How to Embrace Life’s Cycles: Yoga, Breath & Personal Growth

Phillip Jones talks with Hollie Meador about embracing life’s cycles — breath, seasons, change, and the space between full and empty. Honest reflections on awareness, release, parenting, and finding presence in the natural rhythms of living.

Meet Hollie Meador

Hollie Meador and I sat down to talk about cycles, and the conversation unfolded exactly like one: starting, building, pausing, releasing, and circling back richer than when we began.

We explored everything from the breath to birth, parenting, death, and the quiet spaces in between. What stayed with me most was how often we rush through the hard or empty parts of a cycle instead of learning to be with them. Hollie’s grounded wisdom as a yoga teacher, mother, and deep observer of life made the big idea feel immediately useful.

What Is a Cycle, Really?

A cycle has a beginning, middle, and end that returns to a new beginning. Stories do this. The breath does this. Our days, seasons, and lives do this. Even a simple pen has a cycle—from oil in the ground to object in hand to eventual recycling or art.

Nothing exists in isolation. Hollie pointed out that everything is moving through phases, often nested inside larger ones. The more we notice this, the less we fight the natural flow of change.

The Breath as a Teacher of Cycles

One of the most practical parts of the conversation was returning to the breath. In yoga and Pranayama, there are four parts: inhale, retention (full), exhale, retention (empty). We often focus only on filling up or letting go, but the pauses hold real power.

Hollie described how lingering in those spaces—full or empty—builds presence. Practicing this on the mat helps us handle the tiny deaths and new beginnings in daily life: the end of a good conversation, a child’s birthday party winding down, or the natural shifts in energy and roles as we age.

Emptiness, Hunger & Sweet Release

Our culture loves the full, the blooming, the productive. We fill every space with consumption, distraction, or doing. Hollie reminded me that real nourishment often comes after emptiness. Hunger makes food taste better. The hard work of a workout or practice makes Shavasana (corpse pose) feel like sweet release.

Fasting, rest, and mindful pauses aren’t punishments—they complete the cycle. Without them, we chase satisfaction that never quite arrives. Learning to love the decaying rose, the quiet winter, or the empty inbox is part of living well.

Parenting, Inner Child & Tiny Deaths

Hollie shared stories about her sons grieving the end of playdates and how becoming a parent forced her to get more comfortable with cycles of change. Kids reflect our own inner child back to us—the parts that want connection, fear abandonment, and need to be seen.

We all experience tiny deaths: the end of a phase, a conversation, or an identity. Fighting them creates suffering. Being with them—feeling the sting, then releasing—opens space for whatever comes next.

My Personal Reflection

Talking with Hollie left me quieter and more observant. What surprised me was how much practical wisdom lives in something as basic as the breath. What challenged me was admitting how often I try to skip the empty or difficult parts of my own cycles—rushing to the next thing instead of resting in what is.

I’m rethinking my relationship with rest and release. Yoga and simple awareness practices aren’t luxuries; they’re training for a life that actually flows.

Practical Takeaways

  • Notice the four parts of breath — Inhale, hold full, exhale, hold empty. Linger in the pauses to build presence.
  • Practice sweet release — Use Shavasana or quiet moments to rehearse letting go. It makes real endings easier.
  • Honor emptiness — Try short fasts from food, screens, or busyness. Notice how it changes what feels nourishing.
  • Be with tiny deaths — When something good ends (a conversation, a season, a phase), feel it fully instead of immediately distracting.
  • Cultivate awareness in transitions — Ask: “What cycle am I in right now? What does this phase ask of me?”
  • Connect with your inner child — Play, create, or sit with younger versions of yourself when big feelings arise.

Final Thoughts

Hollie’s approach shows that cycles aren’t problems to solve—they’re the shape of a full human life. The more we learn to move with them instead of against them, the more steadiness and wonder we find.

This conversation reminded me that philosophy, yoga, and everyday living all point toward the same thing: pay attention, stay curious, and trust the rhythm.

About Hollie Meador

Hollie Meador is a co-owner of Studio Satya, a yoga teacher to kids and families (and adults), astrologer, and naturalist. She brings deep presence and curiosity to her teaching, helping people of all ages build self-awareness, confidence, and connection. Studio Satya blends traditional yogic wisdom with accessible, community-centered practice.

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