Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transferred and transformed. The fundamental law of thermodynamics states that the total energy of the universe is fixed and that energy can not be created or destroyed—only converted from one form to another.

Air moves us, Fire transforms us, Water shapes us, Earth heals us and the balance of the wheel goes on and on.

In a small village nestled between the mountains and the river, there lived a wise old monk who was known for his deep understanding of the universe’s rhythms. One day, a young traveler, weary and disheartened by life’s challenges, came to seek his advice.

Sitting by the tranquil riverside, the monk invited the traveler to close his eyes and feel the air around them. “Just as the air moves us,” he began, his voice as gentle as the breeze, “our thoughts guide our actions. Let your breath guide your mind to calmness.”

He then picked up a handful of soil, letting it sift through his fingers back to the earth. “The earth heals us. It supports and nourishes all living things. Just as we take refuge in the stability of the earth during our yoga practices, find grounding in your challenges.”

Pointing towards the river, he continued, “Water shapes us. It carves paths through the hardest rocks not by force, but by persistence. Embrace the flow of life, adapting and growing with every experience.”

As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow, the monk gathered some twigs and lit a small fire. “Fire transforms us. It releases the essence of things and changes them into new forms. Allow the fire of your trials to transform your spirit into something stronger and purer.”

Finally, he looked deeply into the traveler’s eyes and concluded, “Energy flows around us and within us, always transforming, never destroyed—like the cycle of life and rebirth in Buddhism. Embrace these changes, for they are the path to enlightenment.”

The traveler left the monk feeling enlightened, carrying a new perspective on life’s challenges as merely opportunities for transformation and growth, just as the elements continuously shape and balance the world around us.

Plants use energy from sunlight to make sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. The process by which carbon dioxide and water are converted to sugar and oxygen using sunlight is referred to as photosynthesis.

Most life on Earth depends on photosynthesis. The process is carried out by plants, algae, and some types of bacteria, which capture energy from sunlight to produce oxygen (O2) and chemical energy stored in glucose (a sugar).

“We are constantly evolving and changing either to a higher self or a lower one. What metamorphosis is going on in your life today? What we practice, we get good at. What positive behavior are you practicing and want to build upon in your life and what negative behavior would you like to stop reinforcing?” – David Scott

Open up your mind and let yourself fly high like an eagle!

When it rains, many birds occupy a shelter, but the wise EAGLE learns to avoid the rain by simply flying above the clouds! The problem is common to all but the attitude to solve it makes the difference. Don’t be afraid of change. Accept it gracefully.

“As we grow older and wiser, we begin to realize what we need and what we need to leave behind. Sometimes there are things in our lives that aren’t meant to stay. Sometimes the changes we don’t want are the changes we need to grow. And sometimes walking away is a step forward.”

“Courage is about learning how to function despite the fear, to put aside your instincts to run or give in completely to the anger born from fear. Courage is about using your brain and your heart when every cell of your body is screaming at you to fight or flee – and then following through on what you believe is the right thing to do.” – Jim Butcher

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

Where flowers bloom, so does hope. – Lady Bird Johnson

“You are always one decision away from a totally different life.”

“Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted — in body, mind, and heart — and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow — or we begin to flow more in our lives.” – Cybele Tomlinson

“Don’t try to be strong, simply refuse being weak.”

“We are not born wise. We are born with intuition, but we are also born with ignorance. Wisdom only comes to us through overcoming our struggles and the fog of doubt. Wisdom is the metamorphic transformation that occurs within us, as ignorance disappears and knowledge remains. Through wisdom, our veil of darkness dissolves and with clarity we can finally see path of light guiding us into the future.” – David Scott

“Tears let you know healing has begun, A scar is proof that healing has occurred.”

“It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.” – B.K.S. Iyengar

There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted.” – B.K.S. Iyengar

The past is already written and the ink is dry. Turn the page and begin the next chapter.

“A wounded deer leaps highest.” – Emily Dickinson

“Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to recognize light.” – David Scott

Nothing is more beautiful than a smile that has struggled through tears.

“The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need tomorrow.” – Robert Tew

Courage

“In Buddhism, we learn that the root of courage is in our ability to accept love and to give it freely. ‘Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage,’ let us practice opening our hearts in our poses and in life, nurturing the strength to embrace vulnerability as a source of our deepest bravery.” – David Scott

“Plato once said, ‘Courage is knowing what not to fear.’ As we flow from one pose to another, let us practice discernment—understanding which fears are mind-made illusions holding us back, and which are real. In this way, our practice becomes a meditation on courage, teaching us to release unnecessary fears.”

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” – Plato

“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.”― Shannon L. Alder

“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” – Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”– The Bhagavad Gita

“With no desire for success, no anxiety about failure, indifferent to results, he burns up his actions in the fire of wisdom. Surrendering all thoughts of outcome, unperturbed, self-reliant, he does nothing at all, even when fully engaged in actions.

There is nothing that he expects, nothing that he fears. Serene, free from possessions, untainted, acting with the body alone, content with whatever happens, unattached to pleasure or pain, success or failure, he acts and is never bound by his action.” (BG, 4.19-26)