August 2026 · Off the Mat · by Tiffany Bergin, C-IAYT, CIYT
Returning from a few days on Madeline Island, I reconnected to where I feel at home — on and in the water. Near the shore again, the island magic returning me to where I come from — a slower pace, the sound and feel of it, the simplicity of the days. Easy walks and bike rides. Wading in. Sandy toes and sunlight through the trees. Being so absorbed in the sunset that you lose all track of time, the way you did as a child, when you're not watching a moment, not recording it, but living inside it.
We all know this feeling, and I think many of us long for it. Those stretches when you are simply, fully where you are — a reminder that it doesn't take an island or a shore. It takes paying attention, and that is something we can practice anytime, anywhere.
It's the heart of what we do together. When we come to the mat, we are practicing that arrival — the absorption of the breath, the feeling in the body, the awareness, and the ability to be here and nowhere else. The stillness we find on a summer evening and the stillness we find in practice aren't really that different. Both show us the same thing if we can slow down enough to notice…
Companion piece: Sitali Pranayama — Cooling Breath. All issues: Wisdom Library archive.
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