Satya & Svadhyaya: Embracing Truth & Compassion as Winter Fades
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, and compassion. These are your greatest treasures. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.”
Hello my friends,
As I sit to write today, I feel deeply attuned to Mercury’s energy—the planet of communication and the fastest-moving celestial body in our system. With my feet grounded, the rain nourishing the earth, and steady breath in my lungs, I feel the aliveness of constant change. The shifting sky, where grays give way to sunlight, mirrors the fluidity of this moment.
I move into the week ahead with immense gratitude, knowing that moods, conditions, and circumstances are ever-changing. Yet, within me, there are resources—both physical and unseen—that anchor me in presence. With an alert and open heart, I hold space for the complexities: the personal, the collective, the political, and the global. A heart for equity, justice, agency, and freedom for all.
As we move toward the close of winter—February’s end and the arrival of Pisces season, a water sign also ruled by Mercury—I invite you to embrace the possibility of healing through the elements and this seasonal transition. How might you honor this final stretch of wintering? Can you receive the lessons of rest and restoration, just as the bulbs beneath the earth, dormant for months, now begin to stir toward the surface? Respecting your pace and rhythm. Pisces invites us into deep feeling, intuition, and imagination—how can this season support your healing as the days lengthen, warmth returns, and new opportunities call you forward?
Truth & Self-Study: Satya & Svadhyaya
Sat: That Which is | Sva: Self | Dhyaya: Contemplative/Study
Two ethical principles from yoga’s eight-limbed path feel especially present for me this week:
- Satya (Truthfulness): Honesty in our words, thoughts, and actions. In yin practice, satya calls us to be truthful with our bodies, honoring their limits and needs. Off the mat, it invites us to live authentically, ensuring our actions and relationships align with our values. Truth is not fixed; it evolves. So, the sincere question becomes: What is true in this moment?
“Three things cannot be hidden long: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” — The Buddha
- Svadhyaya (Self-Study): The practice of looking inward. Can we observe our state of mind, habits, strengths, and struggles with curiosity rather than judgment?
“Dive inward and seek guidance. The art of inquiry is a practice of knowing our real nature, of shedding what is untrue to commune with the universal—the self that is you.” — Cherreson & Rice
Each day, each practice, brings a new answer to the simple question: How am I today?
Whether frustration or ease, apathy or enthusiasm, fear or peace arises, we grow our capacity to be with it all. By allowing our emotions to be seen, our hearts and minds can soften. We listen.
“Our task is to find our ‘unarmed truth’ and bear witness to it in our lives.” — Jack Kornfield
“When we look into the dark, we illuminate the stars of our being.” — Gabrielle Harris
Practice: Healing the Inner Child
One of my teachers has been guiding me back to my inner child, revisiting Thích Nhất Hạnh’s work in Reconciliation for deep healing. This Pisces season, I invite you to explore a simple practice to support healing—not only to ease personal suffering but to ripple outward, improving the quality of heart we bring to our relationships.
A Short Meditation & Check in:
Find a quiet space. Set a timer. Bring in gentle music or silence. Close your eyes, settle into your breath, and tune into your body’s sensations.
- Breathing in, I go back to my inner child.
Breathing out, I listen to my inner child.
Stay here for a few minutes, simply listening. - Breathing in, I go back to my inner child.
Breathing out, I comfort my inner child.
Allow yourself to offer care and compassion to the younger parts of you that call for attention.
This practice can be explored regularly and adapted—perhaps addressing another part of yourself that needs tending. As we bring svadhyaya (self-study) and satya (truth) into this practice, we extend kind attention to the parts of us that move with us through our days. Healing is not separate from daily life; it is woven into the moments when we listen, when we comfort, when we meet ourselves with love.
“It is the process of knowing ourselves that is the pathway to our freedom.” — Deborah Adele
For additional practices, you may revisit: Winter Wisdom: Shedding Samskaras, Awakening Belonging, and Rising Together.
Honoring the Path Forward
May we honor the teacher within—comprised of truth, consciousness and bliss, that is ever-present, dispels darkness and brings peace. And that needs no conditions to shine radiantly.
Oṁ namaḥ śhivāya gurave.
Satchitānanda mūrtaye.
Niṣprapañcāya śhantāya.
Nirālambāya tejase.
This week’s offerings will invite satya and svadhyaya—active practices building on last week’s enlivening and nourishment of Kapha dosha. (revisit last week Tend the Flame, Widen the View here). We’ll work with the lower chakras, balancing water and earth’s density while welcoming air to refresh and fire to focus. All within ethereal ether, just as the glows of green that emit in the northern winter skies. Deep interconnection and beauty from the witness, from the space between.
May your thoughts and words be kind, especially toward yourself.
May you call upon both compassion and courage as you meet discomfort.
May you listen and comfort the parts of you that seek healing, allowing this care to ripple into your relationships.
May your prana be nourished, sustaining you through your days.
May your heart be loving and at ease.
Yoga This Week
In-Studio @ YoYoYogi
- Monday @ 6 PM – Mellow Monday: A 75-minute integrated yin practice. Learn More
Online via Zoom
- Tuesday & Thursday @ 8 AM PST / 11 AM EST – Morning Yoga: Rise, Move, Pause: A 30-minute accessible, pay-what-you-can class. $8 recommended, $12+ includes replays. Register Here
Yoga Therapy
- Complimentary discovery, intake, and first session. Learn More
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“I turn towards the light, and I keep my eyes open in the dark. I honor each phase of my human journey as I tend to my spiritual growth.” — Grace Selene
Here with you in practice,
In love & light,
Maya