I'm excited to relaunch my Yoga Nidra series on a more sustainable, once-a-month rhythm. Yoga Nidra, to me, is a profound meditative experience; if you haven't ever done it before, don't worry - this is basically anti-movement. No pretzels required.
You can read more about what Yoga Nidra is, the benefits, and how to do it here.
One of my biggest epiphanies about mindfulness came when I realized that being present doesn't mean trying to banish the confusion or chaos in my life. Instead, it means learning to stand with steady awareness right in the midst of it all.
For some reason, I'd always pictured "presence" as a sparkly bubble of calm—something you achieve once the storms pass. But in reality, presence can be the anchor that keeps you from drifting away, even when the waters are murky and the wind is howling.
This is where I like to bring in a favorite metaphor: the lighthouse standing tall in a swirling fog. Unlike my old approach—where I'd scramble to scatter the fog—this image reminds me that sometimes the fog is just part of the natural rhythm of life.
The lighthouse doesn't wait for clear skies to fulfill its purpose—it shines brightest precisely when visibility is poorest. That's the essence of true presence.
Here is the audio, (in case you missed it up top), for the Yoga Nidra:
And here is the audio, without the wave background soundscape:
Foggy Days and the Power of Showing Up
I still remember one particularly foggy season in my life. We're talking mega life stress, the "What on earth am I doing with my life?" variety.
My brain kept spinning, searching for the perfect plan to fix everything.
Unsurprisingly, the more I wrestled with my thoughts, the more tangled they became. I felt like I was shouting into a blanket of dense fog, waiting for an echo that never came.
During this time, I had a chance encounter with a monk from a local monastery. As we talked about life's complexities, he looked at me with gentle eyes and said something that stopped me in my mental tracks:
"You care too much, about too much. And, you are doing too much about it.
What would happen if you simply showed up to your day with no agenda?"
Well, it wasn't advice I was necessarily expecting, but who was I to question a monk? There was something both unsettling and liberating about his question that resonated in a place deeper than my racing thoughts.
So I started experimenting with simply showing up—no strategies, no superhero-level problem-solving.
I'd sit quietly and breathe, noticing the swirl of my thoughts without needing to pin them down. At first, it felt awkward, like I was missing a step or forgetting to do something important. But this shift into presence—just being fully here, fog and all—became incredibly soothing.
The Lighthouse Yoga Nidra
It's this experience of finding stillness in the fog that inspired my newest Yoga Nidra practice.
I've created a Lighthouse Yoga Nidra that gently walks you through this powerful imagery. You'll settle into deep relaxation, imagining yourself climbing the lighthouse's spiral stairs, feeling the contrast of light and shadow, until you reach the lamp room at the top. Here we will practice our presence.
The beauty of Yoga Nidra is that it meets you exactly where you are. Maybe your mind feels busy, or you're wrestling with something tough. You don't have to "fix" any of it. The practice encourages you to rest in the awareness that you're held, just like the lighthouse tower is rooted securely to the earth.
Presence in Action: The Lighthouse Analogy
The lighthouse imagery in this meditation resonates so deeply (at least with me 😉) because it's a vivid reminder of what presence actually looks like in action:
Rooted in the Moment: Like a lighthouse anchored to the rocky shore, presence is about being deeply rooted where you are. Not where you think you should be, but right here, on solid ground.
Holding Steady: Rain, shine, fog, sleet, or hail, lighthouses keep shining. They don't wait for storms to pass before doing their job. In the same way, we can practice steady, moment-to-moment awareness whether our lives feel calm or chaotic.
Providing Gentle Guidance: A lighthouse doesn't loudly demand that ships follow its beam—it simply offers a consistent light. This is a lot like presence: We aren't forcing ourselves or anyone else to do anything; we're just maintaining a calm, guiding awareness.
Light and Darkness as a Unified Whole
One beautiful aspect of the lighthouse visualization is climbing the spiral stairs, passing windows that frame both dawn's gentle glow and the tower's inner shadows. We usually think of light as "good" and darkness as "bad," but real presence involves noticing both without judgment.
Light can feel expansive, open, even energizing. It's our moments of clarity and excitement.
Darkness can be restful, introspective, or a place for deeper observation—like the subtle peace of a quiet night.
When we stop trying to escape one or cling to the other, we discover they inform and enrich each other. The bright windows help us appreciate the tower's cool, hushed stillness, and the dim corridors amplify the warmth of each sunbeam.
Reflective Questions
I'm a firm believer that curiosity can be more powerful than any quick-fix solution. Here are a few questions to spark your own exploration of presence, before or after the Yoga Nidra experience:
* How often do I find myself trying to "fix" uncertainty instead of simply experiencing it? What does it feel like for you when you try to "fix" the fog in your life?
* When was the last time you allowed yourself to simply be a steady presence in your own life, without trying to change or fix anything?
* How might your experience change if you welcomed both the light and shadow aspects of your life with equal presence?
* What daily moment could become your personal anchor for presence practice?
* What does presence feel like in my body? (Heavy? Light? Grounded? Tingly?)
* When I think of my own inner "lighthouse," which qualities shine the brightest? Compassion, resilience, humor, something else?
* What fog are you standing in today, and how might your lighthouse presence illuminate it differently?
Embracing the Uncertainty
What I love most about the lighthouse image is that it doesn't wait for the fog to clear to do its job—it embraces the uncertainty as a natural part of its landscape. It reminds us that presence isn't the absence of storms; it's the choice to remain steady and aware, wave after wave, cloud after cloud.
If you find yourself wading through foggy days, trust that you can still shine. Even in the heaviest mist, your presence—your wholehearted, grounded awareness—can light a path you didn't see before. It's a quiet power, but one that can transform how you relate to every challenge, every doubt, every unknown on your horizon.
May this image offer you a sense of peace and possibility.
May you remember that the ability to be fully present is already within you—like a strong, guiding beam through the darkest night.
And when in doubt, just show up, stand firmly on the shore of this very moment, and let your inner lamp shine on.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
-Alex
Coming on Tuesday
An Adventure in Presence: Seeing the Familiar with Fresh Eyes
Presence isn't just about meditation cushions and zenning out. Sometimes, it's about the vibrant magic of tuning in to what's right in front of you!
Next week, I'll take you along on my playful experiment down Historic 25th Street in Ogden—a place I've walked a hundred times before, but this time with a completely different lens. What happens when we deliberately shed our routines and see our everyday world as tourists? The colors get brighter, the details emerge from the background, and the ordinary transforms into something remarkable.
Join me on Tuesday for a story about cobblestones, conversations with shopkeepers, hidden architectural gems, and the delightful surprises that await when we pay lighthouse-quality attention to our familiar streets.
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