Day 335 Intention ~ Be Present & Content

Day 335 Intention ~ Be Present & Content

As the holiday weekend winds down, many of you may be dreading heading back to work tomorrow. For me, besides Thanksgiving day, I have been working all weekend long. So, as I wrapped up the two classes that I subbed this morning, I was so happy to not have any other obligations til tomorrow evening. 

I found myself sitting in the lazy boy chair, snuggled with a blanket and fire in the in the wood burning stove, watching the Browns (yes, I do love my Brownies still), I felt so content. So comfy, so happy, and relaxed. The best part to me besides feeling this way was realizing that I felt this way. In the moment. Ahhhhhhhhh. 

It's so great when we have these little moments. I hope that they happen often for you. Of course I feel like they could happen more often (at least the relaxed part), but I will take them when I get them.

Remember to breathe deep tomorrow & if you stay in the moment and think positively, you will have a great Monday back from a long weekend. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 303 Intention ~ Start Over Again

Day 303 Intention ~ Start Over Again

Everyday is a new chance to start over again. If you read yesterday's post, I was feeling a little bit down on myself and I am sorry that you got to feel the brunt of that. I blame Mercury! 

Today, I am feeling much better about things and am ready to hit the reset button. Yesterday, I was questioning myself about choosing to teach yoga in this life. Today, I feel reinvigorated to teach yoga in this life! Could it be more financially rewarding? Sure, but I look at different jobs I have had throughout my life and no matter how much $ I ever made, I was always broke. I am a spender, what can I say!

So, let the adventure continue. Search for happiness, love, peace, bring joy to others and keep on truckin'! If today has got you down, just remember, you have a chance to start over again tomorrow...and the next day and the day after that, so don't get to caught up in the gloom of the day. See the brightness of tomorrow.

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 243 Intention ~ Drop It

Day 243 Intention ~ Drop It

One of those days today. Started the day off subbing a class. The usual insecurities arose in me and didn't subside as I watched a few of the students walk away when they discovered that their beloved teacher was not going to be there this morning. 

Although this is an expected behavior in a substitutes world, it still doesn't feel good. I was overtired and relishing in the fact that I actually have 2 days off (in a row!) after I taught these classes today, so I became a bit distracted during the first class that, of course, was the one I was subbing. I felt like I had marbles in my mouth and unfortunately, couldn't get the vision of people walking away rather than take my class out of my mind. Good ego check for me though I suppose. 

As class went on, I started to find presence with the students who were actually there...finally! By the time my regular class rolled around, I was back on my game. 

But then as I was leaving, feelings of self-doubt crept into my being again thinking about the morning class and how I didn't feel like it was my best teaching and no wonder those people didn't want to take my class, blah, blah, blah....

But, now that I have been beating myself up for the afternoon, it's time to DROP IT! It's not serving me to talk to myself this way. We all have off days...even yoga teachers. It's okay. Move forward. And, yes, rest for a couple days before getting back to it on Tuesday! 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 173 Intention ~ Celebrate Life!

Day 173 Intention ~ Celebrate Life!

Today is one of those days where I had plans from a.m. through p.m. (Just making a quick pit stop to get this out.)

I won't lie, although each individual thing sounded fun, all in one day, to me, sounded like too much! I was kind of dreading it, but about to head to my last stop, today has been a barrel of fun! So, I am celebrating each moment & life! 

Enjoy your Saturday night! 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 164 Intention ~ Be More Present

Day 164 Intention ~ Be More Present

In this day, in this moment, in this life. Just as I am finally coming out of my weary traveling nonstop oh poor me attitude, I start to think about how I would feel better about not only my yoga classes, but of other things in my life if I just became present. That, of course - thank you yoga, is when I stumble upon Max Strom's facebook post about being present. 

The common state of the ego-mind is that it almost never wants to be in the same place the body is. “Anywhere but here,” that’s its motto. Again, this is the reason we don’t remember most of our life, because we weren’t truly present. The ego-mind is very tricky, very cunning; it avoids being present and still. Watch how when you’re extremely busy and distracted it will tell you, “I can’t be still and peaceful now, there’s too much to do. I’ll be calm when things have quieted down.” Then when you get into a
peaceful situation, the ego will complain, “I can’t stay present here, this is boring,” and off it goes into the future, or to revisit past memories. Perhaps while practicing yoga, you’ll find yourself in a posture thinking about your upcoming dinner, and then later you’ll be at this dinner,
and you’ll be discussing your yoga class with your friends. “Anywhere but here . . .”
~ Max Strom (from A Life Worth Breathing)

Thank you Max. No matter how many times a day, in pretty 

much every class that I teach, I have to remind students to 

let go of outside thoughts and concerns. Just today, a 

student went into a child's pose instead of going into the left 

side of a sequence. When I went over to make sure she was

okay, she said she was just distracted. When we go on our

mat, no matter how stressful our lives are, we need to allow

that time to be ours and ours alone. Be present on the mat. 

It will bring more presence into your whole day and your 

whole life. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

*I apologize for the different formatting on this post, but once I added Max's quote, I couldn't get the formatting back to normal!!*

Day 109 Intention ~ Dance to the Music

Day 109 Intention ~ Dance to the Music

Dancing...another way of expressing oneself. 

Have you ever just gotten lost in the music. Total freedom occurs. Your body just shakes and sways and glides with the music. Your mind is free and you make that connection to the beat. It's a great feeling. 

I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul. 
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go.
                                                  ~Cat Stevens

Just as when you give in to the breath and let the poses happen in yoga asana, when you just feel the rhythm and the beat and let your body move how it will and let your mind let loose, not worrying about what the people around you think...you can find freedom. You can find a form of truth. 

You can be present in that moment. You can find you. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 12 Intention ~ To Remain Grateful

Day 12 ~ To remain grateful for this amazing trip...again. 

Time to go home. Feeling ready to get back to my regular life on land again. Keeping this feeling of relaxation, calm and balance going once getting back to the daily grind will be a challenge, but I am going to try. 

To do this, I will stick with the plan. Practice yoga asana, pranayama and meditate daily. Eat healthy...now on to the full vegan! Enjoy each moment, no matter what life throws at you. It's all for a reason, our job is to learn from it. 

Namaste to all. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 11 Intention ~ To Enjoy Every Last Moment of this Vacation

Day 11 ~ To enjoy every last moment of this vacation with my sweet husband. 

Soaking every last bit in, finding joy and beauty in everything. Continuing santosha with presence and appreciation of each moment. 

There is so much in my life to be grateful for, including my sweet husband, who doesn't always get as much credit for my happiness as he deserves. Getting to spend this time away with him where we could both detach from the so-called real world and celebrate our lives together means so much and is so important. 

Getting away like this reminds us of how lucky we are, and how we need to appreciate and be grateful every single day of our lives. 

Tomorrow we head home, so for today, I will remain grateful from my little fantasy ship out in the ocean. :)

I am also grateful to all of you out there.

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

2013 Intentions

Happy New Year! 

As with each new year that passes, many new & grand resolutions will be made that tend to get thrown by the wayside as soon as the daily post holiday grind hits. Maybe they were too big, too grand...we all do it. Sure, this year I have a few grand "resolutions" that I would like to conquer over the course of 2013, but more importantly, I want to try to  set daily smaller intentions to keep me focused and present. 

Of course, one of my more grand resolutions is to post a blog each day right here regarding my small intention of that particular day. Now, finding time to write can be a struggle on a daily basis, so I am really seeing this as more of a habit change than a resolution (although I suppose most resolutions are habit changes.) You all will find out soon enough if this grand "resolution" loses steam or not. 

Some other larger resolutions this year are to actually practice yoga asana, pranayama & meditation every day of this year, to change my diet to a vegan diet...I am allowing myself a few weeks to make the conversion, only because I am going on vacation in a few days and am not sure if there will be vegan options where I am going, BUT if there are (beyond only salad), I will try to stick to it on vacation also. 

Setting a small intention each day is a great way to help keep focus on what is important. It can make us more present and conscious...today. I think that will allow for a little more appreciation of whatever is going on that day-good, bad, happy, sad, or non-eventful. I invite you to join me in this practice and perhaps start a new good habit to help you become more aware. Keep it simple. Maybe it is as simple as taking 10 deep breaths in and out before reacting if someone upsets you. Maybe it's to meditate each day, starting with 10 minutes and increasing once this behavior becomes part of your daily life. Maybe it's to smile at the first person you see each day. Your intention is yours & no intention is too small. Each intention is important. 

My intention for today is to greet the new year by practicing yoga asana, pranayama & meditation with an open mind and heart. 

So far, so good...

Shanti, 

Marcia