In partnership with
Hey there, Yogi!
Ever watched a child with a new toy?
They're not thinking about what comes next. They're not comparing it to the last toy, or worrying about breaking it, or wondering if they're playing with it correctly.
They're just in it. Completely. Every second feels like the first second.
Now think about the last time you felt that way.
Deep Dive
When Did Practice Become So Serious?
Somewhere along the way, we stopped playing.
Not all at once. Gradually. We got busy, then serious, then responsible. We stopped doing things just because they were fun and started doing everything because they were useful.
But here's what nobody tells you about play: it was never really about the activity. It was about the quality of attention you brought to it.
Children aren't having fun because their toys are special. They're having fun because they're completely there, unfiltered, unhurried, fully present.
Which means joy was never about the thing. It was always about how you showed up for it.
The Yoga of Seeing Everything Fresh
Yoga has a concept for this: Shoshin, beginner's mind, borrowed from Zen.
The deliberate practice of approaching what you already know as if you're encountering it for the very first time. No assumptions. No autopilot. Just pure, open attention.
In yogic philosophy, the opposite of presence isn't absence. It's habit. When we stop being curious about something, we stop truly experiencing it.
We replace the real thing with our memory of it. We go through the motions, in our poses, in our mornings, in our relationships, and call it living.
Presence is actually available to anyone, in any ordinary moment, with any ordinary thing.
Your yoga mat included.
The pose you've done a hundred times. The breath you've taken ten thousand times. The morning you're convinced you already know.
What if you didn't?
Practice of the Day
Trataka: Candle Gazing
One of yoga's oldest concentration practices. No sequence to follow, no alignment to perfect. Almost impossible to do on autopilot.
How to practice:
Place a candle at eye level, about an arm's length away
Sit comfortably, spine tall, hands resting on your knees
Softly gaze at the flame, trying not to blink. When you need to, blink slowly and return
If your mind wanders, the flame will tell you. Your gaze will drift too. Just come back. Stay for 3 to 5 minutes
When you finish, close your eyes and observe the afterimage of the flame behind your eyelids
Notice what happens to time. Notice how different it feels to look at something with complete, unhurried attention.
That's presence. That's play. That's beginner's mind, alive in a single flame.
Brought To You By
This Is How Winter Is Supposed to Taste 🍸✨
Winter doesn’t have to feel heavy or indulgent in ways that don’t serve you. It’s a season to slow down, feel grounded, and still savor the ritual of a beautiful drink. Enter Vesper, Pique’s newest release—and my favorite upgrade to winter sipping.
Pique is known for blending ancient botanicals with modern science to create elevated wellness essentials, and Vesper is no exception. This non-alcoholic, adaptogenic aperitif delivers the relaxed, social glow of a cocktail—without alcohol or the next-day regret.
It’s what I reach for when I want something special in my glass on a cold evening. Each sip feels celebratory and calming, with a gentle mood lift, relaxed body, and clear, present mind. No haze. No sleep disruption. Just smooth, grounded ease.
Crafted with L-theanine, lemon balm, gentian root, damiana, and elderflower, Vesper is sparkling, tart, and beautifully herbaceous—truly crave-worthy.
Winter isn’t about cutting back. It’s about choosing what feels good. And Vesper makes every pour feel like a yes.
Yoga In Everyday Life
This week, pick one thing you do every day on autopilot, your morning coffee, your commute, your evening wind-down, and decide to be completely there for it.
Not to make it special. Just to actually show up for it.
Notice the temperature, the texture, the light. Notice what you've been moving past for months without seeing.
Play isn't an activity reserved for children. It's a quality of attention. And you can bring it to anything.
If you're looking for a small, present-moment ritual for your evenings, Red Vesper by our partners at Pique might be just what you need, a non-alcoholic botanical blend designed to be slowly savored.
That’s A Wrap!
You didn't lose your sense of wonder.
You just got busy enough to stop looking for it.
It's still there, in the first sip of something warm, in the way light moves across a room, in a yoga pose you've done a hundred times but never quite felt.
The present moment hasn't gone anywhere. It never does.
Come back to it. It's always enough.
With care,
The Yoga Daily Team
