On Friday night I had the pleasure of teaching midnight yoga on the beach to 28 yogis (many first timers!) under the twinkling stars and the light of the full moon. It was an awesome, magical experience that I am so grateful to have been a part of. Thank you to Matt Reedy and Leapfrog Running for making this extraordinary event happen! Many students saw a shooting star while in bridge pose; how cool is that?!
A few "yogic" lessons emerged from our practice next to the waves of the Gulf on Friday night. The one that sticks out to me the most is to learn to go with the flow, as we had to do a lot during that class. For the experienced yogis, being outside at night practicing with the grass beneath our mats was much different than practicing in a yoga studio. We had to go with the flow as the mosquitoes came out to feast on our skin while we got our sweat on. Instead of letting the skeeters ruin our night, we learned to accept what is and find the beauty and magic in the experience, even if that experience resulted in a few bug bites.
We had to go with the flow in dancer pose and the other balancing asanas with the uneven grassy ground under our feet. For some, balancing was easier this way; for others, it was more of a challenge. But the uneven grassy ground is what was there, so that's what we embraced. We also had to go with the flow when a police officer interrupted our pigeon pose to check beach parking. While the presence of the officer was distracting for a moment, we went with the flow and allowed the minor distraction to be just that: minor. We did not dwell on the policeman's presence or the interruption, just like we don't dwell on the intense stretch we feel in half pigeon, but allow our self to surrender into the pose, into the moment, to experience it for what it is. I could still be fuming at that police officer, but what good would that do me?
I never know what life is going to give me. I can never plan a "perfect" experience. I never know how my yoga practice - under the full moon or in the studio - is going to be. But I can learn to go with the flow. Yoga teaches us to take what we are dealt and make it good, to find the beauty in the moment instead of the agony, to flow with life instead of fighting it all the time. For some, the experiences of beach yoga could have been a fight or agonizing. But if you choose to open up to the miracle of each moment, each experience, life will flow a lot more gracefully.
Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Under the twinkling stars and glowing full moon, us midnight yogis chose to live our life as if the entire experience that night was a magical miracle. And it was.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Have Faith, Then Let Your True Self Come Out And Play
Faith. Grace. Trust. Intuition.
So many names for much the same thing.
I had to trust, find faith, and follow my intuition to get where I am today. It was not easy and is not easy, but I am here. I truly believe that things will work out OK. But my husband is a different story. Each night it is the same worried look, the same deep conversation. "How will we pay our bills? What did you do today? What's your game plan for tomorrow?," he asks.
I understand his concern. Mine would be there if our roles were reversed. But it is not easy to deal with. Faith, and believing that everything will work out since I AM following my heart has gotten me to where I am. It has lead me to make a decision that is bold, that is risky, that is uncertain, where I could fail, but a decision that I believe in 100 percent.
How do you share your own faith with someone else? This quiet calmness in my heart, this quiet path that God or the universe has chosen for me, how do I offer my husband the same reassuring ease? The more intuitive choices I make, steps I choose, paths I follow, the easier it is to be intuitive. For so much of my life I have over analyzed EVERYTHING, from the email I sent to my co-workers to the gift I bought my step-mother to the status updates I put on Facebook to the words I say in my yoga classes. But when I become present, when I let go of the noises and conversations in my head, "she will never like you; you are not good enough; no one can live their dream," etc. etc. etc. I really do feel peace. I feel guided. It's like I know that my next step will unfold for me.
It's hard to defend myself. And I knew this whole process would not be easy, but it is what I have chosen, and I am embracing it. For once I can write, I can watch the sunset, I can make up silly songs to my husband as I make dinner, I can enjoy each moment. The choice was always there for me; but in order to "choose" I had to give up what I had to. My past life, my job, pulled me in such a far direction away from my true self that I often felt like I was hiding, that the person I wanted to be could not come out and play.
But I am here. NOW. I am ready to play. In fact, I don't believe there is any less way that I should experience my life. I want to play. Now. Forever. Always. This is my life, which I will live OUT LOUD.
So many names for much the same thing.
I had to trust, find faith, and follow my intuition to get where I am today. It was not easy and is not easy, but I am here. I truly believe that things will work out OK. But my husband is a different story. Each night it is the same worried look, the same deep conversation. "How will we pay our bills? What did you do today? What's your game plan for tomorrow?," he asks.
I understand his concern. Mine would be there if our roles were reversed. But it is not easy to deal with. Faith, and believing that everything will work out since I AM following my heart has gotten me to where I am. It has lead me to make a decision that is bold, that is risky, that is uncertain, where I could fail, but a decision that I believe in 100 percent.
How do you share your own faith with someone else? This quiet calmness in my heart, this quiet path that God or the universe has chosen for me, how do I offer my husband the same reassuring ease? The more intuitive choices I make, steps I choose, paths I follow, the easier it is to be intuitive. For so much of my life I have over analyzed EVERYTHING, from the email I sent to my co-workers to the gift I bought my step-mother to the status updates I put on Facebook to the words I say in my yoga classes. But when I become present, when I let go of the noises and conversations in my head, "she will never like you; you are not good enough; no one can live their dream," etc. etc. etc. I really do feel peace. I feel guided. It's like I know that my next step will unfold for me.
It's hard to defend myself. And I knew this whole process would not be easy, but it is what I have chosen, and I am embracing it. For once I can write, I can watch the sunset, I can make up silly songs to my husband as I make dinner, I can enjoy each moment. The choice was always there for me; but in order to "choose" I had to give up what I had to. My past life, my job, pulled me in such a far direction away from my true self that I often felt like I was hiding, that the person I wanted to be could not come out and play.
But I am here. NOW. I am ready to play. In fact, I don't believe there is any less way that I should experience my life. I want to play. Now. Forever. Always. This is my life, which I will live OUT LOUD.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
I Found Headstand By Finally Believing In Myself!
I just did my first tripod headstand!! I'm absolutely ecstatic! Some of my students and friends challenged me on my birthday (almost exactly one month ago) to do a headstand. I accepted the challenge, giving July 1st as my deadline, though not really believing it was going to happen by then (if ever). I accepted the challenge one month ago, but it has taken a lot to get me upside down to where I found myself today.
Headstand has long been one of those poses I just don't do. It's not for me; it's just not something I will ever be able to do, I said to myself over and over again. So lo and behold, I was never able to do headstand. "Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right," Henry Ford said, as Hanna brought to our attention in her arm balancing workshop at the studio today. For so long I told myself headstand was not possible for me, just like I tell myself I am not a morning person or I'm not a good cook.
While I really did have the core strength to do this pose (if you've ever taken a power vinyasa class, you know your core gets STRONG), my mind was getting in my way. I had to change my thinking if I was to overcome this challenge, and time was ticking... So I started saying affirmations to myself as I was running each morning: I am a headstander, I am a headstander; I can do headstand now, I can do headstand NOW; and so on. And before bed each night I would watch YouTube videos of yogis doing headstand so that I was processing this positive info of what I wanted to create in my practice all night long subconsciously.
Then in class today I felt a glimmer of power, a tiny glimmer of my knees reaching up off my triceps. While I did not find headstand right there, the new place I felt in my body had unlocked hope - and passion! - in me. When I got home I gave it another couple tries... and the third time I went up and held it for over ten seconds! It was so exciting I have done it at least three more times since then!
Now, our thoughts can't magically bring us into new yoga poses or turn us into good cooks, but we have to start with believing in ourselves and truly knowing that it might possible for us some day. Even when I started teaching yoga I would drive the entire 20 minutes to the studio saying, "I am a yoga teacher. I am a yoga teacher" to myself over and over again to build up my confidence. And while I may never be a "good cook," if I change my thinking I can at least give it a try and be open to what is possible for me.
Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right. What a way to live life!
Headstand has long been one of those poses I just don't do. It's not for me; it's just not something I will ever be able to do, I said to myself over and over again. So lo and behold, I was never able to do headstand. "Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right," Henry Ford said, as Hanna brought to our attention in her arm balancing workshop at the studio today. For so long I told myself headstand was not possible for me, just like I tell myself I am not a morning person or I'm not a good cook.
While I really did have the core strength to do this pose (if you've ever taken a power vinyasa class, you know your core gets STRONG), my mind was getting in my way. I had to change my thinking if I was to overcome this challenge, and time was ticking... So I started saying affirmations to myself as I was running each morning: I am a headstander, I am a headstander; I can do headstand now, I can do headstand NOW; and so on. And before bed each night I would watch YouTube videos of yogis doing headstand so that I was processing this positive info of what I wanted to create in my practice all night long subconsciously.
Then in class today I felt a glimmer of power, a tiny glimmer of my knees reaching up off my triceps. While I did not find headstand right there, the new place I felt in my body had unlocked hope - and passion! - in me. When I got home I gave it another couple tries... and the third time I went up and held it for over ten seconds! It was so exciting I have done it at least three more times since then!
Now, our thoughts can't magically bring us into new yoga poses or turn us into good cooks, but we have to start with believing in ourselves and truly knowing that it might possible for us some day. Even when I started teaching yoga I would drive the entire 20 minutes to the studio saying, "I am a yoga teacher. I am a yoga teacher" to myself over and over again to build up my confidence. And while I may never be a "good cook," if I change my thinking I can at least give it a try and be open to what is possible for me.
Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right. What a way to live life!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Letting Go Of The Unnecessary To Make Room For The New And Better
I came into my office tonight after I got home from teaching and looked to my left to see a mostly empty closet. Now just a few gift wrap bags sit atop the shelf and a handful of business books (full of cat hair of course) lie on the floor. Earlier today this closet was filled with more than I could believe: an entire Guitar Hero band, old credit cards, a cordless phone that hasn't been used since 2003, disposable waterproof cameras from Mike's and my wedding two years ago, a tripod for a Flip video camera that was never opened, 6 reusable Lululemon bags that were never "reused," etc. etc. etc. This closet had become my junk drawer, and over the last couple years, I had let it fill up and up.
It's no wonder that during my first week of "freedom," or being only part-time employed, I decided that this closet was one of my priorities. I would not spend the day cold calling private country clubs and sending out my yoga teacher resume, but I would clean out this closet. The truth is that this closet has been calling to me for two years. Like leftover foreign cheeses from a dinner party that speak to me every time I open the refrigerator: "Get some bread, get some wine. Eat me now!" This closet was calling to me, "clean me now," but I kept ignoring the calls.
Why do we do that? Why do we put off things that we know will be so healthy and freeing for us? I have known for so long that going through the garbage in my closet, tossing it, organizing, and clearing space would be liberating in itself. Get rid of the old to make room for the new. But I never in two years committed myself to taking the time to clean that closet out. Now that I am making a huge transition in my life and in my career, I somehow feel I need to "create this space" before moving forward. And I am not alone. An artist friend I met for happy hour recently told me that she had to do a similar cleaning and organizing of her house before she began her new project.
Seeing that clear, open space; seeing the organization, puts my mind at ease. For so long in my life I have gathered and kept and held on and taken. Not saving room and space, but filling it with objects to show my power or wealth, perhaps, and how much I "had." But do I really need old credit cards from Pier One and Ann Taylor? Do I really need instruction manuals for digital cameras I don't even use anymore? No. It's almost as if I felt like the more "stuff" I had, the better I was.
But yoga teaches us to think differently: Less is more. Space allows you to be present with what is instead of gripping to the past or some false idea of the future. Clutter creates chaos whereas cleanliness and space create a free, open mind. And besides, the best moments of my life were created by the time I spent with other people, not the purchases I made at Ann Taylor or by the amount of "things" I owned.
The cleaning and clearing has been freeing. It's like I am symbolically "letting go" of the past so I can "let in" the future. And for me, that's a great place to be at right now!
It's no wonder that during my first week of "freedom," or being only part-time employed, I decided that this closet was one of my priorities. I would not spend the day cold calling private country clubs and sending out my yoga teacher resume, but I would clean out this closet. The truth is that this closet has been calling to me for two years. Like leftover foreign cheeses from a dinner party that speak to me every time I open the refrigerator: "Get some bread, get some wine. Eat me now!" This closet was calling to me, "clean me now," but I kept ignoring the calls.
Why do we do that? Why do we put off things that we know will be so healthy and freeing for us? I have known for so long that going through the garbage in my closet, tossing it, organizing, and clearing space would be liberating in itself. Get rid of the old to make room for the new. But I never in two years committed myself to taking the time to clean that closet out. Now that I am making a huge transition in my life and in my career, I somehow feel I need to "create this space" before moving forward. And I am not alone. An artist friend I met for happy hour recently told me that she had to do a similar cleaning and organizing of her house before she began her new project.
Seeing that clear, open space; seeing the organization, puts my mind at ease. For so long in my life I have gathered and kept and held on and taken. Not saving room and space, but filling it with objects to show my power or wealth, perhaps, and how much I "had." But do I really need old credit cards from Pier One and Ann Taylor? Do I really need instruction manuals for digital cameras I don't even use anymore? No. It's almost as if I felt like the more "stuff" I had, the better I was.
But yoga teaches us to think differently: Less is more. Space allows you to be present with what is instead of gripping to the past or some false idea of the future. Clutter creates chaos whereas cleanliness and space create a free, open mind. And besides, the best moments of my life were created by the time I spent with other people, not the purchases I made at Ann Taylor or by the amount of "things" I owned.
The cleaning and clearing has been freeing. It's like I am symbolically "letting go" of the past so I can "let in" the future. And for me, that's a great place to be at right now!
Monday, June 6, 2011
The First Day Of My New "Job"
Holy Schnikes! Today is the first day I am not employed by WBR, the first day of my new "career," new life, I could say. It's Monday, and unlike almost every other Monday for the last nine years of my life, I popped out of bed before my alarm clock went off with a smile on my face. The day is my oyster; the world is my oyster!
Exciting, yet a little scary. The fear I feel, however, is nothing like the fear I had to overcome to get me to where I am this morning. For a long time now my heart has been calling me to follow my passions: yoga and writing. As I sat with these feelings for many months, I realized that meant leaving my full-time, secure, well-paying corporate job so that I could spend each day doing what I love. I knew that if I put the energy and effort into my yoga career, and ultimately serving others, that I put into my now-former job, big things could happen and I would have the opportunity to impact many lives and create the world that I wanted to live in.
You see, for most of my life I have been living at the effect of my life, instead of as the cause of my life. I've had an amazing life already in just 31 years, so can't complain, but it often lacked passion. I'm married to a wonderful chef who has known since he was a little kid that food and cooking were his passion. I was always jealous of him and wanted that for myself. After getting my 200-hour yoga teacher certification last year, I knew I had found my passion.
As I mentioned, living at the effect of my life hasn't been so bad. My life has brought me many great things: great jobs, lots of travel, interesting people. But when I am operating at the effect of circumstances, I find myself going after things that only bring me temporary fulfillment, that maybe aren't really "for me." Like searching through craiglist.org for a part-time job that is already created that might work for now to keep me busy and help pay the bills. I know that if I take that route, however, I will end up at the same place I have been coming to in my life over and over again: Lacking passion and inspiration, and not feeling like I am on the right path.
So I vow from this moment on to be the cause of my life, instead of the effect. I will search deep within my heart to determine what I want to create out of my yoga and writing career. And then I will pursue it (not worrying about what that looks like exactly or each specific piece of the "how") but having a vision as to where I want to go and what I want to do. That way, when the universe creates opportunities for me that are in line with my heart's true calling, I will recognize it to take them on full steam. I will make things happen that weren't going to happen anyway!
I better get started!
Exciting, yet a little scary. The fear I feel, however, is nothing like the fear I had to overcome to get me to where I am this morning. For a long time now my heart has been calling me to follow my passions: yoga and writing. As I sat with these feelings for many months, I realized that meant leaving my full-time, secure, well-paying corporate job so that I could spend each day doing what I love. I knew that if I put the energy and effort into my yoga career, and ultimately serving others, that I put into my now-former job, big things could happen and I would have the opportunity to impact many lives and create the world that I wanted to live in.
You see, for most of my life I have been living at the effect of my life, instead of as the cause of my life. I've had an amazing life already in just 31 years, so can't complain, but it often lacked passion. I'm married to a wonderful chef who has known since he was a little kid that food and cooking were his passion. I was always jealous of him and wanted that for myself. After getting my 200-hour yoga teacher certification last year, I knew I had found my passion.
As I mentioned, living at the effect of my life hasn't been so bad. My life has brought me many great things: great jobs, lots of travel, interesting people. But when I am operating at the effect of circumstances, I find myself going after things that only bring me temporary fulfillment, that maybe aren't really "for me." Like searching through craiglist.org for a part-time job that is already created that might work for now to keep me busy and help pay the bills. I know that if I take that route, however, I will end up at the same place I have been coming to in my life over and over again: Lacking passion and inspiration, and not feeling like I am on the right path.
So I vow from this moment on to be the cause of my life, instead of the effect. I will search deep within my heart to determine what I want to create out of my yoga and writing career. And then I will pursue it (not worrying about what that looks like exactly or each specific piece of the "how") but having a vision as to where I want to go and what I want to do. That way, when the universe creates opportunities for me that are in line with my heart's true calling, I will recognize it to take them on full steam. I will make things happen that weren't going to happen anyway!
I better get started!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)