Be Open to what the Universe has to teach you.

Is there a crack in the foundation of your life - a small stress fracture that needs your attention? Do something to repair it before it expands into a problem or full-blown crisis. Make plans to leave the job you hate before they let you go. Stop spending money you don't have before your debt is too overwhelming to face. Tell the truth to someone you love before the relationship goes south.

You have the power to repair the crack. Do it.... Now.

-Cheryl Richardson

My best friend told me about Cheryl Richardson. I wrote her name down and tucked the thought away of looking up her book.

A couple months later - a woman I met at a yoga workshop in Georgia, someone that has become a good friend, brought up the name again with a different book. The Art of Extreme Self Care - check it out. :-) Trust me.

It got my attention. The universe was putting a lesson in front of me and it was time to pay attention and read. So I did. That was January...

The quote from above came up today and just hit a nerve.

Then I read this...
The Lululemon Manifesto Monday:
Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. - Goethe

Then tonight on elephantjournal.com

So I suppose the universe is speaking to me again today.

I guess I wanted to share this as a reminder (mostly for me):
Be open.
Know you can't plan everything (even though I try to).
Follow your heart not your brain - at least when it comes to the important stuff.
Trust that you are where you need to be.
If you have something that you need to tell someone - do it before the gap grows wider.
May the last word you speak at the end of the day be a kind one.
Show gratitude.
Dream.
Smile.
Breathe.
Remember we are all connected.

Love & Light,
Edith

Breathe & Let Go

Yoga has taught me the value of the quality of the breath. The breath can take you many places. It can lead you to blissful moments when you can be fully relaxed yet fully aware. Breath is a powerful tool. The ebbs and flow guide our movements, in both the subtle and gross body. It is the breath that guides our bodies through our emotional and physical changes and challenges. It is our faith that helps us release and let go. Having faith that another chance to inhale will come, another opportunity to grow, to learn, to be.

Yoga has also taught me about awareness. Awareness of my body, my breath, my surroundings, and the energy that radiates from people in those surroundings. Knowing where my body is in space without having to see it. Sensing the moods when someone walks in the room and knowing how to adapt.

Letting go. Letting go of preconceived notions that something has to be changed if something is uncomfortable. Being aware of it and breathing through. The combination of awareness and breath is a powerful tool. I know my breath and my faith can get me through anything. No matter how stressful it is. Let it go. You will be alright.

For as easy as this all sounds, some days it is just difficult to remember to breathe. There are days I sit at my desk, and I stop breathing. I clench my jaw and feel all the muscles in my neck tense up. There are times with my children when I have to excuse myself from the room, have a "mommy time-out" and stop to breathe. Its only through this awareness, when I stop, reset my train of thought and breathe, that I can continue on.

I suppose that the moral of the story is - Life's too short not to breathe. Let go of what doesn't serve you.