Happy (almost) New Year!

New Years Resolutions

Time to set those resolutions, get inspired, and energized for the New Year you have been given.

2018 is knocking at the door and it will soon be time to let it in! Before you do-- take a moment in gratitude to truly FEEL 2017. What do you have to be grateful for in the past year? Even if it's been the hardest, most challenging year yet…. What can you find hiding in the corners that strikes a bit of gratitude in your heart?

Now stop-- breath there...allow the gratitude to become an ALL OVER physical sensation for a moment-- notice how the physical body responds to gratitude-- and instead of letting the thought pass-- for a moment, be OVERWHELMED by the physical sensation of gratitude.

Now moving into 2018, how can you channel that which brought you bliss in 2017 and bring it with you in 2018?

Perhaps it’s the relationship you had with your yoga mat, your meditation bolster, or lavender eye pillow?

The safe space you have created to come and surrender, find space, and move into peace and bliss in the body-- and likewise because, we believe yoga means Union- if we can find space in the physical body-- perhaps, then, we can also believe this transcends into the mental-emotional space as well.

How do we cultivate, feed and encourage our commitment to our mats (or any self-care practice) in 2018?

#1 BELIEVE in self-care

Ask a yoga practitioner on the way out of class- we are overwhelmed by the “I love Yoga” feeling-- at the end of a practice. We know we feel better, (and others around us feel better) when we practice. Like any other commitment we make, the practice must come daily. The effort to carve out space for ourselves must be paramount on our schedule. We must believe that self-care- regardless of its form-- is as important, if not MORE important as caring for others. When we put self-care into practice-- it OVERWHELMINGLY shows up in our personal connections with others, our work productivity, our energy to connect and live peacefully.

#2 Reinforce the belief-

Stop and notice the effects. Take in the gratitude when you take time for self-care.

So what happens? What happens to New Years Resolutions on January 15? (if we make it that long). We forget to stop and take our “I love Yoga Moment” or pat ourselves on the back-- for carving time and making the effort towards our self-care. We need to stop and acknowledge when we take-- even 5 minutes of our day to stop and rest in stillness or meditation-- or our efforts will be lost to “busy-ness and fight or flight existence.”

#3 Form a community

Self-care comes more naturally when you surround yourself with people who also practice self- care. Join a yoga studio, a running group, get a book club going or try a meditation circle. Sometimes, when we know someone else is going to show up to a class-- on the days we are really struggling to find time-- make a date and an effort to just get there. This does not mean your practice is not personal to you.

#4 Have a backup plan

What if you get hurt and you cannot exercise? -Meditation takes no movement. What if you are traveling or do not have exercise equipment with you? - Grab your phone and a towel and play an on-demand class. What if you just don’t have time? -Make an effort to focus on breath in your morning commute or while you are waiting for your child to get done with basketball practice. Do you have to work a double? -Take the stairs. Do some pushups before lunch and stop while eating lunch-- to actually “taste” the food.

Have a backup plan-- should things not work out as you would have liked.

#5 Do not skip a day

Do SOMETHING every day that brings you bliss. You do not have to do an hour of yoga or a run a day. It can be as simple as getting out of bed and stepping on your mat to take a child’s pose-- and that’s it. Make the effort towards self-care-- any DAILY habit, like brushing your teeth or combing your hair.

#6 Let us help

Our community here at DRISHTIQ is here to help you. Grab a teacher after class. Chat up our front desk crew. Among our many opportunities to practice all types of yoga- we also have challenges-- you can join in-- to keep you motivated. For instance, work towards our 2018 Om Club re-birth or try any of our super helpful workshops-- which will get you closer to finding your bliss. We also have private one-on-one opportunities-- where you can meet for a personalized class with a yoga teacher. Our On-Demand Library of classes is there for you to access ANYwhere-- at ANY time! Our goal for 2018 is to better equip our community for self-care. We are here to help. Get in touch!

Namaste,

Amy K