Hello deep summer! 🌿 August Yoga Practice: learning to slow down again and again

Hi Reader,

We're deep in the go-go-go part of summer. Full schedules, long daylight hours that trick you into thinking there's always more time, that reminder of "keep moving", the urge to maximize summer time that gets louder the hotter it gets.

Slowing down is a theme I come back to often, a reminder that I myself need every once in a while, even if I teach it. I want to come back to it this month because this is exactly the season that tests it. It's one thing to slow down when life is naturally quiet. It's another to actually do it when everything around you is moving fast.

🌿 August's Focus: Slowing Down, On Purpose

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras says: yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Not the stilling of your schedule, or your to-do list, or your responsibilities. The mind. Which means you don't actually need less to do this month. You might just need more pauses inside of what you're already doing.

That's the shift I keep coming back to. Slowing down isn't about doing less. It's about how you move through what you're already doing.

On the mat, that might look like taking the extra breath in a transition instead of rushing to the next pose. Off the mat, it's smaller than people expect. Pausing for one real breath before you open your laptop. Not rushing through the dishes, actually feeling the water, the plate, the motion, instead of mentally halfway through tomorrow's to-do list. Letting a task actually end before you start the next one, instead of already reaching for it. Slowing down and being fully present, enjoying and experiencing each moment for what it is.

None of this requires more time. It requires noticing the moments you're already rushing through without meaning to.

A couple of easy ways to slow down on and off the mat:

🌬️ One breath between things: Before you move from one task to the next this week, take one real breath first. Not a rushed inhale on your way to the next thing. One full breath, on purpose, before you begin again. One of my recent faves has been Bhramari - Humming bee or bumble bee breath: see a how-to video I created here (new ig post!).

🍽️ Do one ordinary thing, slowly: Pick one small, repetitive task this week (dishes, folding laundry, brushing your teeth, walking to your car, walking the dog) and do it at half your normal pace. Notice what you actually experience when you're not rushing through it.

✍🏼 In practice: If you want to sit with this a little longer: ▶ slow down, notice, and practice presence with one of my favorite meditations: the 5-4-3-2-1 meditation

🎥 Practice With Me on YouTube

A slower-paced flow built around pausing in transitions: ▶

🌳 A Couple of Park Yoga Updates

Cancellation emails are back. I stopped sending these last year because weekly cancellation emails started to feel like a lot, but I heard from enough of you that you'd rather have the heads up than not. So they're back! If a storm's rolling in and it's not safe to be out in the open, I'll email at least 1 hour before class (it's been hard to gauge the last few weeks, but summer weather is sometimes like that!). If there's enough interest, I can also shift cancelled classes to be online if we have more weather cancellations.

That said, showing up is always still welcome, even if I've cancelled. I heard that people showed up after a cancellation and just flowed together on their own in the park, which honestly might have been one of my favorite things to hear that happened all year so far - community! I'll just always cancel when storms are close enough to be a safety issue.

Where You Can Find Me

🌳 Boulder Park Yoga - sign up - Tuesdays at 6PM @ Martin Park

📍 Online Yoga - sign up - Saturdays 8-9AM MST (might be moving this to Sundays @ 10AM MST, will keep you posted).

🌴 Costa Rica Retreat Info

Sending out the group chat this month! Bookings for this will officially close by the end of September. We still have 3 spots left. Let me know if you have questions or want to chat through anything. Leaving the General Info | Rooms + Rates here

Last thing:

Upcoming Colorado retreat survey. I am running a survey for our first Colorado retreat next year! If you've already filled out the IG survey, you're all set and can ignore this. Here's the survey link. Takes just 2 minutes, and it genuinely shapes what next year looks like. If you're maybe interested in attending, I'd love your input.

Affirmation of the Month: "I don't need less to do. I need more pauses inside what I'm already doing."

Sending my best,
🌼 Maria