Yoga with Kerry

A New Year for lasting change and happiness

At the heart of New Years’ resolutions and intentions involve change on some level, to increase strength, to be more balanced, to be happier, to lose weight, to start a new class, to be nicer….these all involve change. So how do you approach change? How does it feel to make changes in your lifestyle, lasting changes? These questions need to be explored before the intentions and resolutions can be set. It is one thing to throw around thoughts, and ideas of what we want to achieve and what we want to be, but it takes courage and perseverance to look inside and challenge our own beliefs and ways of living to make these changes happen.

My personal intention is to begin a 40 day openness and fearlessness meditation session that was given to me by an esteemed Yoga Teacher. As I already have a daily meditation practice the challenge is not so much doing the meditation, but doing the same one every day. As a Vinyasa flow yoga student and teacher, I love change, I love flowing in and out of poses, I love the organic, juicy and dynamic action of connecting breath and movement. This flow is a valuable part of growth and development, however, it is limiting. If we constantly move out of the first sense of discomfort, if we constantly fidget our way out of boredom, if we resist difficult conversations or people, how do we really grow?

It is through the dark that we find our light, it is through facing challenges that we learn more about ourselves. It is from turning towards the difficult people and situations and opening up with compassion as opposed to turning our backs and running away that we find our inner strength and fearlessness to change.

My challenge is to commit to the same practice for 40 days with the sense of fearlessness and openness that the practice suggests, opening to the challenges of being bored yet staying with it, of the challenge of commitment and discipline, and receiving the benefits of going even deeper into my practice, in a way that is not possible when I am always organically flowing from one thing to another.

I challenge you to also find something, maybe something small, like trying a food that you always thought you didn’t like, or spending a little more time with that difficult person/coworker and sending them compassion, or spending a bit more time in a difficult yoga pose before getting out of it or fidgeting.

Go fearlessly to your mat and in your life, and you may one day find yourself living your intentions and your resolutions!