Hi Reader,

I'm running a little late on a few things this month, but only because life has been lifing. I just got back from a trip to Yellowstone with my family (so much fun, so much gratitude). I've been in a bit of a complaining mood lately, and right before the trip, being around family reminded me how grateful I actually am. So, naturally, today I wanted to chat about gratitude really quick since it's been on my mind, but also releasing and letting go.

Small example: right before I left, I was sooo frustrated trying to fold and wash clothes that weren't fitting in my closet. My aunt looked at me and said, "but how lucky are you, to have the things you asked for, the things you wanted." My ego wanted to keep complaining. My mind, a second later, actually listened. Gratitude is easy to lose when I'm stressed, but yes, I am grateful for clothes, for a home, for food, for health. And this isn't to say we shouldn't ever complain - for me, it helps to vent, but at times it's also good to have and show gratitude – it's ok to have both.

Gratitude and release might sound like they're pulling in two different directions. One is about appreciating what's already here; the other is about letting go of what isn't. But the more I sit with them, the more they feel like the same posture or lesson, just pointed in different directions. Gratitude meets what's already mine and actually sees it. Release meets what was never mine to hold onto, and lets it go instead of gripping. Both are about seeing and meeting things as they actually are.

🍂 September's Focus: Release

Summer has been prepping for this. Whether you've noticed it or not, the themes this summer have been: opening in June, easing into cooling in July, surrendering into slowness in August. Now, moving into autumn, we fall to release.

Something about this theme showed up for me in real life right after I had taught it in one of the park yoga classes. I'd put real effort into something this week, hours of it, and then it got canceled and fell through at the last minute, entirely out of my hands. My first instinct was frustration, that specific feeling of my time not being respected. But coming back to the mat reminded me I can't control everyone or everything. I can only choose where I put my focus next.

That's aparigraha showing up again and again; non-grasping, non-attachment. I've taught on this before, and I keep coming back to it, because it keeps showing up in real life. This time it was more about releasing my grip on how I thought things should have gone once they were already out of my hands.

September always feels like the right time to come back to this. We spend summer trying to hold onto plans, onto weather, onto a certain pace. Fall is a natural reminder that things end. Leaves fall. It's part of the cycle, and there comes a point where it's the right time to let certain things go, things that don't serve you, things that were never within your control to begin with.

Physically, this is where hips come in for us this month. It's often where we store what we haven't quite released yet, whether that's physical tension from sitting, from stress, or just from moving through life a little braced.

With Summer, it seems like we hold on to the light, the plans, the pace. Autumn asks us to open the hand a little, to release what we've been gripping so tightly.

That's where this month's practice starts.

💡 A couple of ways to notice this, on and off the mat:

🫱 Notice Where You're Gripping:

On the mat, this can show up as the tension in your jaw or eyes before a hard pose, the extra bracing you add for "just in case," the breath you're holding.

Off the mat, it's the same idea: could be actual tension in your jaw, eyes, shoulders, hips, when dealing with a stressful situation. IT can also look like holding tighter to a plan or a version of yourself because loosening the grip feels like losing the thing.

🦵 A 60 minute Hip-Opening Practice: Give your hips a few minutes of real attention this week. Hips carry a lot of what we don't consciously notice we're holding. A little release there is a good physical mirror for the letting-go work above. Click here to access the 60 minute class for free​

🎥 Shorter Practices With Me:

A hip-opening flow built around this month's theme: ▶ this short 12 minute flow may help you feel a little less tense in the areas we hold the most tension:

And if you want to sit with the philosophy a little longer: ▶ listen to this 12-minute meditation:

Where You Can Find Me

🌳 Boulder Park Yoga – Tuesdays at 6 PM @ Martin Park (through October 13th) – sign up​

📍 Online Yoga – Saturdays 8–9 AM MST – sign up​

🌴 Costa Rica Retreat 2026: 2 rooms left! If you've been thinking about it, now might be the time! (P.S. Flights are actually cheaper now than when I bought them) – more retreat info​

Sending my best,
🍂 Maria

P.S. If you ever want to chat or talk, respond to this email! Sometimes it may take me a little bit to respond, but I enjoy hearing from you, I enjoy chatting with you, and I try to respond back to emails as much as I can!

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Useful links​

​Private 1:1 Yoga​

​Online Yoga​

​Boulder Park Yoga​

​Costa Rica Retreat Info​

​​Shop the Desk Yoga Cards​