In this episode, Brooke reflects on our multifaceted nature as humans, and how, at any point in time, we can turn inward and discover something about who we are right now. How are you showing up—or not showing up? What becomes visible when you take an honest assessment of where you are in your life?
This turning inward is especially potent during the energies of the New Moon and solar eclipse. Brooke begins with a few questions for reflection: What are your goals at this time? What skills have you been sleeping on that wish to wake up? What are you imagining, avoiding, longing for, or ready to see more clearly?
The episode centers around two areas of introspection. The first is the Seven of Cups, the Tarot card Brooke pulled before recording. This card speaks to where we are in our own storyline and to the many possibilities before us—possibilities that can sometimes feel conflicting when we aren't clear about who we are or what we truly want. It invites us to look honestly at the stories, desires, dreams, and illusions filling our inner world, and to discern what is actually asking for our attention.
This is a perfect card pull for the heart of the episode: one of Brooke’s favorite teachings from Ayurveda and Yoga, and one she believes is a missing ingredient in many modern yoga practitioners’ repertoire. It brings us into the hidden power of yoga—the intelligence of prāṇa, and how understanding its five movements, the prāṇa vāyus, can aid us in designing practices that support the deeper inner changes we seek—the ones that can often feel difficult to access or shift on our own.
Through Prāṇavidyā—the study of prāṇa, or the life-force energy moving through us and all of nature—we begin to understand yoga practice in a different way.
Brooke introduces the five prāṇa vāyus of Ayurveda and Yoga and explores how, when they become the centerpiece of a wisely designed practice, they can function like five pranic “arrows.” Each vāyu becomes a direct force we can work with to support the change we are seeking and help move us toward a particular goal.
And these goals aren't only physical. While each vāyu describes a particular way energy moves through the body and supports our physiology, these movements of prāṇa also influence our emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and patterns.
The five arrows therefore give us a surprisingly simple map for self-inquiry: Where is our energy stuck? Where are we holding on? Where are we scattered or depleted? Where are we having difficulty expressing ourselves, receiving what we need, or moving forward?
And because the same life force that moves through us also moves through nature, Brooke introduces another layer to this exploration: the Yoga of Flowers.
This is where nature-loving yoginis can begin to understand the relationship between prāṇa, plants, and the power of the subtle. Drawing from more than 25 years of experience with yoga and plant wisdom, Brooke distills these teachings into an episode about learning to see ourselves more clearly—and then using the intelligence of yoga and nature to help move our lives in the direction we wish to go.
Discover Your Elemental Archetype Within the Wheel of Tantric Time
Take the quiz at https://www.thewildtemple.com/
