Stepping Back for Ease. A Gift.
The holidays can be amazing and complicated; jubilant and crazy-making; overstimulating and lonely all at once. Even when we’re joyful, there’s the added stress of finding and paying for gifts, and often many preparations. For some of us it might mean attending holiday events with difficult family members. For others of us, whose family circumstances have changed, it might mean spending more time than we wish alone.
This year, I can check the box on all three of these categories! A nearly 50-year spiritual practice of yoga and meditation has not immunized me from stress, grief, disappointment or betrayal. But I have learned a few strategies over the years. I know that if I can step back into a wider awareness, where I am less constricted by my mood or the current story, I feel better.
Here are three ways that I step back, and I will lead you in the 3rd way, below.
- Exercise: I include asana practice, a routine at the gym, walking, bike riding, swimming and dancing–my favorite being hatha yoga and dancing. Whether it’s whirling around the living room to the Broadway musicals my mother loved when I was eight, or grooving to
my favorite live bands in Tucson, dancing makes me happy. For you, it might be another form of exercise, but whatever it is, get up, get out, and DO it. - Nature: There is nothing like fresh air, whether it’s in the mountains, in the desert, by the sea, or in your own neighborhood. I feel more spacious when I can be outside. My shoulders relax, my eyes soften, and there’s more room inside for me.
- Mantra Chanting as a portal to meditation: I prefer the vibrational tones of the oldest language in the world, Sanskrit. However, you may find a prayer or chant in another language that clears the space for your mind to find peace in the midst of holiday stress. This chant is a favorite, so click here to join me:
Stay safe, stay well!
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Coming up in January:
Yoga for Depression & Anxiety Live Training
Jan 6-8, 2023 live online with Inner Peace Yoga Therapy
Navayogimarga | The Modern Yogi’s Path:
An Online Yoga Festival Jan 16-22, 2023
Part I: Iyengar Yoga Intensive Sessions, Mon 16 – Fri 20
Part II: Open Weekend Sessions, Fri 20 – Sun 22
The Navayogirama Festival is intended as a gathering where, guided by a cadre of premier international teachers from many traditions, who share their deeply personal experiences and practices, issues like these may be explored by us all. The Festival will give us the opportunity to celebrate yoga in the spirit of gratitude for where we have all come from, and participate in the conversation about the multitude of ways our international yoga community, and every individual within it, might be heard and nurtured going forward. Not to be missed, this will be an amazing way to start 2023! Use code AWE1 for a special discount… More…
And, Save the Dates- registration info to come!
Kripalu May 26 – 29
Practices to Shift Depression and Anxiety, Yoga For Your Mood Immersion
Kripalu July 2- 7
Trauma-Informed Practices to Restore Your Nervous System, Yoga For Your Mood Immersion with Joanne Spence
Cape Cod Institute July 31- Aug 4
IFS (Internal Family Systems) and LFY Immersion
More on
Relief is available. Stay safe, stay well.