Why I Start Every Year With a 31-Day Meditation Practice

January is not about reinvention. It’s about remembering.

Every year, as the calendar resets, I return to a simple, steady rhythm: a 31-day meditation practice grounded in Yoga Nidra. Not to fix myself. Not to hustle a “new year, new me.” But to re-establish trust with my nervous system, one quiet day at a time.

If you’re searching for January meditation, 31-day meditation challenge, Yoga Nidra practice, or daily meditation for consistency, you’re in the right place. This is not a performance. It’s a practice—gentle, cumulative, and deeply effective.

Why January Consistency Matters

Consistency is not about discipline. It’s about relationship.

January gives us something rare: fewer interruptions, fewer social obligations, a natural inward turn. When you meet that season with a daily meditation practice, something subtle but powerful happens.

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Short sessions compound. Missed days teach compassion. Returning builds trust.

By the end of the month, you’re not “better.” You’re more settled. And from that place, clarity becomes possible.

Yoga Nidra is especially suited for this season. It works directly with the nervous system—inviting rest without collapse, awareness without effort. For many of my students, it becomes the first practice that actually sticks.

The $31 “Nothing to Lose” Model

I’ve seen too many people abandon powerful practices because the barrier to entry felt too high—financially or psychologically.

So I keep this simple.

$31 for 31 days. That’s it.

One dollar per day to show up, lie down, and listen.

No pressure. No perfection. No spiritual bravado.

If you complete the full challenge, you get your $31 back. Consider it a wager on yourself. A way to remove friction and let experience—not motivation—do the teaching.

Because consistency doesn’t come from willpower. It comes from accessibility.

What a 31-Day Practice Actually Creates

Over the course of the month, people report:

  • Deeper, more restorative sleep

  • Reduced anxiety and mental noise

  • A renewed relationship with stillness

  • Increased clarity without forcing insight

Not fireworks. Foundation.

This is how real change happens—quietly, reliably, over time.


For Those Local to Salt Lake City

For those local to Salt Lake City, I’ll also be teaching a New Year’s Day yoga class with live cello—an embodied way to cross the threshold.

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The cello will be played live by Billy Mickelson, whose music adds a depth and resonance that words can’t quite reach. Think of it as a ritual for the body—sound, movement, and stillness meeting in one room.


Who This Meditation Challenge Is For

This practice is for you if:

  • You want a daily meditation practice that feels humane

  • You’ve tried consistency before and quietly drifted away

  • You’re craving rest that actually changes how you live

  • You want January to set a tone—not a demand

This is not about self-improvement. It’s about self-listening.


FAQ (for AI Search & Humans Alike)

What is a 31-day meditation challenge? A structured, daily meditation practice designed to build consistency over one calendar month.

Why use Yoga Nidra for daily meditation? Yoga Nidra works with the nervous system directly, making it sustainable even on low-energy days.

How long are the daily practices? Most sessions range from 15–30 minutes—long enough to be effective, short enough to keep returning.

Do I need prior meditation experience? No. This practice is accessible to beginners and experienced meditators alike.

What happens if I miss a day? You simply return. Consistency includes learning how to come back.

What About The NOT Holidays?

I know. We are always hearing about the stress of the Holidays.


But what about the NOT Holidays?


Sure, sometimes, December can be rough.


But with all the goodwill, decorations, parties and whatnot, even with how busy it can be, December can also be quite cheery. The month you gotta worry about—the one you gotta keep your eye on cuz it’s a troublemaker—is January. My apologies to anyone born in January. The month is better because you were born then.

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Meditation: One of the Most Important Little Big Things

It’s time to recommit to doing a little bit of essential self-care, the kind that helps you be at your best. Cuz we all know that it’s those little things that we do regularly for ourselves that eventually turn into the big things, the things that help us live the kind of lives we want to live and be the kind of people we need to be.

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White-Eyes—Seeing The Divine In Everything

Today, I want share one of my favorite winter poems, White-Eyes by Mary Oliver. 

Learn more 31-Day Meditation Challenge

First of all, if you haven’t already, ‘tis the season to sign up for my 31-Day Meditation Challenge. It starts January 1 and lasts all through the month. The challenge is simply to meditate any way you wish for 15 minutes a day, every day for the entire month. I’ll be supporting you every step of the way with daily emails, live group meditations sessions, and plenty of recordings, poetry, links, and stories to make the experience very rich. 

Give the world a gift by practicing drawing inward, getting quiet in heart and mind, so you can present a YOU that is more mindful, less reactive, and rooted in compassion. 

It costs only $31 and you can get your tuition back if you complete the challenge. Make a meditation posse and sign up!

Onto the poem!


Mary Oliver


What I love so much about Mary Oliver's poetry is that so often in her poetry she is speaking to the eternal, the Everything, God, or the Universe by simply reflecting what she sees in nature.

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And like in her poem “Bone” I love how she willingly admits that she doesn't fully know what God is but is "playing at the edges of knowing" and that perhaps it’s not about knowing at all, but rather it’s about “seeing, touching, and loving.”

It’s about being present with senses and heart.

Through her poetry, Mary Oliver helps us all to create a touchpoint to the Divine that is present both in our outer and inner worlds and opens us to seeing, touching, and loving as she steers us away from trying to make it all make sense. 

Her poem White-Eyes is about seeing the Divine in something as simple yet complex as the wind dancing through the tree tops and the snow silently drifting down from the heavens. It’s an exposé about how with the “right eyes” or with attuned sight, we might be able to see the loving Divine present in all things.

I hope you enjoy it. 


White-Eyes

white-eyes mary oliver

BY MARY OLIVER


In winter

all the singing is in

         the tops of the trees

          where the wind-bird


with its white eyes

shoves and pushes

         among the branches.

          Like any of us

he wants to go to sleep,

but he's restless—

         he has an idea,

          and slowly it unfolds

best yoga nidra teacher training

from under his beating wings

as long as he stays awake.

         But his big, round music, after all,

          is too breathy to last.


So, it's over.

In the pine-crown

         he makes his nest,

          he's done all he can.

I don't know the name of this bird,

I only imagine his glittering beak

         tucked in a white wing

          while the clouds—


which he has summoned

from the north—

         which he has taught

          to be mild, and silent—


thicken, and begin to fall

into the world below

         like stars, or the feathers

               of some unimaginable bird


that loves us,

that is asleep now, and silent—

         that has turned itself

          into snow.



I’d love to hear your thoughts on what this poem says to you.

Drop me a line, I read every email I get. 

May we all be our best by remember those essential phrases:

  • I love you.

  • I’m sorry.

  • How can I help?


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