Just this week, Anchorage is finally covered in a cozy blanket of winter snow. It always strikes me how much the snow seems to calm and quiet the winter world, making it seem a little softer, a little gentler. The dark winter skies seem to press upon me to sleep, but I am also alert, knowing that a new year and new beginnings will be fast upon us. I am reminded of a few lines from the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Today I might be at rest or deep meditation in the dark and lovely woods. But I have promises to keep to myself and to the world, commitments to my Self, my community, my destiny. And those commitments will require me to exert and expand as I learn and integrate new information into my life. I think about how in Kundalini Yoga, the kriyas and meditations work on us through alternating push and pull, contraction and expansion, rest and exertion. And in life, we allow moments of rest to recharge the energy needed to be successful and victorious in all of our new beginnings.

New beginnings are exciting and fill me with hopeful expectations. They can also be scary and exhausting, especially when they involve consciously choosing my own path through life, following my own heart, my own truth, trusting that it will work out for the best even when there is no hard evidence that it will, even when people who love me worry that I am taking too great a risk. But then (thank you!) Robert Frost returns to remind me that the path less traveled holds far greater rewards in The Road Not Taken:

And that has made all the difference.

In keeping with this theme, Kundalini Yoga North is offering a special 11-day rejuvenation intensive in Homer from December 29 – January 8 that will balance the nervous and glandular systems. For yogis in other parts of the state, regular Kundalini classes are available in Anchorage, the Mat-Su, Homer, Fairbanks and Juneau. For on-the-spot or home practice, here is a short video meditation led by Yogis Sukhdev Jackson and Akahdahmah (AYKANNA) for cultivating absolutely powerful energy to meet life’s challenges (tuning in for the 3-minute meditation starts about 7 minutes into the video, following the introduction; the meditation itself starts about 10 minutes into the video).