Awaken the Kapha Within: Harnessing Steady, Spacious, Supple Strength
Hello everyone,
February invites us into a liminal space—the longest nights are behind us, and the Snow Full Moon soon on the horizon. This is a time when winter and spring subtly meet, hinting at renewal. The crisp cold can be invigorating yet sometimes settles deep in our bones, stirring imbalances and resistance within us to meet life. It’s a deepening call to rejuvenate and strengthen our energies in preparation for the next seasonal cycle.
As always, I invite you to come into a supportive, alert, and kind posture. Shift your sense of gravity back in space over your pelvis and feel the grounding support beneath you. Take intentional breaths and listen to what your body is asking for—release, soothing, invigoration? Let it be intuitive, trusting that you already know how to explore. Rather than perfection, intend to deepen your connection. Take your time, close your eyes away from the screen for a few breaths. When you're ready, inviting softeness behind your eyes, breathe steadily and continue here.
I’m breathing intentionally alongside you, friends. This week, let’s deepen the themes we’ve been exploring: grounding into our roots while nurturing the central channel of the spine and meeting the heart space with all it carries. We’ll bring attention to Kapha dosha, it’s home in the heart and the lungs, and the energetic force associated with winter and early spring. Kapha (water & earth) offers gifts of steadiness, compassion, playfulness, and nourishment, but when out of balance, it can feel heavy, stagnant, and resistant to change.
Our yoga practices will cultivate warmth, movement, and stability—reawakening the inner fire to melt what feels frozen or stuck. Let this be an opportunity to find spacious resolve and meet life with renewed energy and curiosity. To hold space for possible tenderness's that maybe within you, what may feel liminal or in the in-betweens. To invigorate a fire needed to meet what matters most.
Returning to the Freshness of the Beginning
Mark Nepo writes, “Live slow enough and there is only the beginning of time.”
This wisdom resonates deeply in the winter season, where slowness can reveal moments of quiet renewal. Even when life feels overwhelming, we can use the breath to reconnect and return to the freshness of each moment. All the while acknowledging the very real challenges, coping mechanism or unhelpful habits that may be creating residue in the layers of your experience. Returning to the freshness is particularly valuable if you're feeling burdened, numb, or worn out.
On the mat, we’ll focus on cultivating suppleness—ease, grace, flexibility, and strength of body, heart, and mind. Through practices that balance Kapha dosha, we’ll counter the cold heaviness of winter by igniting the warmth within, keeping our inner spark vibrant as we prepare for the seasonal thaw.
Caring for the Psoas & the Nervous System
This week, we’ll deepen into the psoas—a vital muscle that supports spinal stability and is closely connected to the autonomic nervous system. Often called the "startle reflex muscle," the psoas contracts when we experience stress, much like a caterpillar curling inward for protection.
When the psoas becomes tense from prolonged sitting or stress, it can lead to discomfort and a sense of dysregulation in the nervous system, low back pain, impaired neuromuscular habits, and many other symptoms. It is deeply connected to our spine, muscles and organs that surround it, and fascial from the floating ribs to the pelvic floor; it’s ecosystem of impact is foundational for us on many levels. Rather than forcefully stretching it, we’ll gently support it through breath, mindful movement, and practices that down regulate and thoughtfully elevate the nervous system.
Our focus will be on creating stability and spaciousness, balancing both active (yang) and inward (yin) approaches. This gentle, intentional care allows the body to release chronic tension, fostering endurance and resilience.
Honoring the Koshas & Kapha’s Wisdom
We’ll explore the koshas—the layers of being—moving from the physical body to the energetic, mental, wisdom, and finally the blissful layer of ananda, where peace and contentment reside. By warming the heart and nourishing the nervous system, we invite a renewed sense of ease or ‘okayness’ with life as it is. The space where you are in relationship with what is, unattached and also attuned.
Let’s continue to cultivate a steady and spacious presence, channeling warmth to thaw what feels frozen and reinvigorate our inner spark. As Morgan Harper Nichols beautifully reminds us:
"Beautiful things take time, and you are free to look to them coming to life."
May we trust this unfolding, invigorate our spark, honoring the healing we are committed to, the gardens we are growing, and the beautiful lives we are creating. With pace, focus and heart.
This Week’s Offerings:
In Studio @ Yoyoyogi:✨ Mon @ 6 PM – Mellow Monday: A 75-min integrated yin practice. Learn More
Online via Zoom:✨ GENTLE MORNING YOGA – Rise, Move, Pause | 30 min
Tues & Thurs @ 8 AM PST / 11 AM EST
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Here with you in practice. In love & light,
Maya