Mat Chat with Michelle
Steadiness Amidst the Swirling
In our yoga practice and in life, this principle, known as sthira in Sanskrit, reminds us that steadiness isn’t something we wait to feel before we begin. It’s something we cultivate as we move through the whirling.
The Breath, the Body, and the Breakthrough
I wasn’t even sure if I was going to share this. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized how much these personal events of fear, breathlessness, and of surrendering this past week, lives at the very heart yoga, of my yoga in practice.
Healing Through Surrender
There’s a funny thing about surrender… it’s often the lesson we resist the most, yet it’s the one we need the most. Surrender is not something that comes easily to most of us, especially when life throws us challenges that we don’t feel ready for.
What Are You Holding Onto?
If you’ve been practicing and following along with me, you know we’ve been working through heart-opening postures this month. But opening the heart isn’t just about deep backbends—it’s about letting go, trusting, softening the grip we so often hold on life.
At the Heart of Surrender
By embracing heart-opening and surrender, we create room for more love, more ease, and more trust in the unfolding of our lives.
Honouring Agni Beyond Food
Here I was, having spent the past month teaching about the importance of tending our digestive fire and personal power, only to find myself completely burned out.
Finding Your Inner Drive When Motivation is Low
If you’ve been feeling stuck, unmotivated, or just plain meh, you’re not alone. The urge to hunker down under eight blankets and mindlessly scroll is real. But here’s the thing—how we spend our energy matters.
The Power in Showing Up
Think of your practice like tending a fire (agni). If you let it burn too hot, it can quickly burn out. If you neglect it, the flames weaken, and you’re left with only embers. But if you tend to it daily, feeding it with care, it provides steady warmth and light.
Igniting Our Inner Fire
This month, we’re diving into a blend of Yoga and Ayurveda, focusing on agni—our inner transformative fire—and how we can stoke and sustain it through practice. Agni (pronounced “aug-nee”) is a fundamental concept in Ayurveda and Yoga, referring to the fire within us. While it’s often associated with digestion—the process of transforming food into energy—agni governs so much more.
The Importance of Adapting Your Practice
There are times when inversions might not be appropriate. That’s where the brilliance of using props like a block, bolster, chair or even a wall comes in to play when practicing postures like Shoulder Stand.