I was doing a yoga pose about non-grasping. My hands were in fists.

Aparigraha, Sutra II.39. The one I thought I understood.

When has your body known something your mind was still convincing itself it understood?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-hardest-yoga-sutra-to-actually-practice-709eb0d8851d

#yogasutras #aparigraha #yogaphilosophy
#nonattachment #embodiedpractice #yoga
#spiritualpractice #yogateacher #mindfulness

For years I said Sanskrit words as reflex. Now they slow me down, each one requires something.

Not guilt. Not rules. Just paying attention to what you've been given.

What shifted when you started paying attention?

#yogapractice #mindfulness #yogaphilosophy
#intentionalpractice #yogawisdom #embodiedpractice
#authenticyoga #yogadepth #sanskritwords

'Fiesta' in English means party. In Spain it means something you cannot translate.

I had watched my own language flatten. That gave me the eyes for Sanskrit.

Which word from your culture lost its weight in translation?

#yogalanguage #culturalbridge #sanskrit
#translationmatters #yogaphilosophy #authenticpractice
#eastmeetswest #yogaroots #sanskritwords

I did everything right. Run at 4:30, mat at 6, desk by 8. By noon I was depleted. I thought that was balance.

Turns out, I'd been chasing a myth.

When did your body last try to tell you something you weren't ready to hear?

Read the full reflection

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-myth-of-perfect-balance-and-what-i-found-instead-570ebfe202d7

#balance #perfectionism #yoga
#embodiedpractice #morningroutine #mindfulness
#restispractice #bodywisdom #seasonalrhythms

I watched my grandmother for years without knowing I was being taught.

The body absorbs what the mind hasn't named yet, it stores it quietly, for decades.

What did you absorb before you had words for it?

#mindfulness #familywisdom #yoga
#contemplative #embodiedlearning #slowwisdom
#grounded #yogalife #innerwisdom

Most spiritual books describe transformation as transcendent. Some tell the harder truth.

Maria Vyasa gave me permission to trust my own messy process.

What book was honest about the hard parts?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-books-couldnt-teach-me-about-yoga-3af80e9c0db9

#spirituality #kundalini #mariavyasa
#yogabooks #transformationbooks #embodiedteaching
#spiritualbooks #awakening #livedexperience

The alarm was five-thirty. The river path was slick with frost. Luna had the pillow.

Every logical argument was against going out. I went anyway.

What kept you going when everything was telling you to stop?

#morningrun #halfmarathontraining #winterrunning
#gothenburg #nordiclife #runninglife
#runningandyoga #embodiedpractice #yogarunner

Who taught u how to be still before you knew what meditation was? Before studios, before apps, before the word 'mindfulness'?

My grandmother taught me to breathe 'the way mountains breathe' when I was 10

Who was your first teacher?

Read the full reflection

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-my-grandmother-taught-me-about-stillness-bbc2dff19f7b

#meditation
#grandmotherwisdom #contemplativepractice
#mindfulness #presencepractice #stillness #familywisdom

What do you do with a word whose full weight you're still learning to carry?

I call my teacher Guru Devendra. I do it carefully, the word means one who removes darkness.

Which yoga word are you still learning to carry?

#guru #yogatradition #yogaphilosophy
#sanskritwords #yogateacher #yogalearning
#spiritualpractice #yogaroots #authenticyoga

I was vegan for ten years because I believed it. Then one day I noticed I was using it as armor.

The ethics were real. The performance around them wasn't.

When does a value become a performance of that value?

#yoga #veganlife #authenticself
#yogalife #wellnessculture #selfcompassion
#yogaidentity #mindfulliving #embodiedpractice