Change

Happy New Year.
I am not a big fan of New Years resolutions. I believe that every new day should be an opportunity to change your life. I never make resolutions on the new year. It is sooooo cliché. When I am asked what my resolutions are, I tell people that I have the same resolutions all throughout the year. I believe that it is my destiny in life to have a positive effect on the lives of as many people as I can. I strive to be more compassionate, generous, and mindful. Through the vehicle of yoga, I strive to assist people in becoming healthier, calmer, and better grounded. That is an everyday intention. ( please do not believe that I am some enlightened being. These are intentions at best. I have epic failures every day.)  I don’t think that the new year has a corner on the transformation market. I think that every day you should look in the mirror. Really look. If there is something outwardly, physical, that you do not like about yourself then you should set an intention to make a change. It may be your butt or your thighs or your stomach, whatever. Then look deeper to the person you are. If there are behaviors that you don’t like that you exhibit then you have to set the intention to affect change. This may include anger, sloth, gluttony, unhappiness, etc. All of this change requires a shift in self awareness. Quite often this is an awareness that has previously eluded you. Without awareness, you will stay with the habits and behaviors which have brought you to the place that you are. If you are happy in this place then great. You have arrived. Congratulations! If not, Yoga is the practice that helps bring your awareness or lack thereof into focus. It is a practice of increasing physical and mental awareness. The key word is practice. It is a daily discipline of body and mind. There is room for each of us to improve our bodies and minds. Change requires effort. It is not enough to want to change, or even be aware of what needs changing. You must take action. Action requires effort. If you are seeking physical transformation then you need to take actions like increased exercise (yoga), better nutrition, adequate sleep and reduction of stress. If you are seeking behavioral change then you need to identify the triggers that activate undesirable behaviors and purposefully change you responses to those triggers. It sounds so easy writing it here, but change is one of the hardest thing for most people to enact. People fear change. Even when they know it is in their own best interest, they resist it. The resistance is fear based. People are comfortable in routine and repetition of behavior. There is that saying that someone is “in a rut”. If you have ever driven a bicycle or a car and had a tire fall into a rut, a groove that is lower than the rest of the road or path, then you know that it is easier to stay in the rut, even if it is leading you somewhere you may not want to go. Getting out of the rut can be difficult and if on a bicycle may cause you to fall. Many people find themselves in ruts and feel powerless to get out. They feel trapped in jobs they don‘t like, bodies they are not happy with, and relationships that are unhealthy or unfulfilling.. This feeling of being trapped is one that you have created for yourself. It is as easy as deciding to get out that will allow you to get out of your rut. You may fall on your way out, but once out you will rise up and have a whole new perspective which will allow you to strike out in whatever direction your life leads you. People seem to think that the new year has some special resolute powers that will help them to change. The high number of resolution failures begs the opposite. Any time is a good time for change. The special power comes from within you. You just have to want to change. Today is as good a day as any other. Go over to your mirror and set some positive intentions, increase your awareness, put forth some effort and change your life.…..