New Year's Day, 2026 Notes
Hi everyone,
Thank you again for being a part of our special New Year's practice together. It is my favorite class to teach all year and I'm always so humbled and honored by those who choose to be there. So much love.
I had many requests to share various parts of the class, so I figured I would just send an email to the group with some of the intentions and words. But first, the playlist! :D https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50h8GmaZnSzqHxZVIfMDzU?si=4ed636a5054249e7
Your questions for this year's intentions at the beginning of class:
Where in your life do you want to choose love in 2026?
Where in your day to day actions do you feel called to practice love?
What might it look like to let love be your answer—especially when it’s hardest?
Thoughts and inspiration for Choosing Love:
~Ahimsa: non-harming/non-violence, the first yama of yoga practice. Love beings by reducing harm in thought, word, and action--especially toward ourselves.
~As I enter this new year, I recognize that I will encounter uncertainty, difference, and challenge, and I choose to begin each moment by returning to love rather than reaction.
~When I notice judgment toward myself or others arising, I pause and remember that love begins with how I see and speak to myself.
~In the year ahead, I choose to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting automatically, allowing love to guide my first response.
Thoughts and inspiration for Practicing Love:
~"To love is to recognize yourself in another." --Eckhart Tolle
~When discomfort shows up in my body, my relationships, or my emotions, I practice love by staying present, setting healthy boundaries, and choosing care over avoidance.
~As I move through this year, I practice love in small, ordinary ways—through listening, restraint, forgiveness, and the willingness to begin again.
~When I fall short or feel overwhelmed, I practice love by offering myself patience, remembering that growth is not linear.
Thoughts and inspiration for Making Love the Answer:
~"Love is a force more formidable than any other." --MLK Jr.
~In my family and closest relationships, I choose love through honesty, accountability, and the courage to repair when harm is done.
~Within my community, I commit to acting with compassion and respect, understanding that peace is built through everyday interactions, not grand gestures.
~As I move through the wider world this year, I remember that love can shape how I speak, how I listen, and how I participate in moments of difference.
~In times of conflict or division, I choose peace—not as silence or withdrawal, but as a steady commitment to dignity, care, and non-harm.
Mantras/Meditation
The opening chant was the Anusuara Invocation that I do in all my regular yoga classes, and the chant before transitioning to flow was Om Mani Padme Hum. I have those on a reference page through our site: https://www.hothouseyoga.com/2026
The Anusara Invocation is also included on our free online studio: https://www.hothouseyoga.com/online-studio
To get access to the online studio, you simply create a login through the Arketa portal (this is not the same as Mindbody, totally separate) and select the free membership.
My closing reading as you came out of savasana:
Take a moment to feel the breath as it returns, soft and steady.
Feel the ground beneath you.
Feel your heart—quiet, open, awake.
Buddhist teachings remind us that love and compassion are not luxuries; they are necessities for human survival. Peace in the world begins with peace in the heart— every act of kindness plants a seed whose ripples we may never fully see.
And in yoga texts, spoken through Patanjali, echo this truth across centuries:
Yoga is the stilling of the patterning of the mind.
When the mind is clear—when we see without distortion—what naturally arises is compassion… patience… understanding… and love.
This is the heart of ahimsa, the first step on the path of yoga:
Non-harming as a way of being.
Love as a form of peace.
As you sit here in the soft light of a new year, know that your practice is not limited to the edges of your mat.
The breath you steadied here can steady you in a difficult conversation.
The patience you cultivated in a long hold can guide you when the world feels rushed or sharp.
The love you felt in your chest—subtle, warm, quietly alive—can be the way you walk into every room, every relationship, every challenge in 2026.
Yoga asks us not just to transform ourselves, but to soften the world through who we are becoming.
So as you leave this space today, carry this with you:
May your thoughts be rooted in clarity.
May your words be shaped by kindness.
May your actions be guided by love.
May your presence bring peace where peace is needed.
May you remember that each moment—each choice—is an opportunity to practice what the sutras call svadharma: your soul’s unique and intended way of being.
And may 2026 become a year in which you choose love, practice love, and let love be the answer—again and again and again.
Take one final breath.
Feel the fullness of the beginning.
And step into the world gently… but with great intention.
I hope this is helpful for your year and I'm very honored that so many of you wanted to hold on to these things. I would love to hear how your year of choosing, practicing, and making love your answer goes as the days go by. Let's make 2026 one for the books in terms of making the world a better place. xoxo
Metta, Loving Kindness Meditation (variation)
Feel the ground beneath you. Feel the breath arriving. Bring your attention to your own heart and silently offer:
May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be peaceful. May I be filled with love. May I be free.
Bring someone you love into your mind: May you be safe. May you be healthy. May you be peaceful. May you be filled with love. May you be free.
Expand awareness to someone neutral: May you be safe. May you be healthy. May you be peaceful. May you be filled with love. May you be free.
If possible, bring to mind someone who challenges you: May you be safe. May you be healthy. May you be peaceful. May you be filled with love. May you be free.
Expand outward to all beings: May all beings be safe. May all beings be healthy. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be filled with love. May all beings be free.
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out. Let loving-kindness guide you into the year ahead.