Reflections on 2013, intentions for 2014

In 2013 I set the intention of NO SHOPPING without necessity. So this applied to clothing and accessories (shoes, jewelry, bags). Exceptions were -traveling to Asia.
Things I bought out of "necessity":
1. A dress to wear to a wedding -happened to be on sale and fit amazingly and would totally wear it again and again. I did wear it one other time already.
2. Running sneakers -I only owned barefoot shoes and needed something to run outside in while in Thailand. They were pricey but very worth it.
3. Running socks -because I wore barefoot shoes before I never needed running socks...hmmm
4. Winter accessories  -lost my hat from last year :( and gloves on a really cold day I was walking around gloveless while food shopping in Chinatown.

When I cheated:
1. Thailand -a really beautiful warm scarf and a pair of Muay Thai shorts (totally unnecessary) -this was my Asia travel exception.
2. A really nice yoga mat bag -not needed but quite useful.

Not bad! I stuck to it pretty well. What I learned from this experience is...I really don't like shopping but I really used to think I did! The less stuff I need to buy the less anxious. Going into stores to shop gives me anxiety and having stuff means I have more stuff to worry about and be anxious. One day my bestie needed to buy a pair of shoes so I went with her and all I did was try on ridiculous shoes that I would never wear but I thought were pretty to look at. Most of them I couldn't even walk in they were so ridiculously high and uncomfortable, but I thought...a year ago I might have stupidly purchased a pair and told myself I'd wear them. I'm so glad I've shed light on my weird compulsive shopping habits and even better...paid off my credit cards! Not only has this experience made me more consciously aware about my compulsive and impulsive behaviors about shopping, but made a better decision maker in my life over all. I was able to set better routines for eating and working out and I felt I have been pretty successful all year with them. It was a great year of saving money, cutting down on excessive behaviors and slowing down my thinking process instead of reacting and being impulsive. Finding what necessity actually means.

So what's in store for 2014?
1. I'm cutting down on facebook time. It's like a weird nervous twitch I've developed to check fb on my smart phone...every 5 min. I can spend an hour reading completely unimportant things about people I don't care that much about. I often justify looking at facebook to see what my cousins overseas are doing -which is why fb is great to me! But there is way too much time just looking at random unimportant stuff. So I am allotting 1x a day for 10min to look at random stuff and I've been working on hiding certain posters and highlighting friends who I don't get to interact with regularly but still want to know what their up to from time to time. I could have been spending all that fb time at an art gallery, reading a book, having tea with a friend or taking a damn nap!
2. Going to continue my no shopping. I am allowing myself a few luxury buys -I made a list of a few things I "sort of" need in my wardrobe to update it a bit and outside of that I am sticking to a buy on necessity only rule -ie running shoes are totally burned out...buy new ones.
3. Purging my closet. I got rid of about 10 bags of clothes last year -many pairs of shoes donated to friends, dresses and purses donated to prom goers in need, salvation army and the church by my moms house. It still isn't enough. I found a ton of t-shirts that I can't seem to get rid of! So I am going to force myself to do it....I already put aside 2 of them.
4. Generally I find myself so attached to the virtual world of smart phone and computer. I feel like these LCD screens are messing up my vision! Less virtual life, more real life. :)
5. Watching what I say. I have had a handful of experiences in 2013 of witnessing, being a part of or being a victim of mean girls. I don't want to be a part of it. It's so ugly, it feels dirty and no one ever benefits from it. Down with mean girls.

Recharged from Ananda!

Full schedule as soon as we arrived!

Yoga in the Blue Sky Center

Another day full of yummy things!

Last day before returning back to the city!

My favorite lake

Outside of the Panini house

Holiday Schedule, subbings, etc.

Sat Dec 28 Five Points Academy -no class!
Wed Jan 1 Jai Yoga Arts -Special Sankalpa yoga and meditation class! DON'T MISS THIS!
Thurs Jan 2 Jai Yoga Arts noon-1:15pm
Fri Jan 3 Jai Yoga Arts noon-1:15pm
Sat Jan 4 Five Points Academy 1-2pm regular schedule!
Sat Jan 4 Jai Yoga Arts 4:30-5:45pm

Things have been happening and I got caught up in the happening!

Change often intimidates us. We fear changes because it is so unknown. But in reality what happens is we make up stories about what might happen, and instead of being present, we allow those stories to take off and we are no longer looking at what is true, right in front of our faces. Being stuck or stagnant in our ways may seem comfortable, however it is again, a story or an excuse for shying away from changing.

It is important view change as inevitable, but that usually we bring about smaller changes before bringing about larger changes.  

Breath and feel the present moment!

Our minds tend to regret or put too much emphasis on the past and/or create anxiety about the future. Our breath helps us to stay in the present. Being aware of our thinking/mental patterns helps us to not get caught up in them. Take a breath in and feel the present moment. Feel connected to the universe and truly feel connected to the people in your life.

Change and Changeless

One cannot exist without the other. They are constantly pulling and pushing each other and we are constantly trying to get them to balance out. Just like in our Asana practice we always feel a force forwards and backwards. Pressing down and lifting up. Things unchanged are what help us to ground, be stable and strong. It gives a foundation for everything to build upon. Our changes are what helps us to move forward in life and find new things, new beginnings and take away what we don't need anymore.

Life gives us the unexpected all the time. The way nature flows is unpredictable. There can be storms and waves but we can also have peace and stillness at any given time. When changes comes about we sometimes want to resist or fight it, because we want to stay in our unchanged comfort. What we don't realize is that struggling and staying stagnant is also causing another kind of discomfort. And our tendancy to cling to what is comfort is just an unreal attachment. If we can align with nature and follow the flow, let go of our need to control, this is where we find peace and comfort. Knowing the unpredictable nature of the world we can stand stronger our ground and be able to take what is given to us. As Yogi's our sensitivity to changes are there, we just have to trust ourself and notices the subtle shifts in energy, this will tell us where to go, how much to change and how much we remain unchanged.

In the beginning there was Yoga

Yogas Citta Vritti Nirodhah

Trying not to let all of the junk that goes on in your head take over. Turning off the mental conversations that you have with yourself can help you have clarity and better focus!

We can't control the world around us

BUT we can control our breath, and with that, we can control ourselves. Is it interesting how we try to control things that are simply out of our reach. We try to control others to do what we want them to, we try to make things in our life go OUR way. It becomes a struggle at work, in our relationships, at home, with our friends, in any situation in which we want things to be easier for us. But when it doesn't work out we feel disappointed and frustrated. And this is because we were going about it in the wrong manner. We simply cannot control things that are so huge, we cannot control the universe or the world around us. We also cannot control people and/or our relationships! But in trying to do all of this control we easily forget about ourselves. We can control our own breath, we can retain it, we can elongate it, we can make it smoother -can we not? So with controlling the breath, we can notice that we can control our heart rate to some extent as well, we breath deeper and slower -the heart rate goes down. We can also control our bodies and our minds, instead of getting worried and preoccupied we can easily come back to our breath and keep ourselves from getting caught up in the emotions. Experiencing emotions is great but when it begins to hold us down its a whole different ball game.

Mantras

I didn't used to like chanting mantras...mostly because they are rarely explained and broken down. I felt like someone was forcing me into "church" when I just wanted to do yoga...at a gym, no less! I still have mixed feelings about that kind of thing, BUT I have learned to like mantras!

Mantra in sanskrit means manas -mind or consciousness; tra or trayate -to free. So, transcending the mind or creating transformation.

Another aspect of chanting mantras that I have come to like is that the sanskrit words and sounds activate and vibrate the chakras. We have all experienced this from chanting Om at the beginning and ending of Yoga class and though we may not always pay attention to it, we've all noticed its affects.

Favorite mantras:

Om namah shivaya
The chant for Shiva. Giving recognition to your true nature, and the true nature of the universe. 

Om gam ganapataye namaha
The chant for Ganesha. Removing obstacles from our path. 

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings be happy and free

Come to my class at Jai and get your chakras going! Jai Yoga Arts -Bushwick!

Ganesha, Guay Yin Temple in Koh Samui, Thailand

Its September again!

I felt the need to shut it down for a whole month -not just because I was away for most of it, but I just needed to take a little break. And now I'm back!

And because its Ganesh Chaturthi Mahotsav