July - Coming Home to Yourself
Happy July Joyn Community ✩,
There is something so inviting about a fresh start. A new season. A new month. A new year. A new day. A birthday. A move. A new job.
We love these little markers in time, these moments that remind us to pause, reflect, and ask ourselves: “Who am I becoming?” But the truth is, we don’t need a milestone to begin again when every moment is a subtle invitation to return to ourselves.
In yoga, we call this practice Svadhyaya, or self-study. Not as a way to constantly analyze or “fix” ourselves, but as a way to get curious, to notice, to listen, and to reconnect with the parts of ourselves that may have gotten put on the backburner as we face life head on.
A few days ago, I turned 31, and I found myself reflecting on this idea of becoming. At midnight, my best friend asked me, “What was the low point and high point of 30?”
And as I thought about it, I realized something: the thing I would have labeled as my “low” was actually the thing that led me back to myself. Heartbreak has a funny way of doing that. It creates space.
What felt like losing something became an opportunity to find myself again. I started reading books for self-discovery (although, my fairy dragon fantasy books will forever take up a suspicious amount of my reading time). I started noticing when I shrink myself, when I shape-shift to fit into someone else’s world, and when I turn myself up just to be accepted. I started paying attention to the people who truly make me feel at home.
And that’s the beautiful thing about change: you don’t come back as the same version of yourself. You come back more rooted, more defined, more you.
I feel like I say this every season or every new year… But if you know me, you know I get quite the dopamine hit from change, but I believe it more every time:
You are always allowed to begin again
Your fresh start does not need a perfect moment. You don’t need to wait for Monday, January 1st, or the next big life transition. You get to choose, at any point, what you want to nurture.
Right now, I’m sitting in my own season of transition. I’m preparing for a move to Portland, Maine. I’m in my first month of a new job. I’m soaking up every moment with the people I love here in Boston.
And during these transitional times, it is so easy to drift far away from the present.
To think:
“I only have this much time left.”“I’m having so much fun, I don’t want this to end.”“What is the next chapter going to look like?”
But the practice is always the same: Come back.
Back to your breath.Back to your body.Back to the moment in front of you.
Because one day, this exact moment will be one you look back on.
Yoga Sutra 2.44: Through self-study, we deepen our connection to ourselves and the path we are meant to walk.
So this month, I invite you to practice Svadhyaya in your own way. Maybe that looks like listening more closely to what your body is asking for, noticing the moments when you are living from your values, creating space for reflection, or simply becoming more aware of where your energy is going.
Notice where your mind runs ahead. Notice where it gets stuck behind. And gently return to where your feet are.
You don’t have to rush into the next version of yourself. You are already becoming.
If yoga & connection is something you crave this July, we’ve got you covered: all ticket links can be found here
Saturday, July 11 with Tobey: Yoga & Saun aat Moki, South Boston - 9:00 am
Saturday, July 18 with Tobey: Norrona on Newbury St - 9:45 am
Wednesday, July 22 with Tobey: Allstonway - 5:30 pm
With lots of love ꨄ,
Anna & The Joyn Fam
