As I watered my garden yesterday, I started smelling smoke. I looked around in my immediate surroundings then checked the weather app on my phone. I saw the air quality had diminished due to several wildfires surrounding us.

Overnight the air cleared quite a bit, but as dawn begins to break, I see it intensify already.  I practiced my pranayama before it kicked up. We will make use of our air purifier for safety in classes this morning.

How does air quality affect you and your practices? Can you adjust your timing, choice of props, and shift your intentions since we can’t control the outside environment? Ki to Happiness closes the windows and adapts with serenity.

Today is my big brother’s birthday. I’ve sent his gifts and texts with lots of cat pictures. We’ll talk later today, maybe with mom after her medical procedures.

That, in itself, is an accomplishment. The three of us have found our way through the early days of dysfunction to our healthy functioning relationships long ago. We celebrate and make new memories together as often as possible.

How is your relationship with your siblings? Can you celebrate your accomplishments and make new memories? Ki to Happiness loves her brother and extends that love to all the brothers and sisters in the human family.

With four days until the blood moon is predicted to illuminate our night’s sky, we were surprised to see it already red last night. I checked to see if wildfire smoke contributed to its hue but found no specific reference online at the time. We looked again and mysteriously saw nothing, no red, no moon.

We assumed that it went behind dense clouds. Mostly it gave us a sense of what the ancients must have gone through when they would see such a spectacle. While we are not certain, we have confidence that we will learn more.

Did you see the red moon last night? Can you embrace life’s mysteries, confident that more will be revealed? Ki to Happiness sees the moon with wonder, like the ancient ones.

To track on our cats well-being, I purchased a scale for small animals.  Getting it set up, I saw the need for assistance, Bob and I teamed up for their first weigh in since our vet alerted us to the need.

Finding that all three cats are heading in the right direction, we are relieved. The scale removes the fear of uncertainty and replaces it with knowledge which gives us direction. We will continue with our program and track progress objectively which frees up from subjective opinions or judgments.

Can you be objective when dealing with your loved one? What helps free you from subjective opinions? Ki to Happiness balances subjectivity with objective measures.

After a bit of labor in the morning on Labor Day, I rested. Once refreshed, I took a walk in the neighborhood until Bob was ready for our bike ride. We enjoyed the simple pleasure of going up to our near Mapleleaf Park. lounging in the subdued sun break.

We returned home to the sound of the washing machine finishing. Bob commented that our full excursion lasted less than one regular washing cycle. So easy, close, and freeing to be satisfied and content with what we have.

What does it take for you to be content? Are you easily satisfied? Ki to Happiness practices Santosha, contentment, on and off the yoga mat.

Happy Labor Day from Hatha Yoga Center. As you enjoy a day off, consider spending part of it taking care of yourself with yoga either in person or at a distance on our Live Streaming group page. Many of us labor for others, so today is a good day for self care.

Whether you are an essential worker or essentially work to keep the wolf from the door, a little time appreciating your service is in order. There are many ways we offer ourselves to improve life around us and each efforts contributes to the world. I thank you for your efforts and wish you a peaceful day of simple pleasures and healthy rewards.

Do you receive enough appreciation for your efforts? Can you appreciate yourself today with a little self-care? Ki to Happiness is grateful for right livelihood and happy to serve this morning before having the rest of the day off. 

On this Labor Day weekend, our classes remaining the same except for Monday night, 530, no class. This has been the HYC schedule on these national holidays since it opened. We consider it a labor of love.

Teaching what we love is a privilege. Offering tools that have helped us is an honor. Having a clean, safe space in which to do so is a blessing which multiples as we share it.

Do you love your labor? Will you continue to labor during this Labor Day weekend? Ki to Happiness labors with love.

Towards the end of Bob’s peaceful morning class, a thief jumped over our railing to attempt to steal a student’s ebike. I saw the unusual activity in my periphery and acted fast, grabbing the owner of the bike to exit with me immediately. Together, we stopped the thief in his tracks and returned to conclude class.

Each of the other community members did their part, calling the cops, taking pictures and videos, offering assistance with first aid, and containing their desire for further retribution. Bob lead us back to our breath, our bodily alignment, and the safety of the moment since the threat had passed. The practice helped us regulate our nervous systems well enough to proceed with the day.

Can you act fast when necessary? Can you slow right down afterward when it’s no longer necessary? Ki to Happiness shifts gears as needed.

We started live streaming our Hatha Yoga Center classes on March 9, 2020 on Facebook due to the lockdown. On September 5, 2025 3900+videos will be deleted as per FB’s new video storage policy. Members of our live streaming group page are welcome to download any of the until then.

Since February 19, 2025, FB’s policy has been to store videos for one month. We will continue to offer classes in person and on the live streaming group page. Please enjoy our offerings as we adjust to the new policies.

 What’s your favorite way to practice yoga? On your own schedule, alone, with others, or with teacher in person? Ki to Happiness practices yoga in all the ways.

Two students from Bob’s first yoga studio attended class yesterday. Women, in their 70s now, have continued to practice off and all these years. Perhaps intermittently, or inconsistently, and yet they returned to show respect to their former teacher.



They inspire me to stay consistent and steady in my practices. The Yoga Sutras state that in this way we can put a stop to the mental fluctuation that perturb peace. I’ve come to prefer peace to the roller coaster of pleasure and pain that accompanies drama.

Have you discovered the benefit of consistent practice? What habits would you most like to adopt? Ki to Happiness chooses the peace that becomes a habit with consistency.