Anywhere we practice Yoga, we’re on land that holds the stories of those who came before us and the future generations who will walk after us. In the case of Big Bear, the first people on the land were the Yuhaaviatam Clan of Maara’yam (Serrano) people, who've tended and honored this land for generations. They saw this land as their home—and as sacred. In their origin story, the pines themselves sprang from grief and reverence when their Creator, Kü̱ktac, passed on, enriching the land with vegetation and animals, and allowing future generations to thrive.

When we practice Yoga here, we’re invited to enter into relationship with the trees, the mountain, and the sky. We can do this by looking—watching the shift of light across the surface of the lake. We can do this by listening—hearing the call of birds carrying across the landscape. We can do this by feeling—the steadiness of the earth beneath us, solid and supportive. We can do this by opening our hearts—letting the vastness of the sky remind us of the spaciousness within. And each breath we exchange with the trees is an opportunity to align again with the land, each moment an opportunity to soften into presence with the nature around us.

Relationship is built not only through presence, but also through honoring. Just as we bow at the end of practice to honor the teachers who passed the teachings of Yoga to us, we also bow to the Earth, to the original stewards of the land we are practicing on, and to those who will come after. but also living in ways that care for the land and uplift the sovereignty of its original stewards. To honor that land in this way—and to live in ways that uplift the sovereignty of its original and present-day stewards—is to stay in right relationship with it. It's the practice of Yoga in its truest form: as a path of connection, humility, and love.

Itzel Hayward is a coach, facilitator, and Yoga teacher dedicated to helping individuals and communities grow in empathy, connection, and collective well-being. She is the founder of Attuned Living, where her offerings integrate mindful communication and embodied practice to support healing and transformation for both groups and individuals.