Honoring the Sacred and the Sweet- Last Mellow Monday

“Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.”
— Margaret Lee Runbeck

Dear wholehearted seekers,

This past week marks a sacred threshold for me—one woven with tenderness, memory, and emergence.

After nearly four beautiful years of teaching Monday evenings at YoYoYogi, this evening will be our final Mellow Monday weekly gathering in that beloved space. It’s bittersweet news, as YoYo shifts into its summer schedule and says farewell to the Om Zone where Mellow Monday has lived.

As I’ve sat with this transition, it feels deeply aligned with a greater rhythm in my life. A trust that the universe is making space for me to deepen, to listen, to let go. Aparigraha.

Four years ago, I completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with YoYoYogi. Four years ago, I also said goodbye to my father’s earthly vessel. These sacred, brutal, wholehearted experiences invited me to step more fully into this path of healing, guiding, and offering from the heart.

Since then, through learnings and additional trainings, Inspired Flow and Mellow Monday have been sanctuaries of exploration—a place to land each week, to grow as a teacher, and to explore the power of music, movement, mindfulness, stillness, breath, chant, embodied inspiration, and yoga philosophy. Karma yoga, from the dense to the subtle. ​

I’m full of gratitude to YoYoYogi for being a home to my in person offerings, my insecurities, my authenticity—and to every student who made Mondays a sacred part of their week.

Now, as Earth warms and spring unfurls into summer, I’m asked again to surrender to the sweet tug of Aparigraha—the yogic teaching of non-grasping. Life is inviting me to release this rhythm, to trust the pause, and to meet the next season with openness and curiosity.

“May love, joy, and peace continue to bloom in a thousand ways you didn’t expect.”
— Morgan Harper Nichols

So today—another day—a return and a remembering (smṛti) of the ongoing gifts of steadiness, sensory presence, and the energy (e-motion) carried by our senses in these final days of Taurus Season.

The work now is to clear the channels, to listen, to return to the heart through compassion—our heart in action.

“Mindful self-compassion is about allowing ourselves to deeply feel what we are feeling, but not over-identify with it.”
— Kristin Neff

Transitions like these—real, personal, and tender—are not reflections of my worth, or the quality of heart I bring as a teacher. Instead, they are a testament to having lived and practiced from my Ānanda—the innermost layer of being. With that, there is liberation. You, me, we—are already enough.

“It is the quality of heart we bring to life that matters most.”
— Jack Kornfield

This is not goodbye—not at all. I’ll still be around YoYo from time to time: subbing, and practicing in community. We never know what lies ahead. Uncertainty can be feared—or mystery can be embraced.

A beloved teacher once said:

“You can either surrender or be dragged.”
I choose surrender.

I’m also stepping more fully into my work as a yoga therapist and co-creating new offerings both online and in natural spaces—including a Yoga in the Garden series with an urban farm in SW Portland (stay tuned!).

The letting go is real.
So is the renewal, the hope.

To connect deeply within.
To express bravely without.
This, to me, is yoga—Union.
To hold the joy and the grief.
To feel the ache of endings and the anticipation of what’s next.
To honor the sacred and the sweet.

To love yourself more fully in the present moment—as it carries all of your past and holds the seeds of your future. Which seeds will you offer you intentional prana?

This transition allows me to deepen and to play—into seasonal rhythms, offerings, and the potent work of trauma-informed yoga therapy. It creates space for me to refine how I show up: with clarity, presence, and care. My Kapha dosha—made of water and earth—welcomes and loves a good call to action. So bring me your fire, your air, your inspirations. I’d be honored to create with you.

“Before we can be what we are meant to be, we must accept what we are not... To let go of the fantasies that take us out of our nature... Then all our inner resources become free—to transform us into that particular self we are aching to be.”
— Mark Nepo

I’ll continue to share reflections, offerings, and updates. Below are a few recent favorites farm images. Also- I’m deepening into the work of trauma-informed yoga therapy—and website updates are on the horizon.

If you’d like to stay connected- consider joining online, exploring the member library by becoming a supporter, social channels or at the Beaverton farmers market. I will be sharing again after Memorial Day- Breitenbush Hotsprings calls and I'll be off grid. Abundance, simplicity and gratitude your way.

What in this season is asking for your compassion and surrender? Share in the comments!

May we keep living, loving, connecting and growing.

With heart and steadiness,
Maya

“The happiness we discover in life is not about possessing or owning or even understanding. Instead, it is the discovery of this capacity to love… Such love is not possessive, but arises out of a sense of our own well-being and connection with everything…
Out of love, our path can lead us to learn to use our gifts to heal and serve, to create peace around us, to honor the sacred in life, to bless whatever we encounter and to wish all beings well.”
— Jack Kornfield

Listen: A gift for honoring the sacred and the sweet within you. Your divine feminine.

May we keep living, loving, connecting and growing.

Yoga This Week

🌿 In-Studio @ YoYoYogi
• Monday 6 PM — Final Mellow Monday of the Season (75 min Yin)

💻 Virtual Library – Online Classes
🌞 Morning Sun Yoga is on summer break while I work on an urban farm (Mon–Thurs).
Explore 60+ recorded classes in the Members-Only Library for inspiration and ease.
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🔥 New! Weekday Warrior (Online via Zoom)
• Wednesdays 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST — 60 min to energize and center
Pay What You Can · Replay access available
→ Full Schedule & Details 

🧘‍♀️ Yoga Therapy
• Virtual & In-Person | Sliding Scale
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