During my many downward dogs this afternoon~ at Balance Yoga - ...I came upon a huge AH HAH moment for me!I am sharing it with you in case you too, need an ah hah moment in your life right about now.
Today is the first day of my 30 day yoga challenge. I came away from the best class! More on that in a moment.....
Today is also the first day of 2012.
And....I feel..... it is the first day of many good beginnings.
The first day of a new year. With that comes.....renewal. Doesn't that just make you want to breathe our a giant sigh of relief.
RENEWAL. Take a moment to take that in. BREATHE it in.
Renewal of health. Renewal of love. Renewal of relationships. Renewal of promise. Renewal of hope. Renewal of goals. Renewal of breath. Renewal of ......life.
There's just SOMETHING about this year...for me. ( and maybe you too!) That "something" that I just can't quite put my finger on, but I feel it....oh so strong....in my soul and all the way down to my toes! And....it feels AMAZING, and from it...I am becoming amazed. It feels strong and from it I am gaining strength. It feels magical...and from it I am believing again. It feels slightly breathtaking...and from that...I am reminded to....just breathe!
In past years, I have made resolutions. But...that word....for me, and all it entails; expectation, success and failure,pressure, has never really sat well with me or resonated to me.
Because of this...last year, I didn't make any resolutions! Not one!
I did however, make ONE promise to myself, which I feel I lived out fully and beyond my expectations! (To fill in here for those who do not know me....I finally allowed myself to pursue a quiet but life long passion for photography, poured myself into learning as much as possible, -BUT NOT NEARLY ALL- , and in eight short but super fulfilling months, braved my fears and opened up mu photography business Live. Love. Laugh. Photograph)
This year....no RESOLUTIONS! ( yuck!) ~ ...and please....not at all meant to offend if the word resolution means and works for you...by all means...we all have "our" words!
Only more promises. But really....more so.....only INTENTION. That is my word for 2012. It seems it may be a popular word for many in 2012. It keeps popping up everywhere for me...other friends are using it, I see it on facebook, in popular book store titles, I read it on inspirational websites, and again heard it today in yoga class.
Intention- by dictionary definition- means "a determination to act in a certain way."
For me...the meaning stretches beyond that...and speaks a bit louder. It means to me to simply lie my moments with presence and purpose, and utter and pure mindfulness. " Wherever you go, and whatever you do, there you are." ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
It is not here or now that I will begin to list all of my intentions for you. I may probably not fully be aware of all of them right this moment. ( Which kinda pretty much excites me!)
But this is my place and my space where I will blog about my renewal of yoga and my intention, and my journey and discovery and explorations that come along with the experience. And hopefully there will be many more ah-hah moments! But this is YOUR space too. I hope you will join me. Just read along, or blog along, or comment along. Post your journey with me. Or start your own journey! Just do it with intention and mindfulness.
I will blog each day about my 30 day yoga challenge journey, which I am doing at the amazing Balance Yoga- studio right here in Woodinville. Great teachers and staff! You really MUST try it! $20 gets you 20 classes! And it's not too late to sign yourself up for your very own 30 day yoga challenge. You will feel renewed on so many levels!
Each day will bring a different blog post; some long, some short, some one liners, and some days just inspirational quotes or photographs and images. The beauty of it is that I do not know what each day will bring. But I am so open to the magic and promise of it all.
And once again...I invite you along this journey with me. Laugh with me. Cry with me. Share yours with me. Breathe with me. Do yoga with me!
Together lets live this year with intention!
I would like to leave you with this very powerful quote from our yoga class today that the very inspirational yoga instructor, Carrie Hopperstad, shared with us, (which basically summed up everything I have been feeling lately and it always absolutely floors and amazes me how we seem to attract our exact thoughts and needs, and everywhere the past week I have seen signs and glimpses of this ah-hah moment...and it took this to finalize it all for me);
"The single resolution that takes care of all the rest is to be present and
~Namaste~ from my heart to your heart......
Here's to our best intentions and our best presence in this year of renewal!
Much Peace......
Chantelle
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