2007 Year-End Poem

Live in todayFeel your bodyWake up your mindExhale the oldInhale the new.  NOW matters NOW 

Enjoy todayPay attentionTrust your instinctsPlan when neededKeep it simple.  NOW matters NOW

You are todayOpen your eyesLet your heart shineBe big, be truePromise simple.  NOW matters NOW

Third time is a charm.  This is my last entry for the year.  I promise.

Blogging Confession

I’m addicted to blogging.  I never though of myself as a writer.  I still say I’m not.  Though the blog has revealed there is some creative flair that exist within.  In my 12/19 entry, I stated that would probably be my last post for 2007.  Well, I’m addicted and obviously back.

This blog has validated I can do anything I want if I’m willing to put the time into it, not fear what others think and commit to practice.  My blog has become a part of my life.  It has become an outlet to share random thoughts as well as answers to questions I receive from my yoga students.  More surprisingly, my blog has given me a way to meet other yogis virtually from around the world.

It’s also eye-opening to look back over my writings this past year and see how I have developed as a person, yoga student, yoga teacher and now a writer.  My yoga practice has been kicked up a notch or two.  My yoga business has grown way more than I anticipated.  My teaching has blossomed as have my students.  My blog has been part of this development.  It has really become a meditative tool to aid me in deepening my yoga practice as well as my relationship with who I am.  It’s enabled me to learn more about myself and what I’m capable of.  I’m looking forward to writing more in 2008.

Oh, another cool and surprising thing…it’s been fun to see I actually have a few fans.  Thank you for reading.  Namaste.

A Yoga Blog Worth Visiting

Even though I have my own yoga blog, I’m not much for checking out others.  Part of its time.  Part of its lack of interest, (or should I say I have too many other interests outside of blogging and yoga).  Part of it is I just don’t think about going to other blogs.  Anyway, every now and then a few catch my attention.  Of course, when the writer is a favorite yoga/meditation teacher of mine he is at an advantage.

Jonathan Reynolds is a vinyasa yoga and meditation teacher based out of San Francisco.  He is also known as the founder/director of Learning to Listen.  Jonathan just started his own blog and his first entry is beautiful.  Why beautiful?  I find it relieving when I can relate to others via their written word.  It’s soothing to discover there are other people that think in a similar way I do and they are willing to share their feelings.  The later is what is beautiful.

Many people on this planet are afraid to share even a sliver of themselves.  Many are fearful to express their feelings and share what they truly think.  People are afraid to be “who they are”.  The world needs us to share who we are.  The people around us need us to be “who we are”.   We, and I personally, can not be happy and at peace until we/I can be “who I am”.  So I find it beautiful and joyful to read someone’s blog who exposes themselves and their path to how they landed where they are today, and at the same time shares lessons that are worth receiving.  I love learning from others as the learning process for me always leads to providing more insight into who I am, what I like, what I dislike, what I find beautiful and what I don’t know (externally and internally).

I promise you won’t be disappointed.  Visit  http://meditationvinyasayoga.blogspot.com/2007/12/svadhyaya-studying-oneself.html

Living vs. Planning

My previous posting hyped up living for today as oppose to planning for tomorrow.   This is a follow-up to that posting and coincidentally a tag on to a conversation I had on Tuesday morning with my BNI networking colleague, Greg H.  

I want to clarify that living in the moment doesn’t mean you don’t own up to the necessary responsibilities and commitments that living an adult life requires.  We all need rules, boundaries, ethical guidelines, etiquette or whatever else you want to call it.  Bills need to be paid on time.  It’s courteous to show up on time when meeting someone.  We need organization.  Papers need to be filed.  Things need to be put away in the proper place.  We need to tend to the house —clean it, do laundry, maintain the yard, etc.  Starting a business, expanding an existing or planning for college, require plans to be made in advance in order to thrive and realize the fullest potential.

These activities aren’t necessarily filled with moments of joy and contentment.  Sometimes even a back-up plan needs to be created just in case plan A falls through.  Start to pay attention to the motions you go through as you live life as a responsible adult.  There are usually lessons to be learned in these “planning” moments.  Let the mind stay focused on the planning-task at hand rather than traveling off to multi-plan-task land.  You know what I mean J

So yes plans are needed to live life to its fullest.  The future unfolds based on the actions we carry out today.  But so many of us need to wake up to what it is we’re doing NOW even if it’s future planning and thinking.  If you don’t wake up NOW, however mundane daily tasks and planning seems, your life will quickly pass by you.

As I close out 2007 (not sure I’ll be back on the blog til ‘08), here’s my poem for the year:  Live for today.  Plan for tomorrow.  Pay attention to the ordinary.  And your life will feel extraordinary.  

Focus on “NOW”

I have finally stopped feeling the urge to constantly focus on the future.  This has always been such a part of me.  I’ve always been such a “planner”, personally and professionally.  My mind was well trained to always plan for the future and work for more.  More pain, more gain, right? 

Future thinking.  This way of thinking slowly became very evident to me over the last year since starting my business, abellaYOGA.  So many of my thoughts were consumed by the future —worries about what could be better, improved, done differently, etc.  I was so out of touch with what I already have because I was so worried about what would be next.  It was as if I was searching for something else through my planning process but all along I was simply missing what is right in front of me.

Over the last few weeks I feel as if I’m waking up to my life.  It could be a result of my trip to Maya Tulum/Level I Training with Baron Baptiste.   It might be my meditation practice.  Or it simply could be a synergy effect of past events that have lead to this awakening.  It’s like I recently woke up to the fact that I’m really lucky to be me.  I’m lucky to have a thriving yoga business after only being open for a year.  I’m healthy.  I’m lucky to have a wonderful husband and supportive family.  I have a large network of friends.  I live in a very neighborly neighborhood which is very uncommon living so close to the city (Washington, D.C.) as not all neighborhoods are neighborly.  These are all reasons to be happy with what I have today; what I have NOW.

It’s so easy to look onto the next big thing or look back and say “what if”.  I have finally realized that where I am right now, this very moment, is where I am meant to be.  I finally accept the things in my past happened for whatever reason and help shape who I am today.

I also realize that living in the NOW will very soon be the past.  What I do today, what I enjoy today, how I laugh, how I smile, how I love —these are all things that will impact my future.  I need to make the best of these things today.  I need to be fully present in all my actions, in the moment.  What matters is where I am NOW.  What matters is how I live life today.

Namaste to All

Rarely do I link off my blog page to another article or blog.  So here’s a rare moment.  Here’s an article I can relate to.  And, no I’m not gay/lesbian.  What I am is a living example of what Darren Main, the author of this article, recommends.  How?  For years, I’ve walked the streets in the DC Metro area and I smile at people I don’t know.  I even say “hello” to strangers.  Why not?  It makes life a little easier, peaceful, fulfilling —I can add more adjectives but I would prefer you find your own by trying it.

Why not make someone else’s day a little better with a smile and hello?  Or simply, a silent Namaste?  What are you afraid of?  Strangers don’t bite.  Strangers aren’t strange.  They are just like you and me.  We’re all here together —why not honor that.  Even back in 2003 when I worked in the corporate world, I would walk the mile-long corridor at MCI in Ashburn (at least it felt like a mile), smile and say “hello” to anyone that passed by me.  I can still remember my colleagues saying “Wow, you know a lot of people here”.  I would respond “No, I don’t “know” them, I just said hello and smiled.”  My attitude was always “Why not?  We all work together.  The day goes by faster when you’re positive”.

Here are just a few excerpts from Darren’s article:  “Virtually every yoga class anywhere in the world ends with everyone bowing to each other and saying, “Namaste.” Simply put, it means, “The divine in me honors the divine in you.” Namaste is an acknowledgment of the innate worth inherent in every person you meet. It is also the acknowledgment of your own beauty.”

“As we bowed to each other and said, “Namaste,” I really felt it. Saying “Namaste” is a lot like saying “I love you” — if you say it out of habit, obligation or ritual it doesn’t mean anything. But when you say it and really mean it, a powerful energy washes through you and every cell in your body lights up.”

“And so, I offer you a spiritual practice. It is one that I have been working on since that night: to offer a silent Namaste to everyone you meet. The next time you are at the gym, smile at everyone, and not just the ones you want to sleep with. In a café give a nod to the person across from you. When you are at a party or club, try to notice everyone and see his or her value. After all, what good is your spiritual practice — be it yoga, prayer, meditation, or attending a church or synagogue — if you don’t learn how to say “Namaste” and really mean it?”

Thank you Darren.

Take Charge of the Holiday Frenzy

Tagging onto my last blog post, here are a few simple suggestions from a yogi who is feeling all the things you’re feeling right now as the holiday frenzy erupts.  If you want to fully experience the meaning of “celebration” during the holidays, give this a read.

If you haven’t started shopping, writing cards, baking or whatever it is you need to do, start today.  As Baron says, if not now, when?  Eliminate the ease of procrastination.  Overload, exhaustion and increased stress will happen that last week before Christmas if you don’t start now.  Oh, and you’ll probably ditch your yoga practice and exercise routine to boot.  Lack of exercise can bring a damper on your personal celebration.  You may physically be at the party but mentally you feel the guilt of not sticking with the things in life that keep you sane.

If you need to skip a holiday event (even if it’s to give you time to hit the yoga mat), provide a brief explanation in advance and be sure to express appreciation.  You don’t have to accept every invitation, but don’t say you’re going to be there and then cancel the last minute.  Or worse, not show up period.  You’ll feel guilt and stress and more than likely, disappoint the host.

Lastly, if you procrastinate during the holidays in an effort to avoid the debt that many take on in the process of giving, get creative in your gift-giving this year.  Think “white elephant exchange” (a nice way to recycle something someone else might like without tossing it).  Think “giving to charity” on behalf of someone you love.  Think of “spending quality time with your friends” by treating them to an afternoon of tea/coffee at the local coffee house as oppose to buying them all gifts.  If you do this during the middle of a Saturday of holiday shopping, your friends will love you!  Give them a break from the frenzy.

Oh, and most importantly, whatever it is you decide to do during the next few weeks, stay committed to your yoga, meditation or whatever outlet you normally do to keep yourself sane.  The worse thing you can do this time of year is let the holiday frenzy take over your life.  You’re in charge so take charge starting today!      

Celebrate the Holidays

The holiday frenzy is upon us.  What is it that makes it frenzied?  There’s the obvious: Christmas parties —I already had one last Saturday night, two this weekend and at least three more before I had out of town.  Holiday shopping —in-progress.  Writing holiday greeting cards —in-progress.  Baking cookies —probably not.  Decorating the tree —8 more bulbs to go, just need to buy more ornament hooks.   Then there’s the subtle:  procrastination, holiday debt, forgetting the meaning of holiday celebration, ditching yoga practice to attend the company party.  Add all of this to our already busy lives; hence the frenzy.

Unfortunately, in order to handle the frenzy, some tend to completely avoid holiday activities and celebration (bah hum bug) while others push aside the things that keep us sane —doing yoga, going to the gym, walking in nature, practicing meditation or reading something that calms us.  Remember, the holidays are about celebrating.  Celebration should be cheerful and not stressful.

As a yoga teacher, this is my advice:  this is the time you need yoga or whatever it is that keeps you sane.  The holidays are a time to challenge you.  The challenge:  how important is it to you to take care of yourself?  Accept the challenge and show up to your favorite yoga studio, the gym or whatever it is that keeps you mentally, emotionally and physically healthy.

Now here’s the crazy part of this.  We know every year Christmas will be here on 12/25.  We know that between Thanksgiving and Christmas, our time will be filled with celebration and stress.

Since we’re beyond Thanksgiving, the question is what can you do today to make the last few days before Christmas more peaceful and the time between now and then celebratory?  What can you do today so that you can continue to have a strong yoga practice as the year winds down?  My advice:  read my next posting.  Honestly.  Shanti.

Let your Heart Guide You

I couldn’t sleep last night.  After a solid twenty minutes of tossing, I decided to get up and make a cup of tea.  Upon opening my tea canister, which holds a plethora of tea brands and flavors, I saw the “Healing Teas” booklet.  “Healing Teas” is a mini-resource on the multiple benefits of tea.  I haven’t really looked at it since picking it up in the grocery checkout line a few years ago.  I decided to peruse it as I waited for my water to boil.

As the book reminds me, I really should be drinking more tea (like 3 times a day vs. once a day).  It’s so simple and healthy.  To name a few benefits, tea:  protects against heart disease, reduces the risk of cancer, destroys harmful bacteria and viruses, lowers blood pressure, fights infections and reduces cavities and gum disease.  So why not drink more tea?

As I continued to read “Healing Teas”, I thought about the overwhelming number of teas I see in the grocery aisle.  First there are colors of tea:  black, white, green, red, etc.  Then there are herbal flavors: licorice, anise, catnip, dandelion, echinacea, garlic, ginger, goldenseal, and roobis.  Of course, there are the old standbys like earl grey.  There are more choices in the tea aisle at Whole Foods than there are in the cereal aisle.  (I may have to verify this assumption).  “How to know which tea to buy?” I sometimes wonder as I stand there in amazement of the selection available. 

Anyway at 3:45am I opted for the caffeine free ginger tea by Yogi Tea.  If you’re not familiar with the Yogi Tea brand, it’s always such a treat to unwrap a bag of it as you never know what the little tag at the end of the tea bag string will read.  It’s like opening a fortune cookie, but there are never numbers or phrases that really aren’t fortunes.  Yogi Tea offers inspirational and sometimes thought-provoking phrases.  On this morning the phrase on the ginger tea bag was “let your heart guide you”.

Let your heart guide you.  By chance this was also my intention for my yoga practice yesterday.  Specifically, my intention was to practice with an open heart.  It’s an intention I’ve discovered on and off the mat since returning from Maya Tulum, Mexico.  Is it coincidence or a sign that my tea bag and current intention are the same?  Or maybe it is simply an affirmation that I really do need to let my heart lead me through life.

I finished my cup of tea, went back to bed and woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed.  I’m committed to drinking more tea and living life with an open heart, both on and off the mat.