The Practice of Radical Joy: What Yoga (and Puppies) Keep Teaching Me

I welcome April as my month to choose “Radical Joy.” I heard the expression from my teacher, who reminded me that I had to make this my daily commitment. I have been riding exhaustion trying to navigate my frustrations with the world today. She is the person who has been my witness all these years of being a yoga practitioner.

I’m invited into my neighbor’s home only to see they are passionate voters for my least favorite man. Why are they so kind as to ask about my daughter and appreciate my unruly dog? Why can’t they be nasty and irritable? I find that human beings are a contrast of opposites, and my judgements only make me miserable. I practice holding the balance and realizing that every behavior and thought is learned. Habits of attachment are so hard to let go of. So I can explore the possibility of finding the good in everyone even if I disagree with their opinions on the world.

This past weekend, my niece Sara organized the most fun, outrageous unifier for all human beings—puppy chaos! The room was filled for two days with yoga students actually following Kim Eisengrath’s wonderful led Gentle Yoga with Puppies fundraiser class with the cutest mayhem of puppy energy everywhere. It was giggles and laughter with all ages enjoying an afternoon where love was the only experience. Just enjoying the sweetness of these innocent babies and “want a be dog owners.” We even had some successful adoptions! As a passionate practitioner and teacher of the tools of yoga, I forgot that being in the experience of joyous fun is more important than my rigid idea of what a yoga experience should be. I am grateful to be humbled by this delightful weekend mayhem—a shout out to Sara, Kim, and the puppy rescue crew.

We celebrate our 28th year of creating Yoga Among Friends this week. I’m reminded why I wanted to establish community and share in the gift of loving as kindred souls of living life fully. I am so grateful for all of the students and teachers who hold this vision of a shared yogic lifestyle and living fully with joy even as we witness sadness and sorrow. I am always practicing what I need to hear and feel. Renewed energy is returned as my cortisol levels lower, and I stay away from my little mind’s need to be in control. I never imagined that we would become a studio offering puppy yoga!! But no better way to embrace the radical joy. Let’s all choose better as we enjoy the month of April.

This month, we’re embracing Radical Joy in every way—through breath, movement, stillness, and community. Browse our April offerings and find the experiences that speak to you. There’s a place for you here.

If any part of this reflection spoke to your heart—whether it was the idea of Radical Joy, the practice of releasing judgment, or the playful magic of puppy chaos—I’d love to hear what it stirred in you. Feel free to leave a comment.

With love and light,

Laura Jane

Yoga as a Journey: Healing, Community, and the Soul’s Path

Many of you know the story of Yoga Among Friends, which began with the pure intention of developing a community where people could gather and share a common commitment to a practice of healing physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually. Yoga was and never has been purely an exercise program. I opened with the understanding that yoga is a “healing modality for the soul.” What a lofty phrase!

I watched the world embrace yoga as a glorified way to improve body image, wear wonderful yoga clothes, and enjoy being physically challenged. There is nothing wrong with meeting yoga as a fitness workout. It brought many of our students into the studio for the first time and allowed them a safe place to begin the journey inward.

Life is confusing, and yoga offers a deeper place of reflection. Yoga Among Friends is a welcoming place. In our world today, we are all struggling with the uncertainty of life. I opened the studio to embrace each person as a human being, not an object to identify skin tone, body shape, gender, or skill of yoga poses.

I struggled in my youth, always feeling like an outsider to the popular world. When yoga came into my life, I began to embrace my whole self, my greater self. I found a way to quiet my thoughts and listen to a deeper place. I felt a doorway into something greater. Today, as the world struggles with the loss of human nature to listen and trust, we are seeing more anger and fear arise, which only hurts humanity.

Yoga Among Friends is a safe haven to fall apart, breathe life into a fragile body, and begin to feel whole again. Community is the key, and everyone is welcome. There are only beginners on the journey of the soul. Healing is our mission, not perfection. Healing can be messy, yet I feel we are all ready for the light inside us all to be revealed. We welcome this time as a beginning and how exciting it is to have a place to share.

Have you experienced yoga as more than just a workout? Has it helped you find healing, connection, or self-discovery? I’d love to hear your thoughts—share in the comments below!

And if you’re looking for a space to explore yoga beyond the physical, I invite you to join us at Yoga Among Friends. Come as you are, and let’s journey together. Check out our new student special to try us and find a class that speaks to you!

Love and light,

Laura Jane

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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P.S. Explore Rituals with These Classes and Workshops

Dec 6 - First Fridays with Eagle Sangha

Dec 10 - Therapeutic Yoga Monthly Workshop: Low Back Health

Dec 11 - Night of Rasayana: The Ayurvedic Path of Rejuvenation

Dec 18 - Women's Wellness Workshop:  Self-Care and Connection Under the Waning Gibbous Moon

Dec 21 - Sound Bath Meditation

Dec 31 - New Year's Eve Candlelight Yoga with Crystal Bowls & Handpan Sounds

Jan 1 - New Year's Day Yoga