Have you ever felt like life is moving too fast—like you’re caught on a treadmill of responsibilities, rushing from one thing to the next? What if, even in the busiest or most challenging moments, you could access a deep sense of beauty, connection, and peace?
This month at Dru, we invite you to explore how to find spirituality and stillness, regardless of what’s happening around you. It’s a practice of noticing—pausing just long enough to connect with the golden thread of life force running through every experience.
The power of this practice is profound. Even in the hardest moments, a shift in perspective can open the door to something extraordinary.
Finding Light in Loss
When Andrew’s sister Fiona sat vigil by her father’s side in his final hours, she was exhausted, heartbroken, and overwhelmed by the weight of grief. The passing of a loved one and being present is one of the hardest experiences most of us will have in our lives.
Yet, as she poured out prayer and meditation, something remarkable happened. She found herself transported into a vivid realisation of her father’s presence—the depth of his love, all he had given to his children. She felt completely transported, transcendent.
By the time Andrew arrived to take over, she was transformed—her eyes blazing, she was more fully herself than ever before. She now considers that moment one of the most profound and beautiful experiences of her life.
Healing in the Midst of Chaos
When teaching yoga in war zones, helping refugees heal from the trauma of violence and loss, we put this idea to the ultimate test: could people find moments of soul-force even in the most extreme suffering? The answer was yes. And if it can work there, it can work anywhere.
Discovering Stillness in the City
Living in Manhattan, I struggled to find peace in the chaos. Used to finding connection in nature, I loathed the noise, the rush, the relentless stimulation. Determined to prove that stillness could be found anywhere, I began walking through the city with a simple mantra: “Love, love, love”.
At first, nothing changed. But after a week, I started noticing tiny moments—a stranger helping someone with a heavy bag, a flower pushing through the pavement, a shared laugh after a taxi splashed a pedestrian. By the second week, I even enjoyed my walks. Then, inevitably, I’d forget. The city would feel harsh again—until I remembered to return to my mantra, and the beauty would return. It took five or six cycles of forgetting and remembering before I laughed at the realisation: I had the formula for happiness and success, and I kept forgetting to use it!
The Yogic Science of Finding Beauty
Even in the heat of battle, Krishna taught Arjuna about the magnificence of life. Why speak of beauty and wonder in the middle of a battlefield? Because that is how we triumph. The Bhagavad Gita reminds us that no matter what is happening externally, the true power lies in our inner state—our ability to witness the divine within all things.
Ayurveda: Aligning with the Beauty of Life’s Rhythms
Just as we can train ourselves to see the beauty in chaos, Ayurveda teaches us to recognise the natural rhythms of life and move in harmony with them. When we pause and notice, we realise that life itself is constantly offering us moments of renewal, emergence, and vitality—especially in spring.
Spring is a season of awakening, a time when energy rises, life-force stirs, and new possibilities unfold. It’s a natural moment to embrace discovery, adventure, and beauty in our own lives. This is not just poetic—it’s physiological. Our bodies respond to the shifting season, just as the earth does.
Ayurveda invites us to honour these rhythms by starting our days in ways that support this natural emergence. In the morning, as your body wakes, take a glass of warm water to gently activate digestion. Step outside or gaze at the morning light to align your inner clock with the day. Choose foods that feel light and enlivening, just as nature itself is waking up. These simple acts are more than just habits—they are ways of consciously attuning ourselves to the golden current of life.
A Simple Practice for Daily Connection
One of the most powerful ways to experience this connection is through a simple meditation:
- Pause & Breathe: Take three deep breaths, letting your attention rest on the natural rhythm of your breathing.
- Notice: Gently observe the world around you. Let your gaze wander and notice what draws your attention—a flickering leaf, a bird’s song, the way the sunlight falls on a surface.
- Rest in the Moment: Allow yourself to simply be with this scene, open and receptive.
- Sense the Shift: Scan your body—your breath, energy, emotions. You may feel a tiny lift in your heart, a softness in your belly, a lightness in your mind. This is your connection to the golden current of life force.
21 Day Connectedness Experiment
Simple practices like these have immense power when you build on them over time.
Yoga is a living experiment—an invitation to observe the effects of your actions and to consciously choose the ones that align with your deeper purpose and life goals.
So here's a 21 day practice to help you experiment with this process:
- Practice this over the next 21 days, perhaps several times a day
- Write the key insight that comes to you each day
- Use our 21-day template to keep track of your insights
- After 21 days look back over what you've discovered. Was this experiment a good idea? We hope you've had some really special experiences!
Let’s make the most of spring’s invitation to vitality, joy, and connection. The opportunities are everywhere—if we take a moment to pause, notice, and receive.
Join us on this journey, and let’s cultivate a life rich in soul-force together.
Reflective Questions for Your Classes, Clients, and Friends
- Where have you recently experienced a moment of unexpected beauty, even in difficult or busy times?
- When life feels chaotic, what small practices help you reconnect with a sense of inner stillness?
- In what ways can you shift your perspective to see beauty in the ordinary or imperfect?
- How does cultivating inner stillness change the way you respond to challenges?
- How can you create more space for beauty and stillness in your daily life—through breath, movement, or connection?
