Finding Joy In Every Day & In Our Practice August 17 2025
- rockbriarfarm
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
I have been teaching yoga all week after taking 5 weeks off to get a new hip. It wasn't especially pretty, there were plenty of awkward transitions and a couple winces, but it felt great. Teaching my students at Rockbriar Farm (I have been practicing with them for two weeks with my amazing subs, Ann and Sandy) and then walking into Bend, the studio I also teach at, made me almost giddy. In addition to teaching yoga, I ventured into my neglected gardens this week. I allotted myself some time, so I didn’t overdo it, and dealt with dead plants, browned leaves and the general late summer doldrums clean up. I loved it. As I thought about how happy these two activities made me, I realized that finding joy is so simple and does not have to be the circumstance of some great event. If I had not had the hip experience, toiling in the garden in the 85-degree weather may not have sparked joy. While I love teaching yoga, I’m not sure that every time I teach do I experience the euphoria I felt. The lesson I suppose is to appreciate the here and now, the present, what is right in front of us. When I was first working and later when working and raising a family, I felt that my happiness or fun hinged on the weekends or stretched between vacations. I remember somewhere along the line deciding that fun had to happen on the random Tuesday evening or Sunday night to dispel the Sunday Scaries. Playing silly board games or taking nature walks with my boys turned the weeknights into joyful times. Cooking a delicious dinner on a Wednesday (ok, likely Peter cooked it) and enjoying it with the "nice" dishes as a family also sparked joy on a regular day.
Walking in nature, appreciating the beauty around us, has always been something that brings me happiness. Spending time with my closes friends doing nothing, baking bread, going antiquing (junking) all do this for me. This week I suggest that you take a few moments to think about the simple things in your life that bring you joy, make you smile, bring you that peaceful, easy feeling.....
On a side note, as I wrote that last sentence, I realized I was quoting an Eagles song. My husband Pete finds joy in any music: concerts, festivals, listening to Spotify. While I enjoy music, I am not the aficionado that he is. I can, however, beat him in the name that tune contest involving 70's and 80's pop music. Can you believe he never heard of Terry Jacks singing Seasons in the Sun or Michael Martin Murphey singing Wildfire???? Those contests bring me joy. Anyway, he decided last March that we would go see the Eagles in Las Vegas at the Sphere next month. Somehow, I feel that experience may provide some material for me....
So how does this relate to our yoga practice? For many of us, simply coming onto the mat to practice brings us joy. Santosha, one of the Niyamas, describes cultivating contentment. It is not just a transitory moment but a deeper sense of joy that comes from satisfaction and acceptance. This practice allows us to find joy in simple things, nature, a simple cup of tea, the sunlight on the water (for everyone it is different). When we remain present, we can revert to our natural state, one of relaxed openness and peace. Over time, life gets in the way and sometimes forget. It takes practice to open ourselves up to experience joy, reminding ourselves of our capacity for it! We can come back to finding joy by perhaps practicing gratitude, it has a way of helping joy creep up on us. Open yourself up to reprogram yourself for joy and roll out your mat along the way!
Our Practice Natarajasana - Dancer Pose
Balancing poses while challenging can also spark elation and joy when we do them, and laughter when we maintain our sense of humor. Also, nothing is quite as joyful as dancing! In addition to being fun, dancer pose is a wonderful pose for improving balance and concentration. It strengthens the feet, legs, core and arms while opening the front of the body as well as the hip flexors and shoulders.
Start in tadasana, mountain pose, standing firmly and focusing on a drishti out in front of you about eye level.
Bend your right leg and bring your left foot back to your buttock and hold your foot (inside or outside) with the same hand. Hold that pose, firming up the standing leg and finding your balance before moving on.
Keeping your torso upright, the chest open and the tailbone lengthening to the floor. Start to shift your weight forward, hinging in the hips, pushing your left foot back and into your hand raising the leg until the thigh bone gets parallell (maybe) to the floor. Lift your sternum in a gentle back bend. Knee is toward the ground (rather than opening the hip).
Lift your right right arm in front either parallel or next to your ear. Stay for 5-10 breaths, gently come down and repeat on the other side.
For more detail on the pose and its benefits refer to the attached article in Yoga Journal.
Meditating on Joy
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." ~ Albert Einstein
When I was thinking about finding joy in the simple, I could not help but think of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. This is a classic song illustrating beauty in everyday things, including nature
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Love this video from the BBC in 1968 of Louis Armstrong performing this beautiful song
See you on the mat!
Namaste,
Julia Anne
Comments