Every time I practice yoga I experience something glorious. While I generally think/name this bliss “God”, I think it’s just as appropriate to dub it Spirit, Love, Collective Consciousness, Nature, or something else. Even though I’ve been Christian and generally gone to church my whole life, I think it’s safe to say I’ve more directly encountered the Divine on my mat than anywhere else. Why? I think it’s because yoga is prayer … on steroids. I wrote a few thoughts on 6 ways yoga is prayer in a life-changing way I’d be honored for you to check out and comment on with your thoughts, additions, etc. below! :) https://gracenpeaceyoga.com/2019/03/23/6-ways-yoga-is-prayer/
#yoga #Jesus #prayer #gratitude #appreciation #divine #spirit #temple #body #bodyistemple #transformation #listening #communication #connection #kindness #care #compassion #connection #integration #growth #remembering #upwardspiral #blissarmy #blissology #God #peace #bliss #Christ #goodvibes
GETTING THE FUNK OUT
When you find yourself in a funk, what helps you break out of it? For the last couple of months I've been noticing my thinking has been WAY more negative than normal. Nothing terrible, just LOTS more judgmental, pessimistic, and shameful thinking about myself than usual. Our thoughts shape our worlds, so mine had become too dark and dingy for my taste.
In pondering this dilemma, I remembered Brené Brown said studies show most all of us start and end our days with a feeling of lack, thoughts of "not enough". I'm not enough, there's not enough time, there's not enough money, there's too much to do and not enough help, and so on. One way to get this feeling of funk out is by telling a better story in our minds. One of love, belonging, and worth just by being.
For years, I'd began every day by breathing the mantra "I am loved" for several minutes, before I even got out of bed. For some random reason, though, I'd stopped this practice not long before my funk began. So, for the last couple of weeks I've rebooted the practice and it's made a world of difference in my inner thought world. Breathing mantras, especially at the beginning of the day, help me get the funk out. What helps you?
#love #positivity #growth #transformation #thoughts #mind #funk #enough #abundance #belonging #worth #kindness #upwardspiral #bliss #blissarmy #blissology #brenebrown #yoga #magicman #kitsaphotyoga
SELF IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
Part of me knows I'm a pretty fit dude ... AND often, when I look at my upper body in the mirror, a different aspect of me shakes its head in disapproval. I don't have Ryan Gosling's ripped abs. My arms lack the definition of Dwayne Johnson's. And so on. Nothing is ever good enough for this small part of me. Sometimes, though, when I flex in the mirror (I'm not alone here right?), I smile, nod, and think "YAY baby! Look'n good!!" The True part of me sees enough'ness everywhere and knows we're all works of art. What do you see when you gaze at your naked self (literally and metaphorically)? While my disapproving example is our small self, the second is our True Self. Though our small self (associated with our ego) sees everything through the lenses of comparison and competition, our True Self (our soul) gazes through the grace-filled filters of kindness and celebration.
The bad news here is culture trains us to live from our false, ego-centric, small identities. Meaning a mentality of lack, judgment, fear, striving, shame, hate, competition, and such are our default setting. The good news, though, is breath by breath, thought by thought, image by image we can bring to mind and choose to live into the Truth. We can decide to see through lenses of abundance, beauty, community, and joy. The essence of each of us is a heavenly masterpiece made of Light and Love. The world becomes a better place when we see ourselves as better people!
#love #masterpiece #beauty #abundance #grace #joy #bliss #kindness #celebration #enough #light #soul #self #trueself #falseself #bigself #smallself #yoga #magicman #upwardspiral #blissarmy #blissology #kitsaphotyoga
BE THE REASON SOMEONE SMILES TODAY
Do you ever wonder if what you do matters? Or even how much YOU matter? I know I do! With that in mind, at the beginning of my yoga classes, I gift each student with an inspirational sticky note to encourage her/him. They have sayings like "Be a warrior, not a worrier.", "You make work fabulous, thank you!", and "What you did was amazing!" That said, for the last three weeks NOBODY has attended a 930AM class I've taught for a year, which previously had a steady, decent-sized turnout. Likewise, each week I spend hours carefully crafting a blog to spread and expand love, but lately only a handful of people have read them. Can you relate to my thought bubbles of doubt, insecurity, and questioning if I'm making the difference my heart yearns to bring into the world?
Let me pause here to remind you: YOU matter! YOU make a difference! YOU make the world a better place!
While seeing the foot doctor for my plantar fasciitis the other day, that I teach yoga came up. "Wait," she said with excitement in her eyes, "do you teach at the Parks & Rec? I've been to classes you subbed there. I kept your sticky notes because they brighten my day!" Gleefully she fetched them to show me. "Be the reason someone smiles today", it turns out, is her favorite. Fittingly, the doc was the reason I grinned that afternoon.
So, today I invite us to be the reason someone smiles today. Start by remembering YOU matter and are AMAZING! From that joyful place, make a portion of a walk, doing dishes, practicing yoga, or some other physical activity an embodied prayer for someone. Then, when you get that inner nudge to compliment, hug, and/or encourage someone, go for it! A little kindness produces immense gladness!
#love #kindness #encouragement #gladness #happiness #compliment #smile #hug #bliss #yoga #meditation #magicman #upwardspiral #blissarmy #blissology #whitelotusyoga2018
LOVING THE IGNORED 💗🌈🙌🏼💫🥰❣️ Does anyone else regularly have AHA moments in the shower? While enjoying the perfectly hot water the other day, I was pondering what it means to be Christian and came up with a one sentence summary: To be Christian is to worship the pinky toe ... which I find fantastic! Worship means to give worth to, and Christianity names the Creator of reality as humble and loving enough to die for us. Another way to say that is the infinitely powerful Source of billions of stars far beyond our comprehension, is also intimately close and relatable to each and every one of us.
Another way I see my pinky toe metaphor capturing Christianity is in Jesus' bias for and toward the poor, hurting, sick, neglected, excluded, shamed, oppressed, and so on. The Christ elevates the "pinky toes" of our society to a place of honor, inviting us to care for and treat the "least" of people like queens and kings.
As a runner and yogi I've been dealing with and healing from a foot injury (probably plantar fasciitis) since Christmas time, which has made me keenly aware of how interconnected all the bits and pieces of us our. I've noted how pain or instability in one small part of my foot has big repercussions on the rest of my body, with discomfort in my heel leading to tightness in my calf for instance. My point here is that Christianity honors the divine image in each and every person. We are all connected, we are all related, we are all masterpieces, we are all loved more than we can imagine. There is no separation or difference in God's eyes between a real or metaphorical pinky toe, a heart, and 6-pack abs.
Thanks for enjoying my thoughts! I hope you have an incredible day!
#love #Christ #Christianity #Jesus #God #least #humble #care #kindness #heal #upwardspiral #blissarmy #blissology #magicman #yoga #whitelotusyoga2018
