As a child, you dream of what it is like to be a grownup. As a high schooler, you can't wait to leave and head to college. In college, you look forward to being an adult. It is easy to perpetually look forward to the next phase, to long for the next stage, to focus on the next season, rather than appreciating life as it is now.
Why do we all do this? I might argue that we put our hopes in the future because living in the present is hard, because life is hard. I recall living through a succession of seasons in my life believing that if I could just get to the next season, life would surely be easier. I eventually realized, it never would be. Life is simply hard, no matter who you are and what you experience. Life is simultaneously beautiful, blessed, full of love, full of small wonders, and worth appreciating in every moment, but it would be disingenuous not to acknowledge that life also hard. Adulting is hard. Being human is difficult. Living in the present is challenging. However, living in the present is where all the beauty lies, where the growth takes place, and where we confront who we truly are. When the present moment offers you a steaming hot cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, and cardinals at your feeder, you must receive it with a grateful heart and pause long enough to revel in that moment, since you know it will be fleeting. And when the present moment offers you a steaming hot cup of hurt, loss, or betrayal, you must receive it with a heart that still finds gratitude and remember that this moment will also end eventually. When opportunities arrive, God's plan or direction from the Universe, you must say yes, even when you are scared, and explore what this moment has in store for you. When life gives you the opportunity to do the right thing, you must step up and defend what you believe and speak for those who have no voice. It would be so much easier to ignore what goes on around us, to stay home, to watch TV, and to put our hopes in the future, but when we do this, we miss out on truly living. Even when we are scared, we must go out and live. Tell the people you love what they mean to you and say everything you need to say, create the boundaries for yourself that bring you the life you want, say yes when you have the opportunity to grow, and do all of it while you are scared. Show up to yoga even when you don't feel like it, try a new pose that you have never tried before, and sink a little deeper into the pose you wish would stop showing up in class. When a yoga pose starts to bring up feelings and emotions, let them come, don't back off or shut them down. Do all of this even while you are scared.
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Happy New Year, friends!
I have confess that for my entire life I have never cared about New Year's and have not believed in making resolutions! This is for a few reasons, but essentially, I believe that if you want to be different, you want a different life, you want to grow or change, then you should do that purposefully and immediately, not wait for January and set a halfhearted goal you likely won't meet. But January has a way of making us feel like we need to set goals, we need to be better, we need to diet, we need to take up running, we need to change ALL THE HABITS immediately. These are the lies that New Year's tells us. You do not have to listen to this madness. Who you are right now is enough. Who you are right now is worthy of love. Who you are right now has the right to grow and change and the right to remain the same for as long as needed. It is not your new goal, the size of your waistband, the steps on your fitbit, or the habit you're determined to kick that defines you. You did not wake up on January 1st as a new person, you woke up as the same exact wonderfully and fearfully made person as you were on December 31st. And that person is someone who is loved, who is capable, who is deserving. Choose to love who you are, choose to embrace each version of yourself, and let yoga show you how to do that. Happy New Year. You are loved. You've heard of this, haven't you? Choosing one word to embody the coming year you wish to have. It's a simplified version of setting your intentions, ideally narrowed down to what is really important to you.
I have heard from many friends and fellow yogis who have chosen great words for 2017. Believe, faith, vibrant, intention, etc. I have often chosen words for my year in the past, words like "unearth" or "shine." However, I was struggling to figure out 2017 until today. It's actually perfect that it took me so long to come up with my word, SLOW. I want to slow down enough to stay healthy, stay calm, feel joy, notice others, have time to watch birds, sip tea with friends, play with my dog, make time for my husband, read books, cook real food, and enjoy my life. I want to eat food slowly, actually digest, soak up nutrients, and savor the taste. I want to be slow to anger, slow to judge others, slow to speak. I want to take the time to listen to others, listen to myself, and actually hear. No more rushing from place to place, thing to thing, person to person. I want to move slowly enough and think slowly enough that I create space, that veering off course will do minimal damage, that I can make changes easily when needed. I want to be able to help that lady at the grocery store who needed me to jump her car, but I had to go, so I couldn't. You might experience my attempt to slow down in class. I hope to speak more slowly, flow more slowly, and move more slowly. Together we can slow down, create space, and truly experience. What is your one word for 2017? |
AuthorJust a little something to mull over this week and help you practice your yoga both on and off the mat. ArchivesCategories |