Brooke Davidson Yoga

I’m in a chaotic season of life. I’m often able to pick up to a jog and find my stride, but sometimes it feels like I’m running in too big of sneakers - my toes catching every few strides as I get out of rhythm. Yesterday was one of those days. I felt such overwhelm and exhaustion that I got home and just cried for a moment as my sweetheart held me.

And I could not help but feel such appreciation as he reminded me, “You’ve kept up with everything so well. It is okay that you feel a bit overwhelmed.” It IS okay to feel the natural responses to stress. It is okay to fall out of stride and stumble. It is okay to, quite frankly, be a human in an ever changing world.

So, cheers to sitting with what’s true without judgment of it. Cheers to day 2 of - camel pose. Oh, and cheers to yoga tops that can be worn with jeans and work as an outfit.

Day 1 Any Lunge Pose 🤸 ✔️
Day 2 Camel Pose ❤️ ✔️
Day 3 Pigeon Pose 🤸
Day 4 Bridge Pose❤️
Day 5 Goddess Pose 🤸
Day 6 Dancer Pose ❤️
Day 7 Splits 🤸
Day 8 Wheel Pose❤️

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🤩 Our winner will receive a $100 Alo Yoga gift card and a 6-month subscription to Alo Moves!

Join me for some nourishing connection between body, breath, and mind. ♥️

Honesty takes vulnerability. This is true when both giving honesty and also receiving it, and in practicing living in alignment with our own truth, we draw more of it toward us. As says, “remain true to your frequency and you’ll find the right slip stream.”
Day 2 of - a seated pose & the Q “How do you practice vulnerability and embodying that which you wish to receive?” I chose to talk about honesty and also to showcase a seated compass pose since I don’t often practice it and it keeps me honest in it’s own way 😉

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“This is what the things can teach us: to fall, patiently to trust our heaviness. Even a bird has to do that before he can fly.” - Rilke

do not let others’ ideas of you
compete
with your idea of you.
it is okay to feel
strength, beauty, power.
they will judge you either way.

Sometimes this shape isn’t possible in my body. Sometimes it comes with fluidity and strength. While yoga has taught me a lot (physically, mentally, spiritually), one big lesson is this: hold space for change, even in the day to day.
This is true in all regards: physically, mentally, spiritually. As we continue to experience and learn, we inevitably drop some things (abilities, understandings, beliefs) and pick up others.
And THAT IS OKAY, my friends. It’s okay to full heartedly believe something that you later decide to drop entirely. It doesn’t make you a hypocrite; it makes you open to change.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but taking a break is also a healthy choice. In fact, optimizing your sleep might be the single most impactful long term health decision you can make for yourself. But sleep and rest are a bit harder to commodify so of course they aren’t pushed as much as working out or eating certain ways. I mean - when was the last time a person’s ego was affected by their sleep? (Generally, if self-worth isn’t attempted to be tied to it, it’s not a pushed agenda in your society).
Anyhow all of this is just to say that it isn’t always “slacking” to take a break. You’re not “copping out” when you choose to rest. It’s okay to stow the oars during a section of flat water.

I try to make a habit of attempting things beyond my capacity.
Because what starts out as impossible eventually becomes hard and that then eventually becomes doable and even easy. Kids do this all the time in learning to walk and talk and play a sport. But many adults let that learning pattern fall away, choosing comfort over expansion.
How empowering it is, though, to learn something new. And how healthy it is to be a student - to attempt things we can’t quite do. There is a building of resilience and humility; there is a letting go of attachment to outcome.
There are worlds of lessons in that simple action of attempting what is beyond our capacities.

“I seem to have such strength in me now, that I could withstand anything if only I could repeat to myself ‘I exist.’ In thousands of agonies — I exist. I’m tormented on the rack — but I exist! Though I sit alone in a pillar — I exist! I see the sun, and if I don’t see the sun, I know it’s there. And there’s a whole life in that, in knowing that the sun is there.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The experiences of life can be incredibly difficult and trying. And yet, they are all that we have. To exist — to have that be enough — to train ourselves to find joy in that simplest truth: that is how we make happiness a lifestyle and not just a waypoint. And always, to know the sun is there even if we don’t see it.. the metaphor isn’t a hard one to follow. But goodness it is a powerful one.

“If your apology hinges on their forgiveness, you’re not sorry. You’re uncomfortable.”

Read that again. It’s a big one. True apology is an internal thing that might be expressed externally, but doesn’t need anything beyond the apology itself.

I’ve been working on a big project over here… it started years ago but only really picked up pace this past year. I’ve kept it under wraps for so long but am finally about ready to share it with the world. First though I want to see — what do you think it could be?! 🤔

Cool, rain-scented air breezes through my open window, and a soft light filters through the clouds above. Laying in bed - awake but not yet up and moving - feels like magic. There are so many things on the to do list, but for just this moment let me lie here: listening to the birds and breathing deeply. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
[a summer’s morning reflection]

I’ve spent the last 3 years teaching primarily intermediate - advanced yoga asana classes. But recently my private sessions (individuals and groups, both) have been for beginners. And I’m having SO much fun with it.
What’s even more interesting is that my current clients were almost exclusively in that int-adv range until 2 weeks ago when a handful of new clients came forward at the same exact time inquiring about classes.
It’s funny how things like this pop up out of nowhere and present an entirely new challenge. I am here for it. Coincidence rules the universe 🤘🏼

Anyone else feeling a little extra what with 1) summer and 2) the world opening back up?
Things have felt a bit frantic to me, and I’ve had to do the internal equivalent of sitting myself down for a talk about how to give each day all I’ve got while still pacing myself.
Sleeping in and resting and building space into the day… those things are good, too. Spreading out activities so that there aren’t just 7 things in a single day — that’s also good.
So if, like me, you’ve been feeling that FOMO, take this as your sign to relax a bit. The world will still be there after your nap.

Playing with new shapes is always an empowering experience for me. That doesn’t mean I always get the pose I’m trying, mind you, but that in trying new things I find something within myself. Call it power. Or resilience. Or playfulness. Or creativity. Call it all those things since it feels like each at different times. But ultimately, it’s a pleasant experience, and one that contributes greatly to my own self study and growth.
Trying new things is a great way to expand and refine.

When in doubt, wring it out.
Nothing like a practice infused with twists to make your body feel refreshed.

A pose that isn’t always doable in my body but allllways makes me feel like 🔥🔥 when I do stick it. Yoga can truly be such a playful experience and I love trying hard things, even if they aren’t always doable.

Nearly 100* today, so I’m throwing it back to midwinter yoga shots in the front yard with numb fingers and incredibly unbendy body parts 😂
I’m definitely a fan of summer, but 100* is just a bit too much… 85* is my happy place. What about you - what’s your ideal season / temperature?

Strength and flexibility are definite components of asana. But body awareness and engagement is has a larger impact.
When in any shape I like to scan through and ask myself, “Where so I feel my breath here? Where can I add further integrity, and where can I soften? Where is energy leaking and how can I patch that leak?”
In this stag leg pincha, for example, I feel my breath most in my shoulders. I add integrity by pressing forearms into the mat and gently hugging outer hips in, and I soften at the heart. I grip with my fingertips and point the toes since the most common energy leak is from those points.
I don’t know if that even really makes sense, but it’s a helpful process for me in any pose that I hold, and certainly aids me in furthering my self practice from a place of genuine curiosity, creativity, and intuition.
When in doubt, explore.

The more you align with your truest, most elevated self, the more nourished and fulfilled you are. But also, the more nourished and fulfilled the world is.
If each of us were truly thriving (recognizing, of course, that life will still ebb and flow in challenges and heart breaks), we could more fully show up to this world. We could contribute to it from a place of love and creativity. And the world would, of course, benefit.
So take a moment to think of what you can do today (whether it’s an activity or adoption of an attitude) to align with your highest self. We’ll all benefit from it.

One of my favorite little things: when a teacher has you so immersed in a creative flow that you don’t even know what pose you’re setting up for until you’re in it. No time to build an expectation; no time to doubt yourself; no time to do anything other than give it an honest shot.
I don’t think I’ve tried this shape in years tbh, and it was such a lovely surprise to move into it in a recent class with . Practice and all is coming, right?

People are hard to hate close up. Think about it - the grandpa or aunt or parent or sibling you have who holds incredibly different beliefs from you. If it were a stranger, you might easily dismiss them, gravitating toward people who have “more in common” (that is, whose overt statements seem to be more like you). But because this person is tied to you, you’ve learned to set boundaries in conversation and to love each other - differences and all.
It feels like our world is becoming more polarized. We’ve placed ourselves into different groups based on political affiliations and hobbies and background and physical appearance, and as a byproduct anyone who isn’t in our group is “other”. But that’s a lie. We’re all human here. We all want to be happy and to experience love and to feel useful to the world. Our differences often even come down to the same intention — just look at gun rights. Beneath all the differing factors of the argument, both groups want to feel safe and free.
If you’re still reading this (ha) I guess my point here is just that the world could look - and FEEL - a while lot different if we extended strangers the same love we extend our differing-viewpoint family members. Maybe it’s worth some conscious effort.
*opening line from

Just turned in my final hours of official work and can now say I’m *officially* on summer break. Goodness does it feel good. ☀️

Since I’m working on puppy —> malasana in handstand, I figured working on it in pincha was wise too. Turns out I was not utilizing compression nearly enough in what o thought was my puppy, put until I could take it into a shape I have stability in (aka room to explore within) I couldn’t figure that out. Man, it’s fun to learn.
If you’re interested in exploring all things inversions (including everything from the skills and drills that will help you feel ready to try one all the way to exploring different variations and fun entries and exits once in one) consider attending my inversion workshop this Thursday. 5:30-6:45pm MST at and also via zoom. Link to register in bio 🤸🏼‍♀️

A simple truth.