I took a yoga class the other day for the first time in a long while. My back has been bothering me and my achilles feels like it’s about to pop (done that before and don’t ever want to go through that again), so I told myself I was really going to take it easy. […]

One day, many years ago during the fire academy, we had to search for a downed firefighter and then drag a dummy out of the tower.  That part was relatively easy.  Getting it back up numerous flights of stairs was another story.  I remember standing at the bottom of the tower with this enormous hunk […]

The most effective way to engender transformation is by addressing all aspects of our being: physical, mental, and spiritual.  One reason I am drawn to Buddhism is that for 2,500 years, Buddhist monks have been systematically studying the mind and developing a system for transforming consciousness through physical, mental, and ethical steps.  The Buddha’s 8-Fold […]

Confidence is key to high performance. For women in the fire service, confidence can be elusive, but it is essential if we are to thrive (and not simply survive) on the fire ground.  Confidence gets ladders up.  Confidence tears doors down.  We need it to be our best, but ample obstacles exist.  It is challenging […]