“Start in an easy way, a simple way. It will take you all the way."

I hope that your new year has started in an easy and simple way.

Although we may feel pressure to begin lots of new projects and task, I encourage you to attune with the natural world around you and continue to rest and take it easy.

Ayurveda (yoga’s sister science of holistic health) teaches us that seasonal fluctuations affect our bodies and our behaviors. But we already know that intuitively, right? In order to optimize our health and well-being we can attune our habits – including our lifestyle, eating, sleeping and yoga practice habits – to sync with natural seasonal cycles.

I'm trying to practice this myself and resist the urge to over-commit these first few weeks of the year. I have some big plans for the online studio this year, but there's no need for me to rush these.

Taking a note from nature, I'm going to focus on nurturing & nourishing myself through the winter months. Although the warm temperatures this week make me want to spring forth like a seed bursting to life, I recognize if I try and bloom to soon, I won't make it through the long winter ahead.

So be gentle and kind with yourself, and with others, this season. Have patience. Let yourself slow down and take breaks - conserve your energy.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Start in an easy way, a simple way. It will take you all the way. Begin to nurture the simple daily practices - sadhana - that can sustain you and support you.

As mentioned earlier, now is the time of year for us to conserve our energy.

Allow yourself space to slow down, and take breaks when needed. Slow down your reaction time. Be gentle and kind with yourself and others. Be patient with the world. Take your time- very little in life is urgent.

Nurture and nourish yourself a lot. Even if you have work to do (or rather, especially if you have work to do!) Show up in the ways you need to show up, work through your karmas and take your actions - we can't avoid those. But take breaks. Take time. Conserve your energy. Sleep well. Rest often.

Make time for self love. Do your practice - sadhana.

It's a good time to stick with what works for you - double down on what's working. Less is more. You don't have to take an entertainment approach to your spiritual practice and sadhana.

Slow down your body. Slow down your mind. Slow down your reaction time.