My Sunny Side
Where did the name “Sunny Get Up” come from?
A happy outfit (“Sunny Getup”)
An optimistic call to action (Sunny Get Up!)
It’s active wear for active optimistic activists!
Here’s a little more of the story of my own “Sunny” side and the amazing people who helped get Sunny Get Up up and running...
“Gold dust at my feet…On the sunny side of the street”
“Sunny” has so many meanings to me.
It’s hopeful, joyful, grateful, bright, warm, happy, active, and awake. It’s a nickname and term of endearment from my husband, Jeremy. It’s a reference to my inspiring family and accompanying family name, Sunderland. It’s a reminder to see the light in others, and to actively seek the light.
Yoga is one of my favorites practices that helps get my sunny side up. Getting up, getting moving, and getting on my hands and going upside down always helps me feel more at home in my own skin, more capable and strong. More like myself…more sunny. Functional movement, sweat, warmth generated from within, radical acceptance, mindfulness, meditation, and skillful action always helps me take a new perspective, reset, and gives me a boost of energy for the rest of the day.
Getting out in nature and feeling the sunshine always brightens my mood and helps me feel more grounded and centered. Jeremy and I enjoy traveling, birdwatching, hiking, and kayaking. During this pandemic, hiking and exploring our natural treasures close to home has been a perfect socially distant activity, and essential for my mental health.
Photography is another one of my favorite mindfulness practices. Chasing the light and watching the play of light and shadow makes me wake up to the present moment, this moment that I am alive. It's my way of focusing on beauty, working intentionally with taking a new perspective, and feeling interconnectedness with the natural world. I can zoom in and see tiny details that I would miss if I wasn't being mindful, and zoom out and see the big picture when I feel lost in the details. Much like yoga asana, I enjoy the process of focusing my attention, framing the angles and alignment of my focus of interest, playing with the energy and balance of a picture, and sequencing images carefully to tell a story.
Gratitude is another key practice for me. I have so much gratitude for the people who bring sunshine to my life, and am so thankful for their love and support of this project.
My brilliant husband, Jeremy Engels, is author of “The Art of Gratitude” and “The Ethics of Oneness” (and several other great books), and I’m so thankful that he is my partner and companion on this path. I love that he calls me “Sunny”. It’s a sweet nickname of love, and it makes me smile every time. We’re both from Kansas, and I’ve always loved the state flower — a sunflower. We met in college at the University of Kansas, and through 18 years of marriage we have traveled the world together, now we co-own a yoga studio, and every day with him is a wonderful adventure. He is my sunshine. Thanks also to Jeremy for taking many of the pictures of me for this website as we explored this beautiful planet.
“Sunny” is also a reference to my family name, now my middle name, “Sunderland”. I feel so lucky to be inspired by my artistic, supportive, and optimistic Sunderland family. I have so much gratitude for my mother, MaryLou Sunderland, a talented watercolorist, and my father, Jim Sunderland, an amazing photographer, for instilling a deep appreciation of nature and for teaching me how to see. The way they have lived their lives - in service to helping others and seeing the beauty in the world - will always be my compass and guiding light. My mother also designed the logo for Sunny Get Up, and my father took several pictures of me for this website. I will always cherish our hikes together exploring the Colorado wilderness and the canyons of the southwest. My sister, Katie Sunderland, is a fierce activist and environmentalist, and she always inspires me to do more for people and the planet. Katie and her awesome husband Sam Spillane are getting ready to launch Ecological Market, an amazing plastic-free eco store, coming soon.
Gratitude also to my dear yogi friends, Ariel Xu, Kristen Boccumini, Laura Van Velsor, and Lara Heimann, and Katie Travis, who are my fellow travelers on a journey to seek the light and make the world a better place. I’m inspired by their compassionate hearts, philanthropic efforts, curiosity and desire to learn, and strong practices on and off the mat. I’m very grateful that they volunteered to model yoga pants for this website.
I’m inspired by all of these people who bring sunshine into my life, to get up, get hopeful, get active, and do what I can to help make the best of this life, and to help make it better for others. This project of Sunny Get Up seems like a good way to contribute, using my creative passions to help raise money for environmental charities. I’m donating 50% of net profits to organizations who are working diligently to protect wild spaces, preserve landscapes and ecosystems, remove barriers for people spending time outdoors, accelerate global reforestation, and improve policy on environmental health and justice.
I hope these joyful pants inspire you to get up, get moving, and get involved in causes that you care about to help make the world a better place. Put on your superwoman pants and be the force of nature that you are!