“Thoughts are still there”

After class today, a student came up to me and said, “The thoughts are still there.”

I smiled and told her, “They will always be. Thoughts don’t really go away. As long as you’re grounded when they come - as long as you’re not overwhelmed by them.”

She paused, then asked, “What do you mean by being grounded?”

It’s such a sincere question - and also such a hard one to answer in words.

Because “grounded” isn’t something we figure out in the mind. It’s something we feel.

It’s the difference between being inside every thought… and noticing that thoughts are moving through.

It’s the feeling of your feet on the floor. The rhythm of your breath.

A sense of anchor in yourself while the thoughts are there. Like part of you is noticing, “okay, thinking is happening,” while another part is still connected to something steady.

Not perfect. Not thought-free.
Just… steady enough.

Thoughts are like waves.
And being grounded is like being the ocean beneath them - not stopping the waves, but not being tossed around by each one either.

Grounded just means we have somewhere to come back to - our breath, our body, the present moment - so the thoughts don’t carry us away.

I don’t know how much of what I said made sense to her in that moment.

So I told her, “You’re focusing on the right things.”

Because she was.

Not trying to get rid of thoughts.
Not trying to force stillness.
Just noticing. 

Grateful for students who are willing to see beyond the asana, even when I’m teaching asana. That’s the heart of why I teach - and today, her simple observations and real questions made me feel seen.