Solstice. Rest. Warmth. Peace.
Health. Stillness. Reflection.
Paris, December 2022
This year, I have been fortunate to witness once again how the practice of yoga can improve life for those of us facing serious challenges; how it can provide the calm and quiet needed to make difficult, life-changing decisions and face them with grace and quiet determination; how it can bring acceptance and eventually joy back to the relationship with one’s own body.
I find this work deeply rewarding, and yet I know that, in most cases, I am merely opening a door. Once that door is opened, however, so many more things become possible. Awakening becomes possible. If I could wish for one thing with respect to this work, it would be to have more time to devote to the scholarly aspects of yoga study. So when opportunities to go deeper present themselves, I do my best to take them.
This time of year is the time for just that — to go deeper. As full of activity as the season can be, if possible, I wish you moments, here and there, to become still and listen to the sound of your breath, as if you were listening to the wind in the trees or the waves on the beach. It is all the same. We are all breathing. We are all connected. Mammalian amniotic fluid holds the same amount of salt as sea water. Cosmic dust is the source of nearly all the elements that are found in the human body. What we think/believe/do is fed into this matrix that connects us to everything else. The practice of yoga provides a way of connecting on a deeper level; and the deeper we connect, the stronger the matrix. The more good energy we put into it, the more love and support we can receive from it.
May you have a wonderful New Year.
Namaste.