Be Yourself - Yoga Lesson

So often in our society many of us want to fit in.

We call that "putting our best selves forward".

However, if you are putting your best self forward are you being honest?  Is it the real you that is being presented to others?

Why not be as honest and authentic as you possibly can be?

When letting go of perceived expectations others have for you and living life as your most authentic self you may find some opportunities lost.

It's normal to feel a little panicked when we miss out on an opportunity.  When this happens take a step back and look around.  

Most likely another opportunity has been created that you would never have noticed if the other opportunity had not been lost.

The big difference is now the new opportunity was presented from being yourself.

So why not be your best "authentic" self?

Be Yourself!

Relationships - Personal Practice

I pride myself in maintaining relationships.  It's a social aspect of my life that I've had for as long as I can remember.

When I'm needed by someone I tend to jump right in and offer my services.

In turn the relationships I put the most energy into are the ones where others offer of themselves to me as well.

Looking back at the start of the strongest relationships in my life, I can honestly say they all started with chance.

By "chance", I mean that we were introduced through mutual friends, we took a class together, we worked together, or sometimes it was a simple smile that opened up dialog.

In dialog we offered each other honest and open communication.  We each saw something in the other that made us want to open ourselves up and share some of our life story.

In opening ourselves up to the other we found ourselves vulnerable.  We hoped the other liked us as much as we liked them.  

What ever circumstance it was that attracted us together, in most cases we found ourselves having similarities that drew us closer together.

So this past week when talking with a friend of mine about a variety of relationships, I was reminded how simple ours had started.  It was a smile and hello while at yoga class.

From that simple smile and hello I've been given the gift of sharing wonderful experiences and I hope many more in the future.

I'm committed to... 

* Continuing to offer smiles and a friendly ear.

* Opening myself up and offering my best to those around me.

* Maintaining relationships.

* Building new relationships!

I'm committed to these, because they enrich my life and make it joyful.

I hope everyone can make a commitment to build relationships!

Relationships - Yoga Lesson

Relationships are what keep many of us going.  

It's the relationships we build with others that bring us joy, or get us through tough times.

Think about the people in your life, how did the relationships with those individuals start?

Maybe it was as simple as someone offering you a smile.

It's amazing how simple some of our relationships start out, but end up having so much meaning in our lives.

When you see a familiar face in a crowd that you know from somewhere else, do you make a point of interacting with that person?  If not, why not?

We all need to just put ourselves out there.  We need to participate in life and hope for solid, long lasting, and positive relationships.

So why not open up?  Why not take a chance on letting someone new into your life?

Why not build a new relationship?

You might just get more from a new relationship than you ever expected! 

Gratefulness - Personal Practice

I've had a few of weeks to feel sorry for myself recently.

I refused to do it!  

Though I had every right to, I wouldn't allow myself the emotion of sadness.

I'm not the type of person who likes to feel sad, so I'll fight that feeling as much as I possibly can.

I busy myself with all sorts of positive activities to keep that emotion from surfacing.  

One positive practice I took up in the past couple of weeks has been to be grateful.

I've seen first hand recently how lucky I am to have my health, as those close to me do not.

I've felt grateful and lucky to have a close group of friends, as I know others who do not invest time in friendships and as such have felt alone.

With all my efforts and all this work to practice a positive attitude and be grateful, it finally happened...

The sadness came to the surface.

The odd thing about the day I allowed myself to be sad was it was right after a full day of fun activities.  I had spent the day being grateful and having a very positive attitude.

Then the next day I woke up with a heavy heart, but couldn't put my finger on as to why.

As the day progressed it became apparent that there was one simple trigger the day before that I had brushed off as nothing, but it was at the heart of my sadness.

So, I allowed myself to cry and cleanse.  I acknowledged my sadness and felt sorry for myself for a few hours.  I also talked to family and friends, and...

You know what?

I Feel Much Better!!!

I believe that practicing gratefulness is essential to a balanced life.  I know it's not always easy, but the practice of gratefulness puts our own lives into perspective.  It allows us to see ourselves clearly and understand our highs and lows.  It helps us to cleanse out the negativity in our lives (even if that cleansing means a good cry) and to move forward with a positive outlook and attitude.

The morning after my "sad day" I got up and listed a few things I was grateful for.  I shared some of my gratitude with others.  

That day turned out to be pretty Great!

We are each allowed some sad days.  It's just after that sad day we need to get up the next day, motivate, and be grateful for who we are!

I'll continue to practice doing just that!

Today I am grateful for...

Gratefulness - Yoga Lesson

Being grateful is something we easily recognize when someone does something nice for us.

What about being grateful each day you wake up?

What would happen if you practiced looking in the mirror each day as you are getting ready and made a mental note of one thing you are grateful for?

Possibly it would start a chain effect in your life.  

Maybe one day in the future you'd start listing more than one thing you are grateful for while you are getting ready for the day.

Then while you are going about your day, maybe eventually you will think to yourself you are grateful for more than you already listed that day.

Then the day comes where you start telling others what you are grateful for and they start to do the same.

Wouldn't that bring you and those around you joy?

Wouldn't that make your life and the lives of those you are close to better?

Why not practice being grateful?

Instinct - Personal Practice

In reflection of this past week I noticed a common theme in my life.  I'm a really hard worker!  

I will make myself crazy working on something that isn't right.

Essentially, I fail to listen to my instincts in negative situations.

The unfortunate thing about this is that I have promised myself multiple times in the past that I would listen to my instincts going forward.

But once in the thick of a situation I find myself second guessing.

I find that I think I can work hard at something and make it work rather than start over.

I feel that I should try harder, which basically means I'm second guessing my gut instinct.

I think that's part of being a hard worker, you want so badly for something that you've participated in to work even though it just doesn't.

The tough part about all this is that you need to untwine yourself from the negative situation.  It's an unfortunate and necessary step that must be taken to get yourself back to a positive place with life.

Possibly that's why I've found myself working hard at something I know is not positive, because I don't want to face the hurt or hurt others.

There's so many reasons why I haven't listened to my gut instinct, but I have to admit the biggest reason is not wanting to face the pain of removing myself from a negative situation.

Separating myself from a negative situation, I have a sense of loss.  Which is remarkable because I'm choosing to live a more positive and happy life by removing myself from the negative.

My practice is to commit to acknowledging that feeling that tells me I need to listen more closely to my subconscious, my instincts.  I need to listen to those thoughts that arise and are accompanied by a tight feeling in my belly and chest.

So, off I go to live life and practice more positive experiences.

I will listen more closely to my instincts!

Instinct - Yoga Lesson

Instinct is something we all have.

The question is, how often do you listen to your instinct?

We are all guilty of ignoring that "gut feeling" that tells us something is or isn't right.  

Why do we do it?

When you feel the emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, or anger you know where the emotion is coming from and it's usually easier to identify with that type of emotion.

But instinct is something we tend to second guess as we tend not to know why we feel we should or should not do something.

Instinct is just something we feel and know without explanation.

Thinking back on your life, do you know of times when you wished you had listened to your instinct?

Try listening to your instinct.  Act responsibly with instinct and see what happens.

You just might live your best life!