first light

“what do i want?”

in yogic philosophy, there’s a practice called sakshi bhava. the practice of separating yourself from you, of stepping outside your body and watching yourself moving through life. it is a powerful way to learn how to let go of self-judgment. it is almost…

"one day at a time" has been a very powerful tool for me. most nights, we go to bed carrying the regrets of the day. most mornings, we wake up already burdened by them. over time, those regrets accumulate into a harsh self-judgment. we start to feel like…

lately i have started a new meditation practice of zooming in. i choose an object in nature and for a few moments (up to 5 minutes so far), i observe it very closely. for example, i have a flowering bush in my backyard. i spend 5 minutes every day observi…

tapas (tuh-puhs) in sanskrit refers to burning in fire or heat. in yoga, it refers to the inner fire that drives a person towards growth, transformation or self realization. it is the 3rd niyama out of the 5 niyamas for leading a healthy and blissful life.

navigating new challenges and finding new opportunities can be exhausting. it is a combination of anxiety and excitement, but the ups and downs as some doors close and others open can constantly feel like living on the edge. there are a few tools that i h…

every time i have a question or need help, i use chat gpt or its friends. in the past i would search on google then visit the various websites in the results to hunt for my answer, while dodging distractions (recipe web pages are really hard to navigate).…

our home is a mess since the past few days. we are painting and re-organizing. work desks have gathered in hallways. boxes are spilling all their secrets to them. mattresses propped against walls, are waiting patiently to head back into their bedrooms. and

some years back, a friend and i decided to spend a year hiking 10 miles every sunday. we pocketed over 23 long hikes through that year. i documented those hikes back then, and this past week found some time to start migrating those over. this has been a s…

one of the perks of getting older is that you have figured out a thing or two about making way through life. you can draw on patterns, philosophies, and behaviors that have worked. below are a few that i remind myself of whenever i feel confused, stuck, w…