01/10/2026
I have not spent winter in Pennsylvania for many years, and being given this unexpected opportunity to be here this month feels like a gift.
I did not realize how much I missed cardinals until one alighted right in front of me. What an extraordinary little bird, its brilliant red so vivid against the gray of winter. I feel such fulfillment in witnessing this beauty and grace.
As I continue my time here, being present with this season of my mother’s life, my morning practice tends to flow like this:
I wake.
I go to my mat.
Where I begin each day varies. Sometimes I lie on my back in knees-to-chest, but often what is called for is Child’s Pose. I ease my body into the posture, bowing forward, placing my forehead on the earth or a pillow. I breathe and feel the gentle stretching of the muscles as tension begins to release. I stay there as long as needed, until the next movement arises. That is usually knees-to-chest and then into the Earth series of TriYoga Basics.
{Each day in my visits with my mother, I witness her pulling in more deeply—her movements becoming fewer, her speech quieter, though still fairly constant. I see her consciousness withdrawing from personality, from body, from this world, and moving toward another place, perhaps. And alongside this, I feel my own need to conserve energy. In the mornings my body feels tight and craves the gentle movements of the practice. Is this tightness some kind of sympathetic response to what my mother is experiencing?}
As I continue my morning practice, every movement feels like an explosion of sensation and energy, as if it were the first time doing it. It feels amazing, and once again I am filled with deep gratitude for this practice—and for Kaliji, for bringing this gift into the world and into my life.
Each day, the practice varies. Yesterday I had more energy and was able to access movements and postures in ways I hadn’t for a while due to my fractured wrist. I excitedly discovered that I could do Cobra 2 again with weight on my hands, and even Bow Pose. Today my practice was different. I allowed the flow to take me wherever it needed to go, as tears moved through me—Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space—all the elements came to support this body, this mind, this spirit.
And then a deep surrender into Yoga Nidra—held by the Divine in profound relaxation. The only clock I follow is Divine Timing, and I find myself gently lifted out of Yoga Nidra and into closing practices of Sun/Moon breath, sound and light meditation, and complete merging into the bliss of inner calm. The practice completes with my palms coming together in Anjali Mudra, my head bowing in gratitude—for this practice, this moment, this life.
My hope is that you, too, are allowing your practice to meet you exactly where you are—listening for what is needed each day and trusting that it is enough.
All love ~ Kashi
