Midwinter: A Season of Becoming, Returning, and Rest

For a long time, this space has been quiet.

Not because nothing was happening — but because life was full in ways that required my presence elsewhere.

The last few years brought more change than I ever imagined they would. There was the pregnancy I had hoped for, but never fully knew was possible. Carrying new life while working at the Atlanta Temple — a sacred and stretching season layered with awe, fatigue, and deep gratitude.

There was becoming a mother the same year I turned 40, learning how much strength and tenderness live side by side amidst the divine and humble role of caring for a babe. Being my son's mother has reshaped how I understand love, presence, and time. To witness his growth — to discover who he is while discovering who I am becoming alongside him — feels like holy ground. Motherhood has slowed me, softened me, and taught me to notice in ways no other season ever has.

There was moving to Indiana with our little family, living with my parents for a year while we tried to sell our home — only to find ourselves becoming landlords instead. Eventually, we were able to buy again here in Indiana, slowly rooting ourselves in a new place.

There was also a season of intense vocational stretching. I completed my master’s degree in social work during this time, including two internships that opened doors I never expected. Those experiences led me into the role of Director of the Crisis Office and Christmas Store — work that has been humbling, demanding, and deeply sacred. Work that required presence, discernment, and care for people in some of their most vulnerable moments.

Alongside all of this, I watched my husband step into his own season of change — leaving 20 years of friends and life in Georgia along with his career in construction to take on a new role in facilities at the Indianapolis Temple, while also responding to unexpected calls to serve at church. And woven through everything my husband and my faith has kept me grounded as well as our son who has provided the daily grounding that only a child can bring.

The Roots of SAMBANDHA

Sambandha Studio is an online yoga studio I began creating in the summer of 2021, after completing my yoga teacher training earlier that year with YogaWorks. I had the gift of learning from teachers whose grace and depth of knowledge shaped how I understand yoga as a practice of relationship — Jennifer Elliott and Dawn Stillo.

That same year was one of profound beginnings. In March 2021, as I was finishing my yoga teacher training, I connected for the first time with Jared. When we met in person that July, I was already beginning to imagine how yoga might take shape beyond training — not as a performance or brand, but as a steady, relational offering. During that season of summer, I began building Sambandha Studio — laying foundations for a space rooted in Sambandha, the Sanskrit word for connection or relationship between one's self in their body, mind and soul, but also with others. That fall, in November 2021, Jared and I were married and I moved to Georgia.

Life was full of convergence — partnership, practice, and possibility unfolding side by side.

And then life asked for my attention in other ways.

The studio remained — quiet, patient, and intact — while I moved through motherhood, education, leadership, and service. SAMBANDHA was never abandoned; it was resting, much like the seasons it was created to honor.

A Changed Relationship With Practice

During these years, my relationship with yoga shifted — and at times, my personal practice was very quiet.

There were long stretches when I wasn’t practicing regularly. Life required my energy elsewhere, and I had to listen honestly to what was possible rather than what I believed should be happening.

Even so, something was still forming.

I was learning about the nervous system through lived experience. About regulation through responsibility. About how the body holds seasons of devotion, stress, and transformation — even when we are not actively on the mat.

Now, in midwinter, I feel a gentle and intentional return.

Not a return to how yoga once looked for me, but to a practice shaped by motherhood, leadership, and lived complexity — rooted less in discipline and more in discernment.

Midwinter Night Yoga: An Intentional Return

The Midwinter Night Yoga Series with Sambandha Studio is an offering born from this return.

This is not a practice for fixing yourself. It is a space for tending — for allowing the body to feel safe enough to soften.

In these evening practices, you can expect:

• Slow, grounding movement

• Breath-led pacing

• Longer holds and supported rest

• A quiet, candlelit container aligned with the season

• Practices designed to support nervous system regulation

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This series is for anyone who is returning — to their mat, their body, or themselves — after a full and demanding chapter.

Honoring the Wisdom of Midwinter

Midwinter does not rush growth. It trusts what is happening beneath the surface.

This season has taught me that returning can be just as sacred as beginning — and sometimes even more honest.

If you find yourself longing for rest instead of resolution, gentleness instead of striving, and movement that feels like listening rather than pushing, you are warmly invited.

Thank you for being part of this long, quiet unfolding.

I look forward to practicing together.

🤍Midwinter Night Yoga | January | Sambandha Studio