 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Love fully,
Love fearlessly,
Love unconditionally.
See links to previous inspirations at the bottom of this page...
We wish you health and happiness in the new year. We are grateful and thankful for all the wonderful people in our life—so many of you have shared in so many ways that go way beyond planks and chattarungas. It is our sincere hope that this inspires you even a fraction of the way you inspire us. Thank You~ Joanne, Drew, Dena and Shari.
A Resolution Revolution
New Year’s Resolutions can be extremely powerful tools for creating change in our lives-- improving ourselves (though one could argue you could never improve upon your Self), realizing goals, putting an end to “bad” habits or patterns or just plain shaking things up. Often times we shoot out of the gate like a fireball and all too often we burn out soon thereafter. With this in mind, we encourage you to embrace a healthy mix of abhyasa, sanskrit for constant and determined effort and vairagya, non-attachment to results. Make resolutions, set your goals and strive to reach them but don’t give up on them if you seem to be going nowhere or worse yet, take a step backward. You may take a few wrong turns or even get derailed every now and again, but it’s the trails that don’t show up on your map that may be just the detour you need…
Here are a few resolutions that may inspire or motivate you for 2008. We’ve included some resources at the end of the list—
Start a home yoga practice
Find your Om at Home-- whether it’s 5 minutes or 50, getting on your mat regularly is a great way to expand and deepen your yoga practice. We recommend getting a mat and if possible, picking a regular time and place to practice. If not, practice when you can and wherever you can for whatever time you can. We’ve listed some resources on getting started below, but always feel free to contact us and we’d be happy to talk!
Meditate
There aren't too many activities where you can get on your butt and get started. Whether on its own or as part of your home yoga practice, meditation brings you a lot closer to yourself (your Self). Sitting down and just being for a few minutes each day should be a welcome change from your frenetic pace and incessant external stimulation. Sit down and give it a try.
Eat (your veggies), Drink (water) and Be Merry
Whether you’re going to yoga class, the gym, walking or engaging in some other physical activity, you are likely very mindful of the amount of exercise you are getting. See if you can apply the same mindfulness to what you put into your body. You know your diet best and we’re sure many of us could stand to eat more fruits and veggies and drink more water. If you’re not sure, you may want to consider keeping a food diary so you can see just what you’re offering up to your body-temple.
Volunteer
Time is one of our most valuable and for many of us, scarce, commodities. To offer up our precious time in service to others, without expectation of thanks or other strings attached, is true karma yoga – the yoga of action. The Dalai Lama says that our purpose in this world is to be happy and to make others happy. Plain and simple, giving feels good and is clearly contributes to both our own happiness and the happiness of others.
Get More Rest
Give yourself more time to do less– whether it’s more sleep, meditation, napping, an exercise recovery day, a day away from the news, soaking your feet- find what you need to be well rested from both a physical and mental perspective. Look at how much you’re already doing running on empty, imagine what you could do on a full tank.
Resolution Resources
Home Practice
Books
Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar. Great resource for yoga philosophy and asanas/postures.
Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann. Another excellent resource for yoga asanas. Erich also shares his own story, which is very inspiring.
Yoga for Dummies If you’re familiar and like the format of the “For Dummies” series may be right up your alley. Not to mention that getting “For Dummies” is good for letting go of your ego.
Articles
Bringing Your Practice Home on Yoga Journal's website, www.yogajournal.com is an excellent article on getting started with a home practice. They also have a home practice section on their site that is worth checking out-- http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/home_practice.
Other
Videos have come a long way and can be a good resource until you are comfortable doing your own thing or when you need a voice other than your own. Some DVD’s such as Shiva Rea’s Yoga Shakti provide multiple practices and let you customize your own.
If you are comfortable with a CD rather than a video, that’s another option. Check out Rusty Wells' Bhakti Flow or Jasmine Tarkeshi of Laughing Lotus' Sun Celebration if you are looking for a good vinyasa practice…. We also enjoy Baron Baptiste on both video and CD.
Yoga podcasts are also available. You can search for them on iTunes.
Meditation
A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield. Shares his experiences and provides many meditations for you to try.
A Heart as Wide as the World by Sharon Salzberg. Get anything by her – always inspiring and thought provoking.
Mediation is Boring? by Linda Johnson. Provides her experiences with meditation, good inspiration.
Eating your Greens
Books
The Food Revolution by John Robbins. Makes a strong case for vegetarianism and eating non-genetically modified foods. That said, if your not looking for someone to make the case to you and just want to eat more greens and enjoy a burger every now and again, skip on to the next selections.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison is a great resource for vegetarian cooking for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
Other
Yoga + Joyful Living is a yoga magazine we highly recommend. They feature at least one food article each month, typically with accompanying recipes.
Check out the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. They offer classes and courses in mostly vegetarian cooking. Their Friday night dinner is amazing—meet up with friends or make new friends in “communal” seating while their students serve up incredible fare—you won’t believe it’s vegan!
Volunteering
VolunteerMatch is a website you can use to help you find volunteering opportunities in your area. You can search based on proximity to your zip code and other criteria.
Getting More Rest
If you’ve read this far, rest assured, it’s the perfect opportunity to start making this one a reality.