Week 4- Svadhyaya // Self-Study

How to benefit from week 4’s course:

  1. Please make sure that you are caught up and have watched the previous live recordings before week 4.

  2. Continue to lean into the different practices that bring you joy and help reset and regulate your nervous system.

  3. Make journaling part of your daily practice.

  4. Reach out when you need help or seeking support.

The secret to living intentionally: Self-Study

The yogic term Svadhyaya is translated as “to study one’s self”. Sva - meaning Self or own, dhyaya - lesson or lecture.

Every yoga practice we engage in, whether it be the physical form of yoga, meditation, chanting, breathwork, journaling, reading/studying the scriptures of yoga, connecting with nature, yoga nidra, etc. is considered an opportunity to study the Self and make a positive change within. How we integrate the practice of self-study or svadhyaya off the mat is to remain curious and question a habitual thought or pattern that keeps showing up in our life.

I love this passage from the book Heart Talk by Cleo Wade, she offers four sways for opening yourself up to a more radical (intentional) life":

  1. Love yourself enough to get to know yourself.

  2. Achieve step one by having the courage to ask yourself the hard questions.

  3. Honor step two by having the courage to answer the hard questions.

  4. Repeat steps 1-3 your whole life.

These 4 steps offered to us by a modern day woman, are indeed re-affirming what the yogis, sages, rishis and masterful teachers have been saying for centuries. To live a regulated, harmonious, intentional life, we must commit to knowing ourself deeply.

Journaling // Self Study

  1. Write a letter or story of your Future Self: imagine you are writing this letter backwards starting from December 2023. Imagine all the experiences that have unfolded for her this year and imagine her growth. Where is she now, what is she doing, who is in her life, how is she doing/living intentionally? No need to submit this letter or turn it in. This is just for you to have and keep.

  2. What is a goal (could be more than one) of yours this year that you’re manifesting? Please share your answer with Steph.

If you miss Week 4’s live session here it is:

Week 4's recording