Whenever I start to write these opening pages in our newsletter, I am presented with an empty page—a blank and open space to let my thoughts unfold and my heart be revealed. It takes courage every time I sit in the uncertainty of my life and reveal my vulnerability in sharing my words. David Whyte refers to courage as the measure of our heartfelt participation in life, with another, with community, with work, and with a future.

As I return from my journey through Japan, I am reminded that life always asks us to be willing to go inward even as we journey outward. The true gift of travel is in reflection and being able to digest and absorb the experience of living fully.

Japan is a living example of being in serenity. There is a quality of peacefulness in the beauty of nature, even within the chaotic flow of millions of people living tightly immersed with each other. Traffic flows without any loud horns blaring, voices are kept low, there is respect for the cleanliness of the environment for no one litters, and the streets are spotless. A gentle regard for patience is shared as everyone bows in greetings and in goodbyes. I felt a profound sweetness in the ease of travel, and I have never experienced such trust in my safety.

Traveling in Japan is a joy, having left the angst of our divided country and the profound ripple of anger and fear that is being absorbed in our consciousness. I could sit and meditate with Zen Buddhist monks and appreciate the culture that arose from hundreds of years of violence under the military rule of the Shogun.

Japan was an isolated island until the 1600s, and history is not kind to gaps in lifestyle. Peasant unrest grew, and by the late 18th century, mass protests over taxes and food shortages had become commonplace. Many samurai fell on “hard times” and shifted into wage jobs for merchants. Japan was forced to abandon its seclusion policy as Western intrusions increased in the 19th century.

In the aftermath of WWII, we are asked to humbly question our own moral identity as I did, having spent 3 days in Hiroshima. When does war ever allow individuals to cultivate inner peace? As I returned to the US and the current chaos on our college campuses, I believe in reflection and wonder what the future is presenting for the next generation.

It is interesting how history constantly repeats itself as change presents endings and new beginnings. Life is a courageous journey in accepting change so that nothing remains the same. The constant is that we all want the same thing individually, and we are all deeply aware of love. We all want to live in serenity and ease. We all want to cultivate a lifestyle of respect.

I am changing. Travel is offering me a gateway into going deeper into my practice, and it is changing. I accept that I want to achieve less and live more fully in grace.

Today, I am authoring my own healing and creating a story of excitement and adventure in embracing my truth. I am making an effort to reject the social pressures that grind daily as I accept my aging, my health, and my journey. I will claim that my singular soul is at peace with my existence and tasting that freedom in letting go of my outer identity as a business owner. I am putting out to the universe a siren call to expand my torch. I am inviting some new possibilities into my life.

Come October of 2024, I am questioning signing another three-year lease. I have the energy today to continue, and yet, is that the wise choice? I have carried this sweet studio into a new time and feel new energy will only create better outcomes. Life presents more obstacles for me when I run a business at 70, and I want to pass on the legacy of Yoga Among Friends. I want to teach and create new venues to share my years of wisdom, yet my multi-tasking days of keeping my adrenaline state are asking me to let go. I can taste the intrinsic sacred need to go deeper and not be distracted by the multi-tasking of being a business owner.

I desire to carry on the story of community to another inspiring soul who will breathe new life into this amazing home of healing. As a yoga therapist, I want to continue offering my service and teaching, but I want to do less.

When I arrived from California all those years ago, I knew that to teach and have a lifestyle of living my yoga, I needed to create a space. What a miracle life offers when we set those intentions. I am honored to live such a wonderful story and cultivate such soul relationships. I left a life in LA at 40 to arrive in the Midwest, not knowing anyone, and settled into the western suburbs when everyone said, “ You can’t make a living there.” I trusted my inner voice, which refused to follow the voice of doubt. Trusting in something greater, I put down roots.

Those roots have produced amazing fruit today, and I am inviting a new gardener to add to the vision. So much possibility awaits; I am trusting the voice again that after raising my beautiful daughter and seeing her launched into the world, I must let my other child expand into something more. Love must expand, and the light will continue.

We celebrated 26 years of the day-in and day-out commitment to living with these healing tools. I am inviting any ideas, thoughts, and dreams to be shared as we move into a new beginning. Courage to grow takes the willingness to let go and allow the trust to unfold. I only know that there is cause and effect to everything. My decision is not to close but to expand; hopefully, this siren call will be heard. May is blooming with new life (see the wonderful workshops, series classes, and the return of our community class), and I feel excited about our possibilities.

Many blessings,

Laura Jane