Kale is a weird thing. I mean, it's just a leaf, but it can be really hard to work with.

It's so stiff and tough, certainly not as easy to tear apart as lettuce—you need something more aggressive to break it down.

I'm bringing up kale because it wasn't that long ago that I learned how to work with this superfood. 

Picture it: Toronto, 2020. I'm pregnant and in my kitchen making a kale salad with my sister when she gives me a piece of plastic that looks like a leaf with four different hole sizes. This seemingly simple tool would, in one swoop, separate the leaves from the hard stems. That alone was a game-changer. But they were still too tough to eat raw—that's when she told me to massage the leaves, and like magic, they softened and got greener, almost like they were glowing.

Here's how this story relates to you and your practice.

Image your mind is like the kale in its raw state. It can be unruly and inflexible, but meditation is the tool, and the more you use it, the more you can detach from your thoughts, soften into your body, and be better able to navigate how you'd like to feel. 

Meditation is the tool, but the breath is what helps you soften the mind.

I want to encourage you to be easy with yourself. It's not about having a perfect practice but enjoying what comes from choosing to use the tools that make your life (and salad) easier.