Tending to Home, Body, and Grief 🪹
Volume 3, Issue 12
June 25, 2025
Sun in Cancer 🌞 ♋
New Moon in Cancer 🌑 ♋
New Moon Greetings❣️
How are you feeling under today’s new moon in Cancer?
Time keeps moving as we prepare to turn the calendar page on June. We’re already halfway through 2025, and when I look up at the summer sky, I see the Sun has reached its peak. From here, it begins its slow descent toward the darkness of December’s Winter Solstice. But for now, it’s summer. It’s hot. And I’m taking the temperature of my own well-being. This feels like a natural moment to pause and check in with my whole self: body, mind, and spirit.
So far, 2025 has felt momentous, both personally and collectively. The dominant themes in my life this year have been home, family, and finances. I’m quite literally getting my house in order in ways I haven’t since we moved here in July 2020. Five years in our sweet yellow century home, and I am a completely different woman than the one who first turned the key in that front door five years ago.
Our home has transformed slowly, tenderly, as we’ve made it our own. These walls have absorbed our laughter, our grief, and our growth. This house holds us, truly. I feel supported and safe here, and I am deeply grateful for the shelter and sanctuary it offers. Especially when the world beyond these walls feels chaotic and cruel. Out there, I have little control. But here, I can rest. Lucky me.
Last Friday, AJ, our talented and kind painter, completed the full exterior restoration of our home’s original wood siding, trim, and doors. It took five weeks (with lots of rain delays), and it was well worth the wait. The transformation is stunning. The faded and chipped yellow, along with the mismatched touch-ups, are gone. Now we have a vibrant, classic yellow exterior with rich beige trim, soft sage window accents, and a bold, deeper blue on the doors. We’re so beyond thrilled with the results. It truly feels like a celebration of our home’s spirit.
We can check that massive project off the list and rest for a bit before moving on to the next one. When a house has stood for more than 100 years, it deserves the kind of care that helps it carry on for another century. When this home was built, Woodrow Wilson was president, and Cleveland was a thriving industrial city halfway between New York and Chicago. Now, our city wrestles with the aftermath of economic shifts, still striving to reinvent itself after losing over 90,000 manufacturing jobs since I was born in 1969.
With the house project complete and Bob recovering well from surgery, I can finally return my attention to my own healing. He’s gaining strength, returned to work last week, and is ready to ease back into his beloved bicycle commute. He’s been riding to work for seven years!
Meanwhile, I’m navigating a literal pain in the ass—Piriformis Syndrome, caused by an imbalance in my sacroiliac joint. I’ve enlisted the support of acupuncture, Rolfing, footwear adjustments, and gait retraining. Now that the pool is open, I’m doing water exercises to move in ways I can’t on land. My hope is to release the underlying pattern that’s pulling my SI joint out of alignment, easing the tension on my piriformis and the cranky nerve I’ve nicknamed The Screamer. When I stand up—especially after sitting with my legs stretched out—there’s often a sharp jolt through my left glute. But if I move slowly and mindfully, it usually works itself out. I’m learning little tricks—like re-positioning my leg before standing—that help soothe the flare.
This is part of learning how to care for my aging body. I’m focused on movement longevity, mobility, and joint health. My yoga therapy teacher used to say move it or lose it, a simple phrase that has become a guiding truth as I ease toward elderhood. That’s the long-term goal: to keep moving with grace, with curiosity, and with care.
Perhaps most importantly, I’m tending to my mental health. Summer has become a season of grief for me. The weeks between July 16 (Sierra’s death day) and August 25 (her birthday) are now a sacred container of remembrance. Even though I think of her every single day, that stretch of time holds a particular tenderness. It’s still shocking to write those words. I’m still learning how to live with this kind of pain, even three years later. But I’ve found that when I name my grief and allow it to arrive in doses, I can live with it. I can honor it and honor her, without becoming swallowed by it.
This year has tested my patience, my strength, and my resilience. It’s reminding me, day by day, to let go of what I can’t control and to stay flexible in the face of constant change. I’m trying to greet each day with openness, curiosity, and adaptability—because that’s what life is asking of me now.
Reflection & Invitation:
- How are you tending to your inner world at this midpoint of the year?
- What does your home—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual—mean to you right now?
- What is your body asking of you this season?
- Where are you being invited to soften or surrender?
I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to share your thoughts, reflections, or stories in the comments. This space is richer when we share it together. Join the conversation over on Substack!
Thank you for your time and energy engaging with this newsletter. May you feel held by your home, by your people, by the Earth herself. May you find spaciousness in your body, gentleness in your heart, and clarity in your mind. And may this new moon bring you moments of quiet knowing and the courage to care for yourself in the ways you most need.
With warmth and gratitude,
Jennifer 💫💖💫
Mindfulness Prompt: Midyear Grounding🌳
Take a moment to sit or stand in stillness. Let your eyes soften or gently close.
Bring your awareness to your breath: in through the nose, out through the mouth.
Slow and steady.
Feel the ground beneath you. Let it remind you that you are held. Supported. Home.
Now, gently bring to mind the space you call home. The walls that shelter you, the corners that have witnessed your laughter, your grief, your growth.
Feel into what this space means to you today.
As you breathe, scan your body with kindness. Notice any places of tension, tightness, or ease.
Can you offer a bit of compassion to whatever you find?
You might gently say to yourself: This is where I am right now. And that is okay.
Now, ask yourself quietly:
What do I most need in this moment?
What is my body, my heart, my spirit asking for?
Let the answer be simple. Honest. No fixing. Just listening.
Take one more deep breath in, and exhale slowly.
When you’re ready, open your eyes. Carry this grounded awareness with you as you move into the rest of your day.
The Planets🪐
- New Moon in Cancer today, June 25, 2025 🌑 ♋
- Mercury in Cancer moves into Leo on June 24, 2025 ♋ ➡️ ♌
- Waxing half moon in Libra on July 2, 2025 🌓 ♎
- Venus in Taurus moves into Gemini on July 4, 2025 ♉ ➡️ ♊
- 👀 Uranus in Taurus moves into Gemini on July 7, 2025 ♉ ➡️ ♊
- Full moon in Capricorn on July 10, 2025 🌕 ♑
🌄 Sunrise today in Cleveland is at 5:54 am
🌇 Sunset today in Cleveland at 9:05 pm
New moon intentions: Under this New Moon in Cancer I’m checking in with myself. I set the intention to nurture my home as both a sanctuary and a mirror of my inner life, tending to it with the same care and gentleness I offer my own healing. I intend to honor my body as it shifts and changes, learning how to move with it, so I can grow older with grace and strength. I commit to allowing grief to move through me in waves, giving it space without letting it define me, trusting that love continues to grow even in the tender cracks of loss.
Current Offerings – Planet Prana Meditation Space 🌿
Live Group Meditation On Zoom July 14, 2025
Take a mindful pause with us during the Monthly Mindfulness Break, a live monthly gathering held on the second Monday of each month. This 45-minute gathering includes a 20-30 minute mindfulness meditation, followed by open discussion and questions. It is open to everyone—accessible, welcoming, and offered on a sliding scale. Come as you are, breathe, and reset in community.
🎧 Guided Meditation Practice Library on YouTube
Explore a growing private on-demand library of guided meditations designed to nourish your well-being. You’ll find short, supportive practices for grounding, presence, embodied awareness, relaxation, and seasonal practices as well. Plus, a brand-new Midweek Mindfulness Break is added every week to help you reset and recharge.
Your subscription also includes full access to my signature course, Meditation Demystified—a step-by-step introduction to building a practice that works for you, whether you’re brand new or returning to the cushion.
Subscribe monthly, semi-annually, or annually—flexible options to meet you where you are.
Not ready to commit? No pressure—head over to my YouTube channel to enjoy a generous selection of free practices and get a feel for what’s inside. 💛
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