I’m a dinosaur when it comes to evolving away from paper books. Call me unsustainable, but I’m probably one of the last remaining book lovers — I mean actual, physical books. The older the better. I love the smell of … Continue reading
I love the idea of travel, discovering new places and experiencing new customs and rituals is exciting. There’s something transforming about newness, but you don’t have to go anywhere to discover new places within yourself or see things in a … Continue reading
One of my favorite blogs today is Tiny Buddha. If you don’t already subscribe to it, check it out. Friday, Lori Deschene (founder) wrote a post on how to be great or realize your existing greatness by channeling the words … Continue reading
Many of us equate success as independence, and we often believe independence means doing everything yourself. I’m very guilty of the latter. Asking for help is perhaps my biggest challenge. Growing up with a chronic illness, I learned at a … Continue reading
We often talk about fear as a by-product of not being present, of letting our thoughts consume our identity. However, there are those times when fear dangles us off the precipice of change and we can transform it into courage.
I recently took a leap of faith and left the comfortable discontent of a corporate job. I struggled with the concept for almost a year, going back and forth about why I should or shouldn’t leave — with both extremes being tent poles of fear. In the end, I decided that fear in the form of excitement, anticipation, nervousness, and uncertainty that comes with change was the more appealing option. So, I lept.
But, I didn’t feel brave. Not at first. I felt like Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade, when he came to a deep cavern with no bridge to get him across. His choice was to turn back, or to move ahead and trust that the bridge will be there when he needs it. He was given instructions that the bridge would appear once he stepped off of the ledge.
Like Indy, I decided that I would take the the walk of faith, and step off the ledge. And, just like the message in the movie, there was a bridge to get both of us across the abyss. The universe delivered the support I didn’t even know I needed, and I was able to turn fear into motivation and strength.
What leap are you waiting to take?
Namaste.
– Your Charmed Yogi
According to Heraclitus, “the only constant is change.” Call it perpetual motion, flux, evolution, development, metamorphosis; but it is what it is — change. We all know change is inevitable, and yet, we often resist ; straddling the fence … Continue reading
Sometimes when we commit to a particular spiritual path, despite our best conscious intention, we can get off track. In fact, it can seem as if we’re being downright self-destructive and sabotaging our efforts. But just like mistakes are vital … Continue reading
If anal retentive recycling were an olympic sport, I would definitely be a top contender for the gold. Even before I discovered yoga, I’d always been very connected to nature and therefore did what I could to reduce waste and … Continue reading
Source: pinterest.com via Finkiyaya on Pinterest
I’m a huge music fan. I love music of all kinds, and am always looking to discover more music to please my ears. So, of course I’m a huge fan of Pandora and Spotify as a way to find long forgotten hits or to find that great new sound. Even though I love finding new bands or songs to obsess about, I do have my favorites, so there’s always a temptation to skip over a song I don’t know to find the one I can sing along to. I was doing this incessantly until my own personal playlist was just a repeat of the same five or ten songs; a perfect metaphor for how we often live our lives. We’re on autopilot, always skipping forward to the next weekend; the next holiday; the next something. Skipping over the unknown for the comfortable. So, I broke the cycle for fun. Continue reading
We’ve all experienced yoga burn out at one point or another, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You just may need to renew the spark in your yoga marriage. Here’s a great article by Stephanie Carter, “when the honeymoon’s over…”
I’ve had a long, tumultuous relationship with yoga. We first met in the early 90s and were inseparable, until a misguided physical therapist told me yoga was bad for my neck (boy was he wrong). After going our separate ways, we reunited several years later and had a series of torrid on-again off-again affairs until about 10 years ago, when we finally settled down. Like any relationship, we’ve had our share of ups and downs, but things have improved since I learned to navigate the ‘downs.’ Perhaps the trickiest part of a relationship is when the initial burst of bliss and excitement is over and the mundane sets in – that is, when the honeymoon’s over.
Maybe you’ve experienced this yourself. You discover (or re-discover) yoga and it makes you feel good. You wonder – where has yoga been all my life? You fall in love with the practice, the lifestyle – maybe you fantasize about becoming a teacher (or actually become one!). All you want to do is yoga. You commit to practicing X times a week, and you do it, happily. You resent things like work that get in the way of practice. Then one day when nothing in particular is wrong, you don’t really feel like practicing. Maybe you talk yourself into it – and maybe it turns out to be a great practice, or maybe it doesn’t. Even your favorite teacher starts to seem a bit stale. You’ve hit a wall – the honeymoon is over. At this point in the relationship, many people bail out in search of greener pastures (pilates anyone?). But if you can steer through this tricky period you will be rewarded with a deeper, more rewarding relationship.
Read the full article, “when the honeymoon’s over,” on Stephanie Carter’s Yoga Blog.
A Charmed Yogi 