The Power of Pause

Lately, I’ve been really enjoying the ritual of sitting down and brewing a simple herbal tea, a wintering blend of ginger, thyme, and honey from our own hive. Just the act of gathering the ingredients, pouring hot water, and holding the warmth of the cup becomes a grounding practice in itself. Without these pauses, it’s so easy to fall under the constant push to extend, to do, to achieve. And yet, ten minutes of sitting with a cup of tea can be profoundly shifting, transforming the entire trajectory of a day. Instead of a restless mind racing toward the next task, we find a moment to soften, to settle, to simply pause.

This is what yoga continually invites us to remember: that what is unfolding in nature is also unfolding within us. Winter asks us to slow down, to conserve energy, to rebuild. Spring calls us to expand and create. These same cycles live in our own bodies, in our breath, and even in the rhythms of our days. When we attune our practice to the seasons and to the season we’re in personally, we begin to experience harmony instead of friction.

Neuroscience now confirms what yogis have long known: that the nervous system cannot thrive under constant stimulation. The “always-on” mode of sympathetic activation, the fight, flight, or push state may carry us through deadlines and challenges, but when it becomes our default, the cost is burnout, anxiety, and physical depletion. As Dr. Stephen Porges’ polyvagal theory reminds us, the body heals in the parasympathetic state, the state of rest, digest, and restore. It is only here, in stillness and slower practices, that the immune system strengthens, the mind clears, and the body rebuilds. We lean into these very practices in all yoga, however hold deepr focus for “polyvagal theory” or vagal nerve stimulation and toning specifically in our Nook Yin practices.

World-renowned yoga teacher Donna Farhi and one of my very first teachers I studied my first advanced teacher training with (little did I know at the time, just how much this experience was to go on and shape my life), said, “Yoga is not about touching your toes; it’s about what you learn on the way down.” Those words continue to ring true in my own practice and teaching. Rest is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the human spirit, these teachings echo what modern science now tells us is that stillness is not wasted time, but an essential medicine.

So when you arrive at the studio and consider your practice, let this be your compass, if you’re already exhausted, the last thing your body needs is more push. Instead, allow yourself to fold into the slower rhythms, restorative yoga, yin, breath practices, the spaces that down-regulate your nervous system and give you back to yourself. In honouring these cycles, we begin to live more seasonally, more sustainably, and more in tune with the natural intelligence already within us.

~August 2025