April comes around too quickly. How can another year have passed, and now we are completing 26 years? I am not sure how a practice of commitment started, but as I move forward this month and begin another lap around the sun, I am asking for help. The community needs students and teachers to sustain the foundation of these teachings. Cultivating when the world is hurting has been difficult, and attention to daily living has become challenging.

I know that I need to take a rest and restore. As much as I adore creating venues for teachings, travel, and training, I long to step back and soak in the experience of being present. I am taking a sabbatical this month and letting my identity as a teacher, business owner, mother, and wife not be my daily commitment. Sometimes, I feel getting our new puppy this past summer pushed me over to a new level of surrender. I want to step back, be invisible, and be the observer. As the witness, I long to soak in the gifts of the past 26 years.

I am going to embark on my adventure to Japan. The month of April will be the month I unplug from my daily duties, and I can be a tourist and follow whoever is holding the flag! Let someone take over the details. I will follow wherever and whatever as I explore the country without having to organize anything. I am fortunate and strong enough to travel in a time of chaos and despair. I am thankful for this gift as I approach 70.

The last time I traveled for this long was to complete my internship in yoga therapy in Chennai, India. I spent a month there in 2011 and 2012. The community supported this endeavor, and I was able to enjoy the last 12 years enjoying my role as a yoga therapist, offering the tools of yoga one-on-one. I’m grateful for the work, and now I am giving myself the gift of time and space to let life unfold as I nourish my soul.

This month, we have wonderful workshops and classes as we continue to inspire the deeper practices of yoga. Please continue to support us, and I’ll be back in May. Please take this month to honor Mother Earth and feel the pulse of change as a restructure of our collective humanity. Community-based in the heart of healing.

Much love,

Laura Jane