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Trees have been deeply woven into my, and our, practice of yoga since I first drew the YFTH tree image in 1993, and then evolved it in 2018 a quarter of a century later. Contemplation of trees and of connectedness has been such a gift. When you observe trees in different environments you can see how they respond. They are present with what is, and grow accordingly. They are Listening & Responding’ (true listening, Judith Lasater once said in a training I went to with her, is being willing to be changed by what we hear)

Our practice is an ongoing invitation to listen and respond… Kirtan in the yoga tradition is often call and response. The chant of the kirtan leader is responded to by the group who are chanting. Our practice is a bit like that, it is a call and response. I invite you to be present with your practice like the call and response of a chanting practice. You receive an invitation from the sequence offered, and you respond with your own practice, like sharing your true authentic voice in the moment.

How do we need to modify our practice to meet our needs? When we are older, we might be tempted to look back at a more active practice of perhaps more complexity of shapes explored, and see the appropriate, maybe simpler, quieter practice as being ‘less than’. It is far from less than! … please let every single practice meet you where you are, at this point in your life, on this  day. How is your body feeling, how is your energy? Do you need more strength, more quiet, more stability, more freedom? Modify my friends, be response-able … and thrive.