Hi Reader

June was my busiest month of the year so far, but also full of so many happy memories! I'm home now, unpacked (mostly), and genuinely grateful for how full it all was. July is starting strong and hot.

I'm still deep in my Ashtanga immersion and 300-hour YTT while teaching classes, and one thing that keeps showing up for me lately is how much I want to control things I actually can't. The weather for park yoga. Whether I made the "right" decision because I had expectations. Or how a pose is supposed to feel on a given day. I'm working on it. There's a fine line between caring just enough and caring too much.

And that's actually what I wanted to share with you this month.

☀️ July's Yoga Practice: Tapas, Summer Energy, and Spending It Wisely

Summer naturally brings more energy. The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and life often speeds up with it. In yoga philosophy, that reminds me of tapas: the disciplined, purposeful heat that fuels a meaningful practice. But tapas was never really about having more energy. It's about where that energy goes.

Lately, I've noticed how much energy I spend gripping onto outcomes instead of simply doing my part. I get excited to teach a park class, plan for it, and imagine how it'll go. Then the weather changes, and suddenly I'm spending more energy wishing things were different than accepting what is.

The Yoga Sutras have a name for that too: aparigraha, or non-grasping. For me, these two ideas have started working together into this thought:

*Protect your tapas by not spending it on outcomes you were never in control of.*

In practice, that has looked like showing up fully for class, then genuinely letting go of the outcome once it's out of my hands. Bringing my full effort to my Ashtanga practice, then releasing the expectation that every pose should feel a certain way. Small shifts, but they add up.

Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind, and letting go of constant thoughts about what should have been is one way we begin to do that.

Summer is a reminder to be mindful of our energy. We naturally seek shade, slower afternoons, and ways to cool ourselves when the heat is intense. Rather than pushing against that, we can use our energy intentionally instead of spending it fighting what we can't change.

A couple of ways to work with this, and to physically cool off, on and off the mat:

❄️ Sitkari Breath ("Cooling or Hissing Breath"): This one cools the body almost immediately, and it's easy to use anywhere: at your desk, in traffic, or during a heat wave

1. Keep your tongue flat and press the tip gently against the roof of your mouth or behind your teeth.
2. Inhale through your teeth with your lips open.
3. You'll hear a soft hissing sound.
4. Close your mouth and exhale through your nose.

🌙 Left Nostril Breath: Similar to alternate nostril breathing, but you'll only inhale through the left nostril and exhale through the right

1. Bring your right hand's first two fingers to your third eye, and use your thumb to close your right nostril
2. Inhale through the left
3. Then use your ring finger to close your left nostril and exhale through the right
4. Repeat for a few rounds for another simple, cooling reset

These breathwork practices can work to help calm and quiet the mind chatter, and cool you down from the inside out.

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(If you want more easy-to-access breath and yoga tools like these, check out my Desk Yoga Card Deck)

Practice With Me

▶ Cooling Sitkari Breath: click here​

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▶ Walking meditation in Nature: click here​

Where You Can Find Me This Month

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

💻 Online Yoga - sign up​
Saturdays 8–9AM MST

Costa Rica Retreat | Nov. 19-23, 2026 🌴 4-6 spots left: a great mix of ages, solo travelers signed up so far. Here, if you have any questions, and want to chat. Leaving this here 💛
▶️ General Info | Rooms + Rates​

Sending my best,
💛 Maria

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Useful links​

​Private 1:1 Yoga​

​Online Yoga​

​Boulder Park Yoga​

​Costa Rica Retreat Info​

​​Shop the Desk Yoga Cards​