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2025 Embraces Uncertainty

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2025 Embraces Uncertainty

This opening of a new page is blank. I can choose now to fill it with thoughts and words, offering a beginning. I am sharing a glimpse of possibility into the knowing that the light is revealing the way. The path does not concern my past, nor does it condition my way forward. It is rising precisely from a flow of consciousness inside me now. The answers lie, as always, within me, at this moment, just as I am. The answers are not my future; they’re not in the past; they’re here, now, and the moment I choose to embrace and connect to them is found within my greater self. I am choosing to live from this space of awareness in the NOW, transforming my future as my past is finished.

As we move into 2025, please do not carry all the worries and doubts of the future. We cling to the past because we know it, and the future offers uncertainty. The little self wants certainty. It is addicted to a desire to control and organize to cling to an idea of certainty. We only know what we know. But LIFE is uncertain. To experience any chance of peace and contentment, we have to embrace uncertainty. The only way is to let go of the little mind’s addiction to the habits that keep us stuck in the familiar. To experience this quality of peace, there must be a desire to connect to the union of what is happening now.

Take a breath, take two more breaths..now just feel. Feel the effect of these breaths..they are happening now..you are alive now. Unfortunately, our minds are looking for some payoff. Some outcomes are more significant than just being enough now. Sit and experience whatever is being revealed. Stay present. It might not be pleasant. The chatter might get louder. Stay and feel the awareness that we are constantly feeding the mind and fixing the unpleasant. Just surrender into the moment, let go through the breath, and first relax into the body. Take a few more breaths and link the focus to your belly, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Inhale, feel it expand, and then exhale, feeling it contract. It’s happening..your aliveness is being observed. Please do not look for or seek an outcome. No goals, no need to fix but experience this moment. Invite yourself into your life, exhale, and say, “Thank you.”

Let us commit to a year of not reacting to issues; act instead from a state of surrender in which mind and emotions are released. Liberate yourself from your defensive routines and absorb information to have a greater capacity to serve the interest of the whole. We are part of the collective of humanity. We are each a spoon of water that is dropped into the ocean of water.  Create a new beginning of not fixing nor flighting your past with the need to control the future. It all comes down to the simple path of coming inward. Keep your mind and heart open and focus daily on your inner work and its expression. Let us participate in this practice in love. We know what truly nourishes and sustains us is a state of peace. The world around us might not reflect this, but something pure dwells within all of us. No amount of striving in the world will make this experience a truth. I’m embracing infinite uncertainty from what the mind thinks is a scary place to an experience of completeness and beauty in feeling this profound protection. This trust rests in us. Forget everything except what is possible NOW within you. May you live and thrive this year, knowing something greater is guiding us home. 2025 offers a crack for the light to come through. Let us crack open and let the old fall away to be present in the inner peace. No setting New Year’s resolutions nor creating goals for the future. Love this moment and share the smile of loving-kindness.  Within this space, more will be revealed!

Love and light,

Laura Jane

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Healing Rituals of the Season

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Healing Rituals of the Season

I was sitting in my awkward state of mind, not knowing how to move forward. It’s the holiday season, and I find I am unable to “do.” I want to stay in my cave for now. I’m struggling to understand all the confusion in my heart. How does the world support me in my fragile state of mind? The joy of the season is being lost in my frustration of witnessing so much anger and pain.

Exhaustion is a natural state of disappointment as I question my reality in the outer world. I have lived in a yogic bubble of seeing the world in a higher state of conscious choice to live without resentment or projection.

Honest awareness and the ability to sit without fixing, doing, or distracting. Stay in the present moment and not project out into the future. Be present in this special moment. Now I tell my self to breathe into this experience of actual living. Yoga is all experiential in the now. Heartbreak is the gateway to sitting in the open space of “not knowing.”

I am choosing to hold loose the future and focus on this beautiful winter solstice that will bring in the light. I will practice “Pratipaksa Bhavana,“ stepping out of my learned lens of judgment and changing my attitude. Seeing and walking in someone else’s shoes and witnessing my struggle shifting as I let go of my biased opinions projecting fear of the future.

I shift my thoughts at the moment into a practice of seeing the beauty around me. Yes, it can be an effort, but I have to feel a shift toward contentment. My mood changes from agitation, frustration, or fear into a passion for living with enthusiasm for the possibilities. I still have hope that humanity will be kinder.  My habit of reaction shifts to being able to respond with better words, tones, and intentions.  I have the choice to choose my thoughts. I am practicing to live from this state of mind and inspire gratitude for the present moment, reflecting on the ability to see grace unfolding because I can only change my perception.

Shifting the patterns of mind often requires a ritual. We have many rituals in life during the holiday season. My favorite is a daily ritual of lighting a candle and breathing into the flame. I love my ritual of setting up the Christmas tree and unpacking my ornaments, each offering a sweet reminder of the years collected. The times, places, and memories are placed carefully on the tree and become my altar. It’s a sacred place of ritual in our home to come inward.

This counters the hectic outer world of noise and confusion that the holiday season creates. I love the quiet, the darkness of the long nights, which offer me an opportune time to reflect. I move into my heart and sometimes shed a tear or two for the bittersweet of those no longer in my life. And yet the fullness of my heart for loving so well is felt. To embrace the moment is important for being human and for the frailness of our collective hearts.

Each of us has a daily ritual. Many of us have a “to-do list,” which exhausts us in the taskmaster. We forget that there is a sacred path to living that inspires through ritual. Prayer is a ritual, yet it becomes an unconscious act unless we create a time and place to feel it. Setting the table can be a ritual, and cooking a meal can be an honor of ritual, just as being present in our practice as we stand on a mat, welcoming and saluting the sun. The light in our hearts shines out as we begin our day in consciousness. The ritual of entering into a mediation is not about the outcome but the ability to be absorbed in the experience of feeling the pulse of this inner light.

This holiday season embrace your own rituals. Is it writing cards, wrapping a gift, serving a meal in a homeless shelter or church, lighting the menorah each night of Chanukah, or a self-care ritual? Each is an opportunity to bring a little of the spirit of this season back into our daily existence. 

At YAF, we have the community gathering ritual to share a practice on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Each is an opportunity to connect to something greater and to share the heartfelt experience of belonging.  Our sweet studio has continued to be my ritual of walking up those stairs, opening the door, turning on the lights, and welcoming the opportunity to serve. When I leave, I always close the door and thank the walls for being my container and for the support they offer me to feel the collective heart. 

This season of ritual offers us an opportunity to embrace a shared inner light with a heartfelt “thank you” to all our teachers and fellow students as we move into a new beginning.

Your turn. What do you think of this reflection? What rituals do you embrace this time of year to bring light and meaning into your life? Kindly share in the comments below.

Blessings to all,

Laura Jane


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Celebrate the Holidays with Yoga Among Friends Shirts and Ornaments

Celebrate the Holidays with Yoga Among Friends Shirts and Ornaments

The holiday season is here, and we’re excited to announce something special! Yoga Among Friends is offering custom apparel and a heartwarming holiday ornament to help you celebrate the season in style. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or finding the perfect gift for the yogi in your life, these items are the perfect way to show your love for the YAF community.

Custom YAF Apparel

Stay cozy and stylish with our exclusive Yoga Among Friends shirts and sweatshirts, available in versatile and trendy colors.

  • Sweatshirt

    • Color: Sand or Sport Gray

    • 100% Cotton

    • Sizes: Small to 3X

    • Price: $45 + shipping




YAF Heart-Shaped Ornament

Spread the love this holiday season with our limited-edition Yoga Among Friends heart-shaped ornament.

  • Price: $15

  • Proceeds: 100% of ornament proceeds support programs and scholarships at Sangha Space 501c3, making this purchase a gift that gives back to the community.


How to Order

To purchase your custom apparel or ornament:

  • Contact Sara for online ordering via Venmo or Zelle.

  • Items can be shipped directly to your home or picked up at the studio for your convenience.

    Don’t wait—supplies are limited, and these exclusive designs are only available for a short time!

Show your Yoga Among Friends pride and make your holidays extra meaningful. Thank you for supporting our community and helping us continue to make a difference through yoga and mindfulness.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Yoga Among Friends! 🌟

 

Sold Out

  • Long-Sleeve T-Shirt (Not Available)

    • Colors: Dark Heather, Sand

    • Sizes: Small to 2X

    • Price: $35 + shipping


  • T-Shirt (Not Available)

    • Colors: Dark Heather, Sand

    • Sizes: Small to 3X

    • Price: $28 + shipping