Softening into Strength: Nourishing with Space and Simplicity through the Elements.

“Sometimes strength is taking a deep breath.” Morgan Harper Nichols

11/4/24

Hello dear friends,

The image today was taken yesterday during a beautiful urban nature walk with my dog. This necessary nature time followed a big week filled with focused energy, creativity, intentional hearts, reverence, and the joy of All Hallows festivities. It was wonderful to share practices across spaces, and the call for inward care to replenish is essential. Sunday was personal time, weaving in without agenda, time to dance, play, laugh, and simply pause. We all need to ensure we practice non-harm by replenishing ourselves—whatever that looks like for you.

Sometimes strength is taking a deep breath. A few deep breaths. Or many deep breaths. I invite you to come into your steady breathing to both soothe and enliven yourself as you read on. Steady breath in, soothing breath out.

This week draws upon the need for continued self-care- nourishing inward to meet the outward. My morning practice was rooted from dense to subtle with the chakras- extending love toward self. For each of us, nourishing is necessary to meet the demands, responsibilities, and worries held by many with the US elections on the horizon. As always, whatever the landscape of your life—your aspirations, your struggles—know that we, as a greater collective, are here together.

As I gaze upon today’s image, I see the different hues of leaves transforming, rocks of various shapes in their unique resiliencies, and the elements—water and wind— soft and strong, adaptive and fluid. We too hold these qualities within.

Zooming out, we see the streets, the urban landscape, and with unfortunately around the corner, possible those who may not have shelter, peace, or basic resources. We can choose to connect with discernment and heart. Expanding further, we reach the greater land, the skies, and the earth that holds all life. A reminder that always behind the clouds, the sun remains, while the rains and winds transform the landscape. We are all connected.

Kate Forster writes: "I think it's a deep consolation to know that spiders dream, that monkeys tease predators, that dolphins have accents, that lions can be scarred silly by a lone mongoose, that otters hold hands and ants bury their dead. That there isn't their life and our life. Nor your life and my life. That it's just one teetering and endless thread and all of us, all of us, are entangled with it as deep as entanglement goes."

We are connected, and there is wonder and nuance all around. We have an incredible ability to shift perspective—from our life-giving breath, to the beauty and lessons of nature close by, to witnessing the real struggles within ourselves and others around us. Each layer, like the layers of my photo, reveals a shift in focus and the remarkable adaptability of our perspective. Yoga in its various forms gives us the chance to keep revisiting, refining, and shedding in body, breath, and mind, cultivating this capacity for clarity, wisdom in action, and deeper compassion and understanding toward self and others.

This week, nourish inward to meet the outward. Bring in moments, however small, that create more space. Make choices that offer simplicity, softening, and strength.

"In some moments, strength is about facing adversity with unwavering resolve; in others, it’s about demonstrating flexibility and adapting to new situations. Strength can manifest loudly, making its presence known to all, or it can be a quiet force, working subtly in the background. Sometimes strength is a deep breath. Yes—you are strong, even for taking a deep breath." —Morgan Harper Nichols

In this Scorpio season of water and shadow, with the winds of vata dosha from Ayurvedic teachings, let’s continue to transform and meet the inevitable change of season with a bit more space. Come back to that within you that is simple, spacious, softening, and strong.

"Change encompasses a multitude of dimensions... Just as we marvel at the colorful spectacle, we should also appreciate the nuanced changes in texture. In our own lives, change manifests in various forms—some bold and dramatic, others quiet and understated. By making room for all these forms of change, just as the landscape does for the leaves, we embrace the full richness of transformation—from grand to gentle—that shapes our journey." - Morgan Harper Nichols

How might you make space for the many textures of change in your life? Might you practice coming back to that within you that is simple, spacious, softening, and strong?

Here with you in practice.
With love & light,
—Maya

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