What You Know To Be True
Dear friends,
A North Star in practicing Yin Yoga is cultivating moments of grace and slowing down to the rhythm and pace of deep listening. An instruction that came through my teacher, from her teacher B.K.S., is that when the unexpected rolls through the nervous system (she named fear), to choose a practice that we know to be helpful, that we know to be true. The story behind the words goes a bit like this: B.K.S. Iyengar was on the edge of the Grand Canyon when he popped up into a headstand. Later a student asked him about the seemingly risky move and he said “When you’re in front of the abyss, stick with what you know”. This feels true.
What do you know to be true? I know that slowing the breath down even for just a minute helps to gather and collect myself more fully and connect with the ordinary moments of beauty that are always there. I know that the earth provides a pharmacy of essential minerals and nutrients and that most of us in the PNW don't get enough vitamin D from the sun in the winter (you might consider getting your levels tested). I know that the shape of a cloud is FORMED by the formless - invisible atmospheric conditions like elevation, condensation, the relationship to the sun and mountains - just as our bodies (FORM) are influenced by our emotions (formless).
Below is a round up of resources that support me feeling nourished, connected, calm, and energized.
Nourish with a homemade medicinal mushroom broth which combines probiotics with the blood-purifying components of burdock roots (according to TCM) and the immune-supporting benefits of mushrooms to promote a healthy immune response (according to evidence-based research). Recipe below.
Read about resilience-informed practices and the nervous system here to learn more about what we’re up to in our Yin Yoga practice.
Consider the importance of fascial health. Watch this video on fascia and acupuncture. Also in this video, Dr. Helene Langevin talks about the 12 centers for Integrative Medicine at Harvard.
Dive deep with Prayers of Honoring Grief.
Explore data from 59 studies including Heart rate variability and yogic relaxation or meditation.
“People with higher HRV (heart-rate variability) can move more easily from excitement to relaxed and can recover more easily from stress.
You can learn how to regulate the functioning of your vagus nerve with techniques such as altering the rhythm of your breath, practicing mindful body awareness, and exploring physical yoga postures to create greater choice about your level of arousal or activation. For example, with somatic awareness, you can alter your breathing rhythm to facilitate a state of relaxed alertness. This can help you tap into an optimal level of focus and attention that is often described as a being in the zone or the experience of flow that fuels your creativity. In addition, you can learn specific breath practices that help you relax in the evening and prepare for restful sleep.” ~Dr. Arielle Swartz
Registration is open for Yin Yoga Teacher Training!
October 25th - 28th at Mind Body Hum
Yin Yoga offers a container to coax the nervous system into balance and promote deep rest. Learn to teach the foundations of Yin Yoga in this immersive teacher training at Mind Body Hum.
This Yin Yoga Teacher Training offers a blend of Yin Yoga classes, lectures, hands-on exploration, and practice teaching.
Email hello@innerland.studio to register. Details here.
Homemade Immune-Supporting Medicinal Mushroom Broth
“When life gets complicated, simplify the diet.” ~Ayurvedic Wisdom
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
3 burdock roots, chopped
4 carrots, cut in thirds
6 cloves of garlic
1 bunch celery including tops, chopped
3 inches of fresh ginger
1 inch fresh turmeric
3 tbsp dulse
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
1 bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
8 sprigs of thyme
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp turkey tail mushroom powder
1 tbsp reishi mushroom powder
¼ cup of lemon juice
1/2 tsp white miso
1. Lightly coat onion, burdock roots, carrots, and garlic in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt. Roast in a preheated oven (400° F) for 20 minutes.
2. In a large stock pot with a little olive oil, saute celery, ginger, turmeric and shiitakes for five minutes. Add in reishi and turkey tail powder and simmer until the celery is soft.
3. Add the roasted veggies, parsley, dulse, sweet potato, lemon juice, and thyme to the sautee mixture and top with water. Boil for 75 minutes. Continue to add more water to cover the veggies.
4. Drain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Add miso directly in the serving bowl and whisk with the broth (don’t boil the miso).
5. Drink warm within 3-4 days or freeze. Use salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
For anyone that feels like “wait what about the fiber?” when they read to strain out the veggies, you can always eat the veggies after you separate them from the broth. If want to organize your pantry according to Ayurvedic principle and you'd like some support you could book a holistic nutrition session with me by emailing leah@innerland.studio
Trust
“I trust what this body knows –
breathing in, breathing out,
the way home.
I trust the ground, which I can stand upon –
the earth that rises to meet my feet
and gives gently beneath my weight.
And I trust that ground which I cannot stand upon –
the falling away that everything returns to.
I trust what this body knows –
the pulsing and quivering, the tight, the hard,
the smooth, rough and flowing.
I trust the great oak and the white pine, who do not question
where the next branch will grow;
who are tall, solid, gnarled and strong;
who bend in the wind.
I trust the sun, that shines and warms
the taut green skin and deep blue water of this earth;
that sun toward which we all instinctively turn;
which touches our billion faces alike,
asking only the song of our sincere living in return.
I trust what this body knows –
breathing in, breathing out,
the way home.
I trust what this body knows
that the magnolias in spring take time to bloom,
that the autumn leaves do not struggle to reach the ground,
that we too are beautiful, brief, free.” Oren Jay Sofer
As always, it brings a big smile to my face to see your name in my inbox. I'd love to hear about what you know to be true. Thank you for being here.
with love,
Leah