Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, celebrated over five days each autumn. In 2026, the main day falls on Sunday, November 8. The spiritual meaning of Diwali centers on light overcoming darkness. On the night of Diwali, families clean their homes, light rows of small oil lamps, and welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance and good fortune, inside.

Diwali is a living, sacred holiday for hundreds of millions of people, and Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains each celebrate it with their own stories. What I’m sharing here comes from years of teaching about Lakshmi on the mat. It’s what this festival has taught me about clearing space, setting an intention, and actually letting good things in, especially in the darker seasons of life.

In this post

• What is Diwali?
• What is the spiritual meaning of Diwali?
• Why is Lakshmi welcomed on Diwali?
• What can Diwali teach us about receiving?
• Why is Diwali celebrated on a new moon?
• How do you set an intention for Diwali?
• A simple Diwali practice you can do at home
• How to honor Diwali respectfully
• Diwali FAQ

What is Diwali?

Diwali is a five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and around the world, usually in October or November. The name comes from the Sanskrit deepavali, meaning “row of lamps.”

The main day falls on the new moon of the Hindu month of Kartik. Homes are cleaned top to bottom. Small clay oil lamps called diyas line windows, doorways, and rooftops. Families draw rangoli, colorful patterns made from powder or flowers, at the entrance to their homes, and they share sweets, gifts, and meals.

There are many stories behind Diwali, depending on where and how it’s celebrated. One of the best known comes from the Ramayana. When Rama returned home to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile, the people lit lamps to light his way. Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas at the same time, and Jains mark the liberation of Mahavira.

What is the spiritual meaning of Diwali?

The spiritual meaning of Diwali is the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over harm. The lamps are the outward sign. The inner meaning is remembering the light that’s already in you.

This is the part that speaks to me as a yoga teacher. In yoga, light is often used as a word for awareness, the part of you that can see clearly. Most of us don’t lose that light. We just get busy enough, tired enough, and needed enough that we stop noticing it.

Why is Lakshmi welcomed on Diwali?

Lakshmi is worshipped on the main night of Diwali because she’s the goddess of abundance, prosperity, and good fortune, and tradition holds that she visits homes that are clean, bright, and open to her. Families light lamps, leave doors and windows open, and sometimes draw small footprints at the entrance leading inside, so she can find her way in.

For many families and business communities, this is also a time to close out the old year’s accounts and begin fresh. For some communities, especially in Gujarat, the new year begins the day after Diwali.

I’ve written about Lakshmi before. She’s a goddess of abundance, yes, but in yoga she’s also the one we call on to move from a mindset of fear and lack toward one of generosity and gratitude. You can read more about her story, her mantra, and her mudra in The Goddess Lakshmi and the Art of Giving and Receiving.

What can Diwali teach us about receiving?

Diwali is a reminder that receiving takes preparation. Before Lakshmi is welcomed, the house is cleaned, the lamps are lit, and the door is left open.

Most of the women I teach are very good at giving. They give their time, attention, energy, and care, often long past empty. Receiving is harder. Accepting help. Resting before everything is done. Letting a compliment land. Saying yes when someone offers.

I wrote in my Lakshmi post that I will run myself into the ground before asking for help. I know I’m not alone in that.

Opening the door isn’t about deserving more once you’ve finally done enough. You don’t need to earn rest, and you don’t need to earn good things coming your way. The practice is making room, both in your home and in your days, and then letting yourself have what arrives.

Why is Diwali celebrated on a new moon?

Diwali falls on amavasya, the new moon, which is the darkest night of the lunar month. The lamps are lit at the darkest point, not after things brighten up on their own.

I find that useful. Most of us wait until we feel better, have more time, or have things figured out before we do the thing that would actually help.

The new moon is also traditionally a time to pause, rest, and begin again. If this season has felt heavy, that’s a good reason to mark it, not a reason to skip it.

How do you set an intention for Diwali?

To set an intention for Diwali, name one specific thing you’re ready to make room for in the year ahead, and one action you’ll take to make room for it. In yoga, this kind of heartfelt intention is called a sankalpa.

Setting an intention isn’t wishing. It’s giving your brain a clear target. When you get specific about what matters to you, your brain’s reticular activating system (the part that filters what you notice) starts picking up the opportunities, people, and information that match it. Your job is to act on what shows up.

A vague intention like “more abundance” is hard for your brain to work with. Something like “I want to ask for help before I’m exhausted” or “I want two unscheduled hours every weekend” gives it something real to notice, and gives you something real to do.

A simple Diwali practice you can do at home

This takes about twenty minutes. You don’t need any special supplies, just a candle or lamp, a journal, and a quiet corner.

1. Clear one small space. Not the whole house. Just a windowsill, a nightstand, or a corner of your desk. Take everything off, wipe it down, and only put back what you actually want there. Notice how it feels to make room on purpose.
2. Light a lamp. A diya, a candle, or even a single tea light. Set it in the space you just cleared. Never leave a flame unattended.
3. Take Padma Mudra. Bring your palms together in front of your heart. Keep your thumbs, pinkies, and wrists touching, and spread the other fingers apart like a lotus opening. Breathe here for ten slow breaths.
4. Chant the Lakshmi mantra. Om Shrim Maha Lakshmyai Namaha (ohm shreem muh-hah luhk-shmyai nuh-muh-huh). It means “Om, I offer salutations to the great goddess of good fortune.” Chant it out loud or silently, a few rounds or 108 times if you have a mala.
5. Journal three questions.
   • What am I ready to clear out, let go of, or stop carrying?
   • What am I ready to receive this year? Be specific.
   • What’s one action I’ll take this week to make room for it?
6. Open the door. If it’s safe and comfortable, open a door or window for a minute before you blow out the lamp. It’s a small, physical way to say yes.

How to honor Diwali respectfully

You can honor Diwali respectfully by learning about it from the people who celebrate it, accepting invitations when they come, and treating it as a sacred holiday rather than a theme. Many Hindu temples and community centers host public Diwali events that welcome visitors. Wishing a friend or neighbor “Happy Diwali” goes a long way, too.

The at-home practice above isn’t a Diwali puja. It’s a yoga practice inspired by the season, and that’s how I’d share it with others.

Diwali FAQ

Make room for yourself

Most of us rarely give ourselves this kind of space anymore. A cleared windowsill, a lit candle, and twenty quiet minutes is a good place to start.

And if you’re craving more space than an evening can hold, that’s exactly what our retreats are for. See upcoming retreats →

Happy Diwali.

Love,
Autumn

The post The Spiritual Meaning of Diwali: Light, Lakshmi, and Letting Yourself Receive appeared first on Ambuja Yoga.

The best yoga philosophy books don’t read like textbooks. They read like stories, and the wisdom arrives while you’re busy following the plot.

That’s my whole filter for this list. Six books, none of them about asana, all of them about living the thing rather than studying it.

When I finished my first 200-hour, I remember the specific feeling of having barely scratched the surface. I was hungry in a way the training hadn’t satisfied. Over the years since, I’ve read a lot of yoga books — philosophy, anatomy, history, and everything strange and mystical in between. These are the ones I keep returning to, the ones with dog-eared corners and underlining in three different colors of ink.

They come on retreat with me. We talk about them in teacher training. I’ve handed them to fellow teachers, to students, and to people with no interest in yoga whatsoever who came back a month later wanting to talk about them.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the book links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’d recommend every book here either way — this is what I actually assign.

What’s in this post

1. What makes a yoga philosophy book worth reading
2. The Bhagavad Gita — Stephen Mitchell
3. The Secret Power of Yoga — Nischala Joy Devi
4. The Path of the Yoga Sutras — Nicolai Bachman
5. Autobiography of a Yogi — Paramhansa Yogananda
6. How Yoga Works — Geshe Michael Roach
7. The Stories Behind the Poses — Raj Balkaran
8. Where to start
9. Frequently asked questions

What makes a yoga philosophy book worth reading

A good philosophy book gives you something you can teach from, not just something you know.

That’s a real distinction. There are texts I can summarize accurately and have never once used in a class, and there are books I’ve quoted from the front of the room a hundred times. The difference is usually whether the ideas arrived attached to a story, a person, or a moment I could picture.

None of these six are about poses. They’re about the other seven limbs — the parts of the practice that shape how you move through a day, handle a hard conversation, or sit with something you can’t fix.

If you’re building a class around an idea rather than a body part, this is where the ideas come from.

The Bhagavad Gita — Stephen Mitchell translation

Start here if you only read one.

The Gita is one of the core texts of Hinduism, and it holds the teaching that sits underneath most of what we call yoga philosophy: act, fully and well, without gripping the outcome. Arjuna is frozen on a battlefield, unable to choose. Krishna talks him through it. That’s the whole frame, and it turns out to be enough to carry an extraordinary amount of wisdom.

I first read it in high school, studied a different translation in college, and have read several since — some good, some not.

Mitchell’s is the one I recommend. He’s a poet, and it shows. The story stays in motion because he keeps his commentary out of the body of the text, which some translations don’t. You feel like you’re standing on the field rather than reading footnotes about it.

The audiobook is worth knowing about too. It’s read beautifully, and hearing it lands differently than reading it — closer to how the text would originally have been received.

A note on translation. Mitchell is interpretive rather than literal, which is exactly why it reads so well and also why some scholars prefer other versions. If you later want something closer to the Sanskrit, that’s a good instinct to follow. But for a first read, or for finding language you’d actually say out loud in a class, this is the one.

The Secret Power of Yoga — Nischala Joy Devi

The Yoga Sutras, read through a woman’s lived experience.

Which matters more than it might sound like. The Sutras were compiled by and largely for male renunciates — men who had left ordinary life behind. Most of us have not. You have a job and probably people who need things from you, and the traditional commentaries were not written with that life in mind.

Devi reads Patanjali from inside that reality. Her rendering is warm, and it’s interpretive enough that some scholars push back on it. That criticism is fair and worth carrying while you read.

I still think it belongs on any teacher’s shelf, particularly if you teach women. It gives you access to the Sutras as something you can live rather than something you have to decode.

Get the Revised Edition — A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras.

The Path of the Yoga Sutras — Nicolai Bachman

The scholar’s counterweight, and the most useful entry point to the Sutras I’ve found.

Bachman knows Sanskrit cold, but he doesn’t write like it. He takes the concepts one at a time rather than marching through the sutras in order, and he includes journaling exercises and contemplative practices so you’re doing something with each idea rather than just filing it away.

Read it alongside Devi. One gives you the felt sense, the other gives you the precision. Together they’re better than either alone, and you’ll notice quickly where they disagree — which is its own education.

Autobiography of a Yogi — Paramhansa Yogananda

The book most yoga teachers get to eventually.

In 1999 a panel of theologians named it one of the hundred most important spiritual books of the twentieth century, and it earned that. It follows Yogananda from a childhood in India, through a long search for his guru, to bringing Kriya Yoga to America in the 1920s.

It takes a moment to settle into his writing. Once you do, it carries you.

What stayed with me isn’t the miracles, though there are plenty. It’s the picture of a life organized entirely around one question, and how ordinary that looks from the inside.

How Yoga Works — Geshe Michael Roach

The Yoga Sutras, delivered as a novel.

A young woman named Friday is imprisoned near the Tibetan border, held because her captors believe she’s stolen the Yoga Sutras. Over the course of her captivity, she teaches the text to the man holding her.

It’s long. It’s also the book I’ve handed to more non-yogis than any other, because the teaching arrives through the story rather than around it. You finish it having absorbed a genuine amount of the Sutras without ever sitting down to study them.

If the Sutras have felt dry to you, this is the way in.

The Stories Behind the Poses — Raj Balkaran

Fifty poses, fifty stories, told by an actual scholar of Indian religions.

This one earns its place for a specific reason. A great deal of the pose-origin material circulating in yoga culture is half-remembered, garbled in transmission, or invented outright — teachers passing along what they heard in their own training, which was passed along to them the same way.

Balkaran is a scholar of Indian religions, and this is where you look something up before you say it from the front of a room.

It’s also, unexpectedly, a lovely book to read straight through.

A note on language, while we’re here. You’ll see these stories called “myths” all over yoga writing, including by people who mean no harm by it. In everyday English, “myth” implies something untrue. Within Hindu tradition, the Ramayana and Mahabharata are classified as itihāsa — literally “so it happened” — and held as living scripture by people practicing today. “Story” and “teaching” do the same work without the implication. Worth adjusting if it’s not already how you speak.

Where to start

If you’re new to yoga philosophy, read them in this order:

1. How Yoga Works — the easiest entry, and it teaches the Sutras sideways
2. The Bhagavad Gita (Mitchell) — the foundational text, in its most readable form
3. The Path of the Yoga Sutras — now go back and study the Sutras properly
4. The Secret Power of Yoga — read alongside Bachman for the contrast
5. The Stories Behind the Poses — reference it as your teaching needs it
6. Autobiography of a Yogi — whenever you’re ready for a long one

None of this is a race. I’ve been at these for years and still find new things in them. Different teachings land differently during different seasons of life.

We read some of these in teacher training. And all of them are woven in. Inner Alchemy: Root & Radiance is our 200-hour hybrid program for women — online study plus two in-person immersions, one in Bend, Oregon and one on the coast of Nicaragua. Philosophy sits alongside women’s anatomy across the lifespan, nervous system science, and consent-based teaching.

See what’s included →

If you want the full required reading list rather than the philosophy shelf, it’s here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Love,
Autumn

The post The Yoga Philosophy Books That Changed How I Practice appeared first on Ambuja Yoga.

I’ve been teaching yoga for over a decade now. If you’d walked into my class ten years ago, you’d have met a pretty different teacher — and the biggest change isn’t my sequencing or my playlists. It’s what I now believe my actual job is.

For a long time, I thought my job was to tell you what to do with your body. These days I think it’s closer to the opposite. My job is to help you trust yourself on the yoga mat again — to help you remember that, underneath all the cues, you already know.

Here’s how I got there, why it matters, and how you can start practicing it — whether this is your first week on the mat or your twentieth year.

In this post

• My teaching has changed a lot — here’s where it has landed
• What does it mean to trust yourself on the mat?
• What is svadhyaya, and why it belongs here
• Can you actually train your intuition? What the science says
• Why the best teachers hand the agency back
• This is really practice for your whole life
• A simple way to start
• FAQ

My teaching has changed a lot — here’s where it has landed

Back when I started, my teaching was performative. It was the era of Instagram yoga challenges and flashy pants, and I was right there in it — I wanted my classes to look good. Then came my alignment era, where I cued every little angle like there was one right way to do a pose. Then I swung the other way, into flowy, creative sequencing, the kind of class that moves like a dance.

Every version was real. Every one taught me something.

And here’s the thing — none of those eras were wrong, and I didn’t leave them behind. I still love a challenging pose every now and then. Anatomy and alignment still matter to me. They serve a real purpose. So does the freedom of a flowy, creative practice. All of it has its place.

But where I’ve landed after all these years feels like a natural progression — a maturing. Like every one of those phases was quietly walking me here, to the first place that feels fully right and true. And it comes down to this: the most useful thing I can do as a teacher isn’t to correct you. It’s to help you build the self-trust to feel your own way through.

What does it mean to trust yourself on the mat?

Trusting yourself on the mat means treating a teacher’s cues as invitations rather than commands — noticing how each one actually lands in your body, and giving yourself permission to adjust, skip, stay, or explore based on what you find.

That’s it. It sounds simple, but for a lot of us it’s a genuine relearning.

Most of us were taught to follow. To do the pose the way it’s shown. To keep up. To not make it weird. So we spend a whole class overriding our own signals — pushing into a stretch that’s asking us to back off, moving on when our body wanted to stay, holding a shape that hurts because everyone else is holding it.

Trying things on for size is the antidote. If a cue doesn’t fit, change it. If a pose isn’t landing, get curious instead of forcing it. If your body wants to stay in child’s pose while the room moves on — stay. You’re allowed. Nobody in that room knows your body better than you do.

A guest from one of my Sedona retreats described the feeling better than I can:

“She gives you options for how to get into a pose, and she commands the room in a very gentle way that you feel safe. She makes the room a place where you can practice in your own space and not worry about anyone else.” — Bridget C., Rooted & Wild, Sedona

What is svadhyaya, and why it belongs here

Svadhyaya is a Sanskrit word that means self-study. It’s one of the niyamas — the practices of self-care and inner observation woven through classical yoga — and long before anyone was talking about autonomy or agency, it was pointing at the same thing: turn your attention inward, and get to know yourself directly.

Not through a book. Not through a teacher’s authority. Through your own noticing.

That’s what a yoga practice can be, if you let it. Not a performance of poses, but a few quiet minutes of asking how does this actually feel? and being willing to hear the answer. The mat is one of the few places in modern life designed for exactly that kind of listening.

Can you actually train your intuition? What the science says

To a real degree, yes — and there’s a name for the thing you’re training. It’s called interoception: your brain’s ability to sense what’s actually happening inside your body. Your heartbeat, your breath, the tension in your jaw, the difference between “this is a good stretch” and “this is my body saying stop.”

Interoception is the physical basis of a lot of what we casually call intuition. And the encouraging part is that it behaves like a muscle — it responds to practice.

A 2015 review in Frontiers in Psychology laid out how contemplative practices like yoga and meditation work partly by cultivating this inner sense. And a 2025 meta-analysis in Scientific Reports, pooling 29 randomized trials with more than 2,000 participants, found that mindfulness training produced a small-to-moderate improvement in people’s interoceptive awareness. It’s not a magic switch, and the effect is modest — but the direction is clear. Turning your attention inward, on purpose, over time, changes how well you can hear yourself.

That’s not woo. That’s you rebuilding trust with your own body, one practice at a time. And every time you pause on the mat and ask does this feel right for me? instead of just following along, you’re strengthening exactly that.

If a weekly nudge in this direction sounds good, I send one small, science-backed practice every Monday — you can join Mindful Monday below. One email a week, no fluff.

Why the best teachers hand the agency back

The best teachers don’t try to control every choice you make on the mat. They help you build the self-trust to make those choices yourself.

I say this partly for the teachers reading — and there are always a few of you. It’s easy to confuse being helpful with being in control. To over-cue. To fix every misalignment. To turn our own knowledge into the room’s only source of authority. I’ve done all of it. But a class where the teacher makes every decision is a class where students never practice making their own.

Guiding is different from managing. A guide points at the terrain and helps you read it. A guide hands you the map and then, eventually, helps you notice you don’t need it as much as you thought. That’s the job I’m actually interested in now.

This is really practice for your whole life

Here’s what took me years to see clearly: what you practice on the mat, you practice everywhere.

If you spend an hour learning to notice what your body is telling you and honor it — even in something as small as softening a pose — you’re rehearsing a skill you desperately need off the mat too. Because most of the women I teach are extraordinarily good at reading everyone else’s needs and slower to trust their own.

You already know how to sense what your kids need, what your team needs, what the room needs. This is practice for turning some of that attention back toward yourself. For noticing what you actually want, and believing it counts.

That’s the real reason I care about this so much. Self-trust on the mat is small. But it’s the same muscle you use to make the bigger calls — the ones about your work, your relationships, the shape of the life you actually want to be living. And the life you want gets a lot more reachable once you can hear your own voice over the noise.

A simple way to start

You don’t need a new practice or a special class for this. You need one small shift in attention. Try this the next few times you’re on the mat:

• Pause once, on purpose. Somewhere in the middle of a pose, stop and ask yourself one question: how does this actually feel? Not “am I doing it right” — how does it feel.
• Honor the answer. If the answer is “too much,” back off. If it’s “I want more,” take more. If it’s “I’d rather rest,” rest. The answer isn’t wrong. It’s information.
• Let a cue be an invitation. The next time a teacher (me included) offers a cue that doesn’t fit your body, change it — and notice that nothing bad happens. That’s the whole practice.

Do that a few times and something quietly shifts. You stop practicing yoga at your body and start practicing with it.

That’s what I want for you — on the mat, and everywhere else. It’s the heart of what we practice together on retreat, too, but you don’t need to go anywhere to begin. Your own mat, today, is plenty.

With love,
Autumn

About Autumn

Autumn Adams is a yoga teacher (E-RYT 500, YACEP) and the founder of Ambuja Yoga, where she’s led 40+ women’s retreats and taught 700+ women over 13 years. She’s the author of The Little Book of Mudra Meditations, and her work has been featured in Insider, Shape, Zappos, and Asia Spa. She teaches manifestation and mindset the grounded way — through neuroscience, nervous system regulation, and aligned action. Learn more about Autumn →

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to be experienced at yoga to trust your body on the mat? No. You do not need any experience to trust your body on the mat. In fact, beginners often have an easier time, because they haven’t yet learned to override their own signals to keep up. Trusting yourself on the yoga mat is a skill anyone can practice from their very first class. This is what we do on retreat… you can learn more about what to expect at your first retreat here.

Is it disrespectful to modify or skip a pose the teacher cues? No. A good teacher offers cues as invitations, not commands, and welcomes you adjusting, resting, or skipping based on what your body needs. Modifying a pose is a sign that you’re practicing well, not that you’re doing something wrong.

What is svadhyaya in yoga? Svadhyaya is a Sanskrit word meaning self-study. It is one of the niyamas in classical yoga and refers to turning your attention inward to observe and understand yourself directly, rather than relying only on outside instruction.

Can intuition actually be trained? To a degree, yes. Much of what we call intuition is built on interoception — the brain’s ability to sense the body’s internal state — and research on yoga and mindfulness suggests this capacity can be strengthened with consistent practice.

What does interoception mean? Interoception is your ability to sense what is happening inside your body, such as your heartbeat, breathing, hunger, tension, or the difference between a productive stretch and pain. It is considered the physical foundation of body awareness and much of intuition.

How do I start trusting myself on the mat if I’m used to just following along? Start small. During your practice, pause once and ask yourself how a pose actually feels, then honor the answer by adjusting, resting, or staying. Over time, treating cues as invitations rather than commands rebuilds your trust in your own body.

Isn’t the point of a yoga class to follow the teacher? A teacher’s role is to guide and offer options, not to override your judgment about your own body. The most useful thing a class can build is your ability to make your own choices on the mat — which is a skill that serves you well beyond yoga.

The Research

Farb, N. A. S., Daubenmier, J., Price, C. J., Gard, T., Kerr, C., Dunn, B. D., Klein, A. C., Paulus, M. P., & Mehling, W. E. (2015). Interoception, contemplative practice, and health. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 763. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00763

Meta-analysis of the effects of mindfulness meditation training on self-reported interoception (2025). Scientific Reports.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-22661-4(29 RCTs, N ≈ 2,191; small-to-moderate positive effect, g = 0.31.)

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I’ve been practicing yoga for over two decades… nearly three! And, to be fully transparent, there was a time when stepping onto my yoga mat felt more like stepping onto a stage.

I’d roll it out right at the front of the room.
Wearing the right leggings.
Doing the hard variations.
Trying to look like the kind of yoga teacher who had it all together.

And if I’m honest, that performance mindset didn’t stop when class ended.
It followed me everywhere — in my work, in my relationships, in my role as a teacher, partner, leader, woman.

Performing. Proving. Perfecting. All day long. Everyday. 

Until one day — without planning, without a dramatic decision — I quietly pulled my mat to the back of the room.

My intuition was speaking up and I was just quiet enough to hear it.
And as I settled onto my mat, I felt something in me soften… and listen.

That small move? Created a (much needed) shift in perspective.

The Shift From Performance to Presence

In yoga, we often hear the phrase “just show up on your mat.”
But what if how we show up matters just as much as that we show up?

That day in the back row, I stopped performing, stopped “perfecting”, and started practicing — truly, deeply, authentically.

I slowed down.
I breathed deeper.
I skipped poses.
I listened to my body instead of overriding it. In my previous life, I was a competitive dancer and I knew very well how to push through discomfort to get the perfect shape, but “just being” in a shape had been elusive.

That day, I let go of doing yoga right and started letting yoga the practice work on me.

And slowly, something sacred started to unfold:

• My nervous system began to relax
• The internal pressure eased
• My heart opened
• My mind grew quieter
• Tension melted

I had found my way back to the true heart of yoga — not just the poses, but the practice.

The 8 Limbs of Yoga: A Return to Yoga’s Foundation

What I was experiencing was what the ancient yogic texts have always taught — yoga isn’t just about stretching or strength. It’s a path toward inner stillness, self-awareness, and spiritual connection.

As outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, the 8 Limbs of Yoga offer a complete guide to a more conscious life:

1. Yamas (ethical principles)
2. Niyamas (personal observances)
3. Asana (physical postures)
4. Pranayama (breath control)
5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses)
6. Dharana (concentration)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (bliss or union)

That moment — quietly taking my mat to the back of the room — was a practice in:

• Ahimsa: Non-harming. I stopped pushing past my limits.
• Svadhyaya: Self-study. I started to notice why I felt the need to prove myself.
• Dhyana: Meditation. I listened inwardly, rather than outwardly.

It was no longer about the posture.
It was about the presence inside the posture.

As restorative teacher Judith Hanson Lasater reminds us:

Yoga is not about touching your toes. It’s about what you learn on the way down.

Yoga as Nervous System Healing

In our fast-paced, productivity-obsessed world, we’re often praised for how much we can do — even in our wellness practices.

But true yoga invites us to be.
To listen.
To feel.
To pause.
To come home to ourselves.

As science now shows, mindful movement, deep breathing, and intentional rest — the foundations of many yoga practices — directly support nervous system regulation and help us shift from chronic fight-or-flight into states of rest, healing, and integration.

When we stop performing and start practicing, we don’t just change our yoga.
We change our lives.

How Do You Use Yoga for Nervous System Regulation?

You regulate your nervous system through yoga by slowing your breath, lengthening your exhale, and giving your body simple, repeatable signals of safety. You don’t need a 90-minute practice or a single advanced pose. Here are three I come back to — especially on the days I catch myself performing again:

• Longer exhales. Breathe in for a count of four, out for a count of six. A longer exhale tells your vagus nerve it’s safe to downshift out of fight-or-flight. Two minutes is enough to feel the change.
• Legs up the wall. Lie on your back with your legs resting up a wall for five to ten minutes. Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly. It’s one of the most reliable ways to drop into rest-and-digest — no effort, no shape to get right. Bonus points if you add your longer exhales.
• One pose, fully felt. Pick a single shape — child’s pose, a slow forward fold, a supported heart opener — and stay long enough to stop doing it and start feeling it. That shift from overriding your body to listening to it is the whole practice.

None of this is about discipline. It’s about practice. It’s about repetition. Your nervous system learns safety the same way it learned stress — a little at a time. And on the other side of that softening is the part most of us forgot we were missing: feeling awake in your own life again, laughing more easily, actually here.

An Invitation: Step Back to Move Forward

If you’ve been feeling the pressure to keep up, to push harder, or to perform — both on your mat and in your life — I see you.

And I invite you to try something different.

Pull your mat to the back of the room.
Close your eyes.
Breathe.

Ask yourself, gently:

What would it feel like to honor myself — not just in this practice, but in my whole life?

Let your yoga be a place where you return to yourself — not prove yourself.

Curious where this practice goes deeper? Our next Yoga Teacher Training opens soon — less about certification, more about transformation from the inside out. Join the waitlist → and you’ll be the first to hear.

The Questions I Hear Most About Yoga & the Nervous System

Can yoga really help regulate your nervous system? Yes, absolutely. Yoga supports nervous system regulation by activating the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state through slow movement, longer exhales, and mindful attention. Research links regular practice to improved heart rate variability and lower stress. When taught skillfully, even a strong vinyasa class can help regulate your nervous system (we’ll dig into this in another post).

What is yoga for nervous system regulation? Yoga for nervous system regulation is the use of breath, gentle movement, awareness, and stillness to shift your body out of chronic fight-or-flight and into a calmer, more balanced state. It’s less about flexibility and more about teaching your body what safety feels like again.

Do you need to be experienced at yoga for this to work? No. You do not need any yoga experience to use yoga for nervous system regulation. The most effective practices — slow breathing, legs up the wall, resting in a single pose — require no skill, no flexibility, and no prior practice.

How long does it take to feel calmer? Often just a few minutes. A two-minute breathing practice with a longer exhale can shift your state in one sitting. Lasting regulation, though, comes from small, repeated practice over time — not a single session.

What are the best yoga poses for stress and burnout? Restorative, low-effort shapes work best for stress and burnout: legs up the wall, child’s pose, supported reclined positions, and slow forward folds. The goal isn’t intensity — it’s giving an overworked nervous system permission to rest.

Is this the same as a regular yoga class? Not always. Many fast-paced or performance-focused classes keep the body activated. Nervous system regulation prioritizes slowness, breath, and rest — which is why a gentle or restorative practice is often more effective when you’re depleted.

Can yoga help with perimenopause and sleep? Yes, indirectly. By calming the nervous system, yoga can ease the stress response that worsens sleep, mood, and tension — symptoms many women notice intensify during perimenopause. It’s a supportive practice, not a medical treatment.

How does this connect to a yoga retreat? A retreat gives your nervous system days, not minutes, to downshift — which is when deeper regulation actually happens. Stepping away from constant demands, sleeping well, and moving slowly is often what lets the body finally come out of survival mode.

The Practice Continues…

This shift in my own practice laid the groundwork for how I now teach, lead retreats, and create sacred space for others. It’s why so many women join us on our retreats feeling burned out, disconnected, or stuck — and leave feeling grounded, radiant, and clear.

If your nervous system needs more than a few minutes — if it needs a few days — that’s what our retreats are for. A space to slow down, sleep deeply, and remember what it feels like to be in your own life again.

See upcoming retreats →

And if you’ve ever felt your intuition whisper — maybe I want to go deeper… maybe even become a teacher someday… we’ll be sharing details soon about our upcoming Yoga Teacher Training. This path isn’t just about certification. It’s about transformation from the inside out.

Stay close. Keep listening.
Your mat — your practice — your path is waiting.

With love,
Autumn

The post Why I Moved My Yoga Mat to the Back of the Room (And What I Found There) appeared first on Ambuja Yoga.

The other day, I found myself spiraling.

Atlas is only in school a few hours a week now. We’d hoped for more structure, more space — but the other program just wasn’t the right fit. And choosing what was best for him meant letting go of what I’d envisioned for me.

So now he’s home more, and while I adore this time with him, it’s also real. It’s real hard. I get interrupted 47 times before I can finish an email. Work moves MUCH slower. Launches take longer. I feel stretched — and sometimes resentful. Projects start and stop. I forget where I left off.

There was a moment last week when I stood in the kitchen with tears welling up, thinking:

“This is not how it was supposed to go.”

We desperately needed an attitude adjustment, so we packed our backpacks and went hiking instead. Out to Tumalo Falls. Out to the trees. Out to the water and the wind.

My mom joined us spontaneously. Atlas built pine straw boats next to the creek. We climbed. We laughed. We ate a bunch of chocolate. We watched the waterfall from the very top. And just like that — I could breathe again.

Not because anything changed. But because I chose differently.

There’s an old parable I keep coming back to, especially in seasons like this — the story of Two Wolves. You’ll often see it told as a Cherokee teaching, though its real origins are actually debated. I share it here not as anyone’s tradition, but because it’s a beautiful reminder of our ability to choose what we feed. It goes like this:

A grandfather is teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he says to the boy. “It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves.

One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it and then asked: “Which wolf will win?”

The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”

What Are You Feeding?

That parable lands differently when you’re in a season where nothing feels easy. When the inbox is full. When your child needs you constantly. When your work, your joy, and your own nervous system feel stretched to their edges.

Even when we can’t control the circumstances, we can choose what we feed.

And here’s the part that makes this more than a nice story: it’s basically how attention works. What you repeatedly focus on, your brain gets better at finding. Your reticular activating system — the filter that decides what you notice — starts scanning for whatever you’ve been feeding it. Feed frustration, and you’ll spot every reason to be frustrated. Feed wonder, and your brain starts handing you things to feel wonder about. That’s not woo — that’s neuroplasticity. The wolf you feed really does get stronger, because you’re strengthening the pathways you use most.

And the trail itself wasn’t incidental. Movement, nature, and a couple of people you love are three of the fastest ways to shift your nervous system out of that stretched-thin, fight-or-flight place. I didn’t think my way calmer at Tumalo Falls. I moved my body, and I let the trees do some of the work.

So on that trail, I could have kept feeding frustration, urgency, resentment. Instead, I fed presence. I fed wonder. I fed joy.

Your Turn: An Invitation to Reflect

You don’t have to hike a mountain to choose differently. You don’t have to “fix” everything before you can feel better.

But you do get to ask:

• What am I feeding today?
• What would joy look like right here, even in the imperfection?
• What would it feel like to choose presence over pressure, even for five minutes?

It’s not about ignoring the hard. It’s about remembering that we still have power inside it.

So wherever you are — in motherhood, business, burnout, or somewhere in between — know this:

A fulfilled life is not a perfect one. It’s a chosen one.

And you get to choose again, right now.

Mindful Monday. This is the kind of thing I write about every week — a little nervous system science, a little real life, one small practice you can actually use. If it’s your kind of thing, come join us — it’s free, and it lands in your inbox every Monday.

And when you’re ready for a few days to feed the good wolf on purpose — no inbox, no interruptions, just nature and other women who get it — that’s what our retreats are for.

Or come say hi on Instagram — I’m over there, feeding the good wolf most days. 😉🩵

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Hey there fellow yogis! As a yoga teacher, mama, wife, and retreat leader, my heart is always yearning for ways to deepen my own practice and flourish in my many roles. I’ve always been an avid reader and podcast listener… well, until the tiny human arrived, that is. Now that Atlas is “marginally” more independent, one of my intentions for this year is to reclaim the bits and pieces of myself that I tucked away while nurturing this tiny human and welcome the new parts of me that have come to the forefront while on this motherhood journey. This is my time to reclaim my love of reading, so I’ve gathered and researched to fill my home yoga library with loads of inspiring books on yoga, motherhood, and personal transformation. My desire is to come back to a place that feels a little more harmonious rather than chaotic. Yes, I know the chaos will keep on rolling, but maybe it can feel a little more easeful? I’m hopeful!

I always love sharing what’s currently inspiring me, so I thought I would share what I’m reading this year. We’re definitely a “book house”, but I’ve been reading a lot of picture books over the past couple of years. I am more than ready to read some books that are “just for me”. And while I love reading with Atlas and plan to continue satiating his 15+ books a day habit, I’m so thankful it’s still early in 2024 because there are a lot of books I’m looking forward to reading this year. 

I am beyond excited to dive into some incredible books that will enrich both my personal journey and my offerings to you all. Let’s take a peek at the gems that I am currently reading and what I’m eagerly anticipating. I hope you’ll also find some inspiration here among these great books.

Inspiring Books on Motherhood, Personal Transformation, and Yoga for 2024

Motherhood

Beautiful Chaos by Jessica Urlichs: Jessica writes the most beautiful poetry that captures all of the emotions of motherhood. Her words are so relatable. Many tears have been shed while reading her poetry. Beautiful Chaos is her newest book and the paperback isn’t released yet, so I caved and bought the Kindle version.

Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy: If you’re a parent who strives to be gentle and firm, to be respectful, and provide clear boundaries this one is for you. It’s so insightful and encouraging. Her message is clear: we are all good inside. You’ll likely feel inspired to clear up any childhood or generational trauma of your own.

Yoga

Yoga for Transformation: Ancient Teachings and Practices for Healing the Body, Mind, and Heart by Gary Kraftsow: I’ve been teaching yoga at a power yoga studio, and I feel like my practice has drifted toward the physical. I’m feeling called to get back to the other seven limbs of yoga. I regularly reference Gary Kraftsow’s Yoga for Wellness book, so this felt like the right addition to my yoga library.

The Path of the Yoga Sutras by Nicolai Bachman: I’ve been teaching from this book for years, and it’s time for me to revisit it. This is one of the most accessible yoga sutra books I’ve come across.

Personal Transformation

The Luminous Self by Tracee Stanley: I’m simultaneously reading The Luminous Self and loving it. I love being a mother; however, after having Atlas, I really felt like I lost myself in motherhood. Tracee shares practices that guide you into the depths of your being and help you remember the radiant essence within. I’m loving this book. I look forward to sharing some of these practices in upcoming offerings.

If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie: This book had been circling in my periphery for months (maybe years), and it’s finally landed in my hands. I’m reading it currently and I wish I had picked it up sooner. “If Women Rose Rooted” speaks to the parts of me that feel most at home and most rooted when my feet are planted on the earth. It’s a beautiful book that inspires living in alignment with the cycles of life and nature. I’ve already learned so much! I appreciate Sharon Blackie’s exploration of native mythology, feminine wisdom, and empowerment, while still being gentle, empowering, and encouraging. This is great on Audible and they often have free trials.

The Pivot Year: 365 Days to Become the Person You Truly Want to Be by Brianna Wiest: Ah, the sweet promise of transformation! I’ve been intrigued by Brianna Wiest’s work. When I was choosing my books for the year, I felt like I could start with basically any of her books. It was hard to choose where to start. “The Pivot Year” came last week in the mail and it beckons with daily invitations to self-discovery, growth, and possibility. I appreciate the simplicity of this book as it provides a short one or two-paragraph inspirational reading for each day. The part of me that wants to be “all-in” all the time wants to dive into this book right now. However, I know I need time to integrate the teachings and wisdom from The Luminous Self – so I’ll probably start this one in another month or two.

Rewilding by Micah Mortali: “Rewilding” speaks to me on a primal level. In its own way, it offers a roadmap back to our roots. I look forward to exploring Micah’s blend of yoga, mindfulness, and nature connection to rediscover the wild spirit within. What is rewilding? “Rewilding is a return to our essential nature. It is an attempt to reclaim something of what we were before we used words like ‘civilized’ to define ourselves.” ― Micah Mortali. My soul craves being out in nature with my feet in running water and my hands on the earth!

The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday by Sharon Blackie: Toni brought this book to the Back to Nature Retreat last year. I was able to read the first quarter of it during our downtime and I look forward to finishing it. “The Enchanted Life” speaks of childlike wonder and possibility. It is a beautiful reminder to see the world through eyes alight with curiosity and awe.

Embody Your Inner Goddess by Lauren Leduc: Lauren’s book was recommended by a fellow yogini as we chatted after class about our spiritual journey, seasons of life, motherhood, etc. I took a peek inside and Lauren does an amazing job of honoring the feminine spirit. She offers beautiful practices to nurture, empower, and transform us in a really gentle and accessible way.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz: Simple yet profound, “The Four Agreements” is full of timeless wisdom. Don Miguel Ruiz’s principles serve as gentle reminders to live authentically and walk the path of integrity. This is a great book to revisit again and again. If you like Audible, it’s a short inspiring listen that is great for the car, train, etc.

Each of these books holds the promise of growth, insight, and inspiration. Each book was mindfully chosen for its potential to guide us deeper into the heart of our practice and the essence of who we are. As I eagerly turn the pages, I invite you to join me on this sacred journey of exploration and discovery. What’s inspiring you? What inspiring books are you reading?

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a small affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. The small commissions I earn from the Amazon Affiliate program help cover my basic web hosting fees. I am so grateful for your support.

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The big question of the day is… is it shavasana or savasana? By the time I did my own 200 hour yoga teacher training I was thoroughly confused. I had heard both pronunciations of śavāsana and I had never seen it spelled with all of the diacritical marks. Most of my previous teachers had pronounced it shavasana, but my YTT teacher pronounced it savasana, so which was correct? Shavasana, or corpse posed, is beloved by all and deserves to be pronounced correctly.

Well, both shavasana and savasana are a little correct and a little wrong. Phonetically, shavasana is the correct pronunciation and spelling of our beloved Corpse Pose. However, “savasana” is missing its diacritical marks, so we’re lacking the pronunciation info found when it is translated from the Sanskrit. Follow the pronunciation guide below for spelling. For writing, choose either the phonetic spelling or the transliteration, but don’t spell it “savasana” — it just leads to more confusion for your students and fellow teachers. I’m totally guilty of this. Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Sanskrit: शवासन
Transliteration: śavāsana
Phonetic spelling: shavasana
Pronunciation guide: sha-VAH-suh-nuh

• ś = pronounced as the “sh” in “shoot”
• a = pronounced like the “a” in “about”
• ā = pronounced like the “a” in “yacht”

śava = corpse
āsana = seat

If you really want to geek out on your Sanskrit pronunciation, Graham Schweig has a great pronunciation guide in his version of the Bhagavad Gita. So it’s a win-win, a great copy of the Bhagavad Gita to help you deepen your understanding of yoga philosophy and a Sanskrit pronunciation guide. Graham is an amazing yoga philosophy teacher and frequently gives lectures for the Smithsonian, Embodied Philosophy, and at other venues.

Alright yogi, now go get your shavasana on! And give yourself this opportunity to rest into your essence. If you find that your lower back tends to get cranky during savasana then slide a bolster, (I love Hugger Mugger for restorative yoga and shavasana — they’re a little pricy, but totally worth it) or rolled blanket underneath your knees (like in the illustration above). If your mind tends to race during shavasana try lengthening out your exhales before you settle in, this simple technique can help calm your nervous system. I also have a great yoga nidra script inspired by nature that those with busy minds tend to find helpful. You could record the script yourself and play it back during shavasana or have a friend or partner read it to you.

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Now that we’re on the road, traveling in the RV we seem to be chasing warmer weather, much the same as I have always done, but at a slower pace. We’ve experienced all of nature’s beautiful fury… from giant storms on the Oregon Coast, to monsoon rains in the Redwoods, to snow in Joshua Tree. We’ve experienced her wonder and beauty too… seal pups playing in a calm cove in Florence, the majestic energy of the Redwoods, the first signs of spring in Santa Barbara, hiking on “new to me” trails to discover hidden gems, exploring new cities and visiting familiar ones, and the warmth of the sun on my skin.

This afternoon I’ll throw my yoga mat down in the dust and sand of Joshua Tree N.P. and flow with the sun on my skin and savor every moment.

This is the season of kapha dosha… from the darkness of winter to early spring, soon we’ll begin to transition into pitta and the heat of summer, but for now, we’ll work on balancing kapha dosha. I find this time of the season to be the hardest to navigate, but with the pitta season right around the corner, it’s also exciting. It’s time to shake off the weightiness of winter and invite my energy to return.

Kapha dosha is associated with the elements of earth and water. When it’s in balance, the kapha person is loving, loyal, stable and dependable, but when kapha is out of wack and excessive they can be prone to lethargy, weight gain, and dullness (I’m just going to go ahead and raise my hand here). In Ayurveda, they use opposite qualities to bring balance to the out of balance dosha. If you’re in a season of excess kapha, you would want to incorporate dynamic movement and light, dry, and warming foods and spices into your day.

This time of year, I naturally want to stay inside, eat soup, and cuddle under a giant pile of blankets because I crave the warmth. But as we know, kapha creates more kapha, and I need to move. This winter I took the plunge and signed up for classpass, so I could, gasp, go to CorePower and take a hot yoga class… don’t judge me! While there is no spiritual aspect to a CorePower class there is heat and it does get the blood flowing, which is exactly what I need this time of year. I can weave my meditation practice and spiritual practices into other parts of my day OR invite my yoga practice to be a moving meditation.

Your Guide to Navigating Kapha Season

If you’re also feeling bogged down by kapha, here are my favorite practices to shake off the excess. And if you’re not sure what your dosha is, I really like this dosha quiz from Banyan Botanicals.

1. MOVE YOUR BODY

Yes, you’ve got to move your body. More than you’re naturally inclined to this season. This is the season where we walk the fine line between restoration and rest and doing and building. Do a more strenuous activity… hot yoga or a dynamic vinyasa practice, hop on the stair climber at the gym, do that challenging hike you’ve been eye-balling, but you think is just a little too long/too hard, take up skiing or mountain biking, etc. Do something that gets your heart pumping and blood flowing to clear out stagnation. It will help lift the mental fog while keeping your energy levels up.

If you’re practicing yoga at home, or wondering what type of studio class to seek, a practice to balance kapha dosha would include dynamic movement, lots of standing poses, and perhaps some heating pranayama techniques like kapalabhati, ujjayi, or surya bhedana (solar breath). If you prefer a guided practice at home, check out this dynamic, energy building prana vayu class on my YouTube channel.

2. TAKE TIME TO SLOW DOWN

This is a natural season for slowing down and laying the foundation for the season ahead, so take this time to meditate, create, learn new skills, clear out clutter, and set yourself up for success. Because when you feel the shift in energy you’re going to want to do it all. But don’t let this time for slowing down take over your life. Just a few minutes a day is enough.

3. EAT WARMING SPICES

Think cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cayenne, and cloves. Drink hot chai, golden mylk, and warm water with lemon and cayenne. 

4. EAT WARM FOODS

If you’re feeling chilled, eat warm food that’s easy to digest like hot soups, sauteed or roasted veggies and stirfries. Avoid heavier foods, like dairy, nuts, and fats (it’s so hard to cut back on avocado). If your digestive fire is still going strong, and spring is near, feel free to start incorporating more raw veggies and salads in your diet.

5. GET OUTSIDE

This is tricky, especially if you’re like me and HATE being cold. I will do almost anything to avoid being cold! LOL. But when the sun is out, get your booty outside and get those sweet rays of Vitamin D on your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun on your cheeks… in moderation, of course, no sunburns! Enjoy a cup of coffee in the sunshine, go for a walk/hike, or take a few moments to stretch it out.

6. CAN’T TAKE THE COLD AND WET OF KAPHA SEASON? TRAVEL SOMEWHERE WARM

If you have the means, take a few days, a weekend, a week, or a month and go somewhere warm! Seriously, it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Take a weekend in Santa Barbara, Palm Springs (there are tons of hot spring resorts here) or Sedona. Take a long weekend and go to Mexico. Have more time? Head further south… Nicaragua has amazing beaches, jungles, and islands… and it’s freakin cheap, same with Thailand. Just do it. You’re worth it. It will give you something to look forward to and will maybe even motivate you to keep moving your body throughout the winter.

7. SELF-CARE

There are so many ways that we can practice self-care and I know that the ones I’m about to mention aren’t that exciting, but they’re easy to include in your daily (or weekly) routine and have big results.

Give dry brushing a try… it helps improve circulation and you’re exfoliating your beautiful skin. It’s a win-win. You can find dry brushes at most health food stores. I’m on the road and I don’t have space for a dry brush, so I use a shower loofah that has a loofah scrubber on one side and the mesh side for soapy tasks… it works double duty for me. You can also find dry brushing gloves. Just a few minutes before you hop in the shower is enough.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE self-massage or abhyanga. Use a warming oil like sesame and set aside 15 minutes to give your body and nervous system a little TLC. Put an old towel down on the bathroom floor, strip down and give your entire body a massage. Use long strokes on your long bones and circles on your joints. This practice is super calming for the nervous system and such a beautiful way to practice self-love.

Kapha’s tend to be more mucus-y and prone to colds/congestion, so tongue scraping is another practice I recommend for kaphas and especially during this cooler kapha season. With tongue scraping, you’ll scrape off all that extra gunk that’s hanging out on your tongue. I use a copper one that I found for a steal on Amazon.

Wow, I know I just shared a lot of info here. If you want to learn more about Yoga and Ayurveda, check out my upcoming 300 hour yoga teacher training. You’ll learn how to incorporate Ayurvedic theory into your class planning for specific doshas, the different seasons, times of day and even seasons of life.

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I want to share a moment of insight I had during the Back to Nature retreats in July. For those of you who have not been on the Back to Nature retreat (yet), on our final night we do a fire ceremony. During the fire ceremony, we let go of old stories and dramas and release our old belief structures (fear, self-doubt, etc.) and turn them over to Spirit, Source, Universe, God. It is both cathartic and healing to burn the ties that bind us… all in a safe, supportive circle of strong, beautiful women. And we call in exactly what we need!

I’ve sat in many circles. I’ve been apart of many fire ceremonies. Each one touches on my heart and my soul in a different, unique, and beautiful way. This time was unexpectedly different. I seem to release the same things over and over again in different layers, like peeling back the layers of an onion or bulb of fennel. And what I released was more of the same patterns I continue to work through, but what I called in was even more important! Straight from my soul, with no filter, with no mask, I asked Spirit to “Burn the F’n Boats!” Yep, I swore in circle and I meant it! I meant it wholeheartedly and I still do.

You might be wondering what the heck do you mean by “burn the boats” and if you know where the saying comes from, you might be even more confused. Why is my yoga teacher talking about war strategy? Sun Tzu shared the strategy in the ancient military treatise, “The Art of War”, Alexander the Great used the strategy when his Greek army arrived in Persia, and as the legend goes, Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez also employed the strategy when he arrived in Mexico in the 1500s. Okay, and…Burning the boats removes the escape plan, the fall back plan, it removes the thought, “well if things don’t work out, I can (fill in the blank with xyz)” Don’t get me wrong, having a plan B is a great idea BUT if our fall back plan isn’t painful enough or scary enough we don’t give our all to achieving our goals, dreams, desires. When plan B is pretty cushy we stay in the status quo, we fall back into old habits, we procrastinate on our dreams, we don’t push as hard through the tough times, we don’t do the hours to make our dreams our reality. Our dreams are ours. Let’s take ownership over them. When you burn the boats you ignite a burning desire to succeed, you light a fire under your own bum! You say YES to living the life you want. A healthier life. A joyful life. An inspired life. You make it priority number one. There is no other choice.

So why am I telling you all this? I’ve always felt like I do a “pretty good job” getting things done, but if I’m really being honest, I spend a lot of my time distracted, messing around on YouTube and social media, cleaning the house when I don’t need to, pinning on Pinterest, excessive planning… when I could be a bit more focused. And this next stage of life requires that I am all in and that I do, in fact, burn the boats! I want to stay connected with my yoga tribe. I want to travel more. I want to spend more time with the people I love. I want to spend more time in nature. So what does that mean?

1) We’re moving… again. (Myself, Steve and our furbabies will be back in Bend in October)

2) Finding Thrive, my online course rooted in Ayurvedic self-care practices and habit evolution launches in January 2020. If you’re feeling stuck with your diet, your sleep, your lifestyle… this course is for you. I don’t even know if I can call it a course because it’s so much more… you’ll learn the tools you need to succeed, you’ll have access to an awesome support tribe (let’s be honest– we can’t do it on our own), and you’ll receive one-to-one and group coaching. <3 More details will be available by the end of September.

3) Online Yoga Teacher Training starts in February 2020 (If money is tight, please reach out. I will be offering a few spots at a special *very discounted* rate for beta testers. You get to take the online course for cheap, in exchange, you give me feedback about what you liked/didn’t like from each module.) More details will be launching soon.

4) My YouTube channel will be blowing up with new yoga practice videos, meditations, yoga nidras and tutorials, starting ASAP. Check it out!

5) I would love to come visit you and maybe even host a workshop at your favorite local studio. <3 Nowhere is off-limits. Email me!!!

6) My 2020 Retreat schedule is coming together nicely.

• June 27 – July 4, 2020 We’re going back to Greece because it was so amazing!!!
• July 17-19, 2020 Session 1: Back to Nature Women’s Retreat at the Tipi Village near Eugene, Oregon
• July 19-21, 2020 Session 2: Back to Nature Women’s Retreat at the Tipi Village near Eugene, Oregon
• September 11-13, 2020 Session 3: Back to Nature Women’s Retreat at the Tipi Village near Eugene, Oregon

Love and Light,

Autumn

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