The winds are shifting, and if you’ve stepped outside lately, you can feel it. The days are breezier, the air cooler, and your hands a little drier.

Autumn is beautiful, but it can be a little rough on our minds and bodies if we don’t balance its breezy, scattered qualities. Ayurveda gives us the tools to stay warm, nourished, and steady so we can truly enjoy the season.

“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.” — B.K.S. Iyengar

I’ve always loved a good, traditional Sun Salutation, but I also adore those funky, creative variations that teachers weave in—flows that stretch and strengthen, balance and ground.

Every once in a while, life hands us a conversation that lingers long after it’s over—one that makes us stop, reflect, and see the world through a different lens.

Not just in food, but in how we live, how we move, how we speak to ourselves, and how we see the world around us. Sweetness is a balm. It restores us, softens us, and reminds us of the beauty that’s always present.

Some days, it’ll feel magical. Other days, it might feel hard, or even frustrating. But each time you show up, you’re creating a space to connect. To listen. To remember who you are beneath the noise.

Have you ever noticed how life has a rhythm all its own? Just when we feel like we’ve settled into a groove, something shifts.

When we take time to slow down—whether it’s once a week or once a day—we allow the wisdom of the body to surface. We get quiet enough to hear what’s underneath the noise. We learn to trust the pauses.

Ayurveda looks at each person as a whole being — mind, body, and spirit — and sees health as a balance of these parts, in harmony with nature.

Yoga actually has a lot to say about creativity. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali teaches that our true self—Ātman—is already whole, already full of light and creative energy.

Here’s the truth: when we’re triggered—especially by conflict—our nervous system goes into fight-or-flight mode. The logical part of the brain shuts down, and our primal brain takes over. That’s why we say things we don’t mean. That’s why we can’t think clearly. That’s why everything feels like a threat.

Yoga helps us become aware of these natural rhythms—not just in our bodies, but in our lives. Through mindful movement and breath, we start to recognize that expansion and contraction are both necessary.

The world doesn’t need more perfection. It doesn’t need more judgment. It needs more love.

I think many of us fall into this pattern of imitation because we’re afraid. We’re afraid we don’t measure up. We believe the lie that someone else’s version of success is the only version.

Somehow, over the years, yoga has developed a reputation for being... exclusive. You know what I mean—images of perfectly toned bodies in sleek leggings, practicing on a pristine mountaintop or in a candlelit studio with the ideal ambiance.

How Yin and Restorative Look Similar—But Feel Very Different

If you walked by a Yin class and a Restorative class, you might think they’re the same. They’re both slow. Both happen mostly on the floor. Both involve long holds.

But they serve very different purposes.

But this is the thing: our dogs are our spiritual companions. They teach us to love unconditionally. They model presence in ways we humans struggle to embody. And they show up—even if their version of “asana” is just taking a nap next to the mat.