Lakshmi is a goddess of abundance, beauty, fertility, and prosperity. She is often depicted seated or standing on a lotus flower, symbolizing purity and spiritual awakening, even amidst the murkiness of life. Gold coins flow from her hands, representing generosity and the continuous exchange of giving and receiving.

Lakshmi’s gifts aren’t only material. She reminds us that true abundance includes love, presence, connection, and gratitude.

So what does it mean to practice yoga through the lens of Lakshmi? It might look like:

• Moving with appreciation for what your body can do
• Softening the constant striving for more
• Letting your breath feel like a source of richness rather than something to control
• Pausing to notice small moments of beauty—sunlight, stillness, sensation

Many of us are comfortable giving—but receiving can feel more vulnerable. Lakshmi invites us to receive the breath fully, to receive support from the ground beneath us, and to receive rest without guilt. Even in a strong standing pose, there is a subtle undercurrent of receptivity—your muscles engage, of course, but they also respond and allow.
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As you move through your practice this week, consider:

• Where am I already abundant?
• What am I overlooking that is already enough?
• Can I soften into appreciation, even for a moment?

Abundance isn’t something we chase; it’s something we notice. Sometimes, all it takes is a single breath, fully received, to remember that nothing is missing. We are enough, and we have enough.

​Earth Day is, of course, a day to honor the Earth from a nature conservation perspective. Check out EarthDay.org or google “Earth Day events near me” for a list of local endeavors and ideas about how you could participate and be a better Earthling. You can go big or you can just make small, consistent changes that make a difference every day.

For our Earth Day theme here at the studio, let’s take this as a reminder to notice and remember our place within something much larger. The word yoga literally means “yoke” and refers to several levels of connection. Breath connects movement. Awareness connects body and mind. And through it all, we might be reminded that we are not separate from the world around us.

One of the simplest ways to experience this connection is through the body. Every time you step onto your mat, there is something beneath you offering support. Whether you’re sitting, standing, kneeling, or lying down, the earth is always there—steady, stable, and supportive.

In practice, we often hear the cue to “ground down” through the feet or hands. But what does that really mean? It can be as simple as noticing the weight of your body, feeling the contact points between you and the floor, and/or tuning in to the subtle sense of being held. This awareness transforms something ordinary into something meaningful. The ground is no longer just a surface; it becomes a source of support. When we’re feeling overwhelmed or out of sorts, grounding can bring us back into balance.

Earth Day also invites a shift in perspective—from doing to listening. In daily life, it’s easy to move quickly, to act, to consume, to push forward. But nature doesn’t operate that way. It moves in cycles. It rests. It adapts. It responds.Yoga offers us a way to return to that rhythm. When we slow the breath, pause between movements, or soften into a pose, we begin to listen—not just to the body, but to the subtle cues that often get overlooked. Listening creates connection, and connection naturally leads to care.

One of the deeper teachings of yoga is the idea that everything is interconnected. This isn’t just philosophical—it’s something we can feel directly. The breath you take in has been part of countless other lives. The ground beneath you supports not just you, but everything around you. The energy you cultivate in practice extends beyond the mat. This awareness doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be simple. A moment of gratitude, a pause to notice, a choice to move with intention.

In a culture that often values effort and productivity, connection can feel subtle, but it carries its own kind of strength. When you feel supported, you don’t have to push as hard. When you feel connected, you don’t have to force growth. When you feel grounded, you can move with more ease and clarity. This is the kind of strength we explore in practice this week—not force, but relationship.

Earth Day isn’t just about a single day of awareness—it’s about how we move through the world.
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That might look like:

• stepping outside and noticing the air, the light, the space around you
• pausing before rushing into the next thing
• making small choices that reflect care—for yourself and for the environment

Yoga doesn’t ask us to do everything. It simply invites us to be more aware of what we are already doing. Happy Earth Day!

Spring has a way of reminding us that change doesn’t always happen all at once. It's 70 degrees one day, 30 and snowing the next. Sometimes, the temperature fluctuates dramatically in the course of just one day. Do you wear your down coat or your raincoat or a sweater? Boots or sandals? The shift unfolds slowly, in fits and starts. I'm always excited when I realize that it's still light out when the evening classes are heading home. The air starts to feel different. When we get the odd warm day, it's heavenly to open up the windows and let the stagnant winter air out. Eventually, the ground that was frozen for months transforms into muddy puddles.

Across cultures and traditions, this season carries the symbolism of renewal and rebirth. Easter is one of the most familiar expressions of this theme. While it holds deep meaning in Christian tradition, its imagery—new life, emergence, transformation—resonates broadly as a reflection of the natural cycles unfolding all around us.

In yoga practice, we can approach this time of year in a similar spirit: as an invitation to gently awaken, release what feels heavy, and create space for something new.

According to Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, spring corresponds with kapha dosha, which is associated with the elements of earth and water. (Earth and water = mud.) Kapha brings qualities like stability, nourishment, and grounding. When we’re in balance, these qualities help us feel supported and steady, but when kapha becomes excessive—as it often can at the end of winter—it can manifest as sluggishness or fatigue, mental fog, resistance to change, or feeling physically or emotionally “stuck.” If you’ve noticed it feeling a little harder to get moving lately, you’re not alone. This is simply the seasonal rhythm of the body responding to the environment.

The good news is that yoga offers simple ways to bring kapha back into balance. Kapha-balancing practices focus on creating movement, warmth, and spaciousness in the body and mind. In class this week, you may notice practices that include:

• rhythmic, flowing sequences that build gentle heat
• standing poses that activate the legs and core
• heart-opening shapes that encourage expansion
• breathwork that energizes and clears stagnation

These practices aren’t about pushing harder or doing more. Instead, they help us shift from heaviness into vitality—much like the earth itself moving from winter dormancy into spring growth. Each movement becomes a small gesture of awakening.

The symbolism of rebirth isn’t just something that happens once a year or in nature alone. It’s something we can experience in small ways every day. It might look like letting go of an old pattern, starting again after a difficult moment, softening where we’ve been holding tension, or choosing curiosity instead of resistance.
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Our yoga practice reminds us that we don’t have to wait for a perfect moment to begin again. Each breath offers that opportunity. Every inhale creates space. Every exhale allows release. In that sense, the practice itself is an ongoing cycle of renewal.

Half Chair Pose, sometimes called Balancing Figure 4 (and in March, perhaps "Dancing Leprechaun"), looks simple enough. Find a rainbow to practice near, then one ankle crosses over the opposite thigh, hips sit back as in chair pose, hands at heart or reaching forward. 

• The standing leg roots firmly into the earth.
• The outer hip of the lifted leg softens and releases.
• The spine lengthens upward even as the pelvis lowers.
• The gaze steadies.
• It is both grounding and expansive.

The pose builds on Utkatasana (Chair Pose) — a posture traditionally associated with strength, heat, and focus. By crossing the ankle over the thigh, we introduce an element of external rotation and hip opening, creating space in the outer hip and gluteal muscles.

Like many standing poses, this asana works in two directions at once:

• Downward rooting through the standing foot (stability and boundaries)
• Upward lift through the spine and heart (clarity and presence)

​Sanskrit:
Ardha = Half; Utkata = Fierce, Powerful, Intense; Asana = Pose
(ARE-dah-OOT-kah-TAH-sah-nah)

Benefits/Purpose:

• Strengthens legs, ankles, and core
• Improves balance and proprioception
• Opens outer hips and glutes
• Encourages focus and steady breath under mild challenge
• Builds resilience — physically and mentally

There’s also a subtle emotional teaching here: we cannot remain open if we are not stable. The standing leg does the quiet work that allows the hip to soften.

Precautions & Contraindications:
As always, check with your healthcare provider before beginning any physical practice. If you have heart disease or high blood pressure or if you are struggling to balance, avoid long holds in this pose. If your knees are weak or you have any recent or chronic injuries or pain in the knees, hips, or legs, you may want to avoid the posture. As always, sensation is information — not something to override.

Preparation:

• Low lunges to awaken hips
• Chair Pose pulses for leg strength
• Supine Figure 4 to gently open outer hips
• Mountain Pose balance work to steady gaze and breath

How to Practice:

1. Begin in Chair Pose (Utkatasana): feet hip-width, hips sitting back, spine long.
2. Shift weight into the left foot.
3. Cross right ankle over left thigh, just above the knee. Flex the right foot.
4. Sink hips back as if sitting into a chair, keeping chest lifted.
5. Hands at heart or reach forward for counterbalance. (Or for St. Patrick's fun, down by your sides like an Irish dancer)
6. Breathe steadily. Gaze soft but focused.
7. To exit, slowly return to Chair before standing tall.

Modifications/Variations:

• Keep the hands on the waist.
• Arms lifted outside the ears or arms overhead with palms together.
• Hands at the heart in Anjali Mudra (prayer position)
• Lean buttocks against a wall.
• If hips are tight, cross the ankle lower on the shin rather than high on the thigh.
• ​Hinge forward and place hands on the ground or on blocks.
• Lower down into a deep squat with the standing leg. (Pictured below)

Counterpose;
Follow with a gentle Forward Fold to release the spine and legs, or return to Mountain Pose and pause to feel the rebound effect — steadiness after effort.

We practice balance not just in the body, but in how we hold ourselves in the world — rooted, steady, and quietly courageous.

In February, yoga teachers (present company included) often emphasize heart opening poses -- to stretch the physical chest as well as to open the energetic heart to connection, compassion, and loving kindness. Openness is beautiful; but  the heart is not meant to be unguarded at all times. It is meant to be balanced. 

Balance plays a part in every yoga practice. The inhale expands; the exhale contracts. The spine arches and then rounds. We stretch one side, then the other. Strength supports flexibility. Even in heart-opening poses, the back body must engage to safely lift the front body. Without that support, openness collapses.

This final week of our February arc explores the often-overlooked truth that healthy love, like healthy heart openers,  requires structure. Boundaries are not walls; they are clarity. They are the energetic container that allows love to circulate without depletion. They protect what is sacred. They prevent resentment and create safety.

On the mat, this may show up as:

• Engaging the legs in backbends to support the heart.
• Embracing the moments of rest as well as moments of movement.
• Choosing the variation and depth of a pose that feels sustainable and safe. Or choosing an alternative pose altogether.
• Recognizing, pausing, and modifying when sensation becomes strain.

In heart-centered poses like Anahatasana, we practice both yielding and grounding. The chest melts, but the hips stay stacked. The heart opens, but the spine remains supported. There is both surrender and structure.

Off the mat, boundaries of the heart might look like:

• Saying no without apology.
• Resting without guilt.
• Speaking truth with kindness.
• Offering compassion to others, but also yourself.

Many of us were taught that love means limitless giving. Yoga suggests something subtler: love that is steady, sustainable, and rooted in self-awareness.

The Sanskrit concept of ahimsa (non-harming) applies inward as much as outward. If opening the heart leads to exhaustion, resentment, or self-betrayal, something is out of alignment.

A heart with boundaries is not closed. It is discerning. It is strong enough to remain open without losing itself.

As February closes, consider:

• Where do I overextend?
• Where do I overprotect?
• What would balanced openness feel like in my body?

This week, we practice heart with backbone, softness with steadiness, love with clarity. Because the most sustainable love, much like the most sustainable yoga practice, is the kind that honors its edges.