Month: December 2013

My Non-Resolutions

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Sunday night I went to a lovely birthday dinner for my sweet friend Erin.  She made a gorgeous and delicious meal for 10 and as we sat around a make-shift granite-and-sawhorse table we asked her what her wishes for her 35th year were.

She declared that she is thrilled with where her life is and has no need for big changes.  I do believe she even said that she couldn’t imagine life getting any better.

Love this woman.

She’s bright, intelligent for sure but also shiny. She’s gracious. Her laugh is infectious and she’s an awesome listener.  And she’s optimistic, a quality that’s not always prolific these days.

In the spirit of Erin and acknowledging when we are on the right path personally, professionally, or otherwise I am going to share my non-resolutions for 2014.  Resolutions are about resolving to change, my non-resolutions are recognizing the changes that are already occurring and that I want to keep encouraging in myself.   Here are a few things that I am actively working on and want to keep improving in the coming year.

  • S.T.O.P a few months ago I had the pleasure of being led in a short meditation by Deepak Chopra.  During his introduction he spoke of using S.T.O.P to cultivate awareness and compassion. S stands for stop. T is for take a breath. O for observe and can refer to checking in with what’s happening both internally and externally.  P is for proceed with love, caution, and compassion. I love this technique and it has proven very useful to me in interactions of all sorts.

  • Create.  I’ve been doing a bit of soul searching lately, often asking myself what’s missing from my life, what would make my life fuller, what would make me more inspired and more proud.  The answer always comes back to a creative outlet.  Dancing, writing, cooking, and photography are four things that bring me tons of joy and satisfaction.  In the coming year I will continue to cultivate my skills in all of these areas, particularly writing.  

  • Take Good Care of Myself.   I feel great compassion for others when they are sick or just under the weather and am really good at dispensing all kinds of advice for how they could take care of them-self.  Unfortunately I sometimes still ignore my own advice.  I have gotten better over the last several years but there are still times when I could listen to my own good sense a little closer.  I will continue to be more proactive about my health in 2014.

  • Be Here Now.  I resisted getting a smartphone for a couple years after they became popular, not because I didn’t think I’d like it but because I knew I would love it.  I’ve had an iPhone for a year and a half now and I am pretty obsessed.  It’s fun and it’s useful and it’s a total time-suck.  I compulsively “check my stuff”, bouncing between email, Facebook, and texts.  I’ve recognized that sometimes this takes me out of the real world, whether it’s interacting with people or just being aware of my surroundings.  I’ve made a conscious effort over the last several months to step. away. from. the. iphone.  It’s an amazing tool but there is a time and place for using it, which doesn’t include every idle moment of the day.

2013 has been a tremendous, challenging, beautiful year and I am very ready to turn the page and start the next chapter.  Wishing you and yours a gorgeous day and beautiful tomorrows.

Vinyasa the Old, Vinyasa the New

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A few years ago I started a New Years Eve tradition of practicing 24 vinyasa Sun Salutations.

The first December 31st I did this was 2010.  It was an unseasonably warm day, almost Springlike, and I unrolled my mat on the back deck.  By the last salutation I was in a tank top and feeling really great.

It works like this; the first twelve vinyasas are for the year ending and the last twelve are for the year to come.  Each repetition is dedicated to a month, for example my first one salutation tomorrow will focus on January 2013 and my last one will have December 2014 in mind.  I think of the first twelve as reflection time and the second twelve as projection time, projecting the grace, calm, and happiness I’d like to bring to the year ahead.

I’m sharing this idea, this tradition, today in hopes that maybe some of you would like to join me tomorrow in vinyasa-ing out the old and vinyasa-ing in the new!  You can practice whatever variation on a Sun Salutation you know and/or like.  I will probably do a pretty simple, fast paced, flowing “B” variation for most of the vinyasas.   This can be a great opportunity to practice yoga without the aid of a video or teacher if the idea of a home practice has been intimidating to you in the past.  This is how I cultivated a home practice, years ago, just by starting with a few vinyasas and recognizing the beauty of truly going at my own pace, with my own natural breath pattern.

Happy vinyasa-ing!