Finding Stillness in the Movement of Life

Welcoming a new season through the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita

As the summer gently bids to an end and the first hints of autumn begin to appear, I find myself reflecting on what has been a beautiful and full summer.
A season of movement, meeting, teaching, travelling, sharing and, above all, connection.

After spending much of the summer in beautiful Muskoka, Canada, surrounded by nature, still water, morning yoga and the simple rhythm of being, I returned home to Norway with a heart full of gratitude.

There is something deeply grounding about coming home.

Back to familiar landscapes, back to my roots, back to the mountains, the sea, the changing light, and back into community.

And what a beautiful way to return.

A Month of Gathering

This August I have had the privilege of teaching at two beautiful yoga festivals in Norway: Recharge Yoga Festival in Kristiansand and Prindsen Yoga Festival in Oslo.

Two different places, two different gatherings, yet the same beautiful thread running through both:

People coming together because of their love for yoga.

I have shared the practice with old friends and new faces, with people from different corners of Norway and with teachers whose dedication and wisdom continue to inspire me.

There is something incredibly powerful about practising together.
Our yoga is deeply personal, yet it is never truly separate.
When we breathe together, move together and create space for awareness together, something shifts. We begin to feel the strength of community the reminder that although each of us walks our own path, we do not have to walk it alone.

The energy in these spaces has been tangible, joyful and vibrant. Sometimes quiet and deeply reflective.

And I have left each gathering with the same feeling:

How incredibly fortunate I am to be able to share this practice.

From Summer Into Autumn

Now, as I look towards September, I can feel another kind of energy arriving.
The light begins to soften. The evenings become quieter. Nature slowly begins to release what it no longer needs.

There is wisdom in this.

Yoga teaches us that everything is constantly moving and changing. The breath rises and falls. The body changes. The seasons turn. Life moves through cycles of beginnings, endings, loss, renewal and transformation.

And yet, in the middle of all this movement, we are invited to discover something steady within ourselves.

This brings me back to one of the teachings from the Bhagavad Gita that I return to again and again.

In Chapter 2, Krishna speaks to Arjuna about Samatvam, equanimity, or an inner steadiness that allows us to meet both success and difficulty without being completely carried away by either.

One of the most beautiful teachings is:

“Established in yoga, perform action, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.”
— Bhagavad Gita 2.48

For me, this is not about becoming detached from life or stopping ourselves from caring.

Quite the opposite.

It is an invitation to participate fully in life without allowing every external circumstance to determine our inner state.

And how relevant this feels to everyday life.

We are constantly being pulled in different directions.
Work asks for our attention. Family needs us, messages arrive, the phone rings, plans change…Our minds move into the future to then the past calls us back…so many feelings to navigate.
We want one thing, while life seems to ask something else of us.

Sometimes we can feel as though we are standing at the centre of a thousand moving pieces.

The practice of yoga offers us another possibility.

To pause…to breathe. To Feel, to choose, to return to your centre, your heart.
Rather than immediately reacting to everything that pulls at us, we can create a small space between what happens and how we respond.

This is where our practice becomes much more than what happens on the mat.

A few conscious breaths before answering a difficult message.

Feeling the feet on the ground when the mind is racing.

Returning to the rhythm of the breath when you notice yourself being pulled into the future.

Taking a few moments in meditation before beginning your day and drop willingly into moments of stillness throughout the day (something you for sure will not regret). 😉

Practising asana not simply to stretch or strengthen the body, but to notice:

Can I remain present when something feels challenging? Can I soften without collapsing? Can I stay steady without becoming rigid?

This is yoga in action!

We cannot control every wave that comes towards us, but we can learn how to meet the waves.

The Wisdom of the Changing Seasons

Perhaps this is why the changing seasons speak so beautifully to the practice.

Summer does not try to remain summer.
The trees don’t resist autumn.
The leaves release when it is time.
The light changes.
The earth turns.

Everything participates in the natural rhythm of becoming, releasing and beginning again.

Yoga invites us to do the same.

Not to cling too tightly to who we were yesterday.
Not to rush towards who we think we should become tomorrow.
But to meet this moment.
Again and again.

This is where presence becomes powerful.

When we stop fighting the reality of what is and begin to meet it with awareness, we create space for wisdom to arise.
And perhaps that is what the Gita is pointing us towards, not a life without challenge, but an inner relationship with life that allows us to remain connected to ourselves through the challenge.

Not stillness because nothing is moving.
Stillness because we have learned how to remain centred while life moves around us.

Living Yoga

This is what Living Yoga means to me.
It is not something we leave on the yoga mat.
It is how we meet the people we encounter.
How we breathe through uncertainty.
How we soften when life asks us to let go.
How we celebrate when life gives us something beautiful.
How we respond rather than react.
How we return to ourselves, again and again.
The practice continues wherever we are.
On the mat.
In community.
In nature.
In conversation.

In the quiet moments between one chapter and the next.

And perhaps this autumn, as the world around us begins to slow down and release, we can take a little time to do the same.

To pause and to listen.

Gather what this summer has given you.

And gently ask yourself:

What am I carrying forward?

What am I ready to release?

And what would it feel like to meet the next season from a little more steadiness within?

Thank you for walking this path with me.

Whether you are part of the Living Yoga Community already, or simply finding your way here through one of these letters, I hope you know that there is always a place for you in this practice.

May we continue to meet each season with an open heart, a curious mind and a willing breath.

With love in all directions,
Wenche

“Life will continue to move around us. Yoga teaches us to return to the quiet centre within to breathe, to soften, and to meet each moment with presence.”

Namaste 🙏