shifting the deep-rooted patterns that keep us stuck (plus, restorative practice for wholeness, connection, & presence)

Many of us are used to living life as a series of habitual reactions to what’s going on around us, leaving us feeling overwhelmed much of the time. The resulting stress and tension can impact the way we move, feel, and communicate.

This stress and tension become deep-rooted patterns and can leave us feeling as though we are watching out lives from the outside.

They can also interfere with the moments in which we want to be fully present — whether that’s enjoying an easy Sunday morning, hosting friends, having a heart-to-heart with your child, or trying to savor your dream vacation.

In the last 30 years of teaching yoga, I’ve realized that it isn’t the stress itself that keeps us stuck. After all, we’re all going to experience stress in one form or another. It’s how we respond to stress that’s at the root of so many of our challenges.

It was through this realization that I developed the tools and practices that became my signature program and best-selling book, Deep Listening.

Deep Listening is the process of truly connecting to ourselves and our lives. It isn’t so much a specific technique as it is an approach to how we receive and respond to stress and tension — as well as ourselves and each other.

It is the practice of pausing and opening: We pause so we can pay attention to ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us in a more open, more present, and more compassionate way.

Our practice will help us experience our connectedness, so we can cultivate a stronger sense of belonging and wholeness — even in the midst of stress and tension.

experience deep listening

Beginning today and over the next 9 weeks in this blog, I’ll be sharing inspirations and FREE practices from my book, Deep Listening, chapter by chapter, to expand our capacity to listen with our hearts.

If you’d like to go even deeper into this experience, you’re invited to join my new 10-week program, The Deep Listening Summer Series.

Each week aligns with a chapter in my book, and you’ll be invited to read the chapter (optional), practice yoga, meditation, and off-the-mat mindfulness tools, and complete guided reflections and prompt. Plus, you’ll be able to download a special Deep Listening Journal to integrate the experience.

The skills you build through Deep Listening practice will expand your capacity to stay open, curious, and connected through the summer… and beyond.

free practice: pure restore

This week I’m so happy to share with you the first practice of the longer program for FREE.

This 40-minute pure restorative practice will nourish you deeply, as you are guided to feel the welcoming support of the earth and loving care of the breath.

Begin to cultivate a warm space, to set you up to slowly release tension and unfurl. It will allow us to feel more at ease and more grounded, and help us build the essential skills of softening into presence.