A Closer Look

I am so grateful for my yoga practice. I get to be present, to focus on my breathing and the poses. There is nothing to do and nowhere to be. I can slow down and tune in. It is a time and a way for self-care. At first, I struggled with my racing thoughts and my plans for the day. Then, I settled in to the challenging and relaxing poses. Three things yoga taught me are:

1. Appreciation - Being grateful for what's good and right in my life. Knowing that "this too shall pass" when I am dealing with a hardship or problem.

2. Being present - Breathing and observing my thoughts and feelings. Knowing that I am more than the sum of them. Being aware, but not engaging in the drama.

3. Caring about myself first - As women, we are conditioned to put others first and often put ourselves last. That is how we get stressed, tired and even burnt out.

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I am glad I gave yoga a try. I wasn't coordinated or flexible. I often felt like a "klutz", but I kept going back. I gained confidence in my abilities, I was more balanced and always feel great afterwards. My co-worker won't try yoga because he thinks it isn't hard enough. I wish he knew how hard some of the poses are. But yoga is not about competition or punishing the body with hard exercise. It is about union of mind, body and soul. Often, I ask people why they don't like yoga and get answers like "I'm not flexible," "It's too hard", "I don't have time" etc. As you see, there are many excuses but they pre-judge it without learning more or trying it out. In yoga, I became aware of my own excuses and prejudices. I often compared myself to others. "Why can't I be like so and so?" I always felt lacking in some way. Yoga taught me to see the Lie of Lack and know the truth of completeness. I am a Divine being, whole and complete - lacking in nothing. I still regress to the old thinking, but I catch myself and gently ask why. Asking why is a good way to tune in. Is this belief serving me? Is it true? I read The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist http://soulofmoney.org

Know the Big 3 Lies

1. The Lie of Lack - Not being or having enough

2. The Lie that More is Better - As Americans, we're conditioned to want more but having more is not making us happy. It's in fact bad for us and the environment.

3. The Lie that It's Just the Way It Is - B.S! This justifies complacency, cynicism, inaction, helplessness, hopelessness, resignation, etc.

As an individual, we are taught to be independent when in fact we are all interdependent. Take a closer look at your life. Do you grow your own food? Do you make your own clothes? We are dependent on each other in so many ways yet we are conditioned to believe that asking for help is a weakness. B.S! We all need to help one another, we all need support.