Kej is the sacred deer, the four-footed guide who carries us into balance, stability, and alignment with the four directions. Kej represents our connection to the wilderness, to spiritual leadership, to the quiet dignity of power wielded with humility and grace. This nawal embodies the four cardinal points of the earth, the four elements (earth, water, fire, air), the four states of human experience (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual), and the four colors of humanity (yellow, white, red, black). Wholeness comes from honoring all aspects of ourselves and the natural world.
1 is the energy of new beginnings, pure potential, and planting seeds. It is the first breath, the blank page, and the moment when intention becomes reality and we set the direction for our course.
Today, 1 Kej marks the Mayan New Year: a sacred portal opening a 365-day cycle. It’s time to ground into your strength, reclaim your power with respect and reverence, and remember that your true nature is inseparable from the cycles of the earth. This is a day (and year) to spend time in nature, honor the wilderness within and around us, and plant seeds of gratitude, dignity, strength, and balance to sustain us through the year ahead. You are rooted in the earth and connected to all directions. Stand tall, move with grace, and trust the path beneath your feet.
Today is the Mayan New Year.
We are opening a cycle of 365 days stretching out before us like a forest path, a 13-day trecena beginning its spiral dance. Today I ask myself: Where am I in balance? Where do I need to tend?
Physically, I feel generally healthy and deeply grateful for that. My body carries me through blessed days of teaching, walking, breathing, and being. I also know there is work to do. I want to put more effort into exercise and cardio—to feel my heart pump, my lungs expand, and my muscles work. I am alive and strong. I’d like to drop 10-15 pounds to feel lighter, more vital, and more at ease in this skin. I need to continue focusing on fresh, whole, local foods that come from the earth and recommit to a low sugar, low carb way of eating to reduce my blood glucose levels. The deer is grounded, graceful, and agile. I want to honor those qualities in my body.
Emotionally, I feel centered and balanced most days. I ride the waves of strong feelings when they arise and let them pass through me rather than getting knocked over by them or pretending they aren’t there. I am learning to limit how often I dissociate or repress, to stay present even when it’s uncomfortable, to simply feel what I feel. The work is to honor all the weather that moves through the landscape of the heart.
Mentally, I want to reclaim my reading habit. To get inspired by books and essays on topics that fascinate me—philosophy, ecology, poetry, mysticism, the intersections of science and spirit. Reading feeds my writing practice like nothing else. It fills the well and provokes new mental patterns and possibilities. The deer is alert, curious, and attentive. I want to bring that quality to my intellectual life and my relationships this year.
Spiritually, I feel more devoted than ever to daily meditation. Mindfulness. Asana and pranayama. The practices that ground me in my body, mind, and heart. I am devoted to being kind and gentle, compassionate and aware, soulful and driven. Present. Committed. Willing.
Today, on 1 Kej, I plant these seeds: Strength. Discipline. Curiosity. Presence. Balance. Grace.
The deer stands at the center of the forest, rooted in the earth, freedom, and spiritual leadership.
Happy New Deer. Maltiox, Nawal Kej. Let the journey begin!
🌿 Ready to ground into your own balance and strength in sacred community?
Join us for the Heart of the Earth Retreat, January 21-28 2027 at Lake Atitlán—a journey into the four directions of yourself through yoga, Mayan wisdom, fire ceremony, and deep rest in one of the most powerful places on Earth.
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