From Darkness to Light: Choosing Hope Through Practice

The path forward starts within. From darkness toward light is the journey of practice.

Today, I have a choice.

I can shift my attitude and choose to see what is beautiful and abundant in the world.

I may not be able to change what is happening in the outer world, but I have the freedom to create a more sustainable reality within my thoughts. I am choosing to be joyous and to love life with all my heart.

This is not always easy. My intellect wants to remind me of everything that is wrong with the world. However, through my ardent efforts to sustain my intention in practice, I can begin to feel a shift.

There is an opening—a little more spaciousness within my awareness. In this moment, I can return to the right thought, right words, and the next right action.

I may not be able to change what is happening in the outer world, but I can choose how I meet this moment.

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Returning to an Ancient Practice

I recently returned from a 12-day intensive commitment to the practice of the Sri Suktam mantras.

Laura Jane with fellow practitioners outside the Sri Vidya Shrine at the Himalayan Institute.

I joined other practitioners in a community devoted to sharing a higher consciousness of love rather than following the easier path of fear. Together, we participated in the Sri Suktam Yaga.

The Sri Suktam is an ancient collection of mantras honoring Sri, the Divine Mother, and the creative life force of Shakti.

Individually, I chanted the 15 verses 47 times. Together, through the power of our group effort, we completed 20 recitations in the shrine.

Each day, I also participated in a two-hour fire ceremony while my teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, chanted the mantras.

I had experienced this practice in India in January and knew that I wanted to return to it again six months later.

We were offering our individual efforts to the ultimate Source of all life.

The offering was made in the spirit of the Divine—something far greater than my individual existence and far greater than words can define.

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Offering What No Longer Serves Us

The intention of the ceremony is to transform the darkest parts of our thoughts and the negative tendencies held within our samskaras.

We offer these patterns into the fire with the intention of renewing ourselves and returning to the world with a lighter, more expansive quality of awareness.

The fire ceremony offered a sacred space for mantra, reflection, and transformation.

Life is impermanent, and yet there is an unchanging essence within each of us that is pure, vibrant, and radiant light.

This practice is thousands of years old. Being connected to this beautiful commitment has restored in me the value of humanity and the continuous flow of something greater than my words can express.

I often say, “To name it is to lose it.”

There are experiences we cannot fully define. We can only allow ourselves to receive them.

There is an unchanging essence within each of us that is pure, vibrant, and radiant light.

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Receiving a Glimmer of Awe

To receive a glimmer of this AWE, simply walk out into nature.

Appreciate each breath of air meeting your skin. Feel the immense wonder of the earth underneath your feet. Stand in the space where the sky meets you, and be present to the nourishment of being alive in this moment.

Life is precious.

We can be grateful for every moment, even while recognizing the suffering and uncertainty that exist around us. We can choose the thoughts we nourish and the energy we bring into the world.

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When the Outer World Feels Uncertain

I could not make it home on Monday, July 27, because horrific storms were churning and creating havoc in the airways.

Trees were falling. Electrical grids were crashing. Once again, we were all reminded of our powerlessness before the immense strength of Mother Nature.

The intensity of these storms is another reminder of the uncertainty we are learning to navigate.

I was fortunate to find another flight early Tuesday morning and to spend the night in an airport hotel. I was grateful to have the resources to care for my well-being.

At the same time, I was aware that millions of souls throughout the world struggle simply to find shelter each day.

The vulnerable state of our world is a constant reminder that we must keep possibility and hope alive.

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Tending the Inner Pilot Light

Despair can lead us toward inertia—a heaviness of lethargy and apathy. The energy for living becomes dull, and the mind can lose interest in moving forward.

When depression or ongoing despair becomes part of our experience, compassionate professional support can be an important part of healing. Yoga does not replace that care, but our practice may help us remain connected to the light within.

In these turbulent times, the mind easily feeds on fear.

We must be willing to tend our inner “pilot light” and keep the fire of passion and possibility alive.

Just as a flower pushes through the earth, it seeks the light. The earth is rich, and water is needed to help the sweetness of life continue moving forward.

The flower does not deny the darkness. It moves through it.

The flower does not deny the darkness. It moves through it toward the light.

There is so much stagnation happening in the outer world. The conflict we experience within the fluctuating mind can make the wars and chaos of the outer world feel even more overwhelming.

The value of my practice is that it has offered me renewed energy and a renewed passion to inspire and serve.

There is an inner desire within all beings to move toward the light.

From darkness to light is the journey of a steady yoga practice.

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Turning Up the Light Together

I am committed to sharing my heart and shining whatever light I can into a world in need of service.

Yoga Among Friends is a community where, together, we can turn up the light.

Our studio can be a safe harbor where souls may rest and feel the support of loving attention.

We are not helpless.

Humanity is amazing, and there is a profound shift happening as we begin to accept that the path forward starts within.

Our inner practice shapes how we meet one another. It shapes the words we speak, the choices we make, and the quality of attention we offer to the world.

We can choose love instead of fear.
We can choose possibility instead of despair.
We can continue moving from darkness toward light.

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A Question for Reflection

What helps you tend your inner light when the outer world feels uncertain?

I would love to hear what helps you return to hope, possibility, and the sweetness of being alive.

With love,
Laura Jane

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Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Sri Suktam?

  The Sri Suktam is an ancient collection of Sanskrit mantras honoring Sri, the Divine Mother, and the qualities of beauty, abundance, nourishment, and inner prosperity. It may be practiced through chanting, meditation, and sacred ceremony.

• How can yoga help us during uncertain times?

  Yoga does not remove the challenges of the outer world. It helps us become more aware of the fluctuations of the mind and creates space for a more conscious response. Through steady practice, we may feel more grounded, compassionate, and connected to the light within us.

• Why is practicing yoga in community meaningful?

  Practicing together reminds us that we are not alone. A caring community offers shared intention, loving attention, and a safe place to rest, renew, and reconnect with what matters most.

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An Invitation

Whether you are new to yoga, returning to your practice, or simply longing for a quiet place to reconnect, you are welcome at Yoga Among Friends.

View Our Class Schedule

The Sound That Leads Us Home

A reflection on Mantra, Truth, Love, and the Practice of Returning Inward.

As I sit down to inspire another blog post, I ask myself: what words are filling my thoughts?

My mind hears the language of harsh words, fear, distraction, and mental confusion. I notice how quickly the noise of the outer world can take me away from my balanced state of mind.

So I return to what I know.

I return to my practice.

I begin with sound, which precedes form. I begin with the sound of my own whisper breath. Thoughts arise, and my inner dialogue must be carefully chosen if I want to feed the deeper consciousness of my practice.

I set a small intention to make time and space. I want to invite sound and vibration as a pathway toward self-love. My mind wants to rush. It wants to turn practice into another item on the daily checklist.

But I know the respect of practice is not to demand what I want. It is to offer the opportunity for space to be revealed.

I do not know what that will look like.

I am only going to practice.

Sound, Form, and the Energy Body

The yogic teachings remind us that sound precedes form.

What we see as material form can also be understood through vibration, energy, and possibility. The physical body I live in is not only solid matter. It is also an energy body filled with vibrational potential.

Sound gives birth to form.

“In the beginning, there was the word.”

The sound.

My practice is mantra-focused. Mantras are sacred sounds that hold vibrational power and the potency to shift the limited reality that has been stuck in memory.

So often, our perception of the world is seeing only in material matter. We believe only what we can see. But mantra offers another way.

Mantra is protection for the mind.

“Man” means mind.
“Tra” means to cross over, or to protect.

Mantra helps us cross over the restless mind and begin to sense that maybe, just maybe, there is another way to see.

Mantra as a Pathway to Clarity

Our thoughts create the forms of our reality. If we feel bound or limited by that reality, practice can begin to shift our perception. Clarity can be revealed.

This is not an easy concept. It asks for a willingness to practice with an open mind and an open heart. It asks for a deeper commitment to the subtle tools of yoga.

I am always humbled to be a student, and I only offer the teachings that I have personally experienced. To teach is to meet the student where they are.

And so we begin with the grace of “not knowing.”

My entire commitment is to connect with the deepest part of myself that feels anything is possible. Reflecting on my life, I know I can shift the rudder ever so gently in another direction.

I must not strive to get there.

I must be willing to be here.

The effort is the commitment.

A slight shift from what I see in the outer landscape can open an inner place of possibility. What is the word for that feeling?

My mantra invites protection. It helps me cross over. I drop the language of fear and invite support. I ask to feel stable, steady, and held.

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From Gross to Subtle

The tools of yoga move from gross to subtle, from the outer layers of the body toward the inner landscape of breath, mind, heart, and spirit.

The outer orientation of asana is the mastery of the physical structure, beginning with the spine. It includes alignment, stability, strength, and range of motion.

The inner orientation of asana is to make the body a spacious container for the breath. This prepares us for the tool of pranayama.

The outer orientation of pranayama is mastery of the physiology through the autonomic nervous system. Breath influences digestion, respiration, cardiovascular rhythms, immune function, and hormonal balance.

The inner orientation of pranayama is to make the breath a safe place for the mind. This prepares us for meditation.

Meditation begins with the wandering mind and the field of attention. We learn to notice distraction. We learn to focus more deeply. We learn to stay with what is actually here, rather than becoming lost in every thought or feeling.

This is where mantra becomes so helpful.

I begin by repeating it as a chant. I feel it and hear it. I offer it as a way to focus. Then, silently, I allow the mantra to become second nature as it links my mind inward.

The inner orientation of meditation is to make the mind a stable place for the heart. This prepares us for deeper prayer.

Mantra is the sound of prayer without the attachment to ego-driven desires to get, to fix, to control, or to do.

Mantra is the sound of prayer without the need to fix, control, or do.

Prayer, the Heart, and the Kleshas

Outer prayer arises from a desire to let go of resistance.

Thoughts simply move through.

There is a longing to let go of personality and patterned habits of attachment, aversion, and fear. In the teachings, these are called the kleshas — those habits of inner language rooted in learned behavior.

They are the familiar thoughts of resentment, insecurity, jealousy, greed, envy, and pride.

They are the ways we keep ourselves comfortable in our discomfort.

The inner orientation of prayer is to make the heart a soft, open vessel for the Divine. It prepares us for sound. It allows the vibrational gifts of our nature to reveal themselves as loving, compassionate, courageous qualities of inner wisdom.

Words no longer hold us hostage to old beliefs.

Sound opens a space of pure potential.

The deeper place of this knowing rests in an orientation of silence as pure light. The intellect will never fully comprehend the immense space of this light, because words cannot fully wrap around the experience.

This experience is also constantly changing.

The effect is a peaceful, calming reality of feeling fully alive. There is a profound sweetness in being held by this experience.

The mind resting in that presence will meet each of us where we are. No human being is the same. We are not programmed for the fixed identity that the outer layers of society may try to dictate.

The Divine arises through each of us as our own unique experience. It is expressed as clarity — a way to respond in our own special way, in our own words.

The ability to extend kindness can become more effortless.

Practice in Turbulent Times

Humanity is asking us to pay attention and shift.

Our physical bodies are the vehicles through which the essence of love can be expressed throughout our life journey. Regardless of the challenges we are facing as we witness a changing world, commitment to practice becomes an assertion of human freedom.

Practice releases the energy we possess and allows us to take creative leaps together. The field of possibility opens. The beauty of living can be fulfilled with inner contentment.

We are here to illuminate and shine, and to allow resistance to be removed.

Now the practice is to stay open as we navigate turbulent times of change. We must feel rooted in the words that feed the loving heart.

Let us share the words that arise from our thoughts. May they inspire right action. May they extend from our true nature, filled with language that inspires healing.

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Satyagraha: The Force of Truth and Love

I wanted to share the mantra that inspired this post: Satyagraha.

Satyagraha was Gandhi’s call for a movement rooted in truth, love, and nonviolence. He inspired India to embrace the movement's calling, as expressed in the mantra, which means “The force which is born of Truth and love and nonviolence.”

The immense vibration of this word reminds me, with a smile, of the sword of light in the Star Wars saga and the phrase, “May the force be with you.”

But the true force is not domination.

The true force is love.

It is the sword of light that cuts through the darkness of our thoughts.

As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, may we return to the words that feed truth. May we practice the language of healing. May we listen for the sound that leads us home.

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What word, prayer, or phrase helps you return to the steadier place within yourself?

Blessings,
Laura Jane

Continue your practice
If this reflection speaks to you, we invite you to explore our weekly classes and upcoming workshops at Yoga Among Friends.

Gift of Sharing A "Hello"

Once the light returns and the days lengthen, I find the serenity of welcoming summer. In the Midwest, after our wild winter of cold and dark, we begin the ritual of going outside to say hello to our neighbors.

The greeting "hello" is humanity’s need for connection. It is the elixir the soul needs.

Welcoming is the ability to let in the sweet smile of one’s heart and the grace of acknowledging that we are in need of human kindness. A simple, direct nod and greeting allows for an experience of opening and receiving.

We, as humans, need shared moments that give us permission to feel alive and seen. We are in the midst of a human condition of loneliness and isolation. After COVID, we have forgotten how important it is to feel the energy of a collective embrace of belonging.

The greeting of hello is humanity’s need for connection.

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I never thought that when I named my yoga center, Yoga Among Friends, it would become such a profound legacy of my own personal need for community.

I knew how important it was for my own existence, as I had lived in LA for years and struggled to feel a true connection. I was going through a divorce, moving constantly to find a home, and not feeling comfortable fitting in with a religious organization or a health club gym that never called my soul.

I always wanted to have a community that allowed me to question and remain curious, without the rigid dogma of limited possibilities. I also never intended the practice of yoga to be seen as only body image or the identity of one’s physical abilities.

I always saw the teachings as a way to embrace self-love and acceptance, and as the gateway to feeling one’s true inner beauty.

When I started teaching yoga, there was never a dress code defined by the fashion industry. I would laugh when most questions about coming into the studio were, “What do I wear?” My response has always been, “Wear what feels comfortable for you.”

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Yes, outer identity is what keeps us separated, when the true gift of practicing yoga is that we can drop the outer shell of our containers and be seen as a living, breathing expression of a smile.

It takes a willingness to explore the coming inward and the dropping of an outer protection that hides our inner light. This is not done in one class, nor is it expected to result in some huge transformation.

It is a willingness to be committed to sitting with our awkwardness and to witness the frustration of our physical bodies breathing and moving in new ways.

The shifts in thought that keep us hostage to old beliefs and habits slowly come to our awareness. And with that awareness, a profound shift begins.

Self-love is not self-pleasure or the need to fix ourselves. It is self-acceptance. It is the ability to meet oneself right where one is, and to experience the welcoming of our true self in loving kindness.

It is the ability to receive the greeting of a simple hello that can nourish the empty space in our hearts that has longed to be seen.

Namaste is the simple hello that says, "The light in me sees the light in you."

How beautiful and how lovely to be seen.

Namaste is the simple hello that says: the light in me sees the light in you.

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Ready to step into the studio? Explore our class schedule and find a practice that feels supportive.

I hope to inspire you to come into the studio as a safe haven. To feel the support of being enough, and the willingness to risk dropping the armor of protection that the mind has learned.

Sometimes the mind overprotects and prevents life from coming in.

To breathe, one needs an open physical space, and the mind must feel safe. Tension is a physical response to fear, and it is normal when we are conditioned to doubt everything.

Trust is not the intellect, but the grace of feeling the ease of the intelligence, letting go and allowing something other to be revealed.

Feeling comfortable in our skin is a lifelong journey as we age and navigate all the stages of life.

To celebrate living and to share our hearts together is the true grace that keeps me committed to this sweet studio.

This summer, we are celebrating so many great teachers who are sharing their own expressions of these teachings.

Where in your life are you longing to feel welcomed, seen, or simply greeted with kindness?

We are community, and we are all saying hello.

I hope you join us in a greeting of love.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• What does Namaste mean in yoga?

  Namaste is often understood as a greeting of respect and recognition. At Yoga Among Friends, it is a simple reminder that the light within each of us can recognize and honor the light in another.

• Is Yoga Among Friends welcoming for beginners?

  Yes. Yoga Among Friends welcomes new and returning students with supportive guidance, thoughtful options, and a compassionate place to practice at your own pace.
  
  If you are new to the studio, our Start Here page can help you begin gently, learn what to expect, and explore the current New Student Intro Offer

• Can yoga help with loneliness or feeling disconnected?

  Yoga is not only a physical practice. Practicing in community can help create moments of connection, belonging, and shared presence, especially when we are longing to feel seen and supported.

Not sure where to begin? Reach out and we’ll be happy to help you find a class that feels supportive.