My Yogi Lifestyle: Manifesting Your Dreams

After kids yoga the other day, my daughter Maggie asked to throw a penny in the fountain so she could make a wish. Her wish was that she could listen to her mom and dad every single day (Wait, what?? Who is this kid?!) She asked me when her wish would come true and I told her that she already had the power to make her wish come true. We all do, for that matter. The greatest obstacle we face in pursuing our dreams is our own self - our own doubts, fears, and reservations are what really get in the way. The trick, of course, is finding the balance between going after what we dream of and at the same time stepping back to allow things to fall into place. Sometimes, in our efforts to achieve something, we try force the circumstances. But the timing might not be right or we may not fully be ready in mind or spirit, though we usually don't recognize this. The same is true when we do our asana practice. We may be working towards an advanced pose or working to build strength and flexibility and we can do this by believing that we can, but we must also respect our limits.

When I did my yoga teacher training a few years ago, I became very familiar with the term "manifestation." I have to admit that at first, I didn't entirely buy into it. How can we make what we want happen just by deciding that it will happen? Eventually, I came to realize that there is more to it than that. We don't just sit around thinking and saying that our wildest dreams will come true, we actually do have to get up and take steps to make them happen. But then what about all this "accept the way things are," "go with the flow," "be content with what is" stuff?  The truth is, again, its both. Its a delicate balance between taking steps to make our dreams come true and being able to accept the way things actually unfold. We manifest our dreams by shifting our energy from "this could never happen" to "I'm going to work to make this happen." We transform our energy from negative feelings of doubt or fear to positive feelings. 

Our yoga practice helps us to release some of the stagnant energy that we hold onto, that energy that harbors negative emotions and feelings. When we move through the postures in yoga, we open up our bodies to allow energy to move and flow, bringing in the good and releasing the negative. We do our part, but we also realize that we must practice patience as events unfold in the way in which the Universe, not our own mind, intends.

My Yogi Lifestyle: Daily Yoga

A daily yoga practice is about how we are living life every day, moment to moment. On the mat, the yoga postures move our bodies in ways that open up energy channels and move us in ways that allow things like gratitude, presence, mindfulness, love, and clarity to bubble up from our core to the surface of our being. Yoga teaches us perspective. Life happens, and not always in the way that we want it to happen. But what yoga shows us is that by tuning in to what is happening right now, we can find peace in the way things are. Instead of being anxious or worried about the future or the past, we appreciate the beautiful subtlety of right now. We can take it all in, or we can let it all slip away.

Day 255 of My Year of Yoga

"I still love today" said my 4 year old when I commented on the overcast sky. I know I write about my kids a lot and especially my daughter (since she's been around longer than my 4 month old son) but that little girl is simply my greatest inspiration. I never realized, until I began the practice of living my yoga, the positive, uplifting, and wise words and actions thatso often come from her. Children can truly be our greatest teachers. Their light has not yet dimmed, the veil of experience has not been pulled over their eyes, their genuine intuition and connection to their spirit has not been tarnished. My greatest wish would be for the children of this world to remain forever in that state and for the rest of us to return to it. Namaste.

#yoga #yogi #yogini #yogamama #treepose #wisdom#lovetoday #namaste #liveyouryoga #dailyyoga#yogadaily #yogapractice #yogateacher #spirit#connection #shineyourlight #inspiration#yogainspiration #yogagirl #iowayogi#yogaeverydamnday #yogalife #om #hollyfloodyoga

Day 251 of My Year of Yoga

"People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness." ~Unknown
We always seem to be waiting for something, looking for the end result or the big reward. We have a hard time being content with whatever we are doing or wherever we are in the moment. We go so far as to make ourselves unhappy now in anticipation of some great joy that awaits us down the road. But what I've found as I've brought a daily yoga practice into my life, is that joy can only be found in the present. It's not something that we can work towards or that we are entitled to, it's something that we already have. We just have to stop waiting for it and let it in, right now, in this moment. 

Day 247 of My Year of Yoga

Day 247 of #myyearofyoga :
"We all cling to the past, and because we cling to the past we become unavailable to the present." ~ Osho
Or we worry about the future or dwell on our to do list...there are so many things that take us away from the present moment. Our lives are overwhelmed by our schedules, deadlines, and commitments. We are constantly juggling tasks and rushing from one thing to the next, trying to get as much done as we possibly can. But between the multi tasking and the run around we loose sight of life because we are forever looking either backward or forward. Life only happens in the present, right now. We all have busy lives and things to do and we can't simply drop our responsibilities and abandoned our commitments. But we can slow down, take time to breathe and see what is before us. We can reevaluate our to do list and give ourselves permission to assess what is important today and what can wait until tomorrow. I've started choosing the top 3 things on my to do list that are the most important to accomplish today. I can get three things done without being overwhelmed. It's an attainable goal. Once they're done, if there's time, I can add another. I've found I accomplish far more this way, I still have time to devote to myself, and I'm more present for those who need me. Let go of the past, let go of the future, and be present to what is truly important.

#thepresentmoment #bepresent #letgo #letlifeflow#liveyouryoga #presence #yogaforlife #yogapractice#yoga #yogi #yogini #yogagirl #yogaeverydamnday#yogainspiration #dailyyoga #iowayogi #oshoquotes#yogaquotes #slowdown #breathe

Day 242 of My Year of Yoga

Day 242 of #myyearofyoga :
Why do we try so hard to be perfect? For whom are we trying to be perfect? Our friends? Our family members? Strangers? It occurred to me this morning that no one really wants you to be perfect. In fact, it's often someone else's apparent perfection that makes us feel imperfect. But when we have the chance to see others in their natural state, it's comforting. Brene Brown, in her book, Daring Greatly, describes perfectionism as "a defensive move. It's the belief that if we can do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame." And truthfully, the one who is bestowing the most judgment upon us is ourself. As a friend of mine said when I showed up to her 5:15 a.m boot camp class one morning with food stuck in my teeth and dried drool on my check (I mean, really?), she hugged me and said "this makes me feel so human." And that's exactly what we all are, human. We're not perfect nor should we try to be. We should simply do our best, act with good intention, and be our best self - whatever that may be.

#beyou #beyourbestself #yogamama #yogababy #yoga#yogi #yogini #behuman #daringgreatly #brenebrown#iowayogi #perfection #yogaeverydamnday#liveyouryoga #liveauthentic #dailyyoga #yogaforlife

Day 240 of My Year of Yoga

Day 240 of ‪#‎myyearofyoga‬ :
Let it go. Sometimes your day doesn't go quite as planned. But usually when you look back on what didn't go as planned, you realize that it was just a series of little inconveniences, small annoyances, or just your plan not working out exactly as you wanted it to. But is any of this really worth the energy that we spend on it? Is it really worth it to let that frustration turn into anger, and then to project that anger onto others? I had to remind myself of this today when I found myself losing my patience with my kids because I was frustrated over the little things that weren't working out according to plan. We must be able to let go of our plan when things go in a different direction, stop resisting what is actually happening, and realize that our energy is better spent working with the now rather than against it.

‪#‎letgo‬ ‪#‎letlifehappen‬ ‪#‎gowiththeflow‬ ‪#‎yoga‬ ‪#‎yogi‬ ‪#‎yogini‬ ‪#‎yogamama‬‪#‎nonattachment‬ ‪#‎namaste‬ ‪#‎kidsyoga‬ ‪#‎yogaeverydamnday‬ ‪#‎yogapractice‬‪#‎yogaforlife‬ ‪#‎yogadaily‬ ‪#‎yogaflow‬ ‪#‎iowayogi‬