Every year, as our calendars turn to April, I find myself returning to a familiar stillness. It is a stillness that reminds me of the first time that I truly paid attention to how the earth felt beneath my feet during an ayurvedic practice of “Earthing.” Earth Day has become more than just a marked moment in springtime for me. It has become a soulful invitation to remember that this planet is not separate from us, but very much a part of us. It breathes with us, holds us and nourishes us. It is sacred.
This year, in 2025, Earth day occurs on Tuesday, April 22nd, and as I sit with reverence for this day, I can’t help but think about how yoga also tends bring us to a place of contemplation that calls us to remember who we are, and the people, places, and things that we are connected to. It calls upon us to remember how we can move gently though our yoga poses; and in the world. It invites us to live with intention and breathe with deep, abiding appreciation for the world that lives inside of us, just as much as the world that lives outside of us.
A Brief History
Earth Day has been around since 1970. It was created as a result of a collective longing to protect the planet after having noticed that it was not receiving the care and concern that it deserved, and desperately needed. It was also call to consciousness that developed as a way of responding to the crisis surrounding harmful environmental negligence, and pollution. In Earth Day’s beginnings, people gathered in the streets by the millions with their hearts united in the hope and love that they had for our planet; and this movement created space for innovation with regard to policy change, living life healthily on planet earth, and has been inspiring generations ever since.
Gratefully for us, (and for Mother Earth), Earth Day still gently whispers softly to us reminding us to continue caring and loving our planet, ourselves and those that will come after us.
A Yogic Invitation to Remember our Roots
From yoga, we can begin to gain an understanding of how deeply intertwined we are with everything that we come across in life. The Earth isn’t solely something for us to live on, or look and stand upon. We belong to Earth, and she is ours as well.
Through the practice of Ahimsa, we learn that non-harming helps us honor all life, and when participate in programs that are designed to help our planet Earth, such as recycling, choosing sustainable living practices, or eating mindfully even, those are ways that we are also practicing yoga, albeit off the mat. Ahimsa also invites us to speak gently to ourselves and others, walk with care upon the land, and float upon the sea with an appreciation for this place that we’ve been gifted from Source. When we do so, we are extending our yoga practice into the world.
When we practice grounding mudras such as Prithvi (“Earth”) mudra, or grounding asanas like Tadasana (“Mountain Pose”) both can provide a way of communing with the Earth, and these are practices that can help us remember that we are always held.
Practices to Celebrate Earth
Practicing Yoga in Nature
One of the most profound ways to honor this planet that we live on is to take our yoga practice outdoors. This offers us a way to feel the warmth of the sunlight upon our skin, and the way the wind envelops around our breath. It offers us as way to become familiar with how birdsong can become a part of the rhythm that we move to as we maneuver through our days. There is a sweet magic that unfolds whenever we place our feel in sand, soil or grass to practice upon. It can help us listen more intensely, and feel more connected to our planet as a place that is a home for our bodies.
Grounding Poses
Practice yoga poses that help you root into the Earth like Vrksasana (“Tree Pose”), Tadasana (“Mountain Pose”), or Balasana (Child’s Pose) as these poses provide an opportunity for you to feel supported, stable and at peace. In “Tree Pose” and “Mountain Pose” think of your feet reaching down into the Earth like strong roots. While in “Child’s Pose” imagine your body surrendering to the Earth trusting her to hold you.
Earth Centered Breathwork
The pranayama practice of Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) is a great way to help balance the internal environment with the external. Try thinking of each breath cycle that you take as an offering that allows you to “inhale gratitude” and “exhale honor” Your breath can serve as a soft prayer for the Earth.
Rituals of Gratitude for Everyday
Yoga teaches us that our practice is rooted in presence, not just physical postures, and Earth Day invites us to be present with the Earth in simple, but meaningful ways, such as through walking meditation. In walking meditation we can say “Thank You” to the Earth with each intentional step. We can take notice of the textures of the ground we walk upon underneath our feet and allow our body to remember it’s special place in the web of life.
We can practice sacred offerings by placing an herb, flower, stone or handwritten note as a blessing beneath a tree or near a river, stream or waterfall. We don’t need to say anything in this practice. Mother Earth always has her ears open to hear what we have to say.
By making mindful choices we can send ripples of intentional sustainability out by choosing earth friendly products, and supporting eco-conscious businesses when we shop.
A Living Practice, Not For One Day Alone
As we celebrate Earth Day, may we come to acknowledge that caring for the Earth is not something that we should take lightly because it is vital to our survival. Caring for the planet that we live on should be instinctive and second-nature. It should be something that calls out to us at all times. We should breathe this necessity and feel it in our bones and at the core of our being. Most of us know this and feel it in our hearts every day. Those of us that do know this truth understand that our dear Mother Earth, she, in her quiet wisdom, teaches us how to be present, how to be resilient, and how to rise again and again with grace. However, maybe it’s just a hunch, but I don’t think that she really expect us to have to do so when it comes to taking care of our home, feeling safe and as though our basic needs are being met, or when it comes to taking care of her because without her we lose so much.
So let your yoga serve as an act of radical love for the planet. Let your breath be a way of saying, “I am here and I am grateful for this existence.”
Let every step that you take be infused with a fondness for this beautiful, breathing world.
Happy Earth Day my friends, and may your yoga practice root you deeply into the sacred soil of this life.
Salubrity + Soul Yoga 