Naoise Ní Bhroin: ‘Is é an bóthar a bheathaíonn an duine – it is the journey itself that nourishes us’
IMAGE.ie columnist Naoise Ní Bhrion (or @YogaLeNaoise as you might know her) is a certified yoga teacher with a deep passion for both wellbeing and the Irish language, and in this series she brings those two loves together. Naoise believes that the words we choose, and the language we use, shape how we connect with ourselves and the world around us. In weaving yoga and Irish together, Naoise offers us a fresh perspective on what it means to feel grounded, whole and truly at home in ourselves.
“I can’t do yoga because I can’t even touch mo bharraiciní – my toes.” I often smile at this frása coitianta – familiar phrase. It reflects a common misconception of a practice rooted not in flexibility or achievement, but in fealsúnacht, cineáltas, agus féin-staidéar – philosophy, compassion, and self-study. Yoga was never about reaching a destination or a specific pose, but about tiomantas – devotion to the journey, where presence and learning truly live.
The ceachtanna – lessons of the yoga mat often offer a lens for an saol – life. As 1ú Mí Eanair – January 1st approaches, many of us feel brú ollmhór – huge pressure to renew and reinvent. This date, amplified by modern culture, arrives trom – heavy with expectation: feasaigh tú féin – improve yourself, buy something new, become duine níos fearr – someone better. Yet it isn’t rooted in the land or sky, nor aligned with timthriallta nádúrtha – natural cycles.
Roimh cloigidí – before clocks and campaigns, people listened to light and season. In the Celtic wheel, true beginnings arrive with Imbolc on February 1st or Lá Fhéile Bríde, when the first stirrings of spring move beneath frozen ground. The Chinese lunar New Year also follows an ghealach agus ní an margadh – the moon, not the market. Different traditions, same wisdom: renewal is honoured only once an dorchadas – darkness has been fully rested in.
Perhaps Mí Nollag, and even January, like our cleachtadh yoga – yoga practice, is not about reaching a destination layered with expectation, but about leaning into this tairseach shéasúrach – seasonal threshold. Let endings complete their full cycle and allow personal beginnings to remain undefined. Fíor-athnuachan – true self-renewal is not found in the arrival of January 1st, just as touching our toes in yoga is not about the destination, but more about sensing the deeper éifeachtaí – effects of change as they unfold.
What we expect from dáta amháin – a single date may feel exciting, yet often leads to díomá – disappointment; there is tenderness in acknowledging this. So as the year comes to a close, resist the urge to barrfheabhsú nó athchruthú i nóiméad amháin – self-optimise or reinvent in a single moment. Instead, move in alignment with your own fuinneamh – energy. Trust that athnuachán – renewal will come when it is ready mar is é an bóthar a bheathaíonn an duine – it is the journey itself that nourishes us.
Dive deeper with me this February 1 in Windmill Lane, Dublin for a morning of yoga, breathwork and cacao, where we explore Imbolc, our first festival of the Celtic Wheel together. Find out more at yogalenaoise.com.
Also Read
