Happy Hearts Month! It's February! I'm excited- I love Valentine's Day. It might be because I love chocolate...but I also just love love.
A few weeks ago I finished a book called "Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses". It's the story of one woman's life and how the discovery and practice of yoga (including meditation and breath control) impacted the way she navigated anxiety, marriage, motherhood, a career, and being an adult human. She talks about the balancing act of life as a work-from-home mom; how she endured the early years of motherhood and the struggle with expectations and comparison that women have somehow created. (All of which life coaching deals with head-on! See my friends Hannah, Jody, and Brooke!)
I had so many flashes of empathy while listening to this on audio book. SO many of the experiences she talked about were things that I have been through, seen, felt or thought. And yet, many of them were things that I have not had to learn the hard way because I have, through the grace of God, found the tools to get me through those life lessons. I have had a yoga practice in my life since I was a teenager, probably about 17 years now. It hasn't always been super regular, but it has always been something I have included in my health and fitness routine. Around the time I first started driving my own car I had a little charm dangling from my rear view mirror that had a fun picture of a girl in seated position that said "yoga girl" on it. Just seeing that regularly made me feel serene, even if I didn't know much about yoga, I knew that the practice of it stood for balance, freedom, peace, strength--all things I knew I needed in my life, if only on a subconscious level.
I will never forget my first experience in a yoga class. It was at (what was then called) the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida. The new state of the art fitness facility boasted an Olympic size pool, several class studios, a shoe shop, tons of fitness equipment, and more. It was my first experience with something outside of the high school gym and as a student, I was able to get in for free. I entered my first yoga class with a good amount of trepidation, wholly unprepared for the experience. I had only ever done video tapes at home before, and to me, yoga was still a bit of a hippy thing. I was very subconscious about my age and experience level, too. As class began I listened to the instructor and watched her walk around the room, not judging anyone's practice but helping make mild corrections to form and offering assistance, I thought "this is pretty cool". Towards the end of the class the instructor talked us all through how to create a personal meditation and invited us to visualize a peaceful experience and really put our minds into that place. For me, at the time, the first thing that entered my thoughts was Joseph Smith's First Vision -it spoke peace to my soul, with the fresh breeze in the trees, the light, the power of good--all of these things created a beautiful image in my mind that I could invite to my soul. I spent my first real Savasana (corpse pose) in that mindset and felt my body heavy on the floor, my limbs cooling down with relaxation, and my soul alive with the experience of something all new. I recall getting in the car with my sister and discussing the experience. Sitting behind the wheel that evening in the parking lot, my muscles were feeling entirely used up while my mind felt so free and open. What an amazing lesson I learned in an hour and a half.
One thing that Jody Moore (of Bold New Mom) teaches (that may or may not be controversial to some members of the Mormon (LDS) church) is that life is a classroom, not a test. I wholeheartedly agree with her. I think that the original 'test' belief in and of itself, comes from a good place but it's not really accurate. **If your brain really doesn't like the idea of life being a 'classroom', try on the thought that it's 'a quiz' instead.**
Let's pick this apart:
If life were really a test there would be no erasing or correcting and certainly no help allowed.
If you look at it through the lens of life being a classroom, you can see that life is a learning process! There's time for group work, practicing concepts, figuring things out, asking questions and especially erasing and correcting things. All of that is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through the sacrifice of His life He endured everything that we could ever know or feel or experience (How? I'm not sure, but we'll all find out eventually). Of this, I am sure.
An idea I found intriguing from the "Poser" book came from one of the author's yoga instructors. It was the notion that yoga and its poses are not about being perfect or getting into the full extent of every pose right away, it's about learning and growing and doing your best at that time and being at peace with where you are while working to move forward. (Not a direct quote) What an amazing parallel to life on Earth! That's exactly what we should be doing in our lives--doing our best and being proud of that, while at the same time, stretching ourselves at an individual pace to be better.
Yoga is usually talked about in conjunction with the word "practice". I've contemplated why that is and come to the conclusion that I love the word practice. The Google dictionary defines it as repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
If these last two paragraphs don't convince you that life is a classroom, you must really be doing well on the test *wink wink!* But really, I'm not out to convince anyone of anything.
These principles speak so loudly to me about my own life. My life has always been and is full of imperfections. Luckily, I don't dwell on that like I once did (and if you knew me when I was younger, I'm sorry for my unrealistic expectations!). I'm so grateful I've learned that I don't actually need to dwell on it! In fact, dwelling on the negative only increases the negative. I have repeatedly been taught (in all my 31 years) the importance of accepting my own and others' imperfect nature and allowing for change and growth. Unfortunately, as I have worked to accept this lesson (which isn't always easy!) I have also had to accept the fact that everyone doesn't choose to do this. (I think it has to do with emotional adulthood....) AND THAT'S OKAY. It's actually not even my business what other people choose to do or think! I have not always been humble enough to grasp this concept, and I think it's also one that we must continually check in with ourselves on to make sure we are still thinking and behaving in accordance to it.
Here's the take away for today my friends:
Have a fantastic February!
I may or may not write on a weekly basis like I have listed in my goals, but that's because I currently have some of the others on the top of my list right now. And you know what? I'm okay with that---all in good time. But on the bright side, I did voice-type the main ideas of this post a few weeks ago when I originally wanted to post it. *WIN*
Have a great weekend!
A few weeks ago I finished a book called "Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses". It's the story of one woman's life and how the discovery and practice of yoga (including meditation and breath control) impacted the way she navigated anxiety, marriage, motherhood, a career, and being an adult human. She talks about the balancing act of life as a work-from-home mom; how she endured the early years of motherhood and the struggle with expectations and comparison that women have somehow created. (All of which life coaching deals with head-on! See my friends Hannah, Jody, and Brooke!)
I had so many flashes of empathy while listening to this on audio book. SO many of the experiences she talked about were things that I have been through, seen, felt or thought. And yet, many of them were things that I have not had to learn the hard way because I have, through the grace of God, found the tools to get me through those life lessons. I have had a yoga practice in my life since I was a teenager, probably about 17 years now. It hasn't always been super regular, but it has always been something I have included in my health and fitness routine. Around the time I first started driving my own car I had a little charm dangling from my rear view mirror that had a fun picture of a girl in seated position that said "yoga girl" on it. Just seeing that regularly made me feel serene, even if I didn't know much about yoga, I knew that the practice of it stood for balance, freedom, peace, strength--all things I knew I needed in my life, if only on a subconscious level.
I will never forget my first experience in a yoga class. It was at (what was then called) the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida. The new state of the art fitness facility boasted an Olympic size pool, several class studios, a shoe shop, tons of fitness equipment, and more. It was my first experience with something outside of the high school gym and as a student, I was able to get in for free. I entered my first yoga class with a good amount of trepidation, wholly unprepared for the experience. I had only ever done video tapes at home before, and to me, yoga was still a bit of a hippy thing. I was very subconscious about my age and experience level, too. As class began I listened to the instructor and watched her walk around the room, not judging anyone's practice but helping make mild corrections to form and offering assistance, I thought "this is pretty cool". Towards the end of the class the instructor talked us all through how to create a personal meditation and invited us to visualize a peaceful experience and really put our minds into that place. For me, at the time, the first thing that entered my thoughts was Joseph Smith's First Vision -it spoke peace to my soul, with the fresh breeze in the trees, the light, the power of good--all of these things created a beautiful image in my mind that I could invite to my soul. I spent my first real Savasana (corpse pose) in that mindset and felt my body heavy on the floor, my limbs cooling down with relaxation, and my soul alive with the experience of something all new. I recall getting in the car with my sister and discussing the experience. Sitting behind the wheel that evening in the parking lot, my muscles were feeling entirely used up while my mind felt so free and open. What an amazing lesson I learned in an hour and a half.
One thing that Jody Moore (of Bold New Mom) teaches (that may or may not be controversial to some members of the Mormon (LDS) church) is that life is a classroom, not a test. I wholeheartedly agree with her. I think that the original 'test' belief in and of itself, comes from a good place but it's not really accurate. **If your brain really doesn't like the idea of life being a 'classroom', try on the thought that it's 'a quiz' instead.**
Let's pick this apart:
If life were really a test there would be no erasing or correcting and certainly no help allowed.
If you look at it through the lens of life being a classroom, you can see that life is a learning process! There's time for group work, practicing concepts, figuring things out, asking questions and especially erasing and correcting things. All of that is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through the sacrifice of His life He endured everything that we could ever know or feel or experience (How? I'm not sure, but we'll all find out eventually). Of this, I am sure.
An idea I found intriguing from the "Poser" book came from one of the author's yoga instructors. It was the notion that yoga and its poses are not about being perfect or getting into the full extent of every pose right away, it's about learning and growing and doing your best at that time and being at peace with where you are while working to move forward. (Not a direct quote) What an amazing parallel to life on Earth! That's exactly what we should be doing in our lives--doing our best and being proud of that, while at the same time, stretching ourselves at an individual pace to be better.
Yoga is usually talked about in conjunction with the word "practice". I've contemplated why that is and come to the conclusion that I love the word practice. The Google dictionary defines it as repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
If these last two paragraphs don't convince you that life is a classroom, you must really be doing well on the test *wink wink!* But really, I'm not out to convince anyone of anything.
These principles speak so loudly to me about my own life. My life has always been and is full of imperfections. Luckily, I don't dwell on that like I once did (and if you knew me when I was younger, I'm sorry for my unrealistic expectations!). I'm so grateful I've learned that I don't actually need to dwell on it! In fact, dwelling on the negative only increases the negative. I have repeatedly been taught (in all my 31 years) the importance of accepting my own and others' imperfect nature and allowing for change and growth. Unfortunately, as I have worked to accept this lesson (which isn't always easy!) I have also had to accept the fact that everyone doesn't choose to do this. (I think it has to do with emotional adulthood....) AND THAT'S OKAY. It's actually not even my business what other people choose to do or think! I have not always been humble enough to grasp this concept, and I think it's also one that we must continually check in with ourselves on to make sure we are still thinking and behaving in accordance to it.
Here's the take away for today my friends:
- Yoga is not just for hippies or really flexible people, it's for everyBODY
- Be open to new things that might be difficult or stretch you in some way
- Discover your own peaceful place and experience Savasana for yourself (I believe you'll have the best sleep of your life!)
- Life is a CLASSROOM because of Jesus Christ
- Yoga is a PRACTICE. Life is a PRACTICE.
- Accept that you can be whoever you want to be, but also accept that you have the power to become a better version of yourself if you choose to do the work
- What other people think or say or do is NONE OF MY BUSINESS
- Becoming better is a daily task
Have a fantastic February!
I may or may not write on a weekly basis like I have listed in my goals, but that's because I currently have some of the others on the top of my list right now. And you know what? I'm okay with that---all in good time. But on the bright side, I did voice-type the main ideas of this post a few weeks ago when I originally wanted to post it. *WIN*
Have a great weekend!
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