Happy New Year 2017!

This is a New Year FOR You!  That is our “Essential Yoga Practice outlook” to keep us present, open, optimistic, willing and excited for the new possibilities that will unfold before us. Much is written and anticipated these days with regard to New Year’s resolutions.  It is only good to be reminded that we must be proactive in our lives if we want to access all the wishful thinking for good health, happiness and success.  It is easy to get overwhelmed however, by wanting to take on too much, too soon, of the ideals we envision.  Let us pause to remember that life is a balance and that balance is unique to each of us.  Our priorities will certainly play into how well we can balance, rest and play, and work …every day.  Like our yoga, life is a practice and we become more resilient when we embrace learning from both the good times and the hard times.    

According to Patanjali, the Yoga Sutras tell us that the three pillars of the practice are:  self-study, discipline, and devotion to God.  So let us weave those into how we embrace the opportunities of each new year, each new day, each time we come to the front of our mat.  Coming to practice, with consistency takes and builds discipline.  Decide: “I am here to practice asana with the intention of learning something new about myself, that I better understand my purpose today, my gifts, my seva (service) and my ability. I allow myself to shed what does not serve me:  tension, negative emotions, the habits that deepen the groove of what slows down progress.” Practice with awareness. Observe and savor what arrives to take the place of what you gave away. Breathe deeply to infuse your cells with the new energy of your new habits. Feel how you are opening to truly being present. Appreciate what unfolds as opportunity: new places you can reach, in body, mind and spirit. To practice without awareness is lost opportunity for learning. It is pointless to practice on “autopilot.” Yoga is much more than the physical gains. Your body is a temple, an intricately designed vehicle that allows you to live the purpose of your life. Attend to both the physical and the spiritual components. 

Isn’t it wonderful that we get to do this together?! Our Essential Yoga Practice Sangha, our yoga community, is going to be rather remarkable! We’re starting a movement to offer direction and permission to bring back the use of aromatherapy to asana, pranayama, and meditation practices in yoga.  This will help us to become resilient and strong, individually and collectively.  We will lock arms and make a difference in how we step off the mat and into our world, taking care of our families and our community.  We will learn so much from each other as we deepen our practice, adding the value of aromatherapy.  We will practice many aspects of yoga together. And, it all starts with the discipline to take care of ourselves.   See the section on Tapas, p.7 in your Essential Yoga Practice book.

Thank you for choosing to participate in our circle.  Thank you for supporting our book launch of Essential Yoga Practice! Thank you for participating in the many ways we continue to “build community.” For those desiring to connect more personally with us and each other, we have a 2-week educational Facebook experience coming in February that will give you daily short shots of information via posts and videos to help you step-by-step with the practical application of combining essential oils with your yoga practice; if you are a teacher, you will want to join the affiliate version of that. It is exciting to consider what we can learn from each other as we collaborate. We started last year launching EYP. We are starting this year focusing on empowering YOU!