The 1 minute Yoga Challenge

I have been feeling guilty that my home yoga practice is basically nonexistent right now. Then something a student said to me this week gave me an idea. She said she tries to do just one yoga pose before bed. That got me thinking, can one yoga pose, one minute of yoga per day make an impact? So I'm challenging myself to practice 1 minute of yoga every day of October. I can certainly find 1 minute in my day for yoga! I'll be posting my pose of the day on the studio Facebook page and I'll let you know how it's changing my life with updates here on the blog.

Are you interested in crafting a home practice? New to yoga and looking for a way to bring some poses into your daily life? Follow along with me on our Facebook page!

image credit

I promise myself...

This was my first week back to work. Today I realized that I've spent so much of this week wishing things were different that I've stolen precious time from myself.

I've been wishing I didn't have to work when I could've been appreciating having work to do that I love & feeling grateful for the flexibility of being an entrepreneur.

I've been wishing Melaina would sleep through the night again when I could've been soaking up her precious baby cheeks or giggling at her awesome hair.

I've been wishing I could "just get something done" around the house when I could've been basking in permission to relax and enjoy my time at home.

So now I promise myself that I will not steal any more time wishing my life away.

It's time to return to acceptance of how things are and let go of struggling to change.

It's time to return to the present moment and let go of anxiety about the future.

It's time to return to trusting my heart and let go of doubting myself.

I will do this by breathing deeply, approaching my life from a place of love (not fear), seeing with grateful eyes and recognizing all the abundance in my life, and letting go of the expectations & judgements that have been hanging around my head. Finding peace with the present moment doesn't mean letting go of my aspirations for the future. It's a balance of effort and surrender, as well as discipline and contentment.

September Dreams

I recently had a long overdue date with my art journal. During my maternity leave I have not been posting my regular Monthly Goal Reflection. Since it's been more than three months since I've pondered my goals, I decided to start with the Living Wellness Lotus activity. This is a visual tool I created for assessing the state of several areas of one's life.

Play along at home! Rate the following areas of your life from 1 (time for major change) to 10 (things are going great): creativity, spirituality, physical, relationships, finances, service, environment, self-care, and life's work. Next, draw a flower to reflect your ratings. Use bigger or longer petals for higher ratings.

After taking a look at the current state of these areas of my life, I jotted down some goals for each one.

Physical: lose 5lbs (still working on that baby weight), walk 3x/week, check Spinning class schedule at YMCA

Spiritual: take a yoga class, read an inspiring book (just ordered this one and this one)

Finances: save 25% of my earnings this month, donate to beloved charity

Service: brainstorm ways to give back locally and globally

Environment: clean off the buffet in our foyer, empty boxes in my home office

Self-Care: re-establish morning ritual, take 15 minutes of "me-time" daily

Life's Work: assess current schedule/activities and brainstorm next steps

Creativity: blog 2x this month, art journal, vision board for remainder of 2011

My next step will be to find an inspiring image, tape it into my Planner Pad and jot my monthly goals there so that I am reminded of them daily.

Carve out some time for reflection. What areas of your life need attention? What small steps can you take toward your ideal life? What are you dreaming of this month? Did you know people who share their goals with others and write them down are more likely to succeed? Feel free to share your dreams in the comments and we can support each other!