Dear Reader: Shortly after writing this blog, two amazingly courageous women of the East Shore community in which the Ashram is situated, passed away. Janet Wallace, creator of Barefoot Handweaving and community organizer for artisans, businesses and non-profits alike, died peacefully Jan. 3 after living valiantly with ALS. Sadly, our dear friend Megan Rokeby-Thomas died suddenly on Jan. 6, following Janet into the Light. The owner of Ladybug Coffee, Megan was an extraordinary leader and activist for the community, who exuded such qualities as compassion, joy, kindness and determination, always putting people first.
I feel honoured to have forged strong friendships with these two women while working together on community issues. I hold the learnings from their courage and love in my heart. This reflection on courage is dedicated to their beautifully-lived examples.
Courage to Change: Weaving Qualities of the Heart
What better time than now–the start of a new year–to consider what kind of person I want to be going forward? To take time and reflect, what changes do I want to make?
As you read this, 21 participants enter the three-month Yoga Development Course at the Ashram. It takes courage to step aside from day-to-day life for this inner exploration.
I think about bringing a fresh perspective to my own reflections—as a 73-year-old woman in a new stage of life—knowing that we all hold the potential of courage within us.
Looking for examples of courage in my life, I am fascinated by how a theme of mother emerges: From my spiritual mother, Swami Radha, going to India and returning to Canada in an orange robe—a symbol for her commitment to live on faith—in the 1950s… To my birth mother starting a new life with two young daughters after the death of her husband by suicide in the late 1950s… To my own choice to not have children for medical reasons, despite my husband’s and my plan to start a family in the 1980s.
As part of my own story, I recall a work associate calling my decision courageous. For myself, it was the only choice if I was to honour what my heart and inner wisdom said.
Living with a Courageous Heart
Is courage in fact a quality of the Divine feminine?
Courage has a well-known connection with heart, through language with the Latin and French meanings of the words ‘cor’ and ‘coeur’. In yoga the lion’s pose speaks of being lion-hearted. In our lives, it emerges as both the power of strength and the softness of vulnerability.
Swami Radha summarizes Kundalini Yoga for the West as “a foundation for character building, courage and awareness.” Looking within its pages, I find courage in the 5th chakra—the level of consciousness of my namesake, Gauri. In this place of surrender and listening, she says “the aspirant has become courageous and forgiving. The feelings (refined emotions) are now truly a stepping-stone toward compassion.”
I may not be there yet as everyday judgments, pride and uncultivated imagination still arise. Positively, though, I ask myself: wasn’t requesting a brahmacharya initiation with the spiritual name of Gauri in itself an act of courage? And likewise choosing to live at the Ashram for the past 12 years?
For all of us on this spiritual path of self-inquiry and evolution, “It takes strength and courage to go against the mainstream of life… It takes courage to say: I want to reflect on my life; I want to clarify what my words and actions are. In this way, leading a spiritual life can be a political act,” Swami Radhananda writes in Living the Practice.
We Ashram residents happily witness this all the time as guests enter into our retreats or Karma Yoga, and leave with newfound clarity and wisdom, often with resolve to make change.
And sometimes, a significant change we can make is simply to accept what is. Self-acceptance also takes courage—”the acceptance of your physical appearance and of your mental and emotional makeup,” says Swami Radha in Time to be Holy. This seems a fine dance in my own life, determining what needs to change in situations with others and within myself, and when to simply let things be.
The Power of Speech: Courageous Voice
I’ve needed to learn about using my voice courageously through the years—learning when and how to speak up, and when to let go and focus solely on my own responses. Years ago I trained for a certificate in Conflict Resolution which helped me considerably. I’ve learned that, as Swami Radhananda reflects in Clearing the Air (Living the Practice), “To find resolution is often simple and liberating… This means having the courage to address undercurrents, to speak truthfully in an uncomfortable interaction, or to simply ask, ‘What is happening?’”
A purple heart stone given to me by someone who I felt the need to challenge continues to remind me of the choice I can make anytime.
Teaching mantra workshops also reminds me of the power of our speech. For many people, using their voice in chanting mantra offers a significant step toward learning to speak their truth.
I love Swami Radhananda’s description about harmony and have indeed experienced this: “We have to be courageous enough to enter in and to allow what emerges from chaos.” I continually learn the benefit of stepping forward without knowing what might emerge.
I did this when I was 19 years old and moved from Saskatchewan to Calgary without a firm plan. Decades later, each day gives me opportunities on smaller and bigger—and often more subtle—scales. Swami Radhananda further says: “Change is a natural part of life and change requires that we take risks and face fears. If we don’t risk, we can never transform fears into courage or our obstacles into strengths.”
As I enter into 2026, I’m focusing on three intentions: simplify, love, trust. I’m eager to explore how I can open up and truly live each of these ideals.
“Courage does not drop into our lap,” writes Swami Radha in the 3rd chakra. I am motivated by this expression. She invites us to examine our fears and to overcome them by cultivating our imaginations and applying our time and energy positively.
Here is a practice suggestion for your own exploration:
- Reflect on how you define courage—using key words, associations, examples from your life.
- Consider a situation where you need to use courage to move forward. Do a practice (such as Divine Light Invocation or Mountain pose) and reflect on your next step.
— Gauri