Episode Transcript
[00:00:12] Hello and welcome to another episode of Deepen your yoga practice. I am your host, Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today I really wanted to take some time to honor the end of this cycle, the end of this year of 2024, before we go in to the new Year. I feel like we're so rushed oftentimes through this period of the year where there are holidays and celebrations, there is so much to do. It is so full, which can be really beautiful, I think. And at the same time, we don't often pause to let go to fully complete before we start the next cycle or the next year. So this episode is a moment to honor this year and honor the death of this year, the ending of it, before welcoming in the new year. And I know for me, when I am listening to podcasts, I'm usually driving or I'm doing dishes or, or cleaning toys or something like that around the house. And if you want to listen to it in that way today, that is totally fine. I'll also offer an invitation to make this a really mindful ritual. So if you're able, if you have the space and the time, I would get a journal, go to a comfy space, maybe light a candle, do whatever feels nurturing and nourishing to you, and really take these few minutes of time to engage with yourself, to go inward and to reflect on these different concepts that I'll bring up. There is also going to be a guided meditation toward the end of this episode. So if you're in the position to really go inward, go for it. And again, if you're driving, if you're cleaning toys or whatever that is, take it in the best you can. So again, end of the year, here are some yogic reflections. Briefly, before I begin, I do want to say that I have a New Year's Day workshop, which is breathe, flow and set your intention for 2025 at True Love Yoga on January 1st. So once we conclude today, if you're excited about starting to plant some seeds and set some intentions for the new year, that will be a wonderful opportunity to do that. So one of the things that yoga teaches us is to embrace this cycle of life. We see this symbolically in a lot of ways. So we can think of these cycles as birth or creation and then life or sustaining and then death or endings and maybe a little pause between. We see this through the symbolism of the chant of Om is meant to symbolize this birth or creation, the sustaining, the ending and the pause afterwards. We See it also through the mythology of yoga, through the Trimurti, or the three yogic gods and their consorts as well. We have Brahma the creator, Vishnu the sustainer, and Shiva the destroyer. And it's important to note that in India and in places that practice Hinduism, Shiva is highly revered. We're not to be afraid of endings. We're not to be afraid of death. It's something we embrace as this natural cycle of life, life. And it's something that we can approach with reverence. There's something just as holy in death as there is in birth. If you've ever witnessed maybe someone you love passing or a pet or something like that there, it's very sad, of course, but there's like a magic too, that you might feel in that moment, same as birth. Yoga really invites us to embrace that. And of course, this darkness or death also means the invitation of new beginnings. Because this, this is a cycle. So we want to honor all different parts of this cycle. And this time of year, we can honor this. This feeling of ending or feeling of death, of change. So yoga teaches us about impermanence. Nothing lasts forever except for the soul. In yoga, everything is constantly in a state of flux, in a state of change. But as humans, we have this tendency to attach. We attach to what's comfortable, we attach to what is familiar. And the thought of things changing, the thought of endings, the thought of death, can be really scary. And in a lot of ways, like psychologically, we avoid it. Yoga in the yoga sutras teaches us that this attachment, this attachment to how things are, is a klesha. It's an obstacle to enlightenment. So it is literally separating us from the divine, us from our soul, us from the self. So it's really important, I think, and potent to take advantage of this season and this time of year to reflect on maybe how we are clinging, how we are attaching to things, and then to consider how we can start softening, how we can start letting go. So if you'd like to journal along with this episode, I have a prompt for you, and you're welcome to pause after I propose this. And if you're listening a little more passively or you're doing something else, you might just take the time to think about it or maybe listen again later if you do like these journaling prompts. So this prompt number one is, what are you holding on to from this year that no longer serves you? What are you holding onto from this year that no longer serves you? And how might letting it go create space for New growth, how might letting it go create space for new growth? So you might take a few moments to think about that, feel, feel it out in your heart, or even to journal. You're welcome to pause and come back. Another aspect of the yoga practice that is really important pertaining to this time of year is the shadow. So shadow work, you can think of it as the yin as opposed to the Yang. It's even considered the feminine as opposed to the masculine, the lunar as opposed to the solar. So we have darker days. If you're in the Northern hemisphere, the sun sets early, it rises late. We've just experienced the darkest day of the year. We talk about shadow work in my interview with Sedona Alvarez as such an important part of this yogic process. And if we don't look into the shadows, we are not able to fully study and experience ourselves. We're really only getting, like, half of the picture.
[00:07:23] And while it can be hard to look at our own darkness, it can be extremely rewarding. And I also find that a lot of our gifts lay in the shadows. So things that we might consider weaknesses actually can be our greatest strengths. For instance, something I always felt was a weakness in my own life was a high level of sensitivity. It seemed wrong. I didn't know. I wouldn't have been able to tell you that that was an issue in my life, like, as a child or a very young adult. But once I found the resources I need and put my finger on that as a trait that I possess, I was able to bring it out into the light and transform it into a superpower. I couldn't do the work that I do without this high level of sensitivity and be able to connect with others on the. That I'm able to. So things that we might feel are in the shadows from this year are feelings of sadness, of grief, of disappointment. And that might be personal within our own lives. It might be societal or things in the world, especially those of us that are sensitive. It can feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders sometimes, and I think it's okay to go ahead and feel into that. There's no, in my opinion, getting over feelings. It's only getting through. Right? So this is an invitation, you know, at your own comfort level. It's just like the asana practice. We don't need to push into the deepest level of discomfort possible. And we might need support around us if we are to do that, like a therapist, for instance, or a very good friend. But I do encourage you maybe to sit with some of these Feelings of sadness, of grief, disappointment. And we can feel into these while also allowing for them. So we can use this idea of attachment and of this fear of change and actually flip it to the positive because, you know, when things are uncomfortable, we might want them to change. And that's the nature of this life. It's going to keep changing. So these uncomfortable feelings, they're not going to last forever. They need to flow through us to be released. So this is an opportunity for catharsis, for grief, for disappointment, for whatever comes up. And I'll give you a journaling prompt for that. Again, you can pause and, and write it out, or you might just take a moment and feel into it. But I'd love to ask you, what emotions have you been avoiding or pushing down this year?
[00:09:57] And how can you honor them and let them guide your growth? So what emotions have you been avoiding or pushing down this year? And how can you honor them and let them guide your growth? Next, in regards to the closing of this year, I'd love to talk about this yogic concept of Santosha, which I've talked about on this podcast before. It is one of the Niyamas, which is the second limb of yoga on the eight limb path, as outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. And I have an episode all about that. And it's about contentment, it's about appreciating what is, rather than striving for what isn't. It is not complacency, is not throwing our hands in the air and saying, well, well, there's nothing I can do about this. It is instead cultivating a sense of acceptance. So it's like this radical relationship with reality as we perceive it and infusing it with gratitude. So it's the ability to perceive the abundant blessings around us, no matter what our station is in life, no matter what our situation is.
[00:11:09] And it can be so, so hard sometimes. But that small change in attitude can really make all the difference. So I encourage you to look back at 2024 through the lens of gratitude. Gratitude for the lessons learned, for the highs and the lows, and to cultivate a sense of contentment in the journey. It's all about the journey, right? Not to be trite, but life is going to have highs and lows. It's really how we ride these waves. It's not about the end point, right? And yoga really teaches us, I think, how to form this beautiful relationship with life, with all of it, right? The light and the shadow, the high and the low, with everything in between and if we're able to, to cultivate Santosha around all of it. It is such a superpower. It allows us to journey through life with a lot less fear and with more of a sense of positivity and not toxic positivity, but more the positivity that comes from wisdom, that comes from the ability to zoom out on our lives and see the highs and lows as necessary. Beautiful. So here is the next prompt for you. What are the three things from 2024 that you're grateful for? How did these moments contribute to your personal growth? What are three things from 2024 that you're grateful for? And how did these moments contribute to your personal growth? So take a moment to pause to consider that. And when you're ready, press play. So I've talked about these concepts of attachment and acceptance and we'll go a little bit more into that and into other yoga concepts that correlate with it. And this is cultivating a calm mind in the face of change, in the face of transition, which can be really hard. I just taught a yoga class today that was all about this. And it's so important in times of uncertainty and times of change to be able to pull from this inner resource, this inner well, that I think a yoga practice that I'll talk about, self study, can really open up for us and give us access to. So we cultivate a calm mind in the face of transition. And we can do this through swadhyaya, which is another niyama, it means self study. And through varigaya, which is non attachment. And that is also a concept in the yoga sutras. So Swadhyaya and Veragaya. Another way to look at non attachment is acceptance. So it's what I spoke of earlier. It's this radical relationship with reality. It's accepting what is happening around us. And like Santosha, it's not accepting it with a sense of complacency. It's accepting it while in one hand, while holding in the other hand. Practice trying, showing up. So we show up, we practice and we cultivate radical acceptance. And we can practice acceptance by reflecting. We can reflect on what worked and didn't work this year without judgment or attachment to specific outcomes.
[00:14:44] I love the idea of looking at our actions and their results in our lives as data. Right. Especially for those of us who take a lot of risks. I'm a business owner, so that's inherent in owning a business. But we're going to fail a lot, probably like the people that you see or hear that seem successful. There's a lot of failure there as well. But I think for quote unquote success to happen, you have to be able to pull back and look at this failure and even successes as data points. And when we do that, that's sort of removing ego from it and attachment and judgment as well. We're looking at it almost like mathematically or scientifically, and that's going to give us information for future growth, for helping us determine what direction to go in, for helping us not attach so tightly to our lives and what they look like right now. So that is a form of self study or svadhyay. And I recommend again doing it with this sense of acceptance, with non attachment looking at the data so that we can take that data and become more wise as we move forward. So the next journal prompt is what did you learn from the challenges of this year? And how can you bring a sense of calm and acceptance as you transition into 2025? What did you learn from the challenges of this year? And how can you bring a sense of calm and acceptance as you transition into 2025? Before I end this episode, I'd love to offer a brief guided meditation. And again, if you're driving, if you're cleaning, something like that, try to just take it in.
[00:16:36] Otherwise you might get really cozy in your sacred space as we begin. So you might close your eyes or just let them soften and take a few moments to breathe slowly and deeply. Breathe in through your nose, out of your mouth, and twice more in through the nose, out of the mouth, in through the nose, out of the mouth.
[00:17:23] Take a moment to visualize you one year ago sitting right in front of you. What were you feeling?
[00:17:32] What were you hoping for? What were you grieving?
[00:17:39] What were you celebrating?
[00:17:44] And send this past version of yourself so much love, so much compassion, so much acceptance.
[00:18:00] Send them love from your heart.
[00:18:05] And then take a moment to visualize yourself on the journey of 2024.
[00:18:14] What were you doing in the winter? What actions were you taking? How were you feeling?
[00:18:21] Who were you interacting with?
[00:18:28] Send that version of yourself so much love, so much compassion, and bring your awareness to the next version of yourself in the spring.
[00:18:47] Same questions. What was this person? What were you doing?
[00:18:53] How were you feeling?
[00:18:57] What maybe were you achieving?
[00:19:03] Who were you spending time with?
[00:19:10] What obstacles came up and what victories?
[00:19:18] And send this version of yourself so much love and gratitude, acceptance, maybe forgiveness.
[00:19:33] And then bring to your mind's eye this version of you in the summer.
[00:19:38] What were you doing, experiencing?
[00:19:43] What were you feeling?
[00:19:47] Who were you with what were the highs and the lows?
[00:19:56] Were there moments of bliss, moments of sadness?
[00:20:05] Send this version of you again. Love, kindness, compassion, acceptance.
[00:20:17] So much love.
[00:20:24] Then visualize yourself this fall, fall of 2024 again. What were you doing?
[00:20:32] How were you feeling?
[00:20:36] Who were you with?
[00:20:40] Were there moments of fun, moments of sadness, of tension?
[00:20:50] Let yourself go back and feel it all.
[00:20:57] Send yourself so much love, so much gratitude, acceptance, care, forgiveness.
[00:21:10] And then bring your awareness to you right here, right now, this culmination not only of this year, but of your whole life.
[00:21:25] How are you feeling right now?
[00:21:30] Allow yourself to feel these things without the need to change them or fix them, but instead sitting with self, compassion, with patience, with love, maybe with joy.
[00:21:47] You are a multifaceted being, therefore you will experience the many facets of life.
[00:21:56] How terrible, how beautiful, how wonderful.
[00:22:03] Let yourself feel it all and also give yourself permission to release, to soften, to not cling to this version of you right now, but to feel open, spacious, alive, and awake to your own life, to a new year that's awaiting.
[00:22:33] Send yourself so much love and compassion and send love to 2024.
[00:22:42] Gratitude.
[00:22:47] Farewell.
[00:22:51] I invite you to take a cleansing breath with me to end this guided meditation. Breathing in through your nose, out of your mouth.
[00:23:02] Take a few moments, notice how you feel.
[00:23:06] How does it feel to feel it all and to let it go, to let it pass.
[00:23:14] I want to thank you so much for spending this time with me today. And I really encourage you to take these reflections and maybe a new sense of calm and release and gratitude into the New Year. As a reminder, I have a New Year's Day workshop for renewal featuring breath, work, vinyasa, community, connection and intention. Setting for the New Year. If you're in Kansas City, I'd love for you to join me and I wish you all a peaceful end to 2024 and a warm welcome into 2025 with hope that you can join me maybe for some in person or online experiences next year. I'm sending you so much love and gratitude. If you're listening to this, I know that you are a mindful, caring person. So I'll just say whatever's happening in the world, to carry that light with you because it's so needed.
[00:24:13] Much love. Om Shanti, Om Peace.
