Somatics, Strength, and Finding Your Own Rhythm Outside: A Conversation on Women in Wild Places

I recently had the pleasure of joining Gabriella on the Women in Wild Places podcast, and gosh, what a fun conversation! Gabriella is such a thoughtful and curious host, and I really enjoyed getting to explore some of my favorite topics with her - the intersection of outdoor recreation, strength, mental health, and our nervous systems.

We covered a lot of ground, including:

• ❄️ The magic of wild Nordic ice skating in Alaska (one of my absolute favorite winter activities!)

• 🌿 What somatics actually means, and how our outdoor adventures can help us better understand our nervous systems.

• 🥾 "Weakest link syndrome" — that familiar feeling of being the slowest person in the group, and how to find more safety in moving at your own pace.

• 💪 Why physical strength is a safety skill, and how training our bodies supports our confidence outside.

• ❤️ Moving away from a mindset of co...

Replacing Self-Doubt and Perfectionism in the Outdoors with Compassion and Inclusion

I recently joined Jacalyn Gross on the Women Empower Active podcast to chat about our outdoor stories and mindset reflections. The podcast is a production of UR Sportswear, a running apparel brand for women. Jacalyn and I had an open and honest conversation that we hope will normalize the messiness of each of our outdoor journeys.

Jacalyn and I focus on different outdoor activities in very different environments–she’s primarily a trail runner in the Pacific Northwest, and I’m a skier, backpacker, and nordic skater in Alaska. We had a great time chatting about the themes that are common to both of us, and we bet you’ll relate to our stories, too.

We focused a lot of our chat on how mindset matters in the outdoors, and what a difference it can make for our experiences. We talked about the power of community and our hopes for inclusivity and acceptance in outdoor spaces. Plus, we peppered in some pract...

Getting Started with Nordic Skating

Whether breezing across an alpine lake or soaring down a frozen slough, Nordic skating is a rewarding way to experience both beauty and playfulness outside.

Nordic skating is awesome because it can be more accessible and simple compared to many winter sports. The equipment you need to get started is not too expensive, and it takes less practice to learn the movement patterns. You won’t have to spend years trying to master the basics. You can be gliding around having fun on the ice in no time!

Finding conditions for fun and safe Nordic skating takes some planning and some luck. In Alaska, skating is often an early winter activity, when temperatures drop below freezing so ice can form, but the snow hasn’t yet arrived. Midwinter skating can be fun too – some cities maintain a plowed lake rink area for skating after the snow, and sometimes skaters get lucky after a warm melt spell or a big windstorm that clears the ice of snow. In other areas, the sea...