Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign welcome to deep in your yoga practice. I'm Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri, and I welcome you to this episode and wish you a very happy Thanksgiving week. Last year I did an episode on gratitude and connected that with ustrasana or camel pose. And this year we're going to talk about how presence and savoring are deeper and embodied forms of gratitude. So instead of rushing or forcing gratitude, what if we practice the art of slowing down and truly being with what is? Let's connect this to yoga philosophy. The first concept this brings to mind for me is santosha, which is one of the niyamas in the eight limbs of yoga. And it's all about contentment. It's accepting and appreciating what is rather than constantly reaching for more. And this is the perfect week to really stop and take note of what's around. It can be really easy to take different things in our lives for granted because they're our lives. We see them, we become desensitized to them. But when we stop and really focus on what is around us, we can develop this deep sense of appreciation and contentment for what is.
[00:01:29] This also brings to mind another niyama of Ishwara Pranidana, or surrender to the divine. So this is letting go into something bigger.
[00:01:41] This is acknowledging cycles and seasons and grace. So this season of autumn, we're watching the leaves fall off the trees, we're letting go of the year and surrendering to this inevitable change that happens constantly.
[00:01:58] This allows us to let go of control and instead really align ourselves with the nature of transition of change and to really go with the flow. This also brings to mind the concepts of abhyasa and vairagya. These in the yoga sutras are practice and non attachment, or practice and acceptance. And they really go hand in hand. So as we return again and again to this moment, they're right here and right now. We can release attachment to outcomes. So just being present is a practice in itself. It's this practice of mindfulness. And when we're here and now, we can let go of what might happen and instead really just savor the moment. So we show up, we discipline our minds to be here, and we can let go of the rest. Lastly, this brings to mind pratyahara, which is the fifth limb of yoga. It's withdrawing from overstimulation.
[00:03:00] And this can become really relevant in the holiday season. I encourage you this week, if everything's feeling full, if everything's feeling overstimulating, to go inward, to shut a few things off. The food, the schedules, the social media, media in general. We can give ourselves permission to go inward and to find simple presence. To be here now to with our bodies, to be with our breaths, maybe to be with the beautiful people who we love in our lives and to express how much we love them and to be with the simple pleasures that this week can offer us. So really letting go of what doesn't serve us, of what's distracting us, and tuning in to what truly is important when we're talking about savoring or slowing down. Modern research really shows the benefits of this.
[00:03:56] So savoring improves well being and it's associated with lower anxiety and greater life satisfaction. Honestly, even the word savor evokes a certain feeling within me and I feel more calm and more drawn to the present moment. Also, mindful eating has been shown to reduce stress and enhance digestion. So we don't need to eat mindlessly or use food as an agent for numbing or distraction. Instead, we can savor each bite and really appreciate what went into it.
[00:04:32] From growing the food or raising the food to preparing it, to eating it, to all of these systems that allow us access to nutrition. Incredible. Also, slowing down shifts us from our sympathetic nervous system or fight or flight into parasympathetic of rest and digest, particularly the ventral vagal response. This deep feeling of social connection. We're not wired to go, go, go. And the nervous system thrives when we pause, when we breathe, and when we feel I'll offer some suggestions for embodied practices for this week. One is on the mat. Maybe take a moment to practice something slower like restorative yoga or yin yoga. Maybe you're finding more forward folds or heart openers to express gratitude naturally.
[00:05:24] We have a couple great Thanksgiving classes going on at the studio this week, so I absolutely recommend checking those out because they are designed for gratitude and to savor this time off the mat, you might explore some savoring rituals like taking a slow walk or enjoying a cup of tea or coffee without multitasking. Maybe light a candle and pause before meals. Maybe consciously use mindful eating so looking at your food, tasting it, chewing it, appreciating it, and taking rest between bites. And you might take a moment to journal to ask yourself, what am I rushing through in my life and what's asking me to slow down? And I also do want to acknowledge that Thanksgiving isn't always as simple as all of that. It has a complex history, particularly for indigenous communities and for those of us who our white folks living in America.
[00:06:23] It can be very easy to focus in on the marketing or the traditions we grew up with and to ignore the atrocities that this holiday originally stemmed from. So I encourage us to reflect in a respectful way on this holiday and to offer a moment of prayer or even silence for the land that you're on and to whom it belongs. Maybe to take a moment to research whose land you're on and know that taking time to slow down also makes space for truth and compassion and awareness, and that it's okay to hold these things at the same time. This complication, this acknowledgement, and also this space to slow down and savor Know as we are moving through this week, you don't need a perfect gratitude list.
[00:07:16] You don't need to earn your food or overextend yourself. Just being in your body and with your breath is sacred. So this week, try choosing one thing to truly savor without distraction, without guilt. And know that this is a form of yoga. I'd love for you to come visit the studio this week if you're in kc. We have practices on Thanksgiving and the day after and we'd love to know what you're savoring this week. So feel free to comment on our socials, post for this episode or on Spotify. And I want to savor this time with you and send you my deepest gratitude for listening, for being a part of this community.
[00:07:58] Happy Thanksgiving. Much love to you. Om Shanti Om. Peace.
