Often I am reminded that the yoga mat is so much more than a space for movement. It becomes a mirror, showing us the subtle patterns of the mind and heart. The postures invite us into presence, but they also awaken the ego’s voice: comparison, striving, doubting, forcing.

Perhaps you know this voice, ‘Am I doing it right? Shouldn’t I be deeper by now? Look at the person next to me, they are so much stronger, more flexible, more graceful.’ The practice of asana, instead of dissolving the ego, can actually bring it to life. And yet, this is the gift: it shows us what is there, so we can meet it with awareness.

Yesterday, a woman joined my class for the very first time. Afterward, she shared that she had found it overwhelming: so many details to take in, so many instructions to follow. She also noticed herself comparing with the person beside her. Her words touched me, because they carried something we all recognize.

I told her: Give it space. It will come. Just be where you are. Whatever you take in today is more than enough. We don’t need to grasp everything at once. Yoga is not about reaching a perfect posture or holding every detail in the mind. It is about being present with our own experience, as it is, right now. Sometimes, the one who seems to be “doing less” from the outside may in fact be deeper in yoga than the one who flows with ease. Because yoga is not measured by how it looks, but by how deeply we are present.

This reflection brings me back to a simple truth:

May we carry all the experiences exactly as they are, like the earth is carrying us exactly as we are? 

The earth shows us how. She holds us, always, without asking us to be different. She doesn’t demand that we be stronger, calmer, or better. She carries us just as we are. And in that quiet holding, we are reminded that we too can become steady ground for ourselves.

Each time we step onto the mat, this invitation returns:

Do we feed the ego, by pushing, comparing, forcing?

Or do we feed presence, by listening, softening, caring for our body and breath?

Grounding is not only about stability in the body; it is about rooting ourselves in presence, in compassion, in enoughness. It is remembering that, like a tree, we are both deeply rooted and open to the sky.

Its roots reach deep into the earth; its trunk stands steady, unwavering; its branches stretch wide into the sky. 

When we feel steady like a tree, all the layers of expectation fall away: who we thought we needed to be, who others wanted us to be. Until only the essence remains: I am whole. I am enough. Just as I am.

This is the essence of grounding. It is not something we create, it is something we return to. Like the seed that already carries the whole tree within, our being carries the wholeness we long for. The practice is simply remembering.

Reflection for You

As you read this, I invite you to pause and reflect:

• When you step onto your mat or into your day, what do you tend to feed more: the voice of the ego, or the voice of presence?

• How does comparison show up for you, and what shifts when you notice it with compassion?

• What does “being grounded” mean to you personally? Is it a feeling, a practice, a way of being?

• Can you imagine yourself as the tree? Steady, rooted, enough? What happens in you when you hold that image?

Take a moment to write these reflections down, or simply breathe with them. Notice what arises.

This theme of grounding is the center of the Retreat Moment: Grounded. This retreat is a lovingly created online retreat you can follow at your own rhythm. Whether in one morning, an afternoon, a full day, or gently spread out over a week. A moment for you to arrive fully, to breathe deeply, and to feel supported from the inside out. A moment to pause, to soften, to remember: you are carried, always ♡