September Yoga Focus: Earth, Anchor, and Stability

We’ve decided to introduce a monthly focus for our practice. With endless freedom to still explore whatever comes up, you may notice familiar themes woven in along the way. For September, I have chosen themes of earth, anchor, and stability, as this is often a month of significant transition.

Physical Focus: Feet & the Core Body

Our feet are our foundation. Through them, we will explore where to root and how to rebound—activating both the inner and outer arches to build strength, balance, and connection for greater mobility and agility.

Rooting into the middle heel, big toe mound, and pinky toe mound provides the anchor we need for freedom of expression and for deepening our connection to the asana. We will also practice un-gripping our toes to reduce the tension that can ricochet up through the entire body.

By now, we know the core is much more than just the rectus abdominis. It includes the pelvic floor muscles, erector spinae, transversus abdominis, obliques, rectus abdominis, diaphragm, and quite possibly the shoulder girdle—essentially, the entire trunk.

What affects our connection to the core? Everything: all movement, and most certainly our breathing. This month we’ll explore the “keepers of the core”—the diaphragm and pelvic floor—how the core provides proximal stability for distal mobility, and the spiritual and somatic wisdom the core offers beyond the physical body.

Mantra

Most of us are familiar with the term mantra and have likely encountered it in a modern way—as affirmations or phrases used to cultivate intention and presence. This month, we’ll explore mantra in a more traditional and spiritually significant way, as it has been used in meditation, prayer, and ritual.

A mantra can be a word, a sound (such as a bija mantra like Om), or a phrase repeated silently or aloud to focus the mind and shift energy. In Sanskrit, mantra comes from man (mind) and tra (instrument), so it can be understood as an instrument of the mind.

Our September mantra is Yoga Sutra I.2: Yogas Citta Vritti Nirodhaha—“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” In practice and meditation, we may simplify this intention to something like: I invite this practice to ease my mind.

Mudra

A mudra is a symbolic hand gesture or position used in yoga, meditation, and spiritual practice to direct energy and support focus. In Sanskrit, mudra means “seal” or “gesture” and is thought to redirect prana (life force energy) to create mental, physical, and spiritual effects—such as calming the mind, focusing attention, balancing energy, and supporting healing on subtle levels.

Mudras are often practiced with pranayama (breathwork), meditation, or mantra. Our September mudra is Prithvi Mudra (Earth Mudra): ring finger to thumb. A gesture for grounding, stability, and reconnecting to the earth element.

Pranayama

Pranayama is often used interchangeably with breathwork. While it is indeed breathing, it specifically refers to the practice of breath control in yoga. In Sanskrit, Prāna means life force or vital energy, and Āyama means extension, expansion, or control. So we could say that pranayama is the expansion and regulation of life force through the breath.

Like our other focuses, pranayama helps calm the mind, shift energy, regulate the nervous system, and support overall well-being. We practice breath awareness in yoga every time we roll out our mats, simply through conscious attention to the breath.

This month, we will add Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing)—a balancing breath to steady the mind and support smooth transitions.

Chakra Focus: Root Chakra (Muladhara)

A chakra is an energy centre in the body. In Sanskrit, chakra means “wheel” or “disk,” because these centers are thought of as spinning wheels of energy. Chakras help regulate the flow of prana to support overall well-being. There are seven main chakras aligned along the spine, from the base to the crown of the head.

This month, we will focus on the Root Chakra (Muladhara)—associated with grounding, safety, and survival. The colour linked to this chakra is red. You are welcome to invite the support of crystals or stones, such as red jasper, garnet, hematite, or smoky quartz, during meditation or practice to deepen your sense of grounding and connection to the earth.

Join us for practice and explore our September focus. All levels and experience welcome. Check out our schedule here.