Maggie Norton Yoga

01/21/2026

01/20/2026

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr
So much of what Martin Luther King Jr said and wrote speaks of love, love for ourselves and for others as the foundation for a just society. Can we too live with open loving hearts in and amidst all the delusion, division and suffering of these disturbing times? Can we also appreciate and take in beauty, kindness and maybe even sense our fundamental ‘joyous, genuine nature’? (see poem)

MLK also said, "Love is not emotional bash; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one’s whole being into the being of another.” Perhaps we sometimes confuse love and ’empty sentimentalism’. Perhaps some of what is offered in this week’s poem doesn’t ring true for you personally. I do hope that the poem (and our shared yoga practice) offers a reminder of the potency of love when we are able to truly both give and receive it, a counterbalance to the mind’s tendency to focus on what is wrong with ourselves and with our world.
You may be joining the thousands standing up today (Jan 20) and ‘walking out’. May you also join the “thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth”! As one of my students said, ‘yoga is part of our survival and resistance’ in these challenging times.
I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio) And if possible do have a small firm (possibly spikey) ball to roll under your feet for this week’s classes.

01/13/2026

The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry

Such chaos and harm that seems to be increasing daily in this country and in too many other parts of our world. I do understand that many folks are experiencing a loss of hope, even despair. The beloved Buddhist monk, peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh said that 'this is the greatest challenge to being alive: to witness injustice in the world, cruelty, violence, and not allow it to consume our light.'
Author Anne Lamott says that it feels like we are in free fall and asks, ‘How do we come through this, fight back, and not give up on this country, on democracy, on the preciousness of life? Where do we even start?’ Her advice includes breathing, taking care of others and ourselves and doing one small good thing every day, as well as getting outside to look around at ‘the miracle’. So too this week’s poet, resting in the ‘grace of the world’.
I concur and of course would add the balm to body, mind and heart of a yoga practice. I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio)

01/06/2026

01/06/2026

The beginning of the year can be a good time for reflection and renewal. Many of us may be considering what researchers call the fresh start effect, the natural tendency to evaluate for the New Year. However, I’m sure we are all aware that 90% of us do not stick to our New Year resolutions for more than a few days or weeks! Can we instead ‘start with promises to be kinder to ourselves’ (see 2nd Donna Ashworth poem posted separately)?
In the midst of ‘this beautiful, confusing creation’ (see poem) may we nurture our well-being both individually and collectively. As you take time to nourish body, heart and mind in the midst of the joys and struggles of our world, I do hope that continuing or returning to your yoga practice offers you a sense of ease and connection. If you haven’t shown up for a while or have had a break from your yoga mat, remember poet Rupi Kaur’s advice,'never feel guilty for starting again'!
I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio)

LIFE
No, this won’t be the best year yet.
Nor will it be the worst.
You see, a year is a mosaic of absolutely everything.
Joy, fear, heartache, loss, beauty, pain, love.
Failure, learning, friendship, misery, exhilaration.
Each day, each moment even, is a tiny shard of glass in this beautiful, confusing creation.
this year will be another mosaic to add to your wall of art.
A wall that shows the life, you are continuously gifted.
A wall that shows you are human.
A wall of survival.
I wish you many broken pieces of glass this year, my friends.
Because this is living.
And before you march on in to another year of ‘everything’, pause to look back, at the work you have created thus far.
It is quite something.
You are quite something.
Now onwards we go, my friends.
Onwards we go.
Donna Ashworth

12/26/2025

Merry Merries dear ones. I hope this midwinter season holds many moments of joy and ease for you.
May we all practice the true spirit of yoga and of Christmas, kindness, generosity, love, knowing that we're all so deeply connected♡
Today is Boxing day aka the Feast of St Stephen...a day traditionally for giving and reaching out to those in need.

12/21/2025

On the Celtic calendar, the Winter Solstice marks mid-winter. Winter Solstice may be the darkest day but it’s a turning point that leads back to sunshine and warmth, making it a symbol of hope in the midst of a cold, dark winter. Feasting, time with friends and family, gathering around the fire burning Yule logs, and decorating with holly and mistletoe: these traditions trace their roots back Many ancient cultures including the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Vikings, Incas and Native Americans, as well as the Celts’ held sacred rituals and ceremonies celebrating these days and built structures aligned to the rising sun on the morning of each solstice the winter while other plants and trees looked dead so the Celts believed they contained powerful magic. They brought the branches indoors in the hope that that magic would rub off on the people in the house, helping them survive the winter too.
Many other ancient cultures including Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Persian, Jewish, Viking, Incan and Native Americans also held sacred rituals and ceremonies celebrating these days.
May we celebrate the deep dark and the returning light in our own meaningful ways and may your light shine for a kinder, just and peaceful world.

12/16/2025

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are almost at the shortest day and longest night of the year, Winter Solstice or Mid Winter’s Day (Dec 21 this year).
Many ancient cultures held sacred rituals and ceremonies celebrating these days and built structures aligned to the rising sun on the morning of each solstice. Winter Solstice may be the darkest day but it’s a turning point that leads back to sunshine and warmth, making it a symbol of hope in the midst of a cold, dark winter.
In the Persian tradition, ‘Yaldā Night’ is a time when friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez and the epic poem Shahnameh). The eight nights of Hanukkah are also during the deep dark of this season, so one aspect of the candles seems to be an assertion of our hope for renewed light.
Whatever your heritage, most traditions seem to have celebrations of light, light returning in our days, light that brightens the dark times. May we each be like the shamash, the candle that lights each of the other candles on the menorah during Hanukkah, shining a light for others and ourselves.
This period of darkness can be an opportunity to recognize the importance for rest and self-care. As Hafez said, "I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being." May we all give ourselves time to go inward with deep intention, to care for our spiritual selves, our bodies and minds and our loved ones. In yoga this is pratyahara, the practice of gently drawing the senses away from constant stimulation so we can listen more closely to what is happening inside. Our inner vision and attention can serve as a light as we take time to sense into the depths of our own being in both movement and stillness.
We will enjoy a practice to ease tension in our muscles, joints, hearts and minds and to help sustain us in these dark times. I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio)

12/09/2025

Agatha Christie once said,“I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable…but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
Would you agree that just to be alive is a grand thing? There may be times when we feel so caught up in life’s challenges and troubles that we forget this basic sense of appreciating our very existence. Or perhaps simply because we are so busy with this season's overly full schedule and to-do lists! It can help to come back to basics ‘when the world feels overwhelming’ (see poem/psalm). Presence. Connecting with nature. Breath.
May our yoga practice offer a shelter of peace, time to breathe and connect. I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio)

The quotes in the image and below are excerpts from a version of PSALM 27 by Yael Raff Peskin:

"My own breath sustains me now.
I look to the heavens and all of Nature
for guidance and support
along the path of integrity,
so that I may meet whatever challenges arise
with unwavering grace and courage.
Even when I stumble,
I am not deterred
in my quest for
equanimity and peace
within myself
so that I may pursue
justice for all who dwell on earth.
May I find the strength needed
to go forth and persevere.
Hope encourages my every step forward."

12/02/2025

“The common understanding of the word “gratitude” simply does not convey the magnitude of gratefulness and all that it offers as a way of being in the world.” Kristi Nelson
Can we stay grateful for every simple pleasure in life, even when things are not ideal? We may sometimes have to work at it, for it seems that there can be so many small and large complaints, annoyances and disappointments. Can we practice feeling grateful for the glimmers as they come, loving our imperfect lives? Ideally we would be wise to turn to appreciation whenever we can. Melody Beattie said, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.”
This ‘season’ of thanksgiving can offer us the encouragement to meaningfully connect with the important people in our lives, expressing our gratitude and telling them how much of a difference they’ve made. The practice of grateful living shines a light on our interconnectedness by acknowledging the intricacies of every lived moment and the network of people required to sustain our lives. As Katie Steedly Curling says, “Grateful hearts truly love. Grateful hands reach out. Grateful eyes see generations. Grateful minds imagine big ideas like justice, peace, and health. Our world needs no less than grateful living.”
Regina Sara Ryan says that “Gratitude is so close to the bone of life, pure and true, that it instantly stops the rational mind, and all its planning and plotting." May our yoga and meditation practices afford us a break from all that ‘planning and plotting ‘ and remind us to love and appreciate ourselves, each other, and our world “one tender gesture at a time”. I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio)

Poem 'How To Love The World' by James Crews

11/27/2025

Free Thanksgiving Yoga Online with Mary Paffard
Thursday, November 27, 2025
9:00 AM 10:00 AM

Join us for a FREE simple heart-felt practice to invite calm, generosity and appreciation within and without. Suitable for a wide variety of practitioner. Essential to pre-register. This class will not be recorded.

11/25/2025

Joanna Macy wisely said,“In times of turmoil and danger, gratitude helps to steady and ground us. It brings us into presence, and our full presence is perhaps the best offering we can make to our world.”
This week brings ‘gratitude day’ in the US, aka Thanksgiving. Yogis and wisdom teachers of many traditions, as well as present day health experts, encourage an attitude of gratitude to support the well-being of body, mind, heart and soul. When I focus on gratitude, I find that I am more expansive and even more aware of all the incredible privileges and luxuries I have compared to so many.
Poet James Crews says that the ‘essential gratitude’ that he speaks about in his poem points toward a total embrace of what Anne Lamott has called the “mixed grill” of life, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the brutal. Can we approach our lives with a grateful spirit, including the inevitable ups and downs of life, rather than focus only on what’s wrong?
In the midst of it all, I remain deeply grateful for the practice of yoga, the privilege of teaching, and for every one of my students, past and present. Thank you for sharing yoga with me.
May we all know a thankful heart, sensing an innate gratitude for life, even, and perhaps most especially, amongst the many challenges of our world today, more fully sensing our connection to all of life. May we breathe and move with appreciation as we go about our daily lives and as we practice yoga together, “kissing the cup of our strange and lucky lives”!
I hope that you can join us for this week's virtual live-stream yoga classes on Zoom,Tuesday 4:30pm pst and Wednesday 9:30am pst. Let me know if you wish to receive my weekly email with more inspiring quotes and yoga class details (links and passwords are also in my IG bio)
❤️