How Nature Can Become Part of Our Yoga Practice
Ishvara Pranidhana invites us to trust what is unfolding in our lives without gripping for control or trying to choreograph the outcome. For those of us who lean toward planning, managing, and anticipating, this limb of yoga can feel like one of the hardest to embody. We spend so much of our lives choosing—careers, relationships, next steps—but how often do we allow something to arise naturally, without our intervention?
A simple crocus reminded me of this. Seeing one bloom in February, I felt a flicker of worry: Is it too early? Will the cold harm it? But through the lens of Ishvara Pranidhana, the flower becomes a teacher. It blooms because this is its moment. It doesn’t negotiate with the weather or wait for perfect conditions. It simply unfolds, offering color to the gray months of winter.
Flowers don’t ask permission to bloom. They sprout, open, and dazzle—trusting the timing that is already written into them. And perhaps we, too, can practice blooming when life invites us, even if the season feels uncertain.
May this season bring you grace, ease and joy.
With Love and Light,
-All of us at Toula Yoga
Teacher Feature: Cynthia Dennis
Yoga found me after returning home from college, I attended a pop-up yoga class at my local gym. Marsha Nieland was the yoga teacher. I enjoyed the class because Marsha was playful and met everyone where they were. I took a break from yoga after the initial exposure because, at the time, I thought I wanted more
cardio and strength-based workouts. However, after my mom passed away in 2011, I was feeling
stressed and searching for a way to cope with the grieving process. A friend offered to go with
me to a yoga class. After returning to yoga, I noticed I was sleeping better and finding more peace. My friend dropped out after the first session, but I continued to show up. I have been consistently practicing yoga ever since.
A few years later Fusion Studio offered an immersion class focused on learning more about the principles and history of yoga. After completing immersion, I discovered that a just few additional sessions would allow me to obtain my yoga teacher certification. I have been teaching yoga since completing my yoga teacher training in 2017. The yoga community has kept me coming back to my mat. I have met so many beautiful souls. I love being around positive energy and I love how I feel after attending yoga classes.
If you come to one of my classes, you can expect to be greeted with a smile. I’m an early riser, so I tend to teach classes scheduled earlier in the day. I promote an optimistic outlook and focus on uplifting flows that enhance physical and mental vitality in energizing ways to start the day. I begin by presenting a theme, often paired with a short story, to set the tone for the practice. Students can expect movement with opportunities to stretch, along with moments of ease sprinkled throughout to help let go of whatever is happening in their lives outside the yoga room. There may also be some playfulness involved, including a little laughter. If someone is new to yoga, I would tell them, “Congratulations, you have already succeeded by showing up”. Trust the process; the rest will come in its own time. Enjoy the journey and have fun. I am certified to teach heart-centered, alignment-based Hatha inspired yoga classes. I also enjoy practicing vinyasa flow and 26 & 2 formats, so I tend to weave elements of those styles into all of my classes.
Personally, yoga has helped me cultivate the practice of conscious breathing and presence in my daily life. In life, you never know who is watching or looking up to you until it happens. My niece is also a yoga teacher, and she has shared that she became interested in yoga by watching me. It has been an honor and privilege to be part of her journey.
Off the mat, I like playing with my dogs, riding my bike on the trails and watching tv. I grew up watching soap operas, but now that many are no longer on, I am hooked on true crime documentaries and reality competition shows like Survivor, Amazing Race, Alone, and Extracted.
I teach Heated Hatha on Monday mornings at 7:15am. I am also available to teach private yoga sessions and corporate yoga classes. When the weather gets nicer, you may find me teaching free yoga in the community outdoors at Newbo Market or the Indian Creek Nature Center.
Chunky Monkey Protein Muffins
This month’s recipe is courtesy of our travel hockey season. If you’ve spent time traveling with dietary restrictions you know that the ‘free breakfasts’ at many hotels have extremely limited options, if any at all! I’ve made these protein muffins a few times and not only are they kid approved, but they are kid hockey team approved! No one knows they are gluten and dairy free (DF chocolate chips used) BUT they pack 12-15 grams of protein depending on the ingredient mix. Pair one with a hard-boiled egg or two and you are fueled for your next adventure away from home.
Ingredients:
1 cup mashed bananas
3/4 cup nut butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup protein powder
3/4 cup oat flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 tbsp mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut sugar
chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda
Ingredient Notes:
Any form of nut butter works but cashew and almond work great
The riper the bananas, the sweeter the flavor
Walnuts are a great add in
Don’t measure the chocolate chips, you’ll know the right amount
Can be stored at room temperature for 3 days, refrigerated for a week or wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze for a later time.
These are great warmed up for a few seconds!
I used oat flour because I had that. Almond or any other flour blend would work also.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pan with cups, or spray
Mash bananas with eggs, nut butter and vanilla extract until combined
Fold in coconut sugar, protein powder, oat flour and baking soda
Fold in mix ins and place approximately 1/4 cup of mixture into each
Cook for 13-16 minutes or until the middle is cooked through
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A Contemplative Practice for Ishvara Pranidhana
As a teacher, I create a rough outline for each class, knowing full well that the people who walk through the door—and the energy they bring with them—are what truly shape the flow. When I see students rooted in the present moment, trusting the movements their bodies are asking for, I silently celebrate. It can take time to feel that kind of comfort and trust in your own practice, to believe that you’re allowed to add the movement you’re genuinely needing.
I love offering options in a flow or inviting students to close their eyes as they move through something familiar. It may feel strange at first, but it creates space for a deeper kind of listening. Without the visual cues of the room, you begin to sense the quieter rhythms inside yourself. You start to trust your body’s wisdom rather than the mind’s choreography. This is the heart of Ishvara Pranidhana: releasing the need to control the outcome and allowing the practice to unfold as it wants to. Not as you planned it. Not as you think it “should” look. But as it truly is.
To explore this at home, I invite you to follow a simple guide—one that encourages your practice to flow freely, without a preconceived idea of how it will turn out.
A simple at‑home practice for surrender and intuitive movement
Find a comfortable space in your home where you feel safe and at ease.
Decide whether you’d like to play music that brings you joy or supports your mood.
Take a few moments to arrive in your chosen spot—standing, seated, or lying down—and let your breath draw you into the present.
Set an intention for your practice but resist the urge to create guardrails or expectations around it.
When you feel ready, begin to move. Follow the beat of your own heart. Let the asana arise naturally, without forcing or shaping it.
When your body feels complete, settle into shavasana for as long as you need. There is no rush and no time limit.
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