Month: January 2025

After the morning classes, I went outside to sniff around. Guidance directed me to walk a different path. There I found a left behind shovel which I borrowed to plant our Christmas tree in the nearby Victory Creek Park.

Gentle rain watered the tree as I returned the shovel to the place where I found it. If the mild weather continues, our little tree may take root and spread the memories of this holiday season for years to come. That last task opens me up for today’s Feast of the Epiphany on this first Monday of 2025.

How did you conclude your holidays? What will remain of your festivities? Ki to Happiness follows Guidance in conclusion of this Season of Light and plants the Evergreen to anchor the Joy.

Today concludes the 12 days of Christmas. It is the eve of epiphany. With it, we start to return to our regular schedules and rhythms.

Maintaining consistent practices throughout the festivities helps us stay healthy. Keeping a regular sleep schedule and eating wholesome foods makes a huge difference so the “flu season” is mitigated. Every effort to ground in the truth of our being responsible for our Selves rewards us.

How do you feel at the end of these holidays? Heavy, bloated and confused or light, uplifted and clear? Ki to Happiness takes responsibility by caring for the Higher Self through all seasons.

With this new year upon us, I am continuing to maintain my changed habits from the fall even as I add additional improvements. It takes discipline and commitment. Overall, it humbles me and deepens my compassion for students and clients who are making changes in their lives, too.

Fortunately, my disciplined yoga practice supports these efforts. Good habits invite other good habits like drums that resonate with other drums when percussed. The same is true of undesirable habits, which makes our choices important.

Are you maintaining the positive changes you made in 2024? How are you doing with the improvements you have intended for 2025? Ki to Happiness builds upon the progress of last year with conscious choices.

This holiday season has thrown off our regular rhythms. With midweek days off, this Friday feels more like a Tuesday. It makes me happy for my daily practices, stabilizing me in grounded gratitude.

No matter what the day on any calendar, or what the weather, conscious breath work and movement, meditation and prayer, walking and drinking water all center me. These choices have helped me face injury, illness, loss, change and all that life brings. “Absorbing the shocks of infatuation and sorrow” is how Charles Johnston translates the Yoga Sutra passage which I embrace on this Tuesday Friday.

What practices are independent of weather conditions and schedules? How stable are you when presented with the shocks of life? Ki to Happiness faces the fluctuations of life with the stabilizing tools of Hatha Yoga.

Bob and I tallied the votes of our participating 53 community members. The arm balance posture, Crow, Bakasana, won. Pranayama came in 2nd place and Happy Baby, Ananda Balasana, came in 3rd.

For those that have a hard time with their wrists in Crow, we will offer alternatives of forearm plank, Phalakasana, for arm and core strengthening, or Happy Baby for stretching. Other alternatives are also welcome like Horse, Vatayasana, for stretching and strengthening without upsetting wrists.

How do you feel about the results? Are you willing and able to adjust and adapt to your needs with the option of variations? Ki to Happiness respects the votes and variations.

Happy New Year, and new month with the new moon energy still upon us. Having removed holiday decorations, laundered the linens and cleaned the space, I opened the windows to let the freshness in. Cool 36 degree air cleared my head as I sat in my morning practices.

A few lingering fireworks went off to startle the cats. Otherwise the peace surrounds us with a promise. All is as it should be for optimal conditions for a blessed New Year. 

Did you celebrate last night in a way that allows you to start fresh today? What intentions do you have for 2025? Ki to Happiness welcomes the New Year with fresh optimism for a transformative year.