Yoga is practiced on and off the mat. It is a guide to living your most authentic life. Long after my yoga teacher training it struck me that the Yoga Sutras, which we were instructed from, are the instruction manual to life everyone is always looking for. Clear, relatable directions that, when adhered to, pretty much guarantee you will manifest the life you want.

The greatest gifts of yoga go far beyond the postures we do in classes. This is your opportunity to learn and apply these ancient teachings in your own life. When I trained to become a yoga teacher I was introduced to yoga as a full philosophy. The depth of the teachings of yoga blew me away and I immediately knew I needed to share this information with everyone beyond the yoga mat.

This is what I wondered at one time. As with most things as I learned about chakras I wasn’t going to believe in this particular hocus-pocus without evidence of some sort. But the more I learned the more I realized it wasn’t so much evidence as it was awareness that I received. Awareness of myself, my moods, my needs, my mind, my heart, my body… Yeah, that’s how powerful understanding chakras can be.

There are some, in this last year, who have felt the slowing of life provided them food for their souls to blossom. There are also many who have had the crap taxed out of their souls through the pain, unknowns, anger, recriminations, fear, repeated ups and downs, and natural disasters of the year.

How much time do you spend second guessing yourself? You’re human so I’m going to say it’s probably a lot. You’re also a smart cookie so I’m going to assume you logically you get your self-doubt is holding you back.

Kindness is a concept that I hope you think about every day of the year. The day this blog posts is Christmas. This is a season of joy. Love toward all. It’s been a challenging year and there’s been a lot of negative stuff to navigate. We can still stop, take a breath, and remember the intention of this season.

If I were to ask you what yoga is, what would you say? A workout that focuses on stretching? Moving meditation? Hard? Boring? Healing? Grounding? An exercise class? A breathing and relaxation class? Something that’s “woo”?

Whether we're talking a sport, your job skills, relationship skills, mindfulness, self-care, or pretty much anything else, we need to practice daily. We practice even when we aren't on the spot so that we create muscle memory that will kick in when needed.

Are you willing to throw caution to the wind and risk being different? Like being yourself even if others don't like it or don't understand? Are you willing to be so authentic that family and friends might turn away from you? Not being rude or mean. Calmly being yourself regardless of the fact that there are people in your life who will not be able to accept the true you.