When life gets difficult or challenging, putting yourself first, often can feel like the most uncomfortable position. Nothing what is arising in the present moment with judgment is called mindfulness.
Take a moment right now to notice your breath, and see if you can allow yourself to absorb present moment without needing to change or add anything. Notice if you can be with the up’s and down’s in a non-judgmental way is called developing greater mindfulness. Yoga postures teach us, however, that it is okay to be awkward, to take smaller steps, and that by living from our own personal best, we can take steps of improvement and inspire others to do the same.
The journey to becoming real, is always a hero’s call to adventure and very often feels mysterious and can be frightening. Yet, allow yourself to keep going, to follow your bliss, and give in to this opportunity to truly slow down and practice accepting the present moment energy that moves through you as you.
Yoga’s greatest benefit in practice is learning how to receive and enjoy this moment. By practicing and noticing your breath, you begin to center yourself and receive. When we go slow and notice our breathing, we find a more harmonious, natural, supportive and loving energy.
As a child you flowed from one moment to the next, completely immersed in whatever project or game you were playing. You felt the world was supportive just the way it is. You lived in a state of abundance, joy, and unconditional love of life. For some, the process of maturing can feel as if we need to trade in our natural vitality for external acceptance.
Then as we grow up, we were conditioned to some extent to look outside for that support, to be kind to others, to do for everyone, to say ‘Yes’ when we really meant ‘No’ and to lose our natural faith and excitement and joy for life! Yoga is not so much about finding something new, or acquiring a new set of beliefs or ideas as much as it is about returning back home to spirit.
In this place, we make peace with the disappointments and rededicate ourself to unconditionally loving oneself and moving from a place of intention, alignment and our happy, cooperative, inspiring and loving self. It is there that universal support comes to our aid and provides us with inspiring new creative ideas, planning and positive shifting. So, today, allow yourself some space, listen to your breath and trust in yourself again. You ARE worth it!
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