“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection”
Buddha
Can you feel it too? Spring is in the air! Blossoms are opening, the sun feels warmer, the sneezing has begun, and the colours of the Earth are whispering: it’s time to grow again.
This Spring, in our beautiful community, we’ll be planting three seeds—each one holding an invitation to bring more healing, peace, and fulfilment into our lives.
The first seed is called Maitri. The other two will be revealed in the next couple of months, as the season continues to unfold… and I promise you, they are equally powerful as they are beautiful.
But before diving into the intention itself, I want to give you a little bit of context in why I chose Maitri as our intention for September and the first seed of Spring.
Everything comes to us at the timeliest of moments
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been walking through my own journey of grief. Being back home with my family in Mexico, holding space for both loss and love, I found myself searching for words that could hold me in those tender moments.
On the flight back to Australia, I noticed When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön sitting quietly in my Kindle library. I don’t even remember when I bought it, but it reappeared at just the right moment. Her writing felt like a warm hand in mine, and one teaching in particular resonated deeply with my heart: Maitri—developing unconditional friendship with ourselves.
It felt perfectly aligned with my own practice of working so closely with the heart centre as I tended to the tenderness of losing my brother. Maitri isn’t about fixing ourselves or rushing the pain away. It’s about softening. About turning toward ourselves with the same love and patience we’d offer a dear friend.
And in those quiet moments, I knew that Maitri was the first seed I wanted us to plant together this Spring.
What is Maitri?
Maitri is a Sanskrit word for loving-kindness, but it goes deeper than kindness as a concept—it’s an embodied, lived friendship with ourselves.
It doesn’t ask us to become better, shinier, or more perfect. It doesn’t try to solve the “problem” of being human. Instead, Maitri invites us to give up control, let our ideas of who we should be fall apart, and rest in the raw beauty of who we already are.
As Pema reminds us:
“Thoughts, emotions, memories, moods—they come, they go. Beneath them, there is always this steady nowness, this quiet ground of being that cannot be taken away. Maitri helps us trust that.”
Our Practice This Month
In September’s Dru Yoga classes, we’ll explore Maitri through gentle movement, heart-centred awareness, breath, and deep rest. We’ll practice befriending our bodies, our breath, and our whole selves—just as we are.
One of the main practices we’ll share is Energy Block Release 3 (EBR3)—a unique Dru sequence to awaken the heart. I love practising EBR3 when I feel disconnected, when my heart needs tending, or when I notice creative blocks creeping in, it is also great when we want to set intention and we want to align our mind, body and heart towards that specific goal.
We’ll also explore a very powerful sequence—which will be a beautiful surprise. I practised it every day while in Mexico, and it helped me show up for myself and for my parents in the most tender moments. I can’t wait for you to experience it and fall in love with it too.
Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do”
Brené Brown
Practicing Maitri in Daily Life: Be Your Own BFF
Like any seed, Maitri grows when we tend to it. Here are a few gentle ways we can make this seed flourish:
- Love your humanity. Remember that facing challenges and making mistakes is simply part of being human. Smile, soften, and learn from them.
- Listen to your inner voice. Notice the tone you use with yourself. If self-criticism sneaks in, practice the 3 C’s: Catch it, Challenge it, and Choose Love.
- See your energy as an investment. Make a list of the people, places, activities, food, and music that uplift you. When you’re feeling moody, low or depleted, gift yourself time with something from this list.
- Feel your heart. Place a hand on your chest. Sense its rhythm, its warmth. Smile at your heart as you acknowledge all it does for you—beating tirelessly and guiding you toward what’s best for you.
- Take a mindful pause. Turn off distractions and gift yourself a 3-minute reset with the Notice Your Inner Weather practice. I originally created it for my teen program, but it’s just as powerful for us later in life. Sometimes the smallest pauses creates the biggest shifts.
- Connect with your breath. Breathe in to the count of four, breathe out to the count of six. Feel not just air, but life itself flowing through you.
And whenever you notice you’re being too harsh with yourself, ask:
“If I spoke to a friend the way I’m speaking to myself right now, would they still want to be my friend?”
A Reflection for you this September
What would change in your life if you began to treat yourself as your dearest friend?
Take a moment to journal on this powerful question and envision how your life unfolds differently by making friends with the most important person in your life: YOU
And to support you in this journey, I’ve created a little companion handout: Maitri – Be Your Own BFF. It’s filled with simple, heart-centered practices to remind you of your worth and help you nurture this seed of self-friendship every day.
Receive your Free Maitri Guide
What's else is happening in our Community this Spring?
Since practising Maitri, I’ve felt a beautiful rush of inspiration—ideas are flowing more easily and I feel deeply connected with my purpose. With that energy, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news:
-
New Classes: In addition to Monday, Wednesday evenings and Friday morning classes; I’m now offering a Tuesday morning class at 9:30am in our beautiful Essendon studio, and a new Spanish class on Thursdays at 12pm AEST (Wednesdays 8pm CST). Yes, for the first time ever, Dru Yoga is coming to you in Spanish! Check out the new timetable to book yourself into your favourite class.
-
Metamorphosis: Tash and I have been refining our signature program Metamorphosis—a beautiful experience to support you through transitions, unexpected change, and grief. Our next FREE event is happening on September 18th. Tickets available here.
- Spring Retreat – Seeds of Intentions: Our October retreat is now open for registration. Only 5 spots remain for this intimate and soul-nourishing weekend. I would love to share it with you.
As we step into this new season, may Maitri remind us that we are always worthy of our own love and gentleness. Sometimes the most profound healing begins when we learn to sit with ourselves the way we would with a child we adore.
And if you’re curious about the other two seeds of Spring… stay close. They hold not only the power to support your own healing, but also to ripple out into the healing of our world.
Namaste
PS. You might have noticed that most of the photos that I chose for this post are of children. That’s because Maitri is also a healer for our inner child. Each time we practice self-kindness, we are tending to that little one inside, reparenting ourselves with love, and learning to truly become our own best friend.