🌿 I often find the wisdom of yoga mirrored in my garden — a living metaphor for the distinctions between Nature, Nurture, and Choice.

Nature 🌱
I can bury bulbs and scatter seeds. Some grow, some don’t. There’s no need to ask, “Why do bad things happen?” Nature simply is. This is the realm of karma unfolding, without resistance or regret.

Nurture 🌻
I can read instructions and plant with intention — giving each seed the right light, soil, and care. The question becomes, “How can I serve this life to become what it’s meant to be?” This is yoga in action: aligning with nature through effort, awareness, and devotion.

Choice 🧠
But unlike plants, we are gifted with conscious choice. We can perceive ourselves as buried… or as planted. Between every stimulus and response, there is space — and in that space, our power to choose (Frankl). Yoga Sutra 2.33–2.34speaks to this precisely: by cultivating opposite thoughts when negativity arises, we transform our karma through awareness.

“When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be cultivated.” – Yoga Sutra 2.33

🌸 From Self-Centered to Self-Connected

It’s easy to confuse knowing yourself with being self-centered. But there’s a clear distinction:

• Self-centeredness is driven by ego, insecurity, and control:
  “How can I impose my views? How can I protect my image?”
• Self-connection arises from presence and gratitude:
  “How can I serve? How can I be rooted in love regardless of outcome?”

This isn’t just philosophy — it’s visible in every arena. Whether in sport, school, or career: does the person on the podium acknowledge those who helped them rise? Now picture yourself there: can you honor the setbacks as setups? Gratitude marks the turning point from ego to awakening.

🏠 At Home in the Divine Abodes

At Sol Hot Yoga Studio, our practice begins on the mat, but its roots go far deeper. We are guided by the Brahmavihāras— the Four Divine Abodes described in Yoga Sutra 1.33, a direct map to inner freedom:

“By cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the suffering, joy for the virtuous, and equanimity toward the non-virtuous, the mind becomes pure and peaceful.” – Yoga Sutra 1.33

💗 Loving-Kindness (Mettā)

Opening the heart unconditionally — to ourselves and to others.
"Life is an echo. What you give, you get." — Zig Ziglar

❤️‍🩹 Empathy (Karunā)

Holding space for suffering without being consumed by it.
“Understanding is another name for love.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

🌼 Shared Joy (Muditā)

Celebrating the goodness in others without comparison.
“Thousands of candles can be lit from one candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.” — Buddha

🌗 Equanimity (Upekṣā)

Remaining balanced in the face of change.
“Between stimulus and response is our power to choose.” — Viktor Frankl
See also Yoga Sutra 1.34, where breath and inner stillness are pathways to clarity.

“Or by exhaling and restraining the breath, the mind becomes calm.” – Yoga Sutra 1.34

These four Divine Abodes are more than ideals — they are disciplines of the heart. With steady practice and right view, we unlock the gates of the ego and return to our truest home — the Self beyond all roles, reactions, and resistances.

Let this be your yoga:
Not to strive for perfection, but to dwell in presence.
Not to fix yourself, but to remember who you already are.  You have this power of self-agency in each breath you draw in & every morsel of tension that you release.