Wow 2016. Just, wow.

Not sure about you, but the past year has brought on some very refining experiences for many. Personally, it's been one of the most challenging but even more rewarding years of my entire life. Putting this emotion into words is proving to be difficult, but I’m going to give it a go.

My last post was back in April when I announced that I was pregnant with my first child. Since then, I’ve gone through the rigors of new mom bootcamp called pregnancy and labor that have significantly changed me from the inside out. I have pushed through the mental, physical, and emotional obstacles that I never new existed and never dreamed I could achieve. But, I did. By breathing through each moment, not always calmly, not always present, but always in it, I grew stronger. I learned that I have more fight and beauty within me than I could have ever imagined. I’m getting teary writing this because I think of all the years I wasted thinking I wasn’t good enough, strong enough, brave enough. But 2016 has shown me that I am. I thought I knew that before through my years of self-study, healing, meditation, and yoga, but now, I’ve been taken to a new level of knowing. To my little angel who has made me a better human all around, I am forever grateful. I have officially learned the art of patience and surrender, though I’m sure I’ll need to learn this lesson again in the future.

Everyone tells you that becoming a parent is the most amazing thing you can experience. It’s the best ‘job’ in the world, and that you never fully understand it until it happens. They are right. Every parenting cliché’ I’ve ever heard is a cliché’ for a reason – it’s true. Looking ahead to the year to come, I feel hopeful. There are many who feel 2016 was ‘horrible’ and can’t wait for it to be over. For me, it was hard. It was gritty. It was raw. And, it was magic.

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Here’s to another magical year, no matter the lessons ahead of us and the challenges to be presented. They are there to cause us to grow and change into a shinier, more beautiful version of ourselves. We can choose to take on the challenge or not. But I urge you, open yourself up to the beauty that comes from being broken. You won’t regret it.

Are you a New Year Resolutioner?

Every year, thousands of resolutions are made in the name of the New Year and just as many are broken in the same breath.  What is it about starting a new calendar year that sends us into a frenzy of things we want and ‘need’ to change in our lives? Why does it often times seem to fail us? How do we make the changes we want to see?

Personally, I don’t really like the term ‘resolution.’ It doesn’t hold much power for me. At its’ core, a resolution is really just a decision made in the conscious mind and doesn’t give me the courage or empowerment to take some kind of action. The sub-conscious patterns and beliefs are still so much stronger and take me down every time. It also comes from a place of willpower rather than deep, internal shifts that have been made.

In yoga, the tools we use such as meditation (focused contemplation), asana (physical postures), and pranayama (breath) are there for us to support a significant and long-lasting change from the inside out. When we consistently practice using these tools, our negative thought patterns and undesirable habits start to drop away. It may not be in the timing you’d like it to be, but gradually you begin to transform for the good.

My practice for every New Year is to set intentions and goals. These terms allow for much more flexibility and support through my yoga journey. Yoga doesn’t just give us physical flexibility and strength, but more importantly, mental and emotional balance, stability, and healing. The physical aspects are a lovely little bi-product, but remember the real science and effects of your yoga practice are to move you forward in love and freedom from the things that hold you back in life!