could’ve been saved with proper medical resources have been lost. Right now, 500,000 refugees in Gaza directly face starvation.  Everyone on this planet has a right to life. Free Palestine. Ceasefire now.

I’m Launching Live Vinyasa Yoga Classes over Zoom!

I’ve been thinking about teaching online yoga classes for years now, and I’m finally offering biweekly classes starting 3/4! Live classes will take place Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6-7pm EST, but recordings of classes will be available for 3 days if you can’t make it live.

In class you’ll build strength, flexibility and awareness. Experience a moving meditation as you link your movements to your conscious breath to set aside thoughts that aren’t serving you and work towards a clear, more discerning mind. Your practice is YOURS. I’ll offer suggestions, but I encourage you to take movements and breaks as YOU need them and to take what serves you and leave what doesn’t.

Your first class is free, and then single classes are $12 each. A 10 class pass (also available as a gift card) is $100. Equity pricing is also available, half price for BIPOC. Email me to sign up.

I truly can’t wait to practice with you!

Beyond Instagram: Discovering the Deeper Philosophy of Yoga in 2024

We all know that yoga has been around much much longer than social media, but I didn’t always know (along with many others I’m sure) that yoga is not about physical hypermobility and amazing abs. It’s not about competition or performance. Yoga is a science that gives us the tools to work towards freedom and happiness for ourselves and for EVERY. ONE. Yoga is not exclusive to any body type, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, physical or mental capability, etc.

Yoga is a way of life. It’s an ancient practice from the Indus Valley cultures that informs how we move through the world from how we interact with others to how we honor our authentic selves. "Yoga" comes from the Sanskrit verb, "yuj," meaning to yoke or unite. Through yoga, we learn to unite our minds and bodies and spirits, to unite with our true selves, and to unite with others in the spirit of diversity and inclusion.

The study of yoga is not about learning proper alignment in poses. Yes, a safe movement practice keeps us limber and physically and emotionally healthy, but yoga philosophy offers so much more than just āsana (the physical practice). Ancient texts like The Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita offer guidance for how to change our lives in positive ways by evaluating our ethics, using breathwork, learning how to focus and be discerning about how and where we spend our energy, and more. The goal of yoga is to create personal and collective change for the better. If you’re starting a yoga practice this year, great!! I encourage you to take it further than an exercise class and see what kind of positive changes you can make for your mental health, your community, and even the world.

Summer 2023 Capsule Wardrobe

A capsule wardrobe is like a never-ending treasure chest of possibility 💚. You don't need to be a perfect environmentalist when it comes to your closet. If we were, we wouldn't buy anything or would by everything second hand, which I do love to do, but again, none of us is perfect. Buying only slow, sustainable fashion (while i LOVE those brands) can be out of most budgets, so a capsule wardrobe, one where you have a small collection of clothing that can be put together in many different ways, can be a little gentler on your budget and the planet since you're being intentional about your purchases and buying only what you need to fill the holes in your capsule. Here's a peek at my Summer 2023 capsule wardrobe and where I'm wearing each look.

Brunch

Dinner date

Happy hour

Farmer’s market

Running Errands

Daytime Wedding

Baby shower

Taking the kids to the playground

Working at the coffee shop

LINEN DRESS

LINEN BUTTON DOWN TOP

SUNGLASSES

SWEATER TANK

SANDALS

TAILORED SHORTS

LINEN PANTS

BELT BAG

WHITE SNEAKERS

COIN NECKLACE

DENIM SHORTS

DOME HUGGIES

MAXI DRESS

SHOULDER BAG

HEELED SANDALS

RIBBED TANK

DOUBLE LAYERED NECKLACE

LINEN TOP

CROCHET TANK

MINI DRESS

STRAIGHT LEG JEANS

MIDI SKIRT

So many of us have found ourselves in that place, the place where we felt stuck, panicked, and like there was no way out, or that the only way out was self-harm or even ending our own lives. I’ve been there a couple of times, and although I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me then, I’ve always found my way back to my happy, functional self, and I believe that with the right resources, anyone else can, too.

I hate that not everyone has access to the help that I’ve received, and I hope that we can make some institutional changes to remedy that. I’m lucky to have health insurance that covers my wonderful therapist as well as my antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication. I’m so fortunate to have a supportive partner who has had his own struggles with his mental health, and we love and understand each other BECAUSE of these struggles, not in spite of them. If you ever find yourself thinking that you aren’t worthy of love because of your pain, I’m here to tell you that that is completely false. You are able to both give and receive so much love because you understand those truly hard feelings, and that’s what we all need, someone who understands.

Along with being grateful for my supportive partner and family, I’m also grateful for my yoga practice and the fact that I can go to classes safely during a global pandemic and that those classes are free to me. I know most people don’t have that privilege. I encourage you, even if you don’t feel safe practicing in a studio right now or if yoga classes aren’t in your current budget, find some free classes on YouTube. Give it a shot, and see if moving and strengthening your body, letting go of tension, slowing down your breath to soothe your nerves, and focusing on what truly matters helps your mood and your overall health. I truly believe that yoga should be accessible to everyone, and I struggle with the fact that I want that, yet I’m still trying to make a living teaching the practice. I’m hoping soon to launch some classes on this site, both prerecorded and live, that can be accessed through a monthly subscription offered on a sliding scale. Please stay tuned, and stay well. I’m with you.

Practicing Yoga While Pregnant

Practicing yoga throughout pregnancy kept me feeling physically strong and flexible and extra aware of the changes happening in my physical body. That said, one of the biggest benefits of practicing yoga while pregnant was that I learned some mental tools that really helped me through labor. I went into labor with my first child 5 weeks early, so I missed the childbirth class I was supposed to attend the following weekend. The only thing that kept me from panicking during an unmedicated labor was the thought that everything is temporary. It had to end at some point, and I would get through it, so I used what I had learned in yoga and kept repeating that mantra in my head, and it empowered me to stay calm and feel strong.

The 10 Best Yoga Poses for Beginners

You or someone you know might be interested in starting a yoga practice, but you may not know where to start, or you might even think that yoga isn’t for you. YOGA. IS. FOR. EVERYONE. You don’t need to be flexible. There are no prerequisites. You don’t need to have any particular experience. To quote my amazing teacher, Susanna Barkataki, “All of that is the watering down and westernization of physical yoga.” Asana, or the physical yoga postures, is often the sole focus in western yoga. When we think of yoga in the United States, we often think about flexible, thin, white women working out, but I’ve heard some teachers refer to yoga as a “work-in”. One of the reasons that we practice these poses is so that we can get our bodies to a point where we can physically sit and meditate for as long as we like. Once we can find comfortable stillness, we can connect the body, breath, mind, and emotions to see ourselves for who we truly are, and that is the goal of yoga, not headstand. That said, postures are a part of most yoga practices, especially most yoga classes you’ll sign up for in the US or online. Sign up for my email list here, and I’ll walk you through what I think are the ten best yoga poses for beginners. Remember, they don’t have to look perfect. They just have to serve you, to make you feel good. You’ve got this.

New Class Alert! (And this One Helps to Save Mother Earth.)

Want to take an affordable yoga class at home while simultaneously helping the planet?!

Join me on Thursday mornings at 9:30 EST for a virtual energetic Vinyasa Flow class to start your morning off right. This is a new weekly class that I’ll be teaching through 10,000 Trees Yoga where all proceeds ($10/class) go to One Tree Planted.

See you on Zoom!

A Sustainable Gift Guide

We all love picking out a thoughtful gift for someone special, but many of us also want to be mindful of where we spend our money. Here I’ve put together a list of gifts for the whole family, and each one comes from an eco-friendly, ethical brand. It’s always fun to shop, but it’s even better when you know your money is going to some like-minded folks. See below for the full list.

1. Mateo All Weather Boot from Nisolo

2. Olive Oil Duo from Brightland

3. Ceramic Stoneware Mug from United by Blue

4. Swell Candle from P.F. Candle Co.

5. Legend Sweater Shirt from Faherty Brand

6. Fair Trade Jenga from GlobeIn

7. Always Pan from Our Place

8. Bamboo Straws from Public Goods

9. Wax Hair Pomade from Public Goods

10. Maileg Stuffed Rhino from Parachute

11. Natural Play Dough from Murray and Finn

12. Potted Prickly Pear Cactus from Bloomscape

13. Avery the Lamb from Cuddle+Kind

14. Reversible Down Jacket from Patagonia

15. Facial in a Box from Copal Clean Beauty

16. Custom Gift Trio from Otherland

17. ABBOT Belt Bag from Matt & Nat

18. Ceramic Tumbler from United by Blue

19. Joggers from Girlfriend Collective

20. Port Beanie from James Street Co

21. Porter Water Bottle from W&P

22. Mini Organic Terrazzo Gem Soap from Package Free

23. Tone it Around Set from Oui the People

A Capsule Wardrobe for Fall/Winter

A lot of the people in my life might tell you that I love shopping. I don’t. I love dressing up, even in casual outfits, but I don’t like going to stores, racing to keep up with fleeting trends, and spending money on things that I’ll only wear once or maybe even not at all. That’s how I used to shop: running out to Urban Outfitters or Forever21 to get a top for that night’s party, and then regretting it the next day, like a clothing hangover. Creating a capsule wardrobe, an edited-down collection of my favorite pieces (that fit my lifestyle and my body right now) that I can mix together in lots of different outfit combinations, works best for me. I can be intentional and mindful about what I’m buying, and one thing I DO love is making a list, and having a plan. It’s a lot less stressful and a lot more fun for me to curate my wardrobe in this way, and it’s something you may want to try, too.

 A capsule wardrobe allows you to let go of the clothes that aren’t serving you and to focus on the things that you really love and that you’ll wear over and over again. It’s not about going out and buying a whole new “perfect” capsule wardrobe; it’s about working with what you already have and then shopping with the goal of filling in any necessary gaps in your capsule. That way, you have clothes that you know will work for you for a whole season, and you can shop less often and get more wear out of the clothes that you have, thus making your wardrobe more sustainable, as well. Plus, it’s fun to get the creativity juices flowing and come up with new ways to style pieces in your capsule. Do you think it’s something you might try?

Above is my fall/winter capsule for this year. My lifestyle is super casual. I teach yoga and have two small kids, so activewear and jeans and a tee work for me most of the time — even for date nights or patio drinks. However, I threw in some blouses and heels for when I want to dress up a bit more. Fall is all about layers. I included lots of sweaters, but this capsule doesn’t include outerwear (or accessories or undergarments), but I definitely plan on adding my wool coat and a beanie to these looks when I need them. There you have it — my fall/winter capsule wardrobe!

Suburban Soccer Mom

I’m sick of this narrative touted by the Trump campaign that suburban soccer moms (they mean white suburban soccer moms) are scared of protesters in the streets, and they’ll reelect him to restore “law and order”. I am scared. I’m scared of a leader who fuels hate and racism. I’m scared of racist, armed militias murdering my friends. I’m scared of millions of people losing their healthcare plans in the middle of a global pandemic, a pandemic that the President refused to acknowledge at all for months and that he is still trying to play down as “not that bad”. I’m scared of the greed of the Trumps of the world that has sent this planet into a climate crisis that we may never recover from. I’m scared of school shooters. I’m scared that even if he loses in November, that Trump won’t vacate the White House and will improperly use federal police officers to maintain his authority like he tried to do in Portland and other US cities. I’m scared of four more years of Trump. I’m scared that he will set progress back even further than he already has. So yes, Mr. Trump, I, a white, suburban soccer mom, am scared, but not of protesters in the streets. I, and my fellow soccer moms (newsflash! Some of them are Black!) ARE the protesters in the streets. Our streets, our protests, and our suburbs may be smaller than the big cities, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure you are a one term President. Maybe YOU should be scared.

"Climate Justice is Part of Racial Justice."

We need to talk about this more. White supremacist, capitalist greed has created this global climate crisis, yet Black and Indigenous communities are the most affected by exposure to air pollution, and they are literally dying. The irony is that these communities are the people who traditionally respect and defend the land and have the knowledge of how to treat this planet in a way that can prevent pollution and natural disasters. WE NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM AND VALUE THEIR KNOWLEDGE. Anti-racism will save the planet and save us all.

Check out this great article in Vogue by Leah Thomas for more.

Sustainable Fashion

Over the past couple of years, I’ve become increasingly mindful of my wardrobe choices in terms of sustainability. With tips I’ve learned from people like Georgia of Ruba Ruba Designs, I’ve been able to shop more intentionally instead of just buying cheap, trendy pieces on a whim that I’ll only wear once. I only purchase things that I really love and that I know I’ll wear over and over again. I try to shop secondhand when I can, and take advantage of clothing rental subscriptions if I feel like trying out a new style. When I do buy something new to invest in a really special piece, I like to buy from sustainable brands like Christy Dawn, who repurposes “deadstock” excess fabrics from other companies. I actually got this airy Christy Dawn Hudson Dress secondhand on Poshmark, and it is such an easy, flowy piece to just throw on and head out the door and feel beautiful. I want to wear it every day 😂