What I've Learned Along the Way

Even though I’ve been making jewelry for almost as long as I can remember, it was not always the center of my work. For many years, I was on a journey of the wounded healer (which led me to become a yoga teacher, massage therapist and Ayurvedic herbalist). It seemed like each grain of wisdom I accumulated, came through illness, hardship or challenge. Maybe that’s a big part of the way that wisdom works. With 20:20 hindsight. Though I’d like to get better at applying my wisdom more broadly. :-P 

But even before I faced some serious health challenges, I always wondered about something more than we can see. I yearned for a thread to follow or a language to communicate about the things we can see and feel which “normal” language doesn’t explain. At least not to my satisfaction. And then I crashed into yoga. Or a car hit me and I took up yoga as part of my healing process. And at first—for several years actually—it was just healing, stretching and exercise. But then, in 2000, I was introduced to Ayurveda and meditation and my relationship to these beautiful practices deepened. Eventually, I learned how to accompany others along their own healing paths.

There are many many beautiful concepts and practices in the world of yoga and Ayurveda but the one which grabbed me by the heart, and still has a grasp on me, is the lens of the 5 Elements. And though the language of the 5 Elements sounds very poetic–it is actually SO tangible and empowering in its simplicity and accessibility. These are tools which can enrich all of our lives and help us to connect more deeply with ourselves and the world around us. My relationship to the 5 Elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Space, according to Ayurveda) form some of the most important basis for inspiration in my work.

This image is a watercolor painting I made over a decade ago when I was still teaching yoga and Ayurveda. It is an illustration of the classic description of how the 5 Elements show up in the body; a kind of Sacred Geometry. Earth at the base, then Water, Fire, Wind and Space. 

I spent countless hours over the years visualizing this image in meditation and during yoga practice, connecting my mind and body and its workings to this ancient expression. 

Over time, the lesson of the 5 Elements became a permanent lens, like an overlay on everything I see. It helps me make some sense of the world and to apply the right “medicine” when needed. Sometimes that medicine is stillness, sometimes dance. Sometimes singing and sometimes crying. Sometimes eating and sometimes fasting. All of it now has roots, for me, in the 5 Elements.

When I first started my jewelry line, I actually called it “5 Essence,” as in: the essence of the 5 Elements. Those early pieces were pretty literal in their representation of geometry of the 5 Elements. My work has evolved a LOT over the years, but that seed of inspiration is still very present.

Over the next few weeks, I would like to share some of the beauty and poetry of this lens with you. Maybe you’ll also find some inspiration and support in this beautiful way of orienting to the world.

I look forward to sharing with you about Earth Element next week, but let me know if any questions about the 5 Elements (or anything else) tickle your brain in the meantime.