Day 31 Intention ~ Celebrate Milestones

Day 31 Intention ~ Celebrate Milestones

Celebrate! One month down on these intentions. One month on my resolutions and I have pretty much followed them...I have missed a couple days of yoga, but that was when I was on vacation. I have been following a vegan diet for 2 weeks as of today & feel pretty great! 

We should all celebrate life a little more than we do. Enjoy it, live each moment fully, truthfully, with grace & love. We only get a short time here in this life, so why not enjoy it?!

January 31st on my African proverb calendar states, "A wise person, like the moon, shows only the bright side of the world." Let's stay on that proverbial sunny side of the street. 

Til tomorrow...

With love, shanti,

Marcia

Day 30 Intention ~ Stop Comparing Myself to Others

Day 30 Intention ~ Stop Comparing Myself to Others

That goes for all of us. There are so many times that I go to another teacher's class and think to myself, "jeez, this teacher is great. I am a horrible teacher. I wish I was this good" or compare jobs, looks, lives, whatever and make myself feel unworthy. 

I see students do it in class all the time. Peeking or staring at a more advanced student's pose and then getting frustrated or pushing themselves farther than their body is ready to go. As much as I try to remind students to listen to their own body, accept where they are today, there is still that comparing going on. Not only them...me too. 

I hear friends compare themselves to other people physically and then put themselves down. It breaks my heart to hear people that are already so beautiful not have that confidence in themselves. 

We as a society put so much stock into having lots of money, tight abs, an expensive car, a big house...but in the end, who cares? If your heart is pure and you speak the truth, and you do everything with love, you are the most beautiful creature that there is in the world. 

We are all beautiful. No more comparisons. 

Til tomorrow.

Shanti, 

Marcia 

Day 29 Intention ~ Keep Laughing

Day 29 Intention ~ Keep laughing.

Keeping things light-hearted and filled with laughter even in the face of work stress, family stress, life stress, makes things easier to cope with. For me, it makes me more open to myself and others, it makes me more creative, more energetic and just more joyful. 

Yesterday, I was letting stresses get to me. Today, I am planning on keeping the laughter flowing and the positive attitude overflowing. I hope that you all have a wonderful day too. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 28 Intention ~ Find Patience Even in Frustrating Situations

Day 28 Intention ~ Find Patience Even in Frustrating Situations

Trying to breathe through it. If you read yesterday's intention, it was about bringing grace to each moment everyday and enjoying life. Today, as a deadline approaches and I am having difficulty fulfilling my assignment, I feel stress and frustration looming over my head. 

Take 10 deep breaths...okay that helped. I know that keeping my head and being patient with this process is going to make it work much better for my constitution than getting frustrated and stressing out about it. 

When we get challenged in life, it's how we deal with the challenge that is the test. Same thing in yoga, on our mat. If a pose is difficult for us to do, if we grunt and groan and try to force ourselves into it, chances are, our body will tighten up, making the pose even more challenging or we may hurt ourselves. If we breathe through it and mindfully and consciously try to take all of the steps in the journey, we will get there. 

Take 10 deep breaths and know that it will all work out okay. You may save yourself from a sleepless night or a headache later if you do. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 27 Intention ~ Embrace All That Comes My Way

Day 27 Intention ~ Embrace all that comes my way.

Sunday. I love Sundays. Even though I usually have work to do, I don't usually teach any classes. Today I subbed a short 45 minute class. It was fun. It actually got me to motivate a little more than usual on a Sunday (the 45 minutes of spinning before the 45 minutes of yoga didn't hurt either). I came home walked the dog, connected with friends on Facebook, relaxed on the couch and watched a dvd, snuggled with my dog and laughed with my husband. Now, I am going to work on my writing assignments a bit, then make dinner and call my parents. It could sound too busy for a Sunday, but it's all been in a nice relaxed effort (well, except the spinning). 

Today has offered all sorts of enjoyable moments already with more to come. The reality of it is that with my work schedule, most days could be led this way. Just enjoyable & relaxed, embracing each moment in this great life. There is something about that Sunday feeling though that gives it a special feeling. So, my intention not only for today, but for all days is to embrace each moment, enjoy it, soak it in and I imagine my heart will be filled with joy and love...care to join me?

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 26 Intention ~ Know that I already have all the tools...

Day 26 Intention ~ Know that I (and you!) already have all the tools inside.

It's true. 

OM 
Namah Shivaya GuraveI honor the essence of Being, the Auspicious One, the luminous Teacher within and without,

Saccidananda Murtaye
Who assumes the forms of Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss,
Nisprapancaya ShantayaIs never absent, full of peace,
Niralambaya TejaseUltimately free and sparkles with a divine luster.
OM

This mantra rings in my head, especially if I am entering a new situation that I am not quite sure what to expect...especially a teaching situation. I interpret this mantra as the divine always being present in all of us and that we all already have everything we need. It's just a matter of uncovering that divine, that light in us all...the Self. The I-Am. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 25 Intention ~ Find Ease and Breath

Day 25 Intention ~ Find Ease & Breath

Maybe it should be find ease and breathe, both work. My African proverb calendar for today offers up a Kenyan proverb that reads, "The bird which flaps its wings too much will drop its feathers." Bringing this to my Westernized world, I read it two ways. The first as flapping one's mouth or talking too much or perhaps talking about others or even just plain complaining about things. Well, it happens. Not gonna lie, I already talked a little sh*t today, so maybe my feathers are going to drop. I hope not. But, I won't do it anymore :)

The other way I interrupt this is to just calm down. Period. Let the mind relax and just become focused and present. Lose the mind chatter. It's #2 in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: "Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah"...yoga happens when the mind-stuff (or chatter) ceases. This will let the other things in life fall into place. Breath work is a great way to calm the mind and find focus. Practicing meditation is another wonderful way to find this focus, or concentration that eventually will lead to real meditation where there are no thoughts and one can enter samadhi, also known as bliss. 

For today, as the snow continues to fall in Cleveland, leaving road conditions less than ideal, I am going to try to use the calm and the breath to allow me to take it easy on my drive to Berea (@ 45 minutes away) and focus on the road and getting there and back safely. Deep breaths...deep breaths....

Til tomorrow.

Shanti, 

Marcia