Self-Love: Routine
Welcome to Part 2 of the Self-Love Series – Routines. According to ayurveda, sister science to yoga, Dinacharya is translated to a routine. Dinacharya aligns with the energy of the natural rising of the moon and sun which then affects our bodies overall digestion, mental activity and creativity. The daily routines that are suggested can be categorized by the three doshas (energies believed to circulate in the body), vata, pitta and kapha. Each of doshas peak during certain times of the day and if we align our routines based on the doshas we capitalize on the energy from the moon or sun, depending on the time of day. The dosha…
Self-Love: Time Management
Welcome to Part 1 of the Self-Love Series – Time Management. How we spend our time says a lot about what our goals and aspirations are. If we’re spending our time stressing out because there’s not enough time in the day then we are not setting healthy boundaries for ourselves and the people around us. This scenario is a perfect example of cause and effect (karma yoga), if we manage our time effectively, we are spending our time doing things we enjoy and with people that are a priority to us and thus we are filled with love. Prioritizing Prioritizing our time starts with knowing your true nature so you…
10 Ways to Self-Love
Self-Love is a priority that we need to give to ourselves, sadly enough with the busy lifestyles we lead, we think of ourselves last. In order for us to give ourselves in the form of love, time and/or attention to our family, friends and co-workers we need to fill our own cup of love first – how can we give from an empty cup? Over the upcoming weeks, I’ll highlight 10 ways that I use to fill my love cup, in hopes that each week you can implement these ways into your life and watch your love cup slowly fill by your own doing. Time Management Who enjoys being dictated…
Depression
Depression is real and a lot of people live with it on a yearly, monthly, daily basis, more than you probably know. They could be your neighbor, best friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, co-worker, parents, anyone. The one thing that people with depression are scared of is saying ‘I have depression.’… …so here we go, ‘I suffer from depression and anxiety and it runs in my family and I’m the first to admit it.’ My Son and I This past year my oldest son has been going through a lot and a lot of you know that being a teenager is not easy, it’s a struggle to figure out how you fit…
Morning Routines
Setting up a morning or even a daily routine is essential to maintaining good health and to transform our mind and body to functioning at a higher level. When I set my morning routine up I found that this was my time to give me some self-love. Most of us have a very busy lifestyle we are being asked to be present in so many different roles in our lives. In any given day I’m being asked to be a: Mom Employee Yoga Teacher Business Owner Home Owner Student Each of these areas require some type of energy, whether high or low. How do we balance all of our responsibilities?…
Release.
The week of the full moon, it’s time to release what’s no longer serving us to get us closer to our intention. Last week I wrote about being ok with loneliness and the transformation of my current relationships. After I wrote that piece, I felt this sudden shift of transformation in ALL my relationships, it hit me like a ton a bricks. I was down and out for two days trying not to run away from what I was feeling, but at the same time wishing the pain would go away. The pain I felt was pure loneliness – what I thought was loneliness last week was REAL loneliness this…
Santosa.Loneliness.Trust
Contentment If we practice contentment, it can bring peace and freedom into our lives. When I practice contentment I face some realities in my life that weren’t planned the way I envisioned and thus trust comes into play. In Patajanli’s Yoga Sutra, he outlines the 8 limbs that make up Yoga. The eight limbs are…(Heart of Yoga, T.K.V. Desikachar) Yamas Ethical Standards Niyamas Self Discipline Asana Poses Pranayama Breath Control Pratyahara Withdrawl Dharana Concentration Dhyana Mediation Samadhi To Bring Together, To Merge Santosa is a Niyama which means contentment and essentially means to be ok with what God has given to you in the present moment. When we set expectations…
Growing Up Isn’t Easy
Going Home This past week I went on a family vacation with my kids, sister and her daughter to visit my Dad and his family in Ventura, California, I was feeling really good with this trip, I was genuinely excited to see this part of my family. This would have not been the case a couple of years ago. The past 5 years my relationship with my Dad has grown a lot, there was a lot of healing and forgiveness on both sides that had occurred within this time frame. Younger Years Our parents had one thing in common they loved us! However, growing up in our household wasn’t easy,…
Practice, Practice, Practice
Let’s Practice What does it mean to practice? Do you practice to get better at something then to one day execute that something in a perfect as you can get it way? I used to have this saying my old supervisor in the military told me, ‘perfect practice makes perfect.’ Does ‘perfect practice makes perfect’ or just ‘practice makes perfect’? In sanskrit to practice is called abhyasa. The Yoga Sutra* describes practice in the following Sutras: (The Heart of Yoga, T.K.V. Desikachar): 1.13: Practice is basically the correct effort required to move toward, reach and maintain the state of Yoga. 1.14: It is only when the correct practice is followed…
Let it Be, Let it Go
Surrendering Have you ever noticed that it’s difficult to surrender to your current situation? Like actually sitting with something that’s uncomfortable for you? If you said no, please give me a call and let’s chat about how you got there because let me tell you for me it’s DIFFICULT! I enjoy planning my day, week, month, even my year out – it gives a sense of security, and yes we can even go a level deeper and say, “Monique, I think you have control issues” and I would kindly reply to you and say, “Yes and to some degree I plan out of fear.” The sanskrit word, Vairagya is used…
