Trust in something else outside ourself opens a door. Trust in our bodies to heal, emotionally or physically, relieves the fear of being damaged or sick. Trust in this life being unknown and unpredictable allows us peace despite chaos. The more difficulties we overcome, the more we begin to trust ourself.
Read MoreThe immediate reaction to anything painful is to get out. Stop the pain. End the suffering. We can hop out of the pain in several ways. If a person hurts you, you can get into a fight. You can lash out or create drama. You can use alcohol or drugs to numb. You can take naps (nothing against naps). You can shop, eat, or talk to yourself endlessly about all the reasons you are right and they are wrong.
Read MoreShining our brightest light with the world is scary. Being our most authentic and powerful self might mean losing people, relationships, core beliefs, and even parts of ourself.
Read MoreWhatever is happening for you right now, it is time. Time to do what's necessary. Time to take care of yourself. Time to say no. Time to say yes. Time to embark on a new adventure. Time to quit. Time to allow your heart open. Time to choose yourself.
Read MoreIt’s shocking how we can use busyness to cope with stress in our culture, which only compounds the problem. Sitting still is scary because we are forced to actually feel our emotions and notice any thoughts that arise. It is ok to put off your to-do list, your yard work, or organizing of the house. It is ok to practice the ultimate self-care and sit still. It is ok to enter the brave work of being silent and tuning in.
Read MoreUnless we own our truth, admit who we are and what we need, we will always be betraying our Self. And self-betrayal leads to anxiety, depression, illness, and worse - lost identity. Not knowing who we are, and an inability to trust our own intuition, leaves us vulnerable to the whims and demands of everyone else. We become victims, because we feel we have no say.
Read MoreWhen I question whether I’m moving towards love or acting out of fear, I have to stop and observe my intentions as well as my body’s sensations. I take a deep breath. I find a quiet spot and 5 minutes of time. I do this often, for big decisions and for small. Our intuition feels sneakily like fear.
Read MoreI never expected yoga to become a spiritual path. Yoga started as a way to get out of my house and out of my mind. Yoga started as an escape. But once there, on my mat, I observed sensations in my body, and instead of running from them, or drowning them in wine, I stayed.
Read MoreWe come to our mats confused, alone, and afraid. We come to see what these poses are all about. We come to check out the hype and the trend. We leave lighter, and we wonder why. So we return, again and again, and pretty soon, we notice physical changes. Then, subtler, emotional changes. What is happening? We keep arriving on our mat. We keep up with the practice. And before we know it, yoga has seeped into the places that needed healing and growth, the places we hadn’t even considered or paid any attention. Yoga wakes up areas of our life we have long ago buried.
Read MoreA good way to acknowledge an intuitive thought is to follow up - when an idea comes into your head, while driving, walking, or working, and you are unsure if it's real, or you want to know more, continue to ask yourself questions.
Asking questions at least acknowledges that something spoke to you. Treat your inner voice like a friend, or the most perfect and free life coach. Get curious, and ask questions like, "What did you mean by that?" "Interesting, I hadn't thought of it that way..." "How exactly should I proceed?" "That's a lot, what's the next small step I can take?"
We forgo our instincts in the name of logic. We are unsettled in our job, but afraid to make a change. We don't want to take the next step until we have more pieces in place, just to be sure. We don't want to be wrong. Our heart screams at us in the form of frustration, impatience, or unhappiness, and we still tell ourselves we need more time. We are not ready to commit to a choice because it's too scary when we don't know the full picture. So we delay any movement at all. We stand still. We crave something we can explain to others. We don’t feel comfortable or wise saying, "My heart made me do it."
But why not?
