“We call them one-degree turns, just a little bit every day, turning action in the direction of the truest truth that we can find inside ourselves.” – Martha Beck, Practical Wayfinding

The most consistent self-care and spiritual practice I am currently committed to is yoga. While I have been practicing on and off since high school, this year has been the most regularly I have moved on my mat, synchronizing my breath, flowing in sequences, and releasing tension. It’s reminding me to pay closer attention to the signals my body is sending and often base the poses and pace I choose on those cues.

One aspect of yoga I have been finding interesting is the idea of adjustments, such as how impactful a slight change like moving one’s footing in a pose may be. It’s surprising how significantly impactful those small changes are for my practice and for my life off the mat. Author Martha Beck’s idea of one degree turns that I recently learned about in her book The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self come to mind. Beck states, “Every day you make thousands of tiny decisions about what to do with your time…Repeatedly putting a little less time into what you don’t love, and a little more into what you do love, is your next step on the way of integrity.”

As someone with a history of anxiety and decision fatigue, gaining a better sense of how powerful and attainable big change is through seemingly insignificant ways I adapt each day is an empowering realization. I hope you, too, remember and practice what feels true and important to you, knowing that no matter how daunting your dreams or goals may feel, subtle turns toward them are always possible. May you travel your path of integrity.

*August programming updates will be posted in the coming week!