Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign welcome to Deep in your yoga practice. I am Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri and this is more than a regular episode. This is a ritual. So today I'll be guiding you through a year end ritual of letting go and reflection through through the lens of yoga. And this is a time for you to pause. So I recommend grabbing a journal, lighting a candle, maybe making some tea and allowing yourself this extra special time to pause and reflect. If you're driving or walking, you can listen once and come back later for the ritual practice. This episode is a gift of pause. It's your invitation to complete the circle of 2025 with grace and to gently prepare space for what's to come. Reflection is such an important part of a yogic life. We need swadhyaya or self study and Ishwara Panidana or surrender as yogic pillars of our own evolution. So it's so important to learn to go inward, to understand our lives and ourselves and then to let go, to surrender what doesn't serve us and to offer our gratitude as well to the divine. We also har abiasa and Vairagya, abhyasa being practice and viragia being acceptance or non attachment. Through consistent practice and letting go, we consistently show up and transform.
[00:01:41] We get out of our own way and through that we evolve. Like Shavasana, ritual is such a beautiful way to integrate. So you have undergone so many different experiences in 2025. Big ones, small ones, milestones and just your regular day to day. And we get to rest and to integrate. And when we integrate all of these experiences and information, we feel more clear, more purposeful, more rested and ready for the next phase. We're also supporting ourselves with Ayurveda because in Ayurveda, winter asks us to slow down, to digest and restore. And we'll be doing just that today. Yoga isn't just about becoming something new. It's also about unbecoming what no longer fits. So here's your opportunity to do so. So we'll now move into our Letting Go ceremony.
[00:02:41] I'll invite you to find your journal, maybe light a candle.
[00:02:47] And before we begin these reflections, I'll invite you to take a few deep breaths with me.
[00:02:55] Take a deep breath in, deep breath out as you release two more times. Deep breath in.
[00:03:14] Release with an exhale.
[00:03:22] Deep breath in, deep breath out.
[00:03:36] I'll offer your journal prompts. You're also welcome to simply quietly reflect on these questions.
[00:03:45] You're welcome to pause the podcast and then Push play when you're ready to answer the next one.
[00:03:54] The first question is what am I most proud of from 2025?
[00:04:10] The next question is, what lessons did I learn the hard way?
[00:04:23] Next, where did I experience expansion?
[00:04:34] Then?
[00:04:35] What am I carrying that is no longer mine to now?
[00:04:48] What version of myself am I ready to lovingly release?
[00:05:00] And finally, what is the one word or feeling I want to leave behind in 2025?
[00:05:17] Now I'll offer you a practice of writing down what you would like to release on a piece of paper.
[00:05:25] And once you've written that down, you can burn it in your candle flame or bury it.
[00:05:36] You might even place it in a body of water and watch it drift away.
[00:05:44] Know that there is nothing weak about release.
[00:05:48] It takes courage to unclench, to clean. Clear the field for growth.
[00:06:00] Now I have more reflections for you as we welcome what's next?
[00:06:09] First, what do you want to feel in 2026?
[00:06:20] What qualities or intention are beginning to rise?
[00:06:30] What dreams are gently tapping at your door?
[00:06:37] And if it feels right, choose a word for the year or let one choose you.
[00:06:46] What's meant for you will come more easily when you're not gripping what has passed.
[00:06:57] I invite you to take a moment of silence or take a few more moments to journal anything that comes to mind or heart.
[00:07:15] I encourage you to save these journal entries and look back at them a year from now.
[00:07:23] Notice how things have changed and how you've grown Close this ritual with the cleansing breath, breathing in through the nose and out of the mouth.
[00:07:50] Whether this is your first time listening or you've been with me all year, I want to thank you for walking this path with me in 2025 for yourself and for you. I hope our next cycle begins with clarity and peace and purpose and I'd like to share some offerings if you'd like to continue this work on New Year's Eve, AV and Liz will be leading a Release, Reset and Renew New Year's Eve Vin and yin practice from 10 to 11:30am to help you release what no longer serves. Reset your energy and step into the New Year feeling clear and connected. I'd also like to invite you to my New Year's Day Breathe, flow and set your intention for 2026 workshop. This is an annual workshop that I lead and it is my favorite way to start the New Year.
[00:08:44] This practice is designed to start your New Year with positivity, movement and an attitude of gratitude alongside our community and in deep connection to your true self. So we'll be starting the New Year with clarity and joy and connection. Thank you so much for joining me today. I am so incredibly grateful for you and excited for the year to come. We're all in this together and the more conscious, more connected and more present we are, the more we will form the world we wish to see.
[00:09:20] Thank you so much for joining Om Shanti Own Peace.
