I was struggling with what to talk to you about on the podcast this week. I always want to make sure that I’m bringing you value and that I’m sharing content that you can actually use.

And so I started thinking about the conversations that I’ve been having recently, and with Thanksgiving less than two weeks away (as I am recording this), naturally, the holidays have been a common theme.

What I found is that there are a lot of mixed feelings around the holidays, right? Some people are really excited about them, some people are dreading them. Some people are wishing that we could skip straight past New Year’s and just be done with all of it already. And for a lot of us, there’s some mixture there, right? Some combination of different feelings around the holiday season.

Three Yogic Practices (for the holiday season or anytime you need a reset)

And so I thought today I would share with you three different yogic practices that you can take off the mat. No mat required to help you navigate the holiday season with a little more grace and a little more ease.

Now don’t worry, these are not fancy rituals. They’re not long practices. They’re just different concepts and philosophies from the yogic tradition that you can carry with you and embody in your real life, especially when things feel full, when life feels messy, or when it’s more emotionally charged. Right?

So in this episode, now that I’ve figured out what I want to talk about, we’re going to talk about how to shift out of self-judgment and into a space of compassion. We’ll talk about how to recognize when you are pushing too hard and bring in just a little bit more softness, a little more ease. And we’re going to talk about how to meet the moment we’re in with acceptance, even if it’s not how you pictured it, even if it’s not how you hoped it would feel.

So think of this as a small toolkit for staying grounded (not perfect at all), not only through the holiday season, but anytime you need to feel a little bit more grounded, a little bit more rooted.

My intent, my friend, is that you’ll walk away with just a few practical ways that you can care for yourself more deeply, no matter what the season or the day brings. So are you ready to dive in?

Understanding Ahimsa: Compassion Over Criticism

So let me ask you this. What is the very first thing you think of when you hear the word yoga?

For many of us, it is the poses, the physical postures, the asana, our practice on the mat. But yoga is so much more than movement. It is a way of living, a philosophy that guides us towards balance, towards fulfillment, and towards peace.

What is Ahimsa?

And so the first yogic concept that I want to introduce to you today is Ahimsa. Now, this is often seen as non-violence, but it goes deeper than that.

Ahimsa is about practicing compassion, but not just in action. Also in our thoughts and our words, especially towards ourselves. Ahimsa is a practice of choosing compassion over judgment, kindness over force, and care over criticism.

And let’s be honest, a lot of us struggle with this, right? Not so much necessarily in how we treat others, but in how we treat ourselves.

And so, especially during the busy holiday season, what I see is that so many women push through stress, judge themselves for not being able to juggle all the things, and then on top of that, they feel guilty for not doing or being enough.

How to Practice Ahimsa in Daily Life

Ahimsa invites a shift, an invitation, like I said, to choose that compassion instead of criticism. How can we put this into action in our daily lives?

Be a detective in your own mind. Notice your inner voice. Notice how you’re talking to yourself. Be mindful to speak to yourself like you would speak to somebody that you care deeply about. When you notice yourself speaking harshly to yourself, see if you can turn that around. Be a little more kind, a little more compassionate. Rephrase it in a way you would rephrase it if you were talking to a dear friend.

Another way we can practice ahimsa is to give ourselves some time to rest before pushing through the next task at hand, to rest without guilt.

Now ahimsa is just one of the yamas. The yamas are the first limb of yoga, and they represent our behaviors and our attitudes towards all living beings, including ourselves. Yoga is a practice of union, of connection. And so the eight limbs of yoga offer us this pathway to fulfillment, this pathway to holistic wellbeing.

And so if you are interested in exploring this deeper, in my Radiantly Rooted program, we explore simple yogic practices that help you to notice how you can incorporate ahimsa more into your daily life. Where are you being harsh? Where are you being self-sacrificing? And how to replace those patterns with gentleness, even in the smallest daily moments.

Sthira Sukham Asanam: Balance Effort with Ease

All right. The next yogic concept that I want to share with you today is actually one of the very first concepts that I remember intentionally taking beyond my mat.

It was introduced to me in a yoga class, and I remember trying so hard to remember the concept until I got home where I sat down and journaled about it, and it has stayed with me ever since. I use it as a theme in my own yoga classes as well, and this is the concept of balancing effort with ease.

The Ancient Teaching

Now in the Yoga Sutra, Sutra 2.46 says “Sthira Sukham Asanam.” And apologies if my pronunciation is not the best, but it means the posture should be both steady (sthira) and comfortable (sukham). And this is where we balance strength with grace, steadiness with ease.

And it’s not just about the yoga poses. Yeah, it applies on the mat too, but it’s also a metaphor for life.

Applying This Practice During the Holidays

So if we think about it, any time of life, but especially during the holidays, we try to go all in on the effort, right? We’re hosting and cooking, getting the gifts, and trying to stay organized, all the while trying to manage our emotions, which can be a little more up and down (or even a lot more up and down) than normal.

And because of that, it can be so easy to forget to make space or to neglect to make space for ease and rest. The result? Maybe we feel more burned out, depleted, exhausted. Sometimes we even feel resentful.

And so this teaching reminds us to:

• Show up with steadiness, but don’t forget to breathe
• Let effort and doing be balanced by softness and being
• Let strength be paired with flexibility in both your body and in your mind

Now in my Radiantly Rooted program, we work on this by creating simple and supportive rituals, routines, habits that are not rigid, but we explore what you can carry and what you might want to set down, because that is the space where balance and ease live.

Practicing Santosha: Contentment and Acceptance

All right, so moving on. You have probably heard the Serenity Prayer before, or some version of it, and it goes something like this:

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Now, the Yoga Sutras offer a similar philosophy, and that is Santosha. It’s the yogic practice of contentment and acceptance.

Understanding Santosha

Now, I mentioned the yamas earlier, behaviors and our attitudes and how we can practice active nonviolence through ahimsa. Santosha belongs to another one of the eight limbs of yoga, the niyamas, or self-observations.

So what do we mean by practicing contentment? What do we mean by practicing acceptance? Well, let’s start by talking about what we don’t mean.

Practicing contentment doesn’t have to mean settling. And practicing acceptance does not mean that we are pretending that everything’s fine.

All this means is that we are meeting the moments that we’re in right now, this moment, without resistance.

What Santosha Looks Like

So this is what happens when you stop chasing a different version of the moment you’re in right now, and you let this moment be enough. Instead of pushing for something to be different, Santosha invites you to meet yourself right here, right now, as you are.

There’s an affirmation I like: “In this moment, all is well and as it should be.”

And I’ll be honest, some days that just doesn’t sit, so here’s an alternative that might feel better:

“This is where I am today. This is what I have the capacity for, and that’s okay.”

So how do we practice this?

On the mat:
Santosha might sound like “I’ll honor my body’s limits today.” It might look like modifying a pose or resting in child’s pose without feeling any sense of shame.

Off the mat:
In our daily lives, it might sound like “I don’t have to love this moment, but I can be with it.” It might look like canceling a plan when your body needs more rest, or not spiraling into a guilt cycle because you weren’t productive enough.

The Power of Acceptance

Just like ahimsa, Santosha is not passive, but it is powerful in its simplicity. Simple, not easy. Because when we stop resisting reality, when we stop resisting the life that is here in front of us, we stop wasting energy on that fight and we start building something that’s more sustainable in its place.

So during the holiday season, this practice can help us to drop that pressure to recreate the past (so think holiday traditions that no longer serve you or that don’t quite fit anymore), or to control the future. You know, you just can’t control whether everybody’s going to get along at dinner.

It teaches you to show up as you are, without apology.

Now inside my Radiantly Rooted program, we practice Santosha through reflection, through gentle boundaries, through body awareness tools that help you to just be with yourself without trying to be someone else first.

Wrapping the Three Together

So my friend, as you move through this season (whether you are tuning in at the holidays or you’re just here at a certain stage and season of your life), whether you are excited, overwhelmed, nostalgic, or all of the above, I’m going to invite you to remember these three things:

• Ahimsa: Choose compassion over criticism, and start with yourself
• Sthira and Sukha: Steadiness and ease, balance and grace. Let strength and softness coexist in how you show up
• Santosha: Contentment and acceptance. Let yourself practice being with what is, instead of fighting for what isn’t

Now, you don’t need to master these things. You just need to remember that they’re available in the moment with your breath.

Invitation to Radiantly Rooted Program

And if today’s conversation stirred something for you, if you are interested in diving deeper, if you’re tired of holding it all together and you’re looking for a different way to move through your days, then I want to invite you into Radiantly Rooted.

This is my guided yoga-based journey for women who are ready to stop pushing so hard, stop proving their worth, and finally come back home to themselves.

So inside Radiantly Rooted, we explore all eight limbs of yoga in a way that feels supportive and real. So it’s not performative, it’s not perfection-driven, it’s just honest yogic practices that you can carry with you into your daily life.

And it’s not about doing more, but it’s about living with more intention, more presence, more mindfulness, more clarity, and more care for yourself, even when life gets chaotic and full. Right?

The doors reopen February 16th, 2026, and if you want to be the first to know and get access to exclusive bonuses, you can join the wait list at rachelhupp.com/radiant.

Now, this is a space to soften, realign, and come home to who you are. I would love to see you there.

Your Turn

And I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that I was having a hard time thinking about what I wanted to bring to you today. What message would serve you the best? And so, you know, sometimes I have all kinds of ideas and I film three or four videos in a row because I’m so excited. And other times like today I am like, oh my gosh, what do they need to hear?

So if you have something that you want to hear, share it in a comment below, let me know. And if you have a tip to add on to today’s episode, you can add that in the comments as well.

All right my friend. I will see you in the next episode, and I wish you a beautiful season, whatever season you’re in.

Rachel