Yoga Sanctuary Montana

01/10/2026

01/09/2026

Recently, I listened to a podcast that shared a scientific study on single-cell organisms and the effects of stress - or rather, the lack of it. These organisms were given a homeostatic environment, which means their environment contained the absolute perfect conditions - zero stress. Surprisingly to the researchers, every single cell died. The researchers learned that the cells could not survive without environmental stress.

The same is true for us. Our survival, growth, and evolution are dependent upon stress. Stress challenges us to be creative, innovative, and contemplative. It motivates us to move beyond our comfort zones and do things we may initially perceive as impossible. Stress increases our capacity for resilience and endurance - physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Consider your asana practice on the mat. Every time you stretch or contract a muscle, it undergoes stress. How you stretch and strengthen determines the outcome of that stress. Over time, we either become stronger and more flexible or if we haven’t been mindful of our movement, it can set us up for potential injury.

Stress is a valid concern to have, but we first need to understand what kind of stress is harmful to our health and well-being, and similarly, what kind of stress allows us to adapt and grow. Within this concern, we should also prioritize learning how we respond to stress and ways we can improve our response. This is how we can create a healthy relationship with stress.

We will always encounter stress we can’t control, so it’s important to ensure we have mechanisms or tools to help us manage when it does occur. Practices such as mindful movement and exercise, meditation, breathing, and prayer play essential roles.
But surrendering to what is and paying attention to how we respond allows for the greatest relief. We can ask for grace and guidance to carry us through. We can choose to have faith that all will be well or bury ourselves deep in the strain of worry. Neither can change the circumstance of stress, but our choice will change the quality of our experience.

01/08/2026

“You are the sky, everything else is just the weather.”
Pema Chödrön

Join me here for my next Seasonal Retreat:
Clarity, Wellness, & Purpose

Friday, Jan 23 9:30-12:30

01/07/2026

Every day, we make countless choices.
We say yes to many things—but are we saying yes to what truly matters?

Join us for a nourishing experience of:
•Thoughtful movement
•Guided meditation
•Reflective journaling
•Community connection
•Time in nature

Together, we’ll cultivate clarity, strength, and the courage to say yes to what fulfills our soul’s purpose—and supports our health and well-being.

All levels of physical ability are welcome.
Journals and light refreshments provided.

$50 early reg/$55 after 1/16

Optional women’s sauna to follow, 1-3pm
Only $15 (normally $25)
Sauna limited to 10 participants

Venmo Laura-McKinnon-8
$65 Retreat + Sauna
$50 Retreat only

Or sign up thru link in bio

01/06/2026

Seasonal Retreat: Clarity, Wellness, & Purpose
Friday, Jan 23 9:30- 12:30


Every day, we make countless choices.
We say yes to many things—but are we saying yes to what truly matters?

Join us for a nourishing experience of:
•Thoughtful movement
•Guided meditation
•Reflective journaling
•Community connection
•Time in nature

Together, we’ll cultivate clarity, strength, and the courage to say yes to what fulfills our soul’s purpose—and supports our health and well-being.

All levels of physical ability are welcome.
Journals and light refreshments provided.

$50 early reg/$55 after 1/16

Optional women’s sauna to follow, 1-3pm
Only $15 (normally $25)
Sauna limited to 10 participants

Venmo Laura-McKinnon-8
$65 Retreat + Sauna
$50 Retreat only

Or sign up thru link in bio

01/05/2026

“You are making a difference, whether you know it or not. So have no doubt about that. You did it again yesterday.
The way you touched someone’s life just yesterday made a difference. And you are always doing that, do you know that?

Yes, yes…your smile, your encouraging word, your willingness to just be “present” with another, has touched people in more ways than you realize.

I only tell you this today so that you never lose faith.

Faith in how life is moving through you — and how you are moving through life.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch

01/03/2026

We live in a culture that moves at a breathtaking speed. The holidays are filled with busy preparations and obligations, and even though our hearts yearn to slow down, there’s an inescapable tone that permeates the expectation to do more.

Then, just as quickly as Christmas arrives, it goes. Suddenly we’re catapulted into the New Year, bombarded by ads for all things necessary to “make this year the best year” or messages of “how to be the best version of you”.

Without taking a pause, without taking a breath, society places pressure for us to hit the ground running with all our lofty resolutions, to fill our calendars new and wonderful things we should do this year, most of them we will probably never do.

Take a breath my friends. This isn’t a race. This is a beautiful time to sit in the stillness and silence of winter.
To gather and reflect upon all that transpired last year and how it shaped and transformed our experience of life. How it shaped and transformed what matters to us most.

It’s a time to quietly and slowly discern not necessarily “what” to create for the new year, but “how” to create it.
How to step forward with grace and courage, filled with understanding that just maybe we are already enough.

Let us not worry about resolutions, but rather our intentions.

To live life more completely,
more thoughtfully,
more reverently,
guided by wisdom we consciously gathered from the year before.
Bring that into all that you are and let it shine through.

The doing will take care of itself. 🕊️

12/31/2025

Never give up.
This may be your moment
for a miracle.

12/30/2025

“We must do the things we think we cannot.”
Eleanore Roosevelt

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12/28/2025

A few days ago in the late afternoon, I happened to be driving alongside the lake. The sun was finally peeking out, casting such a beautiful ray of light onto the snow capped mountains on the other side, that I just had to stop to take it all in.

As I walked towards the dock, greeted by crisp air and calm, reflective waters, the peaceful stillness filled my heart.

As I stood at the edge of the long, wooden dock, I cast my gaze over the water, lulled by the sound of the water lapping the shore.

I wanted to capture this moment, so out came my phone to frame the perfect shot.

After awhile of fiddling with lighting and sizing, I finally lowered my arm and had the sudden urge to look up.

In that moment I saw that a beautiful bald eagle had swooped down over my head. I raised up my arm in time to grab this shot, then watched it fly away just as quickly as it has arrived.

But I almost missed it. I was so busy with my phone trying to capture the perfect photo, that I had stopped paying attention to my surroundings.

We get distracted so easily. Of course not all distractions are unproductive or pointless, but many get in the way of the magic that’s right in front of us. Had I remained immersed in the lense of my phone, I would have missed this breathtaking moment.

It’s often the little things that create the biggest moments of our life, so don’t forget to pay attention.