I'm really so in the middle of this amazing realization that I have the ability to make concious choices in my life and also so aware of how all of these choices affect my life in a huge way.
I see how I've spent much of my life, if not all of my life, being in situations by default. In other words, by choosing not to make decsions....there I am making a choice.
In a relationship because I haven't chosen to leave, not in a relationship because I have chosen to keep safe and not express how I feel to that person, not having the confidence to step into making my passion my career because I have chosen to tell myself that I'm not good enough. So powerful, all of these things. Choosing depression but not even realizing it was a choice...more thinking that it is where i ended up because i choose to think that "This is what life has handed me". Absolutely no power in any of these thought patterns....and the scary part....all of this I created. This is how powerful our minds are and what they have the ability to create. So, with that information...now, guess what i can create and so can you! Make a choice right now to make it a great day!
I am a Teacher and Lover of Bikram Yoga. I am also a Kick Butt Ceritifed Life Coach, Health Coach. I am always inspired by inspiring others and being a beam of light. My true divine purpose and passion is to inspire others to design and live a life they are in love with along with being in love with themselves. Author in the making!!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
5 Gifts to Give Yourself this Holiday Season
1. More deep breaths
Did you ever find yourself deep in a thought about something which you felt emotional or stressed about and within seconds your body is tightening up, breathing is slow and shallow, your jaw is tight and probably if you looked in the mirror, the space between your brows was all crunched up? Now, in the same situation, after you have this same thought, you made a decision to instead, take a few very deep breaths….inhale and exhale. There is no tension in your jaw, no tension in your face and you actually begin to soften about the thought you are having. That’s exactly right, it is impossible to take deep breaths and for the body and mind to hold onto tension. We immediately feel lighter, free in the mind to create space and open to solutions. Focus on breathing in times when you are aware that this is happening and see everything change
2. Silence
I used to be very afraid of silence. Spending time alone in a quiet space terrified me and I would avoid this at all cost. What I didn’t get what was that in this silence, what I could actually do was hear my inner voice. In fact, that was exactly what I was avoiding. Fortunately, I did learn to do this and realized that it was okay and that everything has a way of releasing and then being okay again. Without this space, it is difficult for us to know what is going on inside us. Silence has the ability to create inner balance, trust within ourselves, trusting that we can still be anchored and experience whatever emotions that we need to, then join back in again with a fresh outlook and reinvigorated spirit. If everything always seeks balance, then in between all the noise, there must be silence. “Music inherently depends on silence in some form or another to distinguish other periods of sound and allow melodies and rhythms to have greater impact.”
3. Support
Limiting belief systems are so prevalent as I talk to people everyday. “I can’t do that”…”I don’t have time”…I’m too fat”…..”I waited too long and now I’m too old”. The true fact of the matter that I’ve seen inevitably happen in my life is that whatever I have thought about what I can do or not do in my life is exactly what ends up happening.
So, how do I make my dreams come true??
Get support. We must surround ourselves with mentors, friends, family, coaches, who can help us achieve our greatest goals and live our purpose driven life.
Who are those people for you? If you don’t yet, ask the universe to reveal them to you and then ask them for support. At the same time, who can you think of that may need your help?
Alex Karras wrote “It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.”
4. Self Development
In order for each of us to understand our life’s purpose, to set goals for our future, and to expand and change as is mandatory for our growth and development, we must invest in ourselves the time and space needed to do this. As you look at the year ahead, what are your plans when it comes to self development? Spend some time researching a workshop, sign up for an interesting seminar, disappear to a faraway retreat, or discover a new hobby. Is your soul crying out to take a dance lesson, go skydiving, begin blogging or writing a book? Listen and you will see. Look at the year and make the time for development. The biggest excuse I hear and the reason why people don’t spend the time to do these things is that they tell themselves that they don’t have the time. I know because I used to do this too. On the contrary, you will find that when you make the time for these things, you will have more time. Why? You create energy when you expend energy. Happy people with full lives have more energy, need less sleep, feel better, look better and get everything done in less time. It’s true…so go after it. The world is waiting for you to fulfill your purpose.
5. FUN
Oh my Gosh…how many limitations have we put on ourselves in this lifetime so far?? Here are a few of mine: I have to go to bed early because I have to get up early, I am not pretty enough, I can’t eat that, I waited too long and now I can’t start….trust me, I could go on. The point is, let’s have fun…and Now!
I am enough right now and I’m about to havin’ some fun ;-))
No more: hiding who you are, following the rules, taking everything too seriously, being too busy, avoiding things because you are in fear, caring about what others might think.
So, what do you think? Will you join me on this fun escapade?
Enjoy your gifts! You may re-Gift them to as many of your loved ones as you choose. I don’t mind ;-)
Love and Light,
Lauren
Did you ever find yourself deep in a thought about something which you felt emotional or stressed about and within seconds your body is tightening up, breathing is slow and shallow, your jaw is tight and probably if you looked in the mirror, the space between your brows was all crunched up? Now, in the same situation, after you have this same thought, you made a decision to instead, take a few very deep breaths….inhale and exhale. There is no tension in your jaw, no tension in your face and you actually begin to soften about the thought you are having. That’s exactly right, it is impossible to take deep breaths and for the body and mind to hold onto tension. We immediately feel lighter, free in the mind to create space and open to solutions. Focus on breathing in times when you are aware that this is happening and see everything change
2. Silence
I used to be very afraid of silence. Spending time alone in a quiet space terrified me and I would avoid this at all cost. What I didn’t get what was that in this silence, what I could actually do was hear my inner voice. In fact, that was exactly what I was avoiding. Fortunately, I did learn to do this and realized that it was okay and that everything has a way of releasing and then being okay again. Without this space, it is difficult for us to know what is going on inside us. Silence has the ability to create inner balance, trust within ourselves, trusting that we can still be anchored and experience whatever emotions that we need to, then join back in again with a fresh outlook and reinvigorated spirit. If everything always seeks balance, then in between all the noise, there must be silence. “Music inherently depends on silence in some form or another to distinguish other periods of sound and allow melodies and rhythms to have greater impact.”
3. Support
Limiting belief systems are so prevalent as I talk to people everyday. “I can’t do that”…”I don’t have time”…I’m too fat”…..”I waited too long and now I’m too old”. The true fact of the matter that I’ve seen inevitably happen in my life is that whatever I have thought about what I can do or not do in my life is exactly what ends up happening.
So, how do I make my dreams come true??
Get support. We must surround ourselves with mentors, friends, family, coaches, who can help us achieve our greatest goals and live our purpose driven life.
Who are those people for you? If you don’t yet, ask the universe to reveal them to you and then ask them for support. At the same time, who can you think of that may need your help?
Alex Karras wrote “It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.”
4. Self Development
In order for each of us to understand our life’s purpose, to set goals for our future, and to expand and change as is mandatory for our growth and development, we must invest in ourselves the time and space needed to do this. As you look at the year ahead, what are your plans when it comes to self development? Spend some time researching a workshop, sign up for an interesting seminar, disappear to a faraway retreat, or discover a new hobby. Is your soul crying out to take a dance lesson, go skydiving, begin blogging or writing a book? Listen and you will see. Look at the year and make the time for development. The biggest excuse I hear and the reason why people don’t spend the time to do these things is that they tell themselves that they don’t have the time. I know because I used to do this too. On the contrary, you will find that when you make the time for these things, you will have more time. Why? You create energy when you expend energy. Happy people with full lives have more energy, need less sleep, feel better, look better and get everything done in less time. It’s true…so go after it. The world is waiting for you to fulfill your purpose.
5. FUN
Oh my Gosh…how many limitations have we put on ourselves in this lifetime so far?? Here are a few of mine: I have to go to bed early because I have to get up early, I am not pretty enough, I can’t eat that, I waited too long and now I can’t start….trust me, I could go on. The point is, let’s have fun…and Now!
I am enough right now and I’m about to havin’ some fun ;-))
No more: hiding who you are, following the rules, taking everything too seriously, being too busy, avoiding things because you are in fear, caring about what others might think.
So, what do you think? Will you join me on this fun escapade?
Enjoy your gifts! You may re-Gift them to as many of your loved ones as you choose. I don’t mind ;-)
Love and Light,
Lauren
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
More Acceptance, More Peace
Wikipedia defines acceptance as "a person's agreement to experience a situation, to follow a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it, protest, or exit".
In life we have so many opportunities to experience acceptance and also to experience protest. Why would I choose to protest? Seems so much better to accept and experience peace. Yet, there have been so many times in my life when I know I've done just the opposite.
I have had expectations for all sorts of things in my life. Here are just a few (maybe you can relate to one or two). what success looks like, how i am supposed to look, when i was to get married and have kids, what my house should look like, how my friends should act......WOW, that's a lot of expectations! (and that's not all of them ;-). These come from a long line of experiences, past history and watching what went on around me as the unwritten rules for life. However, these rules, these expectations eventually caused me pain when i realized that I am not in control of what other people do or how they act or how things are "supposed to be". All in all, it really all comes back to being in the present. If I begin to have an expectation for a certain outcome to occur or a certain person to act in a specific way, I have entered down a path that can now lead to major disappointment and also miss out on many gifts that come in different packages.
Deepak Chopra says in the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success that " Least effort is expended when your actions are motivated by love, because nature is held together by the energy of love. When you seek power and control over other people or situations, you waste energy. When you seek money or power for the sake of the ego, you spend energy chasing the illusion of happiness instead of enjoying happiness in the moment." All things we perceive as problems have in them gifts; an opportunity to grow into something else completely.
For example, you walk into the yoga room and half way through class you realize that you have a lower amount of energy than normal. You are feeling that your whole practice up to this point is just a struggle and you begin to feel frustrated. Frustrated to the point, that you begin to give up in the mind and begin sending negative messages to your brain about how your body isn't performing the way you want it to. If we use this definition of acceptance now and break this down, we could instead, see that our energy is low and accept this. We may decide in standing head to knee that it may be beneficial to stay in the first part instead of going to the deepest part of the posture and instead focus more on our pranayama breathing. We can bring more focus into the breath. We can focus more on finding the stillness in the posture and also in between the postures. Wow...what a gift. This could actually become a huge learning curve in your practice. In these moments of stillness that you begin to create now in your practice, you feel good. You send feel good messages to the brain because you are in acceptance and treating your body with respect. So the message is "It may be uncomfortable, but don't leave...don't exit the situation".
I recently had a situation in my life that I wished I handled differently because I came from a place of non acceptance. Of course, because of that, It caused me pain and as I looked at it closely, I had to peel the layers away, and it was really uncomfortable. But, I want to learn and go through this journey. I want to self realize and learn from the things that don't work so i don't have to repeat them. Life is full of mistakes so that we can learn from them.
Pattabi Jois, who was an icon in the yoga community and creator of Ashtanga Yoga, said "Perfect asana means you can sit for three hours with steadiness and happiness, with no trouble." I love that. It's not about being perfect, it's about coming back again and again to stillness, to being. To being a person who is a work in progress.
Om Shanti
In life we have so many opportunities to experience acceptance and also to experience protest. Why would I choose to protest? Seems so much better to accept and experience peace. Yet, there have been so many times in my life when I know I've done just the opposite.
I have had expectations for all sorts of things in my life. Here are just a few (maybe you can relate to one or two). what success looks like, how i am supposed to look, when i was to get married and have kids, what my house should look like, how my friends should act......WOW, that's a lot of expectations! (and that's not all of them ;-). These come from a long line of experiences, past history and watching what went on around me as the unwritten rules for life. However, these rules, these expectations eventually caused me pain when i realized that I am not in control of what other people do or how they act or how things are "supposed to be". All in all, it really all comes back to being in the present. If I begin to have an expectation for a certain outcome to occur or a certain person to act in a specific way, I have entered down a path that can now lead to major disappointment and also miss out on many gifts that come in different packages.
Deepak Chopra says in the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success that " Least effort is expended when your actions are motivated by love, because nature is held together by the energy of love. When you seek power and control over other people or situations, you waste energy. When you seek money or power for the sake of the ego, you spend energy chasing the illusion of happiness instead of enjoying happiness in the moment." All things we perceive as problems have in them gifts; an opportunity to grow into something else completely.
For example, you walk into the yoga room and half way through class you realize that you have a lower amount of energy than normal. You are feeling that your whole practice up to this point is just a struggle and you begin to feel frustrated. Frustrated to the point, that you begin to give up in the mind and begin sending negative messages to your brain about how your body isn't performing the way you want it to. If we use this definition of acceptance now and break this down, we could instead, see that our energy is low and accept this. We may decide in standing head to knee that it may be beneficial to stay in the first part instead of going to the deepest part of the posture and instead focus more on our pranayama breathing. We can bring more focus into the breath. We can focus more on finding the stillness in the posture and also in between the postures. Wow...what a gift. This could actually become a huge learning curve in your practice. In these moments of stillness that you begin to create now in your practice, you feel good. You send feel good messages to the brain because you are in acceptance and treating your body with respect. So the message is "It may be uncomfortable, but don't leave...don't exit the situation".
I recently had a situation in my life that I wished I handled differently because I came from a place of non acceptance. Of course, because of that, It caused me pain and as I looked at it closely, I had to peel the layers away, and it was really uncomfortable. But, I want to learn and go through this journey. I want to self realize and learn from the things that don't work so i don't have to repeat them. Life is full of mistakes so that we can learn from them.
Pattabi Jois, who was an icon in the yoga community and creator of Ashtanga Yoga, said "Perfect asana means you can sit for three hours with steadiness and happiness, with no trouble." I love that. It's not about being perfect, it's about coming back again and again to stillness, to being. To being a person who is a work in progress.
Om Shanti
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Trusting Your Body
It's amazing what just one day can do for how I feel when I eat differently. I had a week where it seemed like every day and every night was filled with a commitment. It was great, but sometimes when this happens for me, I eat a little bit differently. I wasn't prepared with 7 days worth of healthy food and found myself eating out more than I am used to or like to. The great thing though, was that I was seeing lots of friends, clients and talking to so many people. I felt so good and fulfilled. I was thinking after the week, that although my food was different, I felt great. It was really the week that I needed because I had been spending a lot of time marketing and at home alone. It was the week I really needed to balance things out.
I've also learned, as I've learned to take care of my body better and better, that my body is an amazing machine. All i needed was just one day of juicing and eating some of my favorite raw foods and the next morning, I opened my eyes and felt amazing.
Nourish your body with something that you love today. Take a walk with a friend, go for a swim in the ocean, go out for a long run, go antiquing, take a dance lesson. Your body gets the nourishment from all of these things and gets all the benefits as well. When you feel fulfilled, your body feels satisfied.
I've also learned, as I've learned to take care of my body better and better, that my body is an amazing machine. All i needed was just one day of juicing and eating some of my favorite raw foods and the next morning, I opened my eyes and felt amazing.
Nourish your body with something that you love today. Take a walk with a friend, go for a swim in the ocean, go out for a long run, go antiquing, take a dance lesson. Your body gets the nourishment from all of these things and gets all the benefits as well. When you feel fulfilled, your body feels satisfied.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
All Or Nothing....What About The Idea of "Start Somewhere"
I can rememer so much of my life spent thinking about "Starting Tomorrow!" Tomorrow I won't have cake, tomorrow I will make that call, tomorrow I will mail the payment in, tomorrow I will make that appointment, tomorrow I will call her back, tomorrow I will go to that meeting, tomorrow I will eat better. I spent so much time on what I was going to do tomorrow, that nothing ever got done in the day, except for piling up all the things that perpetuated my feelings of insecurity and low self esteem. In the morning, I would wake up and automatically wonder if I was going to do what I said I was going to do. The anxiety was ever present. Of course, it had to be all or nothing, so if I ate that bagel for breakfast that I said I wasn't going to eat, I couldn't make the appointment I was going to make, or skip the cake for desert, or make the call i said I was going to make. It had to be all "good" or all "bad". I put those words into parentheses, because that was my judgement of everything. Everything fell into a category of good or bad. So then, if it was good, I was a good person and had the right to feel good about myself and if it was bad, I had a reason to punish myself and sabotage.
Learning how to "start somewhere" was one of the most healing things that I have learned in my life. It's also an ongoing project. There are many areas that I have learned to do this: relationships, nutrition, exercise, career...... and others that will appear that need to be worked on. One of the things that helps this process along is a gratitude list. Stopping and being aware of what I have done so that I can feel good about it. This gives me something to build on and creates good feelings, positive attitude and momentum to keep going forward. If I can stop and feel good about the fact that I ate a healthy satisfying breakfast and made a phone call to my mother to be in touch, I automatically start my day in a way that propels me to continue the cycle of doing good things for me, my life and loved ones around me. I am present for my life.
Learning how to "start somewhere" was one of the most healing things that I have learned in my life. It's also an ongoing project. There are many areas that I have learned to do this: relationships, nutrition, exercise, career...... and others that will appear that need to be worked on. One of the things that helps this process along is a gratitude list. Stopping and being aware of what I have done so that I can feel good about it. This gives me something to build on and creates good feelings, positive attitude and momentum to keep going forward. If I can stop and feel good about the fact that I ate a healthy satisfying breakfast and made a phone call to my mother to be in touch, I automatically start my day in a way that propels me to continue the cycle of doing good things for me, my life and loved ones around me. I am present for my life.
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