What nature teaches me...

Spectacle Lake overlook, © Nicole Bratt

Dear friends,

Almost without fail, when asked what helps to center and ground them, people will list “Nature” (or the equivalent) in their top 3.

I am no exception.

So, it was fortuitous timing that my partner and I had planned a week-long backpacking trip just after my beloved yoga studio, Seattle Yoga Arts, closed its doors for the last time. That news was sudden, unexpected, somewhat surreal, and definitely discombobulating. I was ripe for some Nature medicine. Packs on, we headed up those rugged mountains, into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, toward Spectacle Lake (pictured above).

And here’s what the great outdoors reminded me…

The practice is everywhere, any time, my friends. 

It is not outside of you.
It is within.

You do not need a mat.
You do not need four walls.
Or a roof.

You do not need specific clothes.
You do not need 90 minutes, or an hour.
You do not need to schedule a class in advance.
You do not need to pay money.
You do not need to change anything – or do anything.

YOU are already a living yoga practice.
The practice is right here, right now.

Simply sit, stand, or lie comfortably, where you are – and pause.

Then, listen.
Witness.
Be.

This is yoga.

Blessings,
Nicole

Nicole & the Three Queens © Patrick Kern

“These mountains and rivers, the great Earth and its boundless oceans are continually manifesting the words of the ancient teachers, continually expressing the truth of the universe.”

~John Daido Loori