YolandaMartinez : Creator

10/23/2026

In these times of AWAKENING, the Ancients are calling for us to come together, unite as one tribe. We the native people of Earth Mother, the care takers that we came in to be. The way showers for all nations here with us. TIME IS NOW to lay our weapons, anger, hate down and ignite the love & light within our hearts. The answer is still LOVE. . . . 🦅

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Whispers of the Ancients
The wind carries voices, soft yet strong,
Ancestral echoes, an endless song.
Through silent forests, their wisdom flows,
In stillness deep, the Great Spirit knows.
The fire dances, the river sighs,
Dreamcatchers gleam beneath the skies.
Each feather tells where spirits roam,
Each heartbeat leads the soul back home.
Listen, child, to the earth’s embrace,
Her timeless rhythm, her sacred grace.
For in the circle, all hearts align—
The voice of the sacred is yours, is mine.
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10/22/2026

I love when the drum finds its way into places people do not expect it.

A gathering of friends. A quiet room. A place where people come to care for themselves.

Wherever it goes, it does the same thing. It slows us down. It brings us back into our bodies. It reminds us that we belong to one another.

You do not need a stage for that. You only need a few people willing to be still together.

Where has a rhythm found you when you did not expect it?

Aho.

10/21/2026

The first rhythm any of us ever heard was our mother’s heartbeat.

Before we had words. Before we had names. We were held inside that steady sound.

That is why the drum reaches something so deep in us. It is not new to us. It is a memory.

You do not need to own a drum to come back to that rhythm. Place your hand on your chest. Feel it. Slow. Steady. Yours.

That heartbeat is what we share in circle, whether we are sitting side by side or miles apart.

Where do you feel most connected to your own rhythm?

Aho.

10/20/2026

When I wrote Following Earth Mother’s Heartbeat, I was not thinking about readers I would never meet.

I was thinking about the stories I had been given. The ones I was afraid would be lost if I did not write them down.

But a book has a life of its own. It travels to places I will never go. It sits on nightstands in homes I will never see. It finds people on the nights they need it most.

I think that is what I love most about stories. They do not need us to be in the same room. They only need someone willing to listen.

If my book has found its way to you, I would love to know where you are reading from.

And if you are near Las Cruces, I will be signing copies at COAS Books on Saturday, October 31, 317 N. Main St, Las Cruces, NM. I would love to meet you there.

Aho.

10/15/2026

On Sunday, I was invited to speak at UUC of Las Cruces for Indigenous Peoples Day.

I have been asked to speak on many days. This one always asks something more of me.

It is not a day for performing who we are. It is a day for remembering. For honoring the ones who came before us, who carried the songs and the teachings forward so that we could still sing them today.

One or two lines, in your own words, about what you shared or what you felt in the room.

Thank you to everyone at UUC for opening your doors and your hearts, and for listening so deeply.

Who taught you what it means to remember where you come from?

Aho.

10/14/2026

Some songs are written. Others are given.

I have always felt that the land sings first, and I am only learning to listen closely enough to follow.

When I sing outside, I am not performing. I am answering something.

Music has carried me through grief, through joy, through seasons I did not think I would make it through. It is one of the oldest ways I know to pray.

On Monday, I led a birthday drumming over Zoom for the Song of My Heart Celebration. Even through a screen, the rhythm found every one of us.

Is there a song that has carried you through something? Tell me what it is.

Aho.

10/13/2026

Last month I told you some teachings deserve to be walked through slowly. So let us keep walking.

This is the season of the West.

The sun sets a little earlier each evening. The light falls differently. The land itself begins to let go.

The West has always asked me to look inward. To be honest about what I have been carrying out of habit, not out of need. To set some of it down before winter comes.

Letting go is rarely easy. But the trees do it every year, trusting that what they release will return to the earth and feed what comes next.

What are you ready to set down this season?

Aho.

10/08/2026

People who have never sat in circle sometimes tell me they are not sure what to expect.

So I want to share a few of the simple ways we hold circle together.

None of this is complicated. But every piece of it matters. Together, these are what make a circle a safe place to land.

Which of these feels most needed in your life right now?

And if you would like to feel it for yourself, come sit with us this Saturday, October 10, for our Monthly Drum Circle at OM Valley Center. [10 AM to 12 PM. Radium Springs NM.]

[No drum or experience needed.] Just come as you are.

Aho.

10/07/2026

People sometimes ask me why I always come back to the circle.

Because in a circle, there is no front of the room. No one sits above anyone else. Every voice is at the same height.

The circle taught me how to listen. Not just to wait for my turn, but to really listen. To let people finish. To let their words land before I answer.

It taught me that I do not have to fix anyone. I only have to be present.

I have sat in hundreds of circles in my life. I am still learning from every one of them.

What has a circle, of any kind, taught you?

And if you are near Las Cruces this Sunday, October 11, I will be speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Church for Indigenous Peoples Day, at 10 a.m. I would be honored to see you there.

Aho.

10/06/2026

There is a kind of listening that only happens when women sit together.

No one is performing. No one is in a hurry. We simply make room for one another, and the stories find their way out.

This Friday, October 9, we gather for our Women's Sharing Circle and Moon Lodge, held in the home of [my dear friend] Dr. Deb Thorne in Las Cruces.

5:30 to 7:00 in the evening.

We keep this circle small and close, so please let us know you are coming. You can reach me at [email protected] or Deb at [email protected], and we will share the address with you.

Come as you are. Bring what you are carrying. There is a place for you here.

Aho.