Purity, Contentment & the Winds of Autumn | Luminous Heart and Spirit Within
“Being pure with ourselves means we are not afraid of our thoughts or our feelings, and we do not have to hide anything from ourselves.” — Deborah Adele
Soundscape for Homecoming:
🎧 Ae-Yun-La Sol – “The Breath of Creation” — lives in our Coming Home Playlist
Hello dear friends,
A crisp dawn brings with it the luminous, sattvic qualities of morning—where the veil is thin. A new morning, a new beginning. I welcome you here, with a hand to the heart and a fresh breath to start again. Atha, yoga nusasanam. May you meet this moment— with more presence for five to ten rounds of breath—genuine and with heart.
Offerings and recent photos further below. Take what serves and leave the rest.
I find myself a little quieter, a little simpler in the eves & mornings. After a full Monday on the farm with the donkeys and the soft chaos of admin and domestic catch-up, Saucha—purity— as practice manifest to then rediscover the steadfast, peaceful warrior within. So too, you. Your steadfast, peaceful warrior is within- to meet the day.
Relationally, Saucha is a call to honesty—to meet what is before us with clear eyes and an open heart. No perfection, just presence. The sun came through yesterday afternoon, and I was drawn with my pup Koba outdoors to the aliveness of the leaves bustling in the wind, a fullness of color, trees ready to shed while many lingered—in process a cleansing quality toward returning, in beauty, to what is essential and clear.
With the request of the season and the busyness of life to turn inward, there can be found a quiet joy that arises when the inner world becomes aligned. Balanced. Saucha (purity) and Santosha (contentment) both invite us to clear the residue—not by doing more, but by landing, embracing, and relishing in our own abundance and simplicity.
As we carry forward through Libra’s season and the early winds of Vata dosha—air and ether that dance in autumn—we are reminded to keep clearing space and return to what is luminous within us. To breathe deeply. To nourish what supports the nervous system through movement, warmth, and steady rhythm. The trees know this well: they let go, yet remain rooted.
“Even when everything feels uncertain, truth stays steady in your bones. That steadiness is your anchor.” — The Courage Practice
Steady in your bones, your roots. In our daily lives, we are asked to stay steady in our Tapas—the disciplined warmth of wholehearted effort. Tapas asks us to hold our inner fire with both devotion and discernment, to channel our passion into meaningful, wholehearted action and, moreover, heartfelt presence.
“Transformation doesn’t come from more action. It comes from more presence in the action you take.” — Anonymous
Online and in person—within and outward—my offerings this week aim to explore a balance of fire and wind: the constancy of movement, change, transformation—social, ecological, emotional, all the layers. Yogic practices bring guiding lights into the teachers within each of us.
Let’s meet the Vata dosha: air, movement, lightness. Down to the bones, a drying, restless quality when out of balance. When winds rise within or around us, we’ll use practice to right-size their expression—not to silence them, but to bring steadiness and warmth to their vibrancy.
Some practices we’ll explore:
• Bhramari (humming bee breath) and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) to soothe and balance the nervous system.
• Focus on arms, shoulders, neck, and heart space—how we reach, give, and receive.
• Grounded, warming movement to uplift when heaviness arrives, and slow, rhythmic flow when energy scatters.
• Mantra: So Hum, Hum Saha — I am That, in harmony with all that is.
Let this be a week of lightening the load, tending to your inner fire, and offering more presence to the abundance in your life. Let’s practice by fostering balance, purifying the senses, and uncovering contentment amidst a turbulent world. From that turbulence, a call in discernment—to stand intolerant toward injustice and tolerant toward the circumstances life delivers. Tolerance as practice.
Amidst seasonal messages of shedding and letting go, remember too—
You are allowed to bask in the fruits of your labor,
To savor the sweetness of what’s here,
To witness that abundance already lives within you.
For self-reflection (Svadhyaya), consider:
When the winds of change rise—how can I stay anchored and inspired?
Where can I further align in my life between effort and ease?
What leaves in my life may be ready to fall away? Which ones still linger?
"Leaves fall in their own perfect timing… you don’t have to rush every moment of happiness; sometimes joy arrives simply because you’ve opened yourself to it.” - Grace Selene
Keep opening yourself with more presence—through movement, through stillness, through breath and heart. Let the winds be your platform, your song.
🍂 Tending the Winds & Staying Inspired
As we move toward the shadow season, may we each find ways of tending the winds—some through grounding and stillness, others through creativity and play. Lately, I’ve found inspiration in soundtracks, song, and the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve—a time of reverence for the departed and celebration of life’s mystery. If you feel called, join me online on Halloween for a Spirited Friday Flow—a practice to honor the light and dark, the seen and unseen.
No in-person public hallows offerings this year, but plenty of opportunity for heart, inspiration, and connection off the mat I trust :). Registration for all upcoming classes is open- spaces often limited so register early!
With Earth as anchor, breath as connector, and heart as home,
may you replenish your prana and give yourself back to you—
realigning to your purity, contentment, and abundance within.
Here with you in practice,
In radiance & rest, with love & light,
Maya
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