Returning to the Forest: Yoga, Noticing Subtle Shifts, and Inner Peace
Why I Kept Returning to the Forest (My Octopus Teacher)
I just watched My Octopus Teacher on Netflix, yes I’m a little late to the party as it came out in 2020 has won several awards and it’s easy to see why. It’s beautifully filmed, and deeply moving. You might need Kleenex.
The Forest as a Classroom for Yoga and Attention
One theme that that really resonated with me was someone asking; why he kept going back to the same kelp forest everyday? His response is the same response I use when I visit my favorite trail- you get to really connect with the place, trees, the animals, plants, rock formations and notice the subtle shifts. To me, that is also yoga.
Learning to listen to your body is medicine. This to me is how we can slowly shift our world is if we all start to learn to listen to our bodies. For me the person who is asking me is this right? When I ask how does it feel, and they can't tell me that is a sign they are not living in their bodies but more in their minds. They don't want to take accountability or maybe have the confidence they can trust themselves. Often I see this in peoples whose careers are lawyers, or high end corporate leaders. They have a structure there is right and wrong no in between.
It is not comfortable for us to live in our bodies all the time but years of dissociation I think have made people more angry and less tolerant for those not like them.
The yoga trinity—subtle body, vayus, and mantra
The longer I’ve been teaching, the more the subtle body peaks my curiosity. I notice how one pose can affect my energy differently from another, how working with certain vayus can shift outcomes after the practice and how listening to different mantras can bring slightly different results.
To become aware of your breath is to live. To notice when you are feeling out of balance and know how to fix that is trusting yourself. To me, yoga can provide a space to do just that if you have the right teacher. I don't know more about your body then you do. This can take years of unlayering and unlayering to get to the spot where you build that trust.
For me the Vayus are magical. I will do a full episode on them later this month. I will just mention one pose to help you tap into one vayu. Apana Vayu the down and out releasing vayu. We are holding so much in today's world hoping into a yogi squat or malasana is a perfect way to ground your energy. Inhale focus on relaxing pelvic floor and releasing feeling the prana rise, apana vayu release. On the exhale apana vayu lifts and prana vayu releases. It's subtle but life changing.
Mantras are a practice that I personally just came to enjoy this past 2 years. Maha Mrityunjaya mantra has been my go to practice. It is the fear of releasing death, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is said to be good for mental, emotional and physical well being. Personally I've been chanting that one and have felt a peace even within chaotic times.
If you want to explore subtle body practices, I would suggest to see what sparks your curiosity? What are you most interested in and start there. Don't close the doors on things you might think are out there as I've found they often are my medicine years later.
Navigating distractions with inner knowing
I think in a world full of shiny distractions, this documentary offers a calm, grounded experience of one man’s resolve to change his life. At first he looks outward, but soon mother nature reveals lessons that transform him and his son’s lives.
Sitting in stillness is hard, we have every distraction at our fingertips. We have every app, website, and supposed guru offering different advice. We can feel like we are swimming in an uphill battle.
What I think this documentary offered was the slow realization this man- Craig Foster could change his own life. He started seeing the benefits of repetitive patterns. Those can be grounding and calming.
He changed his life and started The Sea Change Project and now dives with a group of locals.
Weekly Challenge
A two parter-
If you haven’t seen it yet, watch My Octopus Teacher on Netflix and let me know what you think?
With the world changing or being revealed at a fast pace right now, notice your own “forest” and the lessons it holds. Where are you being called to expand your own capacity or maybe make a shift into something new?
Listen + Connect
Listen to the full episode of the Peaceful Power Podcast wherever you stream podcasts.
If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to:
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Share it with a friend who you think might benefit from learning the art of subtle body practices
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Leave a review to help more women find this work
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Explore working with me through 1:1 personal training, yoga, or Ayurvedic postpartum doula support
About the host
Andrea Claassen is a yoga teacher, strength coach, and Ayurvedic practitioner with nearly two decades of experience supporting women through stress, burnout, and the perimenopause transition. Her work blends strength training, yoga, seasonal rhythm, and Ayurveda to help women feel capable, calm, and connected in their bodies.
✨ If this resonates, you may enjoy my 5 Day Stillness Challenge or taking my Perimenopause Support Quiz both designed to help you slow down, tune in, and reconnect with your inner rhythm during this season.
