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It's Karen again, and it’s my first time emailing you in 2025! Though we’re already a few weeks in, how time flies.
As we settle into the new year Jenny, I imagine you’ve had some time to reflect on the things you consciously or subconsciously wanted to begin or end as the year started.
Not everyone resonates with the idea of “resolutions.” Still, I appreciate the opportunity to use this time as a checkpoint to clear some energy and realign with what I want for my life.
Over the past month, I’ve had the joy of writing some modules for our upcoming Yin Yoga & Meditation Teacher Training. In this training, I’ll be teaching meditation, holding space, Buddhist philosophy, and meditation practices.
These topics were my first love and the foundation of my personal exploration, so working on these modules felt like coming home.
As is often the case, returning to these foundations gave me time to reflect during the transition into the new year.
Buddhism frequently teaches through parables or stories. Stories connect us to more profound meaning, reaching beyond logical interpretations and into personal experience.
One parable I revisited while writing is about the teaching of The Middle Way.
After years of intense ascetic practice, Gautama Siddhartha (who became the Buddha) was physically and mentally exhausted. His body was wasting away, yet he had not found what he was seeking. One day he collapsed by a river and was found by a local village girl named Sujata.
Moved by compassion, Sujata offered him a bowl of kheer. Initially, Gautama hesitated, as accepting it would mean breaking his ascetic vows. But at a loss for what else to do, he accepted her offering.
As he ate, life returned to him and his mind cleared. In that moment, he realised that enlightenment cannot be found in the extremes of deprivation any more than it can be found it the extremes of excess and materialism.
Just as a lute cannot produce beautiful music if its strings are too tight or too loose, a balanced spiritual life requires harmony in all aspects of the self.
This is The Middle Way.
There are many interpretations and variations of this story, but I’d like to share the essence with you today: We are human.
We are here to live and experience life in the fullness of our unique expression.
Rather than focusing on starting or stopping something in these early days of 2025, perhaps consider exploring what you’re already doing. Then, like tuning a lute, gently tighten or loosen the strings of your life until you find your own perfect harmony.
I wish you the most wonderful and harmonious years and look forward to sharing them with you!
Karen Gruber
- Studio Manager
P.S There are just TWO spots left for the 50 hours Yin Yoga & Meditation teacher training, which starts February 7th, every Friday 6 pm - 9 pm. You don't need to be a teacher to join (but you do need to be one to get "certified").
P.P.S Penrith Studio has been re-vamped with 11 new reformers, which is set to launch February 8th, with FREE classes all day. Book in your spot on the schedule.
P.P.P.S Zoom classes are also still free till the end of this month! To find those, head to any schedule and look for the "Livestream" yoga classes.
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