The Art of being Curious
Why Curiosity Matters Right Now
The second limb of yoga (out of 8!) - the niyamas (personal observances) teaches us of the importance of Svadhyaya or self-observation. For me this has been a real game-changer - to actually slow down and observe what is happening inside of myself - without judgement - feels at times an incredible challenge! But as with anything, the more we practice, the easier or at least more natural it becomes, sometimes to the point that you won’t event be consciously tuning into your inner world but then you are struck with an incredible bolt of insight or intuition that gives you a real ‘a-ha!’ moment.
This practice or observance has been playing on my mind the last week or so - ever since I went back to the Mids to celebrate my dear my grandpa's 93rd birthday! He is quite frankly my hero, and his constant zest for life, resiliance and positive approach has made me think about what makes a life truly well-lived. Ans perhaps it’s not what we would expect - or at least not what we have been told! It's not achievement or accumulation. It's something much simpler: simplicity, community, and curiosity. At 93, my grandpa is still asking questions. Still learning. Still genuinely interested in how things work, in other people's stories, in what comes next.
In yoga, we're taught to start with curiosity about ourselves. Not judgement. Not striving for some perfect pose. But genuine curiosity—what does this feel like in my body today? What am I learning about myself right now? Why do I react to this and not to that? Why do I tell myself these stories even though I know them not to be true?
The Lost Art of Curiosity
In a world increasingly dominated by individuals operating in of silos and echo chambers, it sometimes feels we are losing our capacity for curiosity. And with it, we're losing our empathy, our resilience, our sense of connection.
But curiosity breaks through all of that.
When you approach yourself, your environment, even your cultural ‘norms’ with curiosity, something shifts. You stop fighting against yourself. You stop being caught in old patterns. You start to see yourself, others and the world you live in through a different lens. What once you accepted as ‘the norm’ shifts, those thoughts in your mind or feelings in your body rather than something to be wary of become useful clues as to what’s happening beneath, you realise you have so much more choice in the way you live your life, the way we treat ourselves, how we react (or don’t!) to potentially stressful situations, where we focus our precious energy and the impact we have on the world.
In yoga we often refer to this as the beginner's mind - the invitation to observe yourself without judgment, as a lifelong student.
The Philosophy: The Koshas
In yoga philosophy, we talk about the Eight Limbs of Yoga, outlined in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The first two limbs are the Yamas and Niyamas: ethical guidelines and personal observances. One of the Niyamas is Svadhyaya- self-study. Svadhyaya is curiosity as a spiritual practice. It's turning your attention inward and becoming a lifelong student of yourself. Not with judgment, but with gentle, curious observation.
This month, we're exploring curiosity through the lens of the Koshas - the five layers or sheaths of ourselves. Each layer builds on the one before. By moving through them with genuine curiosity, we connect more deeply to all the different dimensions of who we are.
The most tangible layer is where we start - Annamaya Kosha - the body/ matter - and from here we journey deeper - into the energetic body, that of the mind, the heart and finally to our soul/ spirit/ Self both as an individual and One.
So when we practice Svadhyaya, we’re doing exactly this - moving through these layers with curiosity, asking: How do I feel in this present moment? What'shappening within me right now? What do I actually need right now?
Your Invitation…
So this month (September 2026) my invitation is to join me on this journey. Week by week we are going to move through the koshas, deepening our curiosity at each level.
Week One: Annamaya Kosha (The Body)
Starting with the physical layer - the body - the most tangible, and perhaps the easiest to observe. Getting curious about sensation itself.
To do this the invitation is to slow everything down; getting curious about tightness or tension or heaviness in the body without trying to change it. What does this tightness feel like? Where am I holding? What am I holding? We will use props generously, close our eyes when it feels good, and let the breath be gentle guidance rather than forced. We will explore the core joints and intersections of our body - our hips, our shoulders, our spine, our jaw - the places where we tend to hold our stories.
And in that slowness, perhaps something will shift. We stop performing yoga and start feeling it. We feel curiosity at work.
When you approach your body with genuine curiosity instead of criticism, everything changes. You stop judging or fighting the tightness in your body and start asking: What is this tightness telling me? Where in my life am I holding on? What if I could soften here, not by forcing, but by listening?
Week Two: Pranamaya Kosha (The Breath & Life Force)
Each week the invitation is to go deeper - into the layer of breath, of life force.
In yoga philosophy, Pranamaya Kosha is the energetic layer which sits between the physical body and the mind. It's prana - the vital life force that moves through you. It's what makes you feel alive, awake, connected. And most of the time we are barely aware that it exists!
We hold our breath without noticing. We breathe high and shallow. We focus our attention on things we cannot change, we get stuck in mental loops, we react to the same things again and again. We're often living so much in our heads that we've forgotten how to feel the vibration of life moving through our bodies and igniting our soul.
So the invitation here is to get curious about your breath - about the ebb & flow, the divine rhythmns within and without. We're using breath as a tool of awareness, not force. Each movement will be an invitation to notice: Where does my breath want to flow? What happens when I soften my exhale? Can I breathe into the spaces that feel stuck?
To notice we are not a solid entity, but a living, breathing, pulsating form of cells and atoms not that different from all else that exists in the world, even the universe around us. ‘As above so below’ - the yogis believe our bodies are a microcosm just as intricate, intelligent and star-bound as the macrocosm of the universe itself - and it is with curiosity, with wonder - that we can start to see this, to know this, to feel this deeply for ourselves. Your anxiety softens. Your resilience grows. You feel more connected to yourself, to others, to the moment you're actually in. The yogis teach that the breath is the bridge between body and mind. It's the one thing you can always come back to. It's always available. It's always honest - your breath never lies about how you're really feeling.
Week Three: Manomaya Kosha (The Thinking Mind)
By now, you'll have spent two weeks getting curious about your body and your breath. You'll have slowed down. Felt deeply. Noticed things shift. And in this week, we will go deeper still - into the realm of the thinking mind.
Manomaya Kosha is the layer of thought, emotion, feeling, desire. It's where your stories live. It's where your habits of thinking are born. It's where you tell yourself you're not good enough, not flexible enough, not worthy enough. It's also where your creativity lives, your joy, your capacity to imagine a different way of being.
Most of us spend our entire lives operating almost entirely from this layer. We believe our thoughts are facts. We believe our emotions define us. We get caught in loops of the same thinking patterns over and over again, wondering why nothing changes, why we feel stuck, why we react to the same things in the same way.
But here's what happens when you bring curiosity to this layer: you start to see that your thoughts are just thoughts. They're not the truth. They're not you. They're patterns. Habits. Stories you've been telling yourself so long you forgot they were stories.
So in week three, the invitation is to observe your mind with the same gentle curiosity you've brought to your body and breath. In your practice, you might notice: What thoughts arise when I move into this pose? What stories do I tell myself about my abilities? What happens when I simply observe these thoughts without believing them or fighting them?
You'll notice that some thoughts serve you and some don't. Some make you feel alive and some make you contract. The practice isn't to get rid of thoughts - that's impossible. The practice is to stop being ruled by them. To see them. To choose which ones you want to listen to.
When you start working with your mind this way, your entire point of view shifts. You realise you have choice. You realise you're not a victim of your own thinking. You realise you can be curious about why you believe what you believe, and in that curiosity, you find freedom.
Week Four: Vijnanamaya Kosha (The Wisdom Layer, The Intuition)
And finally, we will arrive at the layer of wisdom. Vijnanamaya Kosha. The intuitive layer. The part of you that knows things without knowing how you know them.
You've probably experienced this. That moment when you just know something is right, even though you can't explain why. That gut feeling that's never wrong. That inner voice that's tried to tell you something a thousand times and you finally listened.
This layer sits between the thinking mind and the deepest part of yourself - your soul, your spirit, the part of you that's always been whole. And it's the hardest layer for most of us to access because we've been conditioned to trust our thinking mind above all else. We've been taught that logic is king, that feelings are unreliable, that intuition is just superstition.
But the yogis have always known.... that there's an intelligence that exists beyond thought. A knowing that exists beyond reasoning.
The invitation this week is to start trusting it.
In your practice, this might look like moving without a plan. Feeling into what your body needs rather than doing what you think you should do. Noticing the subtle shifts and intuitive hits that come up when you're not overthinking. Closing your eyes and letting your body lead you rather than your mind directing you.
Off the mat, it's about starting to listen to that quiet inner voice again. The one that knows what you actually need - not what you think you should need or what you're afraid you need. What you actually need.
When you learn to trust Vijnanamaya Kosha, everything becomes simpler. You stop second-guessing yourself. You stop seeking permission from outside yourself. You realise that the wisdom you've been searching for has been inside you all along. You were just too busy thinking to hear it.
Each week builds on the previous one. By the end of the month, you won't just understand curiosity intellectually. You'll feel it. You'll know it. You'll have experienced how a simple practice of curious observation, of Svadhyaya can transform not just your yoga practice, but your relationship with yourself.
Why This Matters
The world is moving faster. We're being fed information constantly. We're being told what to think, what to feel, what to buy, who to be.
Curiosity is a radical act of resistance to all of that.
When you're curious, you can't be rushed. You have to slow down. You have to listen. You have to ask questions instead of accepting what you're told.
When you're curious about yourself, you stop abandoning yourself every time things get hard. You start working with your body, your breath, your nervous system. You start being your own best friend instead of your own worst enemy.
And when you bring that curiosity to other people? Everything shifts. Instead of judging, you get interested. Instead of defending, you listen. Instead of being afraid of difference, you become fascinated by it.
Curiosity is what keeps us young. It's what keeps us alive. It's what keeps us brave.
Book Your Classes
All classes this month are structured to deepen your practice of curiosity. Whether you're completely new to yoga or have been practising for years, you'll be invited to move at the pace of your own discovery.
Weekly classes across the South Hams
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Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will, James Stephens
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity, Dorothy Parker
See you on the mat. Come curious.
Love always, Laura