Durga Mindfulness

So often people in the depths of householder life say to me that they have no time for spiritual practice. So busy raising children, caring for the family, running a home, working to support all of that.
When we speak of the four āśramas, the stages of life described in the yoga tradition, we can sometimes imagine that renunciation is the highest expression of spiritual life. But perhaps the wisdom is not to rush through the seasons of life, hoping for deeper spiritual experiences in the next one.
Each stage carries its own beauty. Each stage offers its own path of devotion.
Gṛhastha āśrama, the householder stage, reminds us that home itself can become a place of sādhana.
The sacred is not only found in temples, āśrams and places of pilgrimage. We carry the sacred home with us.
The food we prepare can become an offering. The welcome we extend can become an expression of love. The garden we tend can become a meditation. The beings who share our lives can become teachers of devotion.
A home is more than walls and objects. It is the space where our daily practices unfold. Where kindness is cultivated. Where gratitude is remembered. And where love is lived.
Perhaps the invitation of gṛhastha dharma - walking the householder path - is not to escape ordinary life, but to see the extraordinary within it.
Your kitchen can be your temple. Your garden can be your meditation seat. Your home can be your offering.
How are you creating a home that welcomes the Divine into the everyday? 🪷
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

This week I welcome a new group into The Art of Rest by Katie Welsh - five days dedicated to the practice, philosophy and wisdom of Restorative Yoga. Both teachers and practitioners join me for this, travelling from across Australia.
As I prepare for the week ahead, my heart is full of gratitude. Every time I teach this immersion, I am reminded what a gift it is to spend time exploring a practice that has so much to offer in a world that rarely stops.
The next five days will bring endless cups of tea, plenty of smiles, the occasional snore, and countless reminders of the profound wisdom that can be found when we slow down, truly rest and allow an inner pilgrimage to unfold.
I cannot wait to meet everyone! 🪷
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

A question I’m asked a lot when teaching mantra is, “What does it mean?” It’s a beautiful question, and understanding the meaning of a mantra can certainly deepen our practice.
However the translation is only one part of the experience. Mantra is sacred sound. It is vibration. Long before the mind understands the words, the body receives the vibration. The breath settles. The nervous system softens. Energy activates. Something begins to shift within us.
This is why we don’t simply chant a mantra - we experience it. The power of the mantra is the sound.
Knowing the meaning is wonderful. Feeling the mantra is something else entirely. So maybe the next time you hear a mantra, instead of asking, “What does it mean?”, simply notice - what does this mantra awaken within me?
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

Today is Guru Pūrṇimā - a day in the yoga tradition to honour the teachers and wisdom that guide us on the path. The word guru means “that which removes darkness.” It reminds us of the light of wisdom that helps us see more clearly and return to what is true.
Over the years, I have come to understand that the deepest teachings are not only those spoken - they are those lived.
As I continue my research into the women of the yoga tradition, I am continually moved by the women who shared wisdom not only through their words, but through the way they lived their lives. Through their devotion, their courage, their compassion, and their dedication to the path, they became a source of guidance and inspiration for those around them and for generations to come.
Today, I bow with gratitude to these women, to my own beloved female teachers who have guided my own journey, and to all who remind us that yoga is not simply something we practice - it is something we embody. 🙏🏻
May we honour the teachings by allowing them to shape the way we live.🧡
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

Standing at the memorial of Rāṇī Lakṣmībāī in Vārāṇasī, I feel the presence of a woman whose life was shaped by dharma.
Dharma does not always arrive in the form we expect. From a young age, she walked an unusual path for a woman of her time - learning horse riding, martial arts and the skills of a warrior.
She became a queen, a mother, and a woman who stepped forward when her time called. When the British sought to take control of Jhānsī during the uprising of 1857, she stood with extraordinary courage. Her battle was not born from a desire for war, but from devotion to what she was entrusted to protect - her people.
A devotee of Devī, Rāṇī Lakṣmībāī embodied the qualities of Durgā - strength, protection, courage and unwavering devotion. She reminds us that the Divine Feminine is not only gentle and nurturing; she also rises when dharma calls.
More than a century later, the story of Rāṇī Lakṣmībāī continues to inspire generations across India. Her courage lives on - carried through stories, songs and the hearts of those who continue to remember her.
The stories of these women are not simply stories of the past. They are teachings. They remind us that each of us has a dharma - a way we are called to serve, to stand, and to offer our gifts to the world.
We stand on the shoulders of giants. 🤍
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

Sometimes we speak of Śiva and Śakti as separate. Consciousness and energy. Stillness and movement. The unchanging and the ever-changing.
Yet the deeper teaching is that they are never truly separate. Śiva without Śakti is pure potential - stillness without expression. Śakti without Śiva is movement without the grounding of awareness.
Together they reveal a profound truth - spiritual life is not an escape from the world. It is the meeting of awareness and life itself. It is the stillness we cultivate in meditation, carried into the movement of our lives - creating space to pause, to listen, and to act with clarity and wisdom.
This is living yoga - where awareness and life are no longer separate.
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

Thank you to everyone from around Australia who joined me online today for The Wisdom of Impermanence - A Yogic Perspective of Life and Death to Live More Fully.
When I first began shaping this offering, I wasn’t quite sure how many people would want to spend a Sunday afternoon contemplating impermanence, perspectives on death, and what it means to live well. I was genuinely surprised by the number of people who felt called to be part of the conversation.
My hope was to explore how these teachings can help us live more fully, appreciate what truly matters, and meet life with greater awareness.
I finished teaching feeling deeply grateful for the openness, wisdom, reflections and questions that were shared throughout the afternoon. Thank you for your willingness to engage with a topic that many of us spend much of our lives avoiding.
Today was a beautiful reminder of the power of coming together to explore life’s deeper questions. And yes. Always talking with those hands. 🤣
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

There’s nothing I love more than uncovering stories in India. Stories are a beautiful way to carry ancient wisdom across generations. This picture is me on the trail of the yoginīs in Kāśī with my friends at 🪷
Linked to that - today is the sacred day of Yoginī Ekādaśī. Every month, as the moon waxes and wanes, there are two Ekādaśī days - times traditionally devoted to simplicity, prayer, and spiritual reflection. Yoginī Ekādaśī, which comes once each year, falls during the waning moon - a phase long associated in yogic and ta***ic traditions with turning inward, letting go, and returning to what is essential.
The name is especially beautiful. Yoginī refers to a woman who has walked the path of yoga deeply.
In many traditional texts, a yoginī is not simply someone who practices yoga. She is a woman who has mastered the discipline, realised spiritual truth, and become a vessel of its wisdom.
Across India, ancient temples still stand in honour of the yoginīs - reminders that women have long been present in the deeper spiritual history of yoga. This is one of the groups of women I am doing a deep dive into for my research.
If you would like to honour the energy of today - perhaps take a quiet moment to remember those women of the path - the practitioners, teachers, and realised beings whose lives helped shape the traditions we inherit today.
Should you call yourself a yoginī? I’ve spoken about this before... I choose not to, out of respect for the true yoginīs.
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸

We spend so much of life trying to make things happen, don’t we?
Yet some of the most important moments cannot be achieved. They can only be received. A blessing. Grace. Presence. 🤍
In a world so often focused on doing, striving and achieving, simply becoming available to receive can be one of the deepest practices of yoga. Yoga invites both effort and openness to grace. ✨
What does receiving look like in your practice today? 🪷
Living in devotion. Always.
जय माँ 🌸🌺🌸