Avril Bastiansz Become You

Soverignity Before Surrender

When I launched Become YOU in 2017, I knew the name mattered.

I knew it was part of my own journey, as much as the work I wanted to offer others.

Over the past nine years, it has slowly taken form through yoga, women’s circles, meditation, counselling, retreats, and the Renaissance Woman’s Circle.

Yoga has been the vehicle.

Śakti, the Divine Mother, has been the force.

For many women, surrender has been asked of us too early.

Before voice.

Before boundaries.

Before sovereignty.

But first we must claim our crown.

We must become ourselves.

Then, in time, we may surrender the crown, not because we are small, but because we have discovered something greater than the one who wears it.

This is the journey of Become YOU.

Sovereignty before surrender.

Becoming before Being.

A return to Self.

Annual Ritual in celebration of International Yoga Day & The Winter Solstice.

Join me on this special occasion for a Japa meditation.

Check Kundalini House website/events for all the details and Bookings.

Om 🙏

❄️ 🧘🏻‍♀️

I was listening to a recent podcast with Thom Knowles discussing stress and PTSD, and Vedic Meditation, it reminded me of something important.

Many of us spend a great deal of time searching.

Searching for the next book, the next technique, the next teacher, the next answer.

We try a little of this and a little of that, hoping that somewhere out there is the thing that will finally make the difference.

Yet there is a danger in constantly searching.

If we are always looking elsewhere, we may never stay with one practice long enough to discover its true depth.

The benefits of any meaningful practice are rarely immediate. They reveal themselves gradually through repetition, consistency, and time.

For me, Vedic Meditation remains the practice I return to again and again. Not because it is new or exciting, but because it works. It has become a non-negotiable part of my life. A steady companion through the highs and lows, the busy periods and the difficult ones.

The longer I practise, the more I appreciate that transformation often happens quietly. Not in dramatic breakthroughs, but through the accumulation of thousands of simple sessions.

Sometimes growth is not about finding something new.

Sometimes it is about trusting the practice that has already proven itself and continuing to show up.

What is the practice, habit, or ritual that you keep returning to?

In the Vedic tradition, the moon is associated with Soma, the nourishing principle connected with beauty, contentment, fertility, creativity, and the wellbeing of the mind.

It is said that when the moon is full, Soma is abundant.

Traditionally, people have long honoured the full moon in different ways: sitting beneath its light, gathering in community, offering prayers, meditating, sharing food, or simply taking a moment to appreciate its beauty.

Perhaps tonight is an opportunity to pause and reflect.

How are you honouring the Full Moon?

What brings nourishment to your mind?
What helps you feel content, replenished, and whole?

May the cool light of Soma remind us that life is not only sustained through effort and striving, but also through rest, beauty, connection, and grace.

A blessed full moon tk all!

It’s an intense weekend, energetically speaking.

Come and practise with me and stay grounded, steady, and calm.

Our practice is like a sail in stormy weather. It helps us find our bearings, and navigate life’s changing conditions with greater ease and grace.

Yoga doesn’t stop the winds from blowing, but it can help us meet them with steadiness, clarity, and a calm mind.

Saturday
9:30am Hatha Yoga
11:00am Hatha Yoga

Sunday 9:30 - 11:30am
Restorative Yin Yoga & Satsang

Bookings via www.avrilbastiansz.com

Being. Becoming. Belonging.

“If life is already breathing us, then pranayama is the art of becoming conscious participants in that process.”

Breath is one of the few functions in the body that is both automatic and conscious.

It happens on its own, yet through awareness we can learn to work skilfully with it.

Join me for a practical and philosophical introduction to pranayama, where we will explore breath as both physiology and subtle practice.

Sunday 5 July
9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Home Yoga School, Deepdene

Bookings open.

This is why I teach Vedic Meditation.

Not because it is another wellness technique, but because it is a lifelong practice that has deeply changed my life.

It has supported my nervous system, relationships, work, creativity, and sense of purpose in ways I never expected.

I want to share this simple, powerful practice with as many people as I can.

If you would like to learn more about Vedic Meditation, I offer free introductory talks where I explain the practice, course structure, mantra initiation, and what to expect.

My next Vedic Meditation course runs over four days:

18, 19, 20 + 21 JulyDeepdene / Become You

You will receive your personal mantra and learn a simple practice you can carry with you for life.

If you would like to learn more, please email me to book a free introductory talk.

Avril 🌻

When yoga loses its essence

People often ask why so many are turning toward other modalities now: Pilates, nervous system work, breathwork, strength training, somatic therapies.

But perhaps the deeper question is:

What has happened to yoga itself?

Yoga was never meant to be reduced to stretching, fitness, flexibility, relaxation, or performance.

Traditionally, yoga is a complete system of transformation, working with the physical, physiological, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the human being.

It includes movement.It includes breath.It includes regulation.It includes stillness.It includes inquiry.

But it is not reducible to any one of these things.

What I feel we are witnessing is the desacralisation of yoga, the fragmentation of a complete system into consumable parts, and a loss of philosophical literacy within the industry.

There is a difference between teaching techniques and transmitting a path.

There is a difference between offering yoga as a wellness product and honouring it as a methodology for liberation and transformation.

Lately, I have found myself feeling increasingly disenchanted by parts of the modern yoga industry.

Not because I believe yoga is losing relevance, but because I believe authentic yoga is needed now more than ever.

Perhaps yoga is not asking us to market it better.

Perhaps it is asking us to return to its essence.

Reading and reflecting on Core of the Yoga Sutras by B.K.S. Iyengar.

-sutras