The Light of the Sun, the Human Spirit

Every spring, I am reminded of the resilience of nature. The human spirit is needing some reminders that the sun is always shining somewhere. The gloom that pervades our world now is asking us to remember that clouds may block our view at the moment, but they are only filtering the sun’s light temporarily.

The sun is our metaphor for our own inner light. Surya Namaskara, a salute to the sun, is our daily practice of restoring our inner light by linking to the sun’s rays. Our light shines within us, no matter what else occurs around us.

Believing in our own light takes a willingness to keep turning it on. When our inner thoughts link to the clouds, our passion for living becomes dormant. An exhausted mind loses the joy for life. And if we are waiting for the outer world to change in order for us to feel better, we will only feel stuck in the mud.

To depend on others to change is to lose faith in ourselves. The gift of bringing our awareness to the light of the sun and linking our mind to the reverence of its rays is what fills our system with Prana.

Prana is the source of all life. Our light is the energy that connects to the movements of the Universe and this cycle of life is present at all times, whether we feel its glow or not. By remembering the gift of nature and witnessing how spring restores the color, the smells, the sounds, and the beauty of beginnings perhaps we can feel a surge of vitality within our soul.

Each of us is bringing up our own light to shine in the world. “To become the change we want to see in the world” was Gandhi’s peaceful message. To be the light in the storm is our gift to the world. Bring in the light of the sun today. Breathe in the light and exhale the rays of light. Bring into your heart the warmth of humility and remember how blessed we are for being alive today.

We have a choice. Choose the desire to see clearly. The sun is always shining somewhere. Choose to have it shine through your eyes. Let us feel the strength of this nutrient and enjoy the beauty that nature is gifting us right now.

It is not to avoid the clouds or deny them, the lotus flower grows in the mud. However, the flower or the tree is constantly seeking the light of the sun. Having the smallest crack to let that light in and shine it out is our human spirt. Fill your heart with this sweet expansion, and let’s offer our light to the world.

With love and light,

Laura Jane

Yoga to Awaken the Spirit Within

In the end, the longest and most important relationship any of us will ever have is with ourselves. Seeking ways to prioritize your health is crucial and even more important now. We lead increasingly busy lives and it can be easy to put yourself on the back burner. The saying is old, but rings true now than ever before: “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” When you look after yourself, the better you will feel, and the better you will be in all areas of your life. When you continuously fill your cup up, your cup will naturally overflow onto others around you and other key areas of your life, bringing more love, grace, and compassion into your life and around the world.

What better way to fill your cup back up than by beginning your day in a mindful way? Get your body moving, but equally taking the time to be quiet and still. A powerful way to do this is with a yoga practice, which can have profound effects on your mind, body, and soul. Starting your day off with healthy choices, like yoga, will get your blood moving and your mind more aware, which will help you feel your best.

As you connect with the body through yoga, you can connect to your senses. When you connect with your senses, you begin to wake up, literally and figuratively. Yoga is a profound discipline to support the body in becoming the most finely tuned and effective vehicle in which to experience what it is to be an awakened human being and achieve your greatest potential.

Releasing Energy Blocks Through a Yoga Flow

The building blocks of yoga include asanas, sometimes referred to as poses or postures, each of which enhance your strength, mobility, and breathing quality, particularly as you connect the asanas to create a flow. As you move through a flow and hold these different asanas, you transfer focus and attention to the body and breath. This not only helps to relieve physical tension, but also allows you to calm yourself down, especially before a busy day ahead.

Yoga asanas are effective for lubricating the major joint areas in the body, as well as for stretching, strengthening, and toning the major muscle groups so that your movement can be more fluid and stable. These asanas integrated through a yoga flow can generate powerful feelings. They were created to help you move through and release any energy blocks in your mind and body, places where stress or life experience has caused you to potentially tense up and armor yourself.

We Are Always Present, But the Question Is How?

In the yoga practice, pranayama or breathwork, in addition to asanas, is used to take your awareness into the realms within the space of your own body, mind, and spirit. Breathwork is an incredible tool to help soothe your way into a new day, by training you in letting go. Nothing is permanent—including your breath. Your breath is always changing; it’s always flowing, same with your thoughts. You can observe through your breath that your thoughts are coming and going as well. There are not there to stay. By focusing more on your breath, you can develop your mind, training it to be able to stay present to the impermanence of life. This can help you to feel more relaxed, more centered, more patient, and more compassionate going into your day.

However, now more than ever there are so many distractions throughout the day that too often pull our focus from the present moment. Fortunately, the breathing aspect of yoga helps to strengthen your mind, improving overall concentration and focus, in order to tackle these distractions and create a sense of mindfulness that permeates your entire body.

Keeping the Flow Alive Throughout the Day

Remember, you are the ultimate priority. Move your body, relax your mind, and continue to be empowered to feel your best. Dedicating yourself to the practice of yoga can extend to all areas beyond your mat. Yoga is a means of filling your cup back up, with self-care and self-love, with energizing the body, with calming the mind, and giving you the strength to take on your day. We all need to remember to take the time to unwind, to nourish ourselves, and to experience gratitude for the present moment that we are gifted with.

In the yoga tradition, the mind is said to begin in the heart. By dropping into the mind of your heart, you can move through your yoga flow with intent and utter clarity. From there, you can move into a still place where nothing else exists, possibly catching a glimpse of what true inner peace feels like.

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About the Author

You can find Katie teaching at Yoga Among Friends:

• Vinyasa Flow Mondays 8–9 am

• Vinyasa Flow
  Fridays 7–8 am.

Both classes are offered in-studio and virtually on Zoom. 

Katie Sayad discovered yoga in her early teenage years. With a background in dance, she was initially drawn to yoga for its discipline, movement, and overall grace. She grew more in love with the art of yoga through the years not only because she saw the physical benefits, but also because she realized how yoga had a profound impact on her emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. Yoga has gracefully grown into becoming a vital source of bringing more consciousness and compassion to Katie’s way of being.

She has studied, and continues to study from, various styles of yoga from yoga masters and teachers through the years. As a result, she has absorbed in the wisdom and art of these different approaches to yoga and has blended it into her own unique vinyasa flow style. Katie earned her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification from Yogaview in Wilmette, IL. She continues yoga as both a student and a teacher, where her love for the practice grows with each time on the mat.

Katie is also a certified Holistic Health & Wellness Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Her mission is to continue to help improve the overall well-being of others by cleansing the body and mind for a powerful reset through nutrition and lifestyle changes. This approach is to help those uncover their healthiest, most authentic selves and propel them forward on a more clutter-free, conscious, and compassionate path. Katie shares and brings this light to others on (and off!) the mat.

You can learn more about Katie and her work at www.katiesayad.com. 

Michael Taylor, A Guiding Force Behind YAF

There are some people who come into your life for a moment and others for a lifetime. Some people come into your life and change your life forever. We seldom ever know that our lives are just a sequence of choices that forever move us in a direction for our highest good. I always remind myself to hold the future loosely but to honor the intention of an inner guide that is directing me if I only listen. I am forever grateful for listening to my heart when I met my dearest friend and fellow yoga teacher, Michael Taylor.

There is a quality to this “knowing” that is often ignored unless one can trust the experience of what I refer to as my “Truth Meter”. This inner GPS, which has been my best friend, arises as a visceral experience when my entire body is embodied with goosebumps. Some people call them angel bumps. When this happens, I have no choice except to surrender and welcome the mystery that something greater is arising in my soul.

Life is just a series of these remarkable moments guiding us as we journey through life. The effort is in trusting the inner voice. This takes a willingness to know the difference between the striving to get something and the surrounding into letting go of the outcome. 

J. Michael Taylor

This April marks the beginning of a new path without our beloved Michael. In 1995, I had the great pleasure of meeting Michael and Doris, his wife, when I had just arrived from CA without any idea of where to begin my teachings.

I had been a yoga teacher in LA for many years but came out here to find a wasteland of healing arts. I first began my teachings by offering yoga classes in a small chiropractic office in Lisle. From there, I rented space on Main Street in Downers Grove in what was an Hapkito Academy. I will forever be grateful for those moments of faith and the early friendships that inspired the seeds for YAF.

When I met Doris, she quickly shared that her husband was a yoga teacher as well. Michael then came to my classes and over the next couple of years, a valuable friendship was established. And when I wanted to open up a studio in 1997, Michael was on board. From the moment I signed that lease, I knew I had a loyal and trusted friend to share the adventure with. The bond that developed over the years is filled with unspoken love and gratitude. He has been the steady rock of this studio. I often think of him as my “yoga husband”.

Yes, nothing is ever done alone. His amazing humor, dedication, and incredible gifts as a teacher have been a guiding force behind our community. Sometimes we just know that destiny is playing her hand and we just need to respond. Yoga Among Friends has been that siren call from the soul. Sometimes, the truth meter sounds the bell that resonates for a lifetime.  

Today as we renew our intention, I want us to hold the space of vigil for his complete health to be restored. As we move into our next year, Michael will be on a huge spiritual and physical pilgrimage of his own as he undergoes his bone marrow transplant for a rare blood disorder. His yoga practice is a testament to his overall well-being, and we commit to keeping our studio active and vibrant as he takes the months away to nourish his new immune system. We are family, and as we take our next spin around the sun, let us continue to commit to our practice of mind and body through the yogic tools.

I am so grateful for all our teachers who serve in sharing these much-needed practices. Keep supporting our studio so we can continue to meet within our space for that essential hug. Let us also continue to chant for the world while we send courage and love to Michael and Doris.  

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
The beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening.
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

—JOHN O’DONOHUE

Blessings of the heart,

Laura Jane