There have been times in meditation when the wandering of the mind comes to a halt. Looking back at these moments, I have realized how much thoughts—much like landmarks in the external world—give us an inner sense of orientation. In the stillness that emerges as mental content dissolves, there is a feeling of being suspended in an empty openness, where even the sense of self fades away.

Every time I share the theme for the week, I make a point of practicing it as much as I can. I have been very busy with school, and as I feel overwhelmed, I remember to come back to śunya, the openness pregnant with emptiness, to ground  and calm myself. I have realized that connecting with it requires a great deal of letting go and surrender.

I lived near the beach when I was in Southern California. One of my favorite things to do every now and then was to go to the beach at night, on a moonless evening. I would walk into the water until I could no longer see the shore or houses behind me. There was a moment when the ocean was calm, completely black, and seemed to merge with the darkness of the sky. Being there felt like being inside a vast, velvety black openness—seemingly empty, yet profoundly present.

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.