Whisper #8A Whisper from the Middle

My dear reader,

I'm writing this between down dogs and deep exhales.

Between early mornings and full moons.

Between helping someone find their breath… and finding mine again.

I've been at Vikasa for 11 days now, assisting a 200-hour YTT (Yoga Teacher Training).

Vikasa’s cliffs. Coconut skies. Ocean-misted mornings.

Yeah, it’s paradise.

But what I've come to witness is this:

Even in paradise, people ache. Even in paradise, things break open.

Even in paradise, you meet parts of yourself you thought you buried.

The beauty isn't in the scenery.

It's in the courage.

The quiet courage of showing up every day—sore, tired, cracked open—and choosing to feel instead of flee.

I've never been this busy.

But also—never this alive.

This kind of busy doesn't drain you.

It humbles you.

It reminds you why presence matters.

Every eye that lights up.

Every breath that softens.

Every moment someone drops the armor…

It reminds me that healing doesn't need fixing.

It just needs space.

There’s a beauty to exhaustion

when it’s rooted in purpose, not performance.

So this is my whisper from the middle of it all.

Not polished.

Not packaged.

Just lived.

If you're in your own "training" somewhere—formal or invisible—I hope you're being gentle with your humanness.

And if you're part of this training with me: thank you.

Your presence is medicine.

More soon,

With Love & Stillness

Saf

P.S. I haven't replied to recent messages, but I read them all.

They land, deeply. Thank you for witnessing these words, and sometimes… for becoming them.