Kindness as Kuruna

The Sanskrit word, KURUNA,  is understood as “compassion.” The word itself has no meaning until it is experienced in action. Two qualities of attitude must be engaged as we shift the mind from thinking to feeling the actual experience of living from the heart. We must be willing to embrace humility inspired by our deeper wisdom and, at the same time, cultivate a quality of gratitude.

These two much-needed attitudes are inspired by the actual living experience of being exposed to the wonders of life itself. Humility is the doorway to our more profound longing to connect to something greater.  Accepting uncertainty as a human condition and dropping the armor of shame or guilt that we are not “good enough.”  Embracing gratitude in the midst of living in our fears and doubts. Yet being kinder as we learn to embrace the changes.  To be grateful for the opportunity to cultivate a deeper wisdom of living with compassion.  It takes great effort or tapas to live from this space of our hearts.

Practicing compassion takes a deep desire to walk in others’ shoes as we calm our fears and doubts with a desire to become aware of our breath. This action is kindness not only to ourselves but to the world. This attitude is introduced in Patanjali’s yoga sutras (1-33) as KURUNA—this willingness to bring our mind into a focused place and let it rest in the heart.  Kindness in our thoughts, words, and actions towards ourselves and others allows the entire body and mind to rest in an ease of being present. It only takes a few minutes to shift the perspective. And this shift becomes a practice of living a lifestyle of peaceful possibility.

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In the spirit of cultivating a compassionate lifestyle, I am excited to announce a new class, Meditation Healing Circles, set to take place on Wednesday evenings. This gathering aims to provide a nurturing space for exploring the depths of our yoga practice and understanding how compassion serves as the cornerstone of our journey. Through guided meditations, thoughtful discussions, and shared experiences, we will explore what it means to live our yoga.

This is not an asana-based class but will include gentle movement as we come inward with the mind linked to the breath. The intention is to turn the fire of anger and fear into the grace of light. Experience a collective intention to heal the outer world.

Meditation Healing Circle—Studio

with Laura Jane Mellencamp
5 Wednesdays | 6:15-7:30pm
11/22-12/20
$20/class or use your subscription

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This is World Kindness Week, so let us embrace the desire to live with compassion for all beings as we notice little acts of kindness. Let us extend a smile as we inhale and inspire the smile into the world as we exhale. Let our actions inspire joy within. Today's best effort is to be the light in the dark night.

Blessings of love,

Laura Jane

Collective Healing Begins with the Retreat Inward

We’ve just returned from another wonderful journey, hosting our retreat in the incredible Dordogne region of France. During these turbulent times on Mother Earth, nothing is better for the soul than having an opportunity to practice going inward as we travel outward. Our mind is the only vehicle we have to make the discerning choices of how we perceive the outer world. This is a heightened opportunity for the community to unite with the highest intentions to heal hearts.

The entire practice for our retreat in France revolved around the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. A year ago, after his death, I decided we all needed to be at Plum Village, his created haven of loving-kindness. We spent the months prior to our arrival studying his words and creating for ourselves a place of inner smiles in the midst of the outer chaos.

As we traveled to the Dordogne region, we enjoyed staying in a lovely Chateau, enjoying our practices for sustaining our own inner peace as we realized the turmoil going on throughout the world. With the community of living from the inside out, we were the peace and love in the world. We were the love we wanted to see in the world.

We walked together in silence as we spent time sharing the beauty of Plum Village, which was twenty minutes away from our retreat center. Together, our full intention was to raise the consciousness of how we can serve when our inner loving hearts are not spinning in the external noise. The silence brought our attention to our hearts; we were able to smile and share the beauty of our souls.

Collectively, we must raise our vibration to be the love. We all want humanity to be safe, and together, we can be the living consciousness of divine intelligence. Our best transformational state is to serve the healing of all mankind.

I am so grateful for the grace unfolding and our joy to be able to be the light in the midst of these darker days and nights. Let us keep the light shining from our inner space. As a beacon of light around the world, we can build energy to transform anger into a more compassionate world. Despite the loud horrors of wars inflicting all the pain, we can hold the opposite as we are seeding new beginnings within collective practices. Please do not lose the joy of being alive now, and do not collude with doubt and fear. Beam out the smile. Breathe in and out of the heart and experience the gentle peace within. The bigger picture is to be the warrior of love; creating a better world begins within.

This November, I have been called to action to share these beautiful teachings of meditation as we all hold the vigil for the coming Solstice. I will be hosting evening practices into the soul as we share community for inner peace. These will not be asana-based classes, but the classes will include gentle movement as we begin the practice of coming inward with the mind linked to the breath. The intention is to turn the fire of anger and fear into the grace of light. It must be experienced as a collective intention to heal the outer world.

Please join me for each Wednesday night, Nov 22-Dec 20, from 6:15-7:30pm for Meditation Healing Circle. This five-week series will offer a deeper understanding of how to live our yoga. Developing compassion for all humanity starts with being kind to ourselves. Nourishing the soul is the key to living in peace.

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

— Thich Nahn Hahn

Love and light,

Laura Jane

Embracing Autumn's Balance: A Journey to Oneness

Welcome to the autumn season in the Western Hemisphere. No matter where you live, it’s the time when all is in supreme balance. This brief moment of time offers us the opportunity for the celestial blessings of oneness. Inspiring all of our experience with the divine intelligence behind all of life. This merging between the endings and beginnings, between the light and the dark, between the heat and the cool.

This oneness is not separate from us and the actual feeling of being present as a state of balance. When we feel at peace in this quality of stillness, the welcoming of this shift of perspective is one of gratitude and joy. We’re able to quiet the imbalance of the chattering outer world and focus on the ease of bringing the mind inward.

The balance between the outer mind and the tranquility of the inner heart is a fine-tuned instrument allowing for the mind to feel and listen to the pulse of this oneness. We’re able to sense that our body-mind is not actually who we are. We are more than our thoughts, personalities, behaviors, or moods. We are actually life experiencing itself. Our true natural state of being is love and goodness. A cloudy day does not mean the sun has disappeared. The clouds change and move through, but the sun is always there, and its nature is unchanging.

The fall equinox symbolizes harmony and connection. It is a reminder that all life is unfolding beautifully. This might sound appealing and nice, but it takes a greater desire to experience it. Notice how your physical body feels when your mind is chattering constantly with thoughts of doubt and worry. Notice the tension in your body when you are racing just to survive.

What happens when one can actually rest and feel the physical breath of inhaling with ease and exhaling with the feeling of being supported? Our physical nervous system becomes balanced, our mind becomes more focused, and our mood lightens. We feel supported and experience overall calmness. This is the life force of prana, which rides on each breath. How does the body feel when you exhale with the trust of falling into something greater and experience a glimmer of relaxation?

This shift in body-mind awareness opens the space to embrace the ease of letting tension drop away. The space around the heart softens, and gripping drops as the mind becomes less disturbed and more stable. This experience is real! The portal is open, and we can see into the depths of our being. Celebrate the possibility of being so much more as we embrace our true radiant aliveness, to embrace one’s soul.

Meditation is a refined mind able to sustain a direct focus, a one-pointed mind directed on a particular object. What if the object is the breath? What if the breath is effortless, and the mind actually enjoys just being present in the experience? This takes practice since the nature of our entire existence is self-preservation. We are wired to roam.

Yoga is a state of balance, and it takes practice to experience this inner balance in a very unbalanced outer world. The distractions of fear and the habit of worry become our need to control. The desire or passion to keep practicing must be done with reference to something greater. The passion keeps the soul growing as the attachment to our identity begins to gradually drop away. The sweet feeling of not taking everything so personally.

To experience this balanced state is peaceful, calming, and expansive. The opposite is tension, stress, and agitation. Healing comes from the right action to move inward and appreciate the incredible gifts of a quiet mind. The oneness of being present to life itself.

Let us find opportunities this season to enjoy our practice and trust we are all able to expand our compassionate nature to meet this opportunity.

We have so many wonderful teachers, classes, workshops, and retreats. Commit to global healing and say YES to the path and, in loving kindness, offer your light as a vehicle to see clearly all the beauty of this auspicious experience of ONENESS.