Sacred Space School of Yoga and Yoga with Carol Ann

09/17/2026

From one of my readings this morning.
We must stop seeing God as out there and seeing God in here, in me, in yourself, in every living creature, and the entire universe. It is the only hope.

1 May the Lord of Love, who projects himself Into this universe of myriad forms,
From whom all beings come and to whom all Return - may he grant us the grace of wisdom.

2 He is fire and the sun, and the moon And the stars. He is the air and the sea, And the Creator.

3 He is this boy, he is that girl, he is This man, he is that woman, and he is This old man, too, tottering on his staff.
His face is everywhere.

4 He is the blue bird; he is the green bird With red eyes; he is the thundercloud, And he is the seasons and the seas.
He has no beginning; he has no end.
He is the source from whom the worlds evolve.

5 From his divine power comes forth all this Magical show of name and form, of you And me, which casts the spell of pain and pleasure.
Only when we pierce through this magic veil
Do we see the One who appears as many.

6 Two birds of beautiful plumage, comrades Inseparable, live on the selfsame tree.
One bird eats the fruit of pleasure and pain;
The other looks on without eating.

7 Forgetting our divine origin,
We become ensnared in the world of change And bewail our helplessness. But when We see the Lord of Love in all his glory,
Adored by all, we go beyond sorrow.

8 What use are the scriptures to anyone
Who knows not the one source from whom they all come?
Only those who realize him as ever present
Within the heart attain abiding joy.

- The Shvetashvatara Upanishad IV. 1-8
(2200-2400 Years Old)

09/13/2026

I took this picture at a park that I walk almost daily. As I sat down on the bench and looked out, there was only one word that came to my mind: Om

To Yogis, Om is more than a word. It is a sacred sound and one of the oldest spiritual symbols of the Indian traditions.

The Māṇḍūkya Upanishad begins with an extraordinary declaration: “Om—this syllable is this whole world.”

It then connects AUM with the states of human consciousness:

A — the waking state, our experience of the physical world.
U — the dreaming state, the inner world of mind.
M — deep, dreamless sleep.
The Silence — turīya, “the fourth”: the consciousness underlying and transcending the other three.

Om therefore points not simply toward a sound, but toward the wholeness of existence and consciousness.

Across spiritual traditions, we also find fascinating images connecting creation with sound, word, or breath.

In Genesis, creation unfolds through divine speech:

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
— Genesis 1:3

The Psalms echo the same imagery:

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”
— Psalm 33:6

And the Gospel of John begins:

“In the beginning was the Word.”
— John 1:1

The Greek word translated as Word is Logos—a rich concept associated with divine reason, ordering principle, and expression.

These traditions are not saying exactly the same thing, and I don’t believe we need to make them the same to appreciate the beautiful resonance between them.

The Vedic traditions contemplate sacred sound through Om. Christianity and Judaism speak of divine word and breath. The Rig Veda’s ancient Creation Hymn goes even further into mystery, asking whether anyone can ultimately know how creation itself arose.

Perhaps that mystery is part of what makes Om so powerful.

When we chant Om, we move from sound into silence, from waking awareness through the subtler dimensions of consciousness, and finally toward that which cannot easily be named.

We also receive physical benefits. Chanting Om can encourage relaxation and help calm the nervous system. 

Maybe we aren’t returning literally to the first vibration of the universe.

Maybe we are remembering something equally profound: beneath all our differences, we participate in one mysterious reality.

Blessings and Om,
Carol Ann

09/12/2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about how easily fear can change the way we see one another.

We hear something often enough, especially about a group of people we may not personally know, and eventually we can begin to believe that they are all the same.

All Muslims.
All Christians.
All immigrants.
All Democrats.
All Republicans.
All Black people.
All white people.

But people are not “all.”

They are individuals.

September 11 was horrific. The lives lost that day should never be minimized, and neither should the reality of terrorism or religious extremism.

But the people who committed those acts do not represent every Muslim any more than someone committing violence in the name of Christianity represents every Christian.

I have Muslim friends. They love their families. They love this country. They want to live their lives in peace, just as I do.

And one of the beautiful things about America is that our Constitution protects their right to worship according to their conscience just as surely as it protects mine. It even specifically says that there can be no religious test for public office.

That matters.

Because religious freedom isn’t really religious freedom if it only belongs to people who believe what I believe.

But there is something deeper here that has been weighing on my heart.

For those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, what do we do when fear of people who are different from us begins to turn into suspicion, anger or even contempt?

Jesus said some incredibly difficult things about this.

He didn’t simply tell us to love the people who love us.

He told us to love our enemies.

He told us to pray for those who persecute us.

He taught forgiveness.

And again and again, we see him moving toward people whom society and religion had pushed to the margins.

That doesn’t mean we pretend evil doesn’t exist.

It doesn’t mean we ignore violence or refuse to protect innocent people.

It doesn’t mean we have to agree with another person’s religion, politics or worldview.

But surely it means we cannot allow hatred to take up residence in our hearts.

I learned something when I was very young that has stayed with me throughout my life: when I recognize prejudice or bias within myself, I have a responsibility to examine it.

Not justify it.
Not feed it.
Not find people who will reinforce it.

Examine it.

Where did it come from?
Is it true?
Is it fair?
Am I judging an individual for something another person has done?
Am I seeing the human being in front of me, or only the label I have placed upon them?

That kind of inner work can be uncomfortable. But I believe it is necessary.

Perhaps one of the simplest questions we can ask ourselves is:

Would I want to be judged by the worst person who shares one of my labels?

I wouldn’t.

I wouldn’t want someone to decide who I am because of the worst thing ever done by a Christian, an American, a woman—or any other category someone could place me in.

So how could I fairly do that to another human being?

I don’t think the healing our country needs is going to come from deciding which group of people we should fear next.

I think it begins much closer to home.

In our conversations.

In the things we choose to repeat.

In whether we are willing to question something before accepting it as truth.

In whether we are willing to know people rather than simply know things about people.

And in our willingness to examine our own hearts.

We don’t have to share a religion to respect one another.

We don’t have to share a political opinion to recognize one another’s humanity.

And we don’t have to pretend that evil doesn’t exist in order to refuse to condemn innocent people for the evil committed by someone else.

For me, this is not about being politically correct.

It is about something much older and much deeper.

Love your neighbor.

And when Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” the answer he gave made it very difficult to draw the circle as small as we sometimes would like it to be.

Maybe our world doesn’t need smaller circles right now.

Maybe it needs us to make them a little bigger.

09/03/2026

09/01/2026

As I walked through Creekside Park, a single red flower stopped me.

It stood on the bank of the creek, and as I looked around, I could see the beauty of the green trees reflected in the water. Everything seemed to blend together—the trees, the creek, the endless shades of green.

But this one red flower stayed in my mind.

It stood alone. Beautiful, proud, and unique in its surroundings.

The longer I looked at it, the more I began to understand something we may often miss in life: the beauty of our uniqueness.

The flower stood out because it was surrounded by a sea of sameness. The trees and their reflections in the water created a beautiful backdrop, but it was the flower—different from everything around it—that caught my attention.

Sometimes we feel separate, as though we don’t quite fit.

And perhaps, in those moments, it is because we are surrounded by sameness. Instead of recognizing and honoring our uniqueness, we may begin to believe that we need to conform, become smaller, or hide parts of who we truly are.

But that’s missing the point.

In those moments, we are the flower.

Beautiful. Strong. Unique.

We were never meant to disappear into the background simply because we are different from what surrounds us.

Never allow yourself—or anyone else—to convince you that you don’t belong simply because you don’t blend in.

Instead, remember the flower.

Sometimes the very thing that makes us feel out of place is the thing that makes us beautiful.

Blessings and peace
Carol Ann

08/28/2026

“Words can travel thousands of miles.
May my words create mutual understanding and love.
May they be as beautiful as gems, as lovely as flowers.”

“There are many ways to bring happiness to others right in this moment. We can start with speaking kindly. The way we speak to others can offer self-confidence, hope, and trust. Mindful speaking is a deep practice. When we choose our words carefully, we can make people happy.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh

08/18/2026

08/16/2026

Haven Caroline, Charity Jackson, and Jean Krapfel are now 200-Hour Certified Yoga Teachers!

Charity finished her program with me via Zoom and Haven and Jean at Pure Light Yoga.

I am so proud of these women and all they have accomplished.

Yoga Teacher Training is a lot. One may not realize just how much work, study, discipline, and dedication go into it. It is so much more than the postures we may see on social media.

It is biomechanics, anatomy, kinesiology, philosophy, movement, stillness, pranayama, meditation, alignment, and so much more.

And yet, Yoga still isn’t that.

For most students, especially in the beginning, the study of Yoga can feel overwhelming and fragmented. But over time, the seemingly separate pieces begin to come together. The threads of the art, science, philosophy, and practice of Yoga begin to weave themselves into a beautiful tapestry of lived experience.

I cannot stress this enough: as Yoga teachers, Yoga is not simply something we do. It is something we live. Every. Single. Day.

It is commitment. It is time given in service to others. It is study and preparation that become a sacrificial offering to help others along their own journey of self-discovery.

It is building community and practicing equanimity, equality, acceptance, compassion, and nonjudgment.

It is caring for the body so that it may be of service. It is learning to observe and discipline the mind. It is striving to live according to moral and ethical principles. It is reconnecting—to God, to the True Self, and to one another.

Why?

To free ourselves from the illusions that bind us—from ego, selfishness, separation, and suffering—and to move toward greater freedom, truth, and love.

So be proud of these women. And be grateful that they have chosen a path that asks so much of them, not simply for themselves, but in service to others.

Haven, Charity, and Jean—I am deeply proud of you. May this graduation not be the end of your study, but the beginning of a lifetime of living Yoga.

Much love and gratitude to Debbie Maier owner of DeBeen and Pure Light Yoga for giving my training a home, Jessica Ashlock owner of HoneyBloom Yoga Studio and Tammy Koontz for supporting Charity so beautifully in her journey and allowing us to kickoff the training in your beautiful cabin, Julie Caroline for your deep wisdom, knowledge and willingness to share, and the students and staff of Pure Light Yoga for their encouragement and support of Jean and Haven through it all.

Blessings and peace,
Carol Ann
Owner and Founder of
Sacred Space School of Yoga

Pure Light Yoga Julie Caroline HoneyBloom Yoga, LLC Charity Jackson Tammy Hollenkamp Koontz Debbie Maier Haven Caroline Jean Singletary Krapfel Sacred Space School of Yoga and Yoga with Carol Ann

08/16/2026

Haven Caroline, Charity Jackson, and Jean Krapfel are now 200-Hour Certified Yoga Teachers!

Charity finished her program with me via Zoom and Haven and Jean at Pure Light Yoga.

I am so proud of these women and all they have accomplished.

Yoga Teacher Training is a lot. One may not realize just how much work, study, discipline, and dedication go into it. It is so much more than the postures we may see on social media.

It is biomechanics, anatomy, kinesiology, philosophy, movement, stillness, pranayama, meditation, alignment, and so much more.

And yet, Yoga still isn’t that.

For most students, especially in the beginning, the study of Yoga can feel overwhelming and fragmented. But over time, the seemingly separate pieces begin to come together. The threads of the art, science, philosophy, and practice of Yoga begin to weave themselves into a beautiful tapestry of lived experience.

I cannot stress this enough: as Yoga teachers, Yoga is not simply something we do. It is something we live. Every. Single. Day.

It is commitment. It is time given in service to others. It is study and preparation that become a sacrificial offering to help others along their own journey of self-discovery.

It is building community and practicing equanimity, equality, acceptance, compassion, and nonjudgment.

It is caring for the body so that it may be of service. It is learning to observe and discipline the mind. It is striving to live according to moral and ethical principles. It is reconnecting—to God, to the True Self, and to one another.

Why?

To free ourselves from the illusions that bind us—from ego, selfishness, separation, and suffering—and to move toward greater freedom, truth, and love.

So be proud of these women. And be grateful that they have chosen a path that asks so much of them, not simply for themselves, but in service to others.

Haven, Charity, and Jean—I am deeply proud of you. May this graduation not be the end of your study, but the beginning of a lifetime of living Yoga.

Much love and gratitude to Debbie Maier owner of DeBeen and Pure Light Yoga for giving my training a home, Jessica Ashlock owner of HoneyBloom Yoga Studio and Tammy Koontz for supporting Charity so beautifully in her journey, Julie Caroline for sharing her wisdom and knowledge so graciously, and the students and staff of Pure Light Yoga for their encouragement and support of Jean and Haven through it all.

Blessings and peace,
Carol Ann
Owner and Founder of
Sacred Space School of Yoga

Pure Light Yoga HoneyBloom Yoga, LLC Charity Jackson Tammy Hollenkamp Koontz Debbie Maier@Haven Caroline Jean Singletary Krapfel Sacred Space School of Yoga and Yoga with Carol AnnJulie Caroline

08/14/2026