Release, Meditation

Wow, I have been in a yoga and writing break for months. Those months I have gone through some ups and downs in my life job, move being in a place that doesn't feel so great. But lately the urge to do yoga is coming back which feels really grand.

So last night I did a bedtime yoga which helped me settle into my body and be fully present in my movements and breath. I haven't felt this connection to my body for a while. It was a great reminder to slow down, don't force things and do those things that bring you back to your slow being. Yoga for me has always allowed me to see the beauty in myself that I forget because I don't slow down and nourish my spirit. So take time to slow down and do what feels good, whatever that may be.

The ocean always helps me slow down

Self Work

I have been dog sitting over the holiday weekend which forces me to do things differently. Discover new neighborhoods, run on new paths, and take a bath in the middle of the day. I always love these life disruptions because they bring about new insights.

Over this holiday weekend I have been sitting in a seat of tension with some of those close to me. And as I was running this afternoon it came to me the only way to ride out these moments of tension is you must do the self work. Yes, we need support from friends, but when your alone and sitting with yourself it matters that you know the depths of your self. You know what releases negative energy. You know what feeds your soul. You know what comforts. By diving deep into self discovery you become a woman that can ride out the tension and give yourself a little more love.

As Brene Brown says to stay curious as opposed to disengaged because when we deny our stories and disengage from the tough shit that rises up we are allowing that to define us. (also not an exact quote)

So we are worth the work!

Always love to hear from you.
Take care

Wholeness

I had to share this quote. It came from Rising Strong by Brene Brown

"We attempt to disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness-even our wholeheartedness-actually depends on the integration of all of our experiences, including the falls." 

                                                                                                 -Brene Brown

These words flew off the page and into my soul. I have been disowning my story to appear whole to the outside world. Why? As I read these words and share them I commit to owning my whole story!

Please share your thoughts on this quote.

Emotional Freedom

We live in a world of polarity. If we're not happy we're sad, if we're not happy we're mad. I use to reside in a world of suppressing the inappropriate polarity in the moment, until I realized that I am the one that is being inappropriate to myself. In order to allow an emotion to pass you must feel it and identify the reason for its rise. Don't shame yourself allow yourself emotional freedom. Once I started allowing myself, I broke free and this allowed me to grow.

The more aware we are of our triggers the more we can understand ourselves and others. As we etch out clarity, freedom and self acceptance. Our mind won't allow others to make us feel anything we don't already feel.

So, next yoga practice be on your mat with all that you come with and move through the poses as you feel the need. Honor yourself and the warrior you are growing into.

Seeker

I opened my yoga journal today and was reading through some of my entries during teacher training. I came across this one that really spoke to me at that time and now.

Yoga Sutra

The seeker is to preform asanas, so they become familiar with their body, senses and intelligence. You develop alertness, sensitivity and power of concentration.

Familiar = means to be in close friendship

I feel that yoga helps us become familiar to ourselves in everyway. It slows us down and helps us get to know the deeper parts of our being.

There is no one way to be a seeker in yoga or life. As I am  seeker of both. I have stopped judging myself because there are many paths that a seeker can take and different speeds. The important part is that you are enjoying the seeking and building a familiar relationship with the deepest part of you. No matter where you are at, know that the seeking never stops and should be the thing that keeps you seeking more from yourself.

Anger

Today was a day of explosive anger at other peoples behavior. Wow, I always amaze myself that I can get so angry. I hold onto it as though my life depends on it. It fuels me into a space of turbulence and speed. And what I mean by that is my body becomes tight, I walk faster, I snap, I have shallow breathing. I haven't felt this way in sometime so it always angers me to think I am going back to that place. Yet, I have to work through these feelings.

My mind says calm down which doesn't work. This anger takes over my entire self. So, when I arrive home I blog to get it out of my body. Then I do a basic yoga sequence at a quick pace which releases those negative feelings.

So the sequence I do is Sun Salutations I or I go running.



 And I must say there is no special number of times, I stop when I feel the anger has left my body and I become Melissa again.

If you deal with anger and have a way to shift that feeling I would love to hear about it.

Cheers to yoga for helping me cope with life!