Start Where You Are Yoga

02/17/2026

Practicing Silence 🌿
"We create conditions for silence to reveal what the space and body is revealing."

Here is the link to the new Insight Blog
https://startwhereyouareyoga.com/the-practice-of-silence-for-nervous-system-regulation

Begin with three breaths, in ambient silence, detached awareness.
Notice resistance, allow discomfort.
Return to sensation. No goal.
Randomly daily.
Occasional longer group practices

Link in bio

02/14/2026

See you there. Come as you are.

02/14/2026

Shh .....
Silence is sacred.
This months theme to contemplate and integrate into our Householder Yogi Practice.
Not an hour away, but away of life.

02/12/2026

Silence and the Nervous System

Why Silence Matters for Regulation

"Silence is the language the nervous system understands best."

Constant stimulation—sound, screens, conversation, music, notifications—keeps the nervous system in activation. The sympathetic response (alert, vigilant, ready) doesn't fully release when input continues.

Studies show that even two minutes of silence can lower blood pressure and reduce cortisol more effectively than "relaxing music." The absence of stimulus allows the parasympathetic nervous system (rest, digest, restore) to engage.

For trauma-affected nervous systems, silence offers something crucial: the opportunity to sense safety without needing to monitor external environment. In quiet, hypervigilance can begin releasing. The body can check in with itself rather than scanning surroundings.

This doesn't mean silence feels comfortable immediately. For many, quiet reveals what constant noise has been covering—anxiety, grief, restlessness, pain. This is the practice. Not forcing silence to feel peaceful, but allowing what's present to surface.

Silence creates conditions for regulation. Not escape from sensation, but direct encounter with it.

Virtual Classes:
Meditation & Maitri | Mondays 9:00-9:30 AM PST | By donation
Breath & Balance | Thursdays 5:00-6:00 PM PST | $25
In Person Classes:
Vinyasa Flow | Saturdays 3:00-4:30 PM PST | $25

Practice includes intentional silence.
👉 info@startwhereyouareyoga.com

02/12/2026

What Silence Offers

"In silence, the body speaks what words cannot reach."

Silence in practice isn't empty space. It's where sensation becomes perceptible. Where the nervous system settles enough to sense what's actually present rather than what you think should be there.

Research shows interoceptive awareness—the capacity to perceive internal sensations—requires quiet.

Not just external quiet, but mental settling. The constant narration, the should-be's, the analysis—all of this obscures direct experience.

Silence allows:
1. Physical awareness - sensing tension, breath patterns, subtle holdings
2. Emotional recognition - noticing what's present without immediately naming or fixing it
3. Nervous system settling - the parasympathetic response requires reduced stimulation
4. Integration - processing what practice has stirred

The householder yogi practices amidst noise and demands. This makes intentional silence more essential, not less.

Even brief moments—three breaths in complete quiet—create space for the body to communicate.

Silence isn't absence. It's presence without interference.

📧 info@startwhereyouareyoga.com

02/10/2026

https://dhammacetiya.com/walk-for-peace/global-meditation/

02/10/2026

This Saturday 🌿

Vinyasa flow that responds to what you actually bring.

We begin with check-in.

The practice emerges from what's present - where tension lives, what needs attention, what the moment requires.

Breath-led movement integrating kundalini, hatha, alignment principles, breathwork, yoga nidra - whatever serves.

Responsive practice.

Saturday 3:00-4:30 PM | Pass Creek Hall | $25
All bodies, all capacities welcome.
📧 info@startwhereyouareyoga.com

02/07/2026

Saturday Flow Returns 🌿

Specialized vinyasa for women who value depth over performance.

Breath-led movement
Pelvic floor integration
Balance and grounding
Themes honoring women's bodies

This Saturday 3-4:30 PM
Pass Creek Hall | $25

All welcome.
Link in bio

# VinyasaFlow # #

01/24/2026

01/24/2026

What is Maitri?

Maitri: Making Friends with Yourself

The Sanskrit word maitri derives from mitra, meaning "friend." Often translated as loving-kindness, it's distinct from romantic love or attachment—it's a practice of cultivating genuine goodwill.

The practice begins with oneself. As both yogic texts and research suggest, extending compassion outward requires first dissolving self-aggression and learning to regard yourself with kindness.

Maitri meditation works in progressive stages: first toward yourself, then a loved one, a neutral person, someone difficult, and finally all beings. This sequence isn't arbitrary—it acknowledges that forcing compassion toward others while harboring self-criticism creates internal conflict rather than genuine benevolence.

Why this matters:

Research shows maitri meditation measurably affects both mental states and physiological regulation—working simultaneously with emotional experience and nervous system settling.

Monday mornings 9:00 AM PST
Meditation & Maitri via Zoom
By donation
📧 info@startwhereyouareyoga.com

01/23/2026

Welcome! Help me create workshops that truly serve you.
⭐ https://forms.gle/dcVuLKTwg6Yr9cgi7

Please complete this online survey. Your responses will directly shape our offerings starting January 2026.

⭐ This survey takes about 2-3 minutes to complete.....🧘‍♀️
https://forms.gle/dcVuLKTwg6Yr9cgi7

01/23/2026

Have you been curious about meditation and what it can do for you? I invite you to a new offering of instruction and practice. To ease into a more aware and awake condition of being.

Note: That's 9:30-10 AM Pacific / 12:30-1 PM Eastern for those on the east coast! 🧘

Meditation & Maitri begins February 2nd—a weekly practice you can join from the quiet of your own home.

Shamatha and Vipassana meditation. Ancient practices that steady the mind and open the heart. Thirty minutes
to ground yourself in awareness as the week unfolds.
Not an hour away, but a way of life.
No need to be anywhere but where you already are.

This practice is free donations accepted.
Pre-register for Zoom link:
📧 info@startwhereyouareyoga.com