Turtle Yoga

Dear friends,

We're back to yoga this week. I hope that you took some time to 'sit a bit' while I was gone. We will continue with our deep rest practice again this week, but this time it will be with a focus of turning inward.

I'm calling it 'turtle yoga'!

Sea turtle glyph

What is turtle yoga? Well, when we look to the turtle for our yoga teachings, here's what we learn...

Patience - Turtles don't move quickly - they move slowly and steadily. As we continue in our own practice of yoga, we may be looking for speedy results. However, if the goal of yoga is a deeper understanding of the true self, there's no better way to get there than with a slow, mindful awareness.

Withdrawal - When things get overwhelming, turtles are able to withdraw into the safe space of their shells. What a great practice, especially in this busy time. Too much? Take a break, go inward, and rest. Once rested, we can meet the challenges ahead of us much more effectively.

Strength & Resilience - Sea turtles travel back to their original nesting place to create more sea turtles. They face the waves and navigate around dangerous predators and they don't turn back. When turtles arrive on shore, they are exhausted, but triumphant. Turtles conserve their energy and have one of the longest life spans in the animal kingdom. They demonstrate incredible resilience.

In our practice this week we will be using the Kurma Mudra - the gesture of the tortoise for nourishing the senses. We will move slowly and deliberately, focusing on the breath, and exploring our own strength and resilience. The hope is that by releasing the tension we can find the stillness within. In that stillness, we can relax and restore our bodies and our nervous systems.

That is turtle yoga. Please join me.

Love in stillness,

Nina G