Yoga

Yoga is the practice of merging all the disparate aspects of our being into one, unified essence. In fact, the word yoga in Sanskrit means union. When we experience yoga we experience our true nature, which is unbounded and unchanging. We can understand the true nature of our being through the Seven Spiritual Laws, as disseminated by Deepak Chopra.

It is the nature of the human mind to wander. We naturally create narratives, fantasies and accumulate mental chatter as we move throughout our days. Certain factors can exacerbate mental chatter; stress, caffeine, long work days, and anxiety can all make it seem near impossible for the mind to slow down. We can become lost in the landscape of the mind and forget to return to the present moment. The present moment is our seat of power and allows us to access our innate wisdom and intuition.

One of the ways to support a healthy mind is to give it a break, and one of the best ways to give the mind a break is to practice breathwork. Breathwork brings your attention toward the breath as a focal point, taking your focus away from stressful thoughts.

Our bodies hold the stories and experiences of our past. Clearing stagnation and creating space in the body is essential for fostering mental clarity and the freedom to welcome new stories, experiences, and ways of thinking. Entering a new year is a powerful time to create intention around what we would like to create for the year ahead. It’s important to have both clarity on our desires and the space to receive what we are calling in.

Coming to my mat has always been a space to surrender, a space where I take time to connect with myself. It was on my mat that I first learned what it felt like to embody gratitude as a way of being rather than an external expression. So frequently gratitude is expressed outward, where we thank those around us or recall the things we feel blessed to be surrounded by. External practice is a deeply valuable and important mode of the expression of gratitude, and a practice of gratitude can be so much more.

In the midst of life happening all around us, sometimes it can feel easy to forget the practices that nurture our hearts. We get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, the demands of all of the happenings in our lives and it seems like the practices for ourselves are the first ones to slip away.

In the midst of life happening all around us, sometimes it can feel easy to forget the practices that nurture our hearts. We get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, the demands of all of the happenings in our lives and it seems like the practices for ourselves are the first ones to slip away.

In the same way that we see leaves fall away from the trees, this season is the time for us to shed some of the clutter we’ve picked up over the course of this past year. We’re well into Vata season by now and this airy energy tends to leave us feeling as if we are a part of the fallen leaves, drifting in the wind. Both fortunately and unfortunately, this feeling is completely normal. If you’re experiencing anything that feels overwhelming or ungrounding, you are not alone.

As the brisk air of autumn arrives, we are reminded that vata season is approaching. The cycles of nature move in different forms and at different times depending on where you are located. Vata season is present during the time of year that most embodies the qualities of the vata dosha: dry, airy, light, cold, changeable, and mobile.

We live in a world that is largely created using straight lines, boxes, and sharp angles. We see it in the steel frame of a new building being built, in the grid structure of big city streets, even on our highways, outlined in colors and dashed lines. It’s no wonder we crave routine in our daily lives, the world we live in guides us towards structure at every turn. When we get caught up in structure and hard lines it’s easy to forget the natural ebb and flow that we embody.