Posts In: acceptance

by Laura McCorry

Everyday Mindfulness: 108 Simple Practices to Empower Yourself and Transform Your Life

by Melissa Steginus

Summary: Everyday Mindfulness is designed as an active workbook to help increase self understanding and mindfulness habits. For 108 days (and perhaps beyond), Steginus encourages you to keep the book close at hand. Each day is divided into a brief explanation of the purpose, then the mindfulness practice, followed by space for reflections, comments and notes.

Why I Love It: It’s designed to be read slowly, just one page a day. You don’t slog through paragraphs and long passages to get to its core truths. One of my favorites is Day 31 Engage in Play:

“Make yourself laugh today. Practice ways to express yourself and goof around a little! Schedule at least 10 minutes of play, during which you do something simply for the sake of enjoyment. Even if it feels silly or uncomfortable, do it anyway. Life is too important to live without play!” 

Recommended For: Readers ready to take a journey through the physical, emotional, rational, spiritual, occupation, and network realms of self-study. One of the lessons I’ve gleaned from this past year is that true self-inquiry is always rewarded with greater insightful clarity or with more acceptance for circumstances outside our control. Those seeking a systematic approach to examining mindfulness in all its aspects might find this book to be just the tool they’ve been looking for. 

Everyday Mindfulness is published by TCK Publishing.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

AMNESIA

Once again
I’ve confused rigidity for strength,
domination for embodiment.

I’ve missed opportunities for appreciation
for acceptance
for love.

We know in our minds.
We feel in our hearts.

And yet we forget.
We get lost,
confused.
Amnesia of the spirit.

What if the only purpose of life
is to communicate love?
Through our breath
Through our body
Through our thoughts
Through our words
Through our actions
Through our relationships
Through our life
Through our being

Begin again.
Every day.
Every moment.
Every breath.
A chance to wake up.

*****

BELIEFS

How do they form?
How do they shape and filter
the way we view ourselves,
each other, the world?

We look to some beliefs
to help guide positive thought and action,
such as Ahimsa (non-violence),
or a vision of sameness,
to see ourselves in others,
or to (radically) love ourselves…

But perhaps any belief
comes with a small weight,
what we should be or do.

Maybe the next step
is to let go of the belief.

To realize that we already are the same.
We already are love.
We always have been.
We don’t have to think it,
or believe it,
we can just be it.
We
Are
It.

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously”

by Osho

Summary: Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously examines the very human experience of fear and challenges the ways in which we would typically respond. A provocative spiritual teacher, Osho believes that change and uncertainty are opportunities for adventure instead of reasons to experience fear. He asks the reader to use these opportunities to deepen their understanding of themselves and the world. Osho writes that developing inner courage by facing your fears will lead to a more authentic and fulfilled life.

Why I Love It: One of the reasons Osho’s book is so reassuring to me is because it acknowledges that feeling fear is a natural and normal part of life. What matters more is not the experience of fear, but how we perceive fear and our reaction to it. I love the change in perspective that stayed with me after reading this book. I felt more free to accept life as one long journey to experience and enjoy rather than something to conquer or master.

I also love that Osho writes very directly without any fluff, which is such a relief after reading more dense texts. It sends the message that spiritual teaching needn’t be complicated even though the work itself might be very difficult.

Recommended For: This book is for the yogi ready and willing to look within and expand their consciousness. Osho was one of my first spiritual teachers and I’m grateful for all I’ve learned from him. For me, simply acknowledging that fear is not the be all, end all was very powerful. I hope this book inspires the reader to become curious about fear, to explore it without bias and bring to light whatever they find.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the total presence of fear, with the courage to face it.” – Osho

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Laura McCorry

As a new yoga teacher, I was in love with everything yoga. I wanted to soak it all in and learn as much as I possibly could so that when my training was over, I could go out into the world and help people move and feel better in their bodies.

I diligently memorized all the Sanskrit names and their English translations. I practiced saying both names whenever I taught a class (and I’m a bit embarrassed to think how many Sanskrit names I’ve now forgotten). But there was one pose, one name, for which I always used the Sanskrit: savasana.

After yoga and namaste, it’s probably the most-recognized Sanskrit word, so you can get away with not saying its translation. I’ve used “final relaxation” to explain savasana in many classes. But here are the words I’ve avoided saying for so many years:

Corpse Pose.

I was reminded of the proper translation this week. I had just finished leading a restorative yoga class and everyone in the room was lying down on their mats, not moving. This is the most relaxing part of yoga, the culmination of the previous hour and the time when the body receives the greatest benefit from the practice.

And I remembered that savasana meant corpse pose and I felt a chill go up my spine to see a room full of people, essentially “practicing” death. In that moment, I realized how much easier it was for me to be the teacher, to sit on my mat and stay “awake” so I could guide them out of savasana when the time was right.

My level of comfort with death ranges from “not very” to “nope, this is not even a little bit okay.” And I know I’m not alone. Our culture pushes death outside the realm of public discourse. We cover it up in medical jargon and leave death in the hands of hospice and the funeral home – anything to create some distance between us, the living, and the-thing-we-fear-above-all- fears.

So there’s something profoundly radical about the practice of yoga ending each session with the practice of death.

It flies in the face of popular culture which would rather pay attention to the youngest, newest, brightest thing under the sun. Which helps explain why savasana at some of the trendier, more corporate-feeling yoga studios can be so short – sometimes no more than two minutes.

How long savasana should last is a matter of debate in the yoga world, but the goal is long enough for you (your essence/spirit/soul) to surrender you (the body/mind). To truly practice corpse pose, you must recognize your Self as separate from your body. This acknowledgement can take years to manifest because we are very attached to our bodies in both a literal and psychological sense.

One of yoga’s primary tenets is the yama of non-attachment, aparigraha. It is natural for us to cling to things, to hold on tight to the people we love and the experiences of our body. But yoga teaches that You are not your body. In order to be free, to experience samadhi, or union with the divine, you must let go. Surrender. And yes, even practice death.

I believe that fear and discomfort can only ever hold us back from the fullness of life. We are meant to be alive. We are meant to fully enjoy this beautiful world and to live abundantly. I hope that over time, this practice of yoga continues to mold me, body, mind and spirit until I can one day acknowledge death without fear. Until the practices of living and dying can peacefully coexist that I might move with greater ease through this experience of life. And I wish the same for you.

**This post was partly inspired by Contributing Writer, Monique Minahan’s piece When I’m Gone Please Don’t Have a Funeral on Huffington Post. Thank you Monique for always writing from your heart!

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Yoga for Life: A Journey to Inner Peace and Freedom” 

by Colleen Saidman Yee

Summary: Yoga for Life is an amazing memoir written with such searing honesty, it touched me deep within my soul. Colleen Saidman Yee shares both her shadows and her light with vulnerability as she chronicles both her life and her yoga journey. Saidman Yee emphasizes the message “you are enough” and while reading, I felt as though she was writing as my friend, mother, sister, teacher, woman, light worker, but most of all, a real person. She knows the practice and the body inside and out. It’s a book about her life and she shares her story out of a calling to support healing and community.

Why I Love It: Colleen shares her personal journey from rebellious teen with a heroin habit to a supermodel traveling the world to now being called “The First Lady of Yoga” by the New York Times. She’s lived such an interesting life! Most importantly to me, she didn’t hold back from sharing the unedited, un-airbrushed side of her life. We all have sides of ourselves of which we’re not proud, but the path to both Inner Peace and Freedom means bringing those experiences into the light of acceptance.

B.K.S. Iyengar said, “If you don’t want your life to change, don’t get on your yoga mat.” Every time I step on my mat, I come into greater acceptance of myself. Over time, I breathed into the hard, tight places I had stuffed away deep down in my muscles and they began to open up. My chaturangas got stronger and my confidence grew. I took time in savasana to be still and connect to my heart. These simple (though not easy) rituals changed they way I saw things, and the things I saw began to change.

It’s a beautiful, unique process how yoga touches each individual person but it always comes back to the heart. I truly believe that compassion, kindness and love can heal the world and Yee’s book is a reminder of this truth.

Recommend For: Anyone who enjoys yoga and inspirational life stories. Especially in this digital age, it’s easy to compare your day-to-day life with everyone else’s highlight reel. We compare ourselves and feel less-than and unworthy. That’s why the mantra “you are enough” is so powerful because it’s true! We need to be reminded of this over and over again. Without changing one single thing, I believe you are enough, exactly the way you are. Not in a year, not after you get married, and definitely not after you have lost ten pounds. Right this second, you are whole and you are enough.

Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti Yoga sums up Saidman Yee well, stating –

“Like Gandhi, Colleen is stayagraha—meaning possessed by the truth. She tells her story honestly, without pretense, no makeup—totally fearless while at the same time gracefully imbuing every word with infectious joy, gratitude and compassion. You will find no blaming or complaining in this memoir for this is the story of a remarkable woman who approaches life as an adventure, armed with a bewitching ability to transform obstacles into opportunities and the ordinary into something magical. She is living proof that yoga is for life.”

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Laura McCorry

The body positive movement means finding ways to respect, honor and love your own body as a daily practice. Feeling positively about your body has nothing to do with your health, fitness or size. (Can we repeat that about a thousand times across the twitterverse?)

The culture we live in is always ready to tell us that we’re not good enough. Sometimes all we see in the media are airbrushed and photoshopped images of women and men that misrepresent the natural body of the model. Not only have we elevated one type of body to an ideal, but often the thin/fit/flawless body is a complete illusion.

So what does it mean to step out of this culture and onto your mat to practice yoga?

Every belief you have about your body will follow you onto your mat. If your thoughts are predominantly negative, this can have disastrous consequences for how you feel about yoga and your likelihood of maintaining a regular practice.

But yoga teaches present moment awareness – which means paying attention and honoring how your body moves that day, without comparison to how it moved in the past or how you’d like it to move in the future. The more you practice this mental shift into the present, the more you can circumvent negative self-talk.

Body positivity doesn’t mean complacency in the face of health risks. It means rejecting the “not good enough” mantra and replacing it with affirmations of love, acceptance and encouragement.

When we feel positively about our bodies, we create an atmosphere of nurturing protection for the body and prompt the desire for more positive change. Sometimes the biggest physical challenge you encounter in life is not the super hard workout or the discipline to stay active – the bigger challenge is the radical acceptance of your body. All of it, without exception.

You are only given this one vessel with which to experience the world. Treat it kindly. Allow it to feel the warmth of the sun and the caress of the breeze. Take it on adventures and let your body carry you through a world of new experiences.

Know that all change starts within. If you can change one thought, you can begin to change your way of thinking. If you change your thinking, you can influence others to do the same. Maybe one day the cultural legacy we leave behind will be one that affirms the value of all bodies and contributes to the health and happiness of all.

(Here’s a great place to start, 10 Ways to Practice Self-Love.)

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

This month we’re featuring Shadow Van Houten who leads a Level 1 and 2 Yoga Flow class on Friday mornings at 9am. Shadow is large of heart, strong of spirit and looms like a super nova of positive vibrations – we’re lucky to have her! Check out our full class schedule here.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

I typically prefer a Prana Flow-inspired Vinyasa, with balanced aspects of humor, playfulnessss, pranayama, and a connection to yoga philosophy. Any class that brings a smile and a deep savasana makes my day.

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice?

Ten years ago, I was initially drawn to Bikram yoga. My active mind found an unintentional mantra; ”It’s so hot. Why are we here agin? Just stay calm. It’s so hot. Why are we here agin? Just stay calm.” I unconsciously began tapping into what would form the basis of a present mindfulness. It did feel very good for reasons I couldn’t fully explain.

A few years later though, at the yurt in Encinitas, I truly connected with what I consider my yoga practice. I found a teacher who brought to light the deeper, mind-body-spirit connection in a playful, supportive space. The concept of yoga became fun, freeing, holistic, and a constant practice off the mat.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

Right now, since it’s early in the morning, I love finding spontaneous, or ‘sahaja,’ movement in seated chakravakasana (cat-cow). I think of it akin to grinding coffee in the morning, some days I find a subtle, lumbar isolated movement, a basic coarse-ground roast, and some mornings I find myself exploring deep bends and fluid movements, like an oh-so-fine espresso.

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

I find shoulderstand, sarvangasana, to be quite challenging, especially to find comfort and its intended cooling effect. In full disclosure, I tend to conveniently leave it out of my home practice, but appreciate when it is included in a class. I’m sure it’s a pose I need, but I can’t say it is one I currently enjoy.

5. If you were an animal, you would be: a humpback whale, traveling the world’s oceans with those closest to me, eating copious amounts of fresh seafood and singing our hearts out. Yes, please!

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: compassion and connection within and without.

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

My right forearm is mostly metal, so I actually cannot come close to touching my right shoulder with my right fingertips. Fortunately, this is not a motion that’s commonly required in life or asana. However, I discovered this while my toes dangled over the edge of an airplane door, as the dive instructor behind me called out “just grab on to your shoulder straps and jump.” Now that was a stark moment of realization!

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students?

The greatest and most challenging work often lies in acceptance, especially self-acceptance. (tweet that) Exactly how you feel and where you are in your practice is ok, in every moment.

It takes time and commitment to detach from judgement and to be present, but these are the aspects of a very advanced practice. The most advanced yogis are not necessarily the ones in very difficult or malleable poses, but they’re the ones listening to and honoring themselves, perhaps by simply finding stillness.

Also, there are so many different ways to access and practice yoga. Explore different styles and teachers, until you discover what you truly enjoy and connect with. Have fun!

by Monique Minahan

If walking down the street was a yoga pose, how would we do it? Would we walk more mindfully, consciously, and with attention to how our breath informs our every step?

guest post by Monique Minahan 

In yoga we often hear teachers suggest we create an intention for our practice. As opposed to a goal, I like to think of making an intention as an alignment. Just like we align our bodies in a certain way to safely move into Warrior II, we can align our minds and our hearts to optimally move in the direction we choose.

Sometimes my intentions are a whole sentence and other times single words; for example, presence or gratitude. I find it helpful to choose intentions I can apply on my mat and also off my mat. Instead of having an intention to finally nail bakasana, or crow pose, I’ll choose an intention of tapping into my inner strength, giving my intention bigger potential.

I’ve used the same intention for months until I feel I’ve outgrown it, and other times I use a different one every practice.

This year I’ve been applying a concept I discovered in the yoga workbook Art of Attention. The question posed is this:

Are you trying to prove something or are you trying to emerge?

While this question can be applied to anything, I primarily apply it to my yoga practice because that’s where I get up close and personal with my ego, my willpower, and my true self.

Reflecting on this question I realized that in asana, the physical practice of yoga, the effort we put into a pose may appear the same regardless of which mental or emotional approach we choose. The external appearance of our pose won’t necessarily look any different.

It’s the intention that changes.

Whether you are trying to prove something (e.g., I’m going to muscle through this practice no matter what) or you are trying to emerge (e.g., the fire of tapas [discipline] I create by staying with the intensity is burning away blockages), someone looking at you from the outside might not know what’s going on inside.

But you do. You know what’s going on inside. Over time what’s going on inside starts to be reflected on the outside.

Applying this question to my current practice, I’ve noticed both happening. Sometimes I try to prove I’m strong enough. Other times I’m trying to create an opening for my inner light to shine through. Bringing a quality of nonjudgement to both gives me the opportunity for svadhyaya (self-study). Applying compassion to myself and my practice (ahimsa) allows me to love, accept, and honor both the striving human and the soulful being living in the same body.

The beauty of yoga is that it creates a safe space for us to practice, grow, and heal. It’s called a yoga practice because our mat is not where we truly prove ourselves or emerge. It’s when we get off our mats that our practice turns into the real thing.

Having felt our true self emerge through the process of yoga, perhaps we step out into the world with increased courage and allow our true self to be shared with the people we meet.

If my intention is gratitude, I often weave that intention into my entire day and find something to be grateful for in every situation, however challenging.

The power of intention is the power of choice. By tapping into this power I’ve found I can effectuate positive change, not only in my body and mind, but in my life as well.

 

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

It’s the end of our 2013 Yoga One Teacher Training course and we’re so proud of our new graduates! They not only have the technical knowledge to begin their next journey teaching but also the mental and emotional strength and awareness needed. Teacher training is such a vast experience, filled with learning and growth both on the mat and off. We wanted to honor this place of newfound knowledge and their first eager steps of teaching others by checking in with our recent grads for their thoughts on the following questions:

What excites you the most about teaching yoga to others?
Do you have any fears? If yes, how do you move beyond them?
If you don’t plan on teaching, how did YTT deepen your personal practice?

Janssen: 

What excites me most about teaching yoga is the opportunity to take something so amazing, weave myself into it, and then take this wonderful combination of wisdom, love, and openness and show others how they can make it something they love as well. It will never just be me teaching because there is always something to be learned, and I love learning!

I am plenty scared that I’m not good enough or prepared enough or that I’m going to put myself out there and fail. But what always stays with me is the quote, “shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars.” That has never been more true or more applicable. 

Dina: 

Do I have fears? Absolutely! What if I forget what pose comes next in my sequence? What if my students don’t like me? What if I can’t demonstrate a pose? What if nobody shows up? Or worse, what if a pregnant woman shows up? Ah!  The list of “what ifs” goes on and on. The best way for me to overcome these fears is to breathe, practice, be present in the now, not what could happen in the future, and enjoy the ride. Enjoy the ride of guiding yogis through a beautiful, safe practice. Everything else will follow.

Romy: 

I’m not still sure if I will teach, there is so much information to learn and to feel confident about. If I decide to teach, it excites me to be the channel for others to find their inner strength, happiness, and peace. I would like to help others in their transformational path to balance, freedom and awareness.

Of course I have fears, but I diminish them by moving into the “fear'” itself. Not letting my mind over-think the “fear” so it doesn’t get bigger and stronger with my own thinking of an unreal result. It is much easier to conquer the fear than to live with it, you just need to take that first step and move into it.

My personal practice has benefited greatly with the training. Not just with my practice on the mat being conscious and aware of my movements, breath, alignment and how differently I was doing things; but with my yoga practice off the mat as well by taking all the good to my daily life (just being, breathing, being aware, balanced, patient, tolerant, healing… so many things). This journey has helped me conquer areas of myself that I was afraid of, healed my emotions, and allowed me to know myself better, to accept myself and to be a better person. There is so much room for being a better person, and this training is just the beginning. I see things in a different way, in a better way.

This will be a two-part series, check back next week to hear more from our amazing graduates.

Since I’m working through the same postures multiple times a day, I get to observe my attitude and attention (or lack thereof) each time. I am seeing my limits reached and then asking myself what I need to do to last a little longer, to dig a little deeper, to honor my present moment more fully.

Surprisingly, there is something new and untapped every time I return to my mat. My legs are tired, but my standing poses have never felt more solid. My body is achy, but every down-dog feels like the first one ever. My mind is so alert from the accelerated learning that stillness has never been more clearly defined, and when there is silence I hear it more loudly than the sounds.

And so it happens that Patience invites me into my own body. Have a seat, she says. Everything you need is here.

The Path

Through this teacher training I’ve come to appreciate on a new level that yoga is not about how it looks on the outside. It’s about what’s happening on the inside.

To this end, one of our teachers pointed out that as teachers we will often need to give different people different instructions to get to the same place.

The path we take to a pose is our own. The so-called end result is more about how we inhabit it than how we form it.

Throughout our lives we will find at times we can access our asana or meditation practice easier than other times. Our bodies and our minds change as our lives change. It will always be slightly different conditions we travel in, and our path will never be the same as someone else’s.

To travel our own path with our eyes and hearts wide open delivers us to our pose or our place of choice fully alive and fully lit up. We will all arrive at the same place through different processes. The place we arrive at is called Here.

Once we get Here, all we have to do is breathe. It doesn’t matter if you got here faster or slower than anyone else or what you look like on the outside. We are all breathing on the inside, and we are all Here.

Welcome. Take your seat. Settle in. Light It Up. This is it.

Read Monique’s full article here. 

As we count down the final hours of 2012, we wanted to share with you our teachers’ beautiful resolutions and intentions for the new year! May our words inspire you to write down a resolution of your own and if you do, please share with us in the comments. May this new year bring you peace, love and more yoga!

Arati – I want God to be present a whole lot more! I believe in magic! I’ve got a lot of work to do within myself… inner yoga, like communication, parenting and work goals. And I will evolve the universe and the goddess divine and all to support my efforts and provide light!

Wren – One word: Relax!

Mara – My resolution is rather than resolving any issue or imbalance or perceived lack – I will choose to continually re-cognize (change my mind) to value and appreciate how the world comes to me.

Sarah – To practice connectedness. To be present and flexible in the moment.

Katie – I resolve to:

Rest in my safe heart
Eat until I’m happy
Spend more time in nature
Observe more daily kindness
Love every stranger like my dad
Venture into uncomfortable spaces to grow
Evoke compassion from everyone around me

Lauren – The resolution for this new, beautiful, adventurous year is acceptance. To accept whatever happens on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis. To accept all circumstances sent my way and to know when to let go. To not hold on to anything that may sadden or damage my soul and energy. To realize that everything happens for a reason and to be content with the way things are. Clarity. Acceptance.

Amy F. – From last year, I want to carry over my intentions for compassion and connection. This year I’m adding courage, which always reminds me of heart in French (coeur) and Latin (cor). Definition: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.

I want to live and speak more from my heart, my whole heart. Adding to that – encouragement (instruction does much, encouragement does everything!) And a final intention for community: establishing and maintaining a deeper connection to community.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

Terri – My 2013 New Year’s Resolutions:

• to learn something new, either salsa dancing or belly dancing
• do my best to cut down on sweets (to me this means only eating sweets 1 or 2 times a week, verses nearly every day like right now)
• I think 2013 is the year I finally master forearm stand in the middle of the room; I’ve been so close for so long!

Robin 

• Be present
• Breathe deeply
• Practice more yoga
• Read more
• Spend more time with loved ones
• Travel
• Continue to learn new things
• Find more ways to to bring happiness to my life and others!

Jennifer – Be present and enjoy all the fun and changes in my life. Have lots of gratitude. Add more hobbies into my life; things I love such as music and art.

Laura – My resolution this year is to walk more softly on this earth. I want to let go of my desires for more and to cherish what I have, both in the material and emotional sense. I want to let go of fear more often and more readily. I resolve to live in the present moment and to do more yoga!

Shawna 

• Try at least one new thing every day (especially stuff that scares the **** out of me…skydiving, surfing, etc. are on the list)
• Have a super toned and fit “yoga body” 🙂
• Read 1 book per week and journal daily

Amy and Michael – Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu, may all beings be happy and may our thoughts and actions contribute to that happiness for all!