And here we are again, at the cusp of a new year. First and foremost, I want to thank you with all my heart for sharing your yoga practice with me throughout 2025. It is an honor that I never take for granted. 

Over a decade ago, during a meditation retreat, something curious happened. During a meditation session, my breath naturally and unexpectedly paused for some time. I had not planned for this to happen; it simply did. I remember breathing with such ease before it occurred. There was a balance between making the most subtle effort to breathe and allowing the breath flow on its own. It was like the perfect dance—and then the breath paused into tranquility. There were no comings or goings of anything. It was as if I were suspended in time and space.

This month, we move deeper into the layers from which we draw our sense of self. In yoga philosophy, this next layer is prāṇa, which translate to "vital force" in English. We usually relate this layer to the breath, since it is the most accesible way in which we experience this vital force. During this past week, I have made a point to remind you of the breath as we practiced, and I hope you were able to notice the effect that focusing on breathing with more presence can have on you.

This week we move into a different layer of the self — citta. This Sanskrit word is often translated as “mind,” yet its meaning extends far beyond that. In much of the world, we have grown accustomed to separating thoughts from emotions — as if the mind and the heart were two different territories. But in yoga philosophy, citta embraces both. Thoughts and emotions are understood as different vibrations within the same field of awareness called citta: thoughts are vibrations with a stronger linguistic and logical component, while emotions are vibrations with greater affective charge.

As we continue to explore the layer of self related to the body, we will bring our attention to how the qualities of steadiness and ease shape our perception of self. In Sanskrit, these two qualities are sthira and sukha. To understand them better we have to look beyond their surface meaning.

This week we move to a different layer of Self. Dehas is a Sanskrit word that means "that which is formed". It is commonly used to refer to the physical body. This layer hits closer to home for all of us —It is something we can easily relate to. We inherit many physical traits from our parents, as well as part of their demeanor. I was talking to my sister the other day about how much of my nephew's way of moving reminded me of his father. It is not exactly the same, of course, but it carries a similar air. This, I think, adds a subtle layer to our sense of self.