I understand this is just the beginning. My restart button has been pushed and I am upgraded with a more balanced and healthier perspective of the world, and how I react to it. I read a great quote out of Rebecca Pacheco’s book “Do Your Om Thing”, “yoga is about encompassing and unifying all the layers of our being, our job as yogi’s is to master our emotions so that they don’t master us, on and off the mat.”
What now baby grasshopper? Jump, but keep learning and be open and receptive to every opportunity that presents itself and wait for it….
HAVE FUN…
So with that said, I am being proactive. Hello 3rd Chakra!
I asked to be put on the sub list at a local gym. YIKES…if not now then when?
Also, I will start teaching two classes a week – one restorative and one advanced- stay tuned for that…
In addition to my branching out, I will continue to offer classes at my home because it is a very special place to me. My living room is where I took the bold move to practice teach to all my wonderful and compassionate friends (Thanks guys! You know who you are!). It is where I continue to gain experience and build confidence in my ability to share this wonderful practice. I want to be certain that I am offering my most authentic self and teach with integrity and mindfulness. I know I will falter and I will freeze and forget, which is a realistic approach at this point in my yoga teaching. I am fine with not being perfect and I am even more fine with being imperfect. I want to establish myself as a teacher with grace and vulnerability. To LAUGH, to CRY and be SILENT when the moment happens, it will be the right thing to do.. I will listen to my heart and feel my breath and enjoy these wonderful opportunities.
When I look in the eye of my students and fellow yogis, I am saying I SEE YOU, without a word. I am so passionate about this thing called YOGA and EVERYTHING it has to offer. My need to share is essential, but more importantly I want these like minded soul searchers to understand that I have A LOT to learn. There is a tremendous amount of information about this ancient philosophy on and off the mat that I am just skimming the surface. That is delightful. I am a sponge soaking it all in.
It helps to be in a yoga community that is amazingly supportive and helpful. I feel extremely honored to be connected to such a wonderful tribe of radiant individuals. It is really life changing. My life (being more mindful), my relationships (who I want and do not want in my life) and my values (trusting in myself, listening to my intuition and following the path of the yoga sutras with more diligence and awareness.) Each and every aspect of my life has changed – for the better. I mean this yogic outlook really very pure and organic. Quite liberating and refreshing to be honest. Being more aware of my thoughts and emotions. I am and will continue learning to eliminate the mind stuff, the worries of past and future, of unrealistic expectations and attachments, silly assumptions and the special sauce we create.
Living with these core concepts of the seven chakras will essentially keep my body in check and balanced… and it flows into my life.
I WILL:
- Stay grounded (Root Chakra) I belong here. I AM.
- Get creative and feel the intuitive energy (Sacral Chakra) I FEEL.
- Be ambitious and bold. Have gumption and be proactive. (Solar Plexus) I DO.
- Follow my heart. Listen to it. Ignore fear. (Heart Chakra) I LOVE.
- Communicate and use self expression. Be clear, true and authentic. (Throat Chakra) I SPEAK.
- Visualize. Focus. Feed my Intuitive wisdom. (Third Eye Chakra) I SEE.
- (Crown Chakra) I UNDERSTAND.
I know this is not easy. I am 40 and I am just now learning these new tricks. I wish I had learned these amazing threads of knowledge sooner, but it comes to you when you are ready. I am ready. Maybe these new tricks (old but new to me) will help me with my depression, my self esteem, my self worth…but it is and always will be work in progress. There is no ending. This isn’t something that I can mark off my to do list, better yet realizing it will always be on my to do list. This new way of living will take focus, discipline and flexibility and I am not talking about the physically, (although there is that too…) I am talking about mentally! One thing that never changes is change, but I will always have my yoga toolbox to guide and help me: Breath, trust and love. All of these are important instruments for my mind, body and spirit. It is all interconnected, and we are all interconnected…woowoo, it is true. 🙂 It is really beautiful to listen to when they are all balanced and in tune with each other.
I can honestly say I breathe with a deeper sense of purpose and value which breathes life and gratitude into everything I do in my day to day actions. How I clean my house. How I communicate with humans and life. What I put in my body. How I treat myself and how I treat everything/one around me. Yoga is the connection and I’m ready to dance.
Yoga:
Your body is poetry – Your breath is music – Create magic.
Melissa
swannasana.com 