February 2018 | A February Full of Love

As we enter in to one of the coldest months, it’s easy to lose heart. Some of us are quite ready for winter to be over. The cold dreary days can be discouraging. I encourage you to get out in the sunshine and warm your body and heart. If there isn’t any sun, know that it’s still shining behind the clouds and connect to that. Be with friends to warm your spirit. Have tea with your beloved and remember why you love each other. When you look in the eyes of another, see yourself. Never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you, yet keep seeking joy in the saddest places and beauty to its lair. Never look away, never forget. Love and be loved. Look at the sunshine and remember the good in the world. ️<3

The sun shines down, and its image reflects in a thousand different pots filled with water. The reflections are many, but they are each reflecting the same sun. Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are, we will see ourselves in all people.

Amma

January 2018 | No Regrets 2018

When you look back on the past year, it's easy to think of the pain you felt. What if you could instead think of the strength you gained, and appreciate how far you’ve come? You’ve been through a lot, but you’ve grown a lot too. Give yourself credit for your resilience, and then step forward again, with grace.

The next best step forward?
Take more chances on the very real and accessible opportunities you have today. Try doing something uncomfortable, (outside your comfort zone), that will move your life forward. Life is very much about trusting ourselves and taking chances, losing and finding happiness, learning from experience, appreciating the journey, and realizing that every step is worth it, the gains and the losses. However, we must be WILLING to take each step.  We have to give ourselves a fair chance.  Because in the end, more than anything else, we regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were too busy to nurture, the big opportunity we procrastinated on, the friend or family member we never called, those important words left unspoken, and the decisions we waited too long to make.

But why do we do these things to ourselves?
There is a common weaknesses of the inner mind—a weakness that encourages us to avoid discomfort. Discomfort is a form of pain, but it isn’t a deep pain—it’s a very shallow one.  It’s that feeling you get when you’ve stepped outside of your comfort zone.  The idea of exercising every morning, for example, brings discomfort—so we don’t do it.  Eating green vegetables brings discomfort too.  So does meditating, or focusing on a difficult task, or saying no to others. The problem with this is that by running from discomfort, we are forced to participate in only the (easy) activities and (unexciting) opportunities within our comfort zones.  And since our comfort zones are relativity small, we miss out on most of life’s greatest and healthiest experiences, and we get stuck in a debilitating cycle that often leads to regret.

Lets turn things around in 2018!!

Are you tired of dealing with the same types of headaches and heartache over and over again? Then it’s time to break the cycle, purge some bad habits, and embrace discomfort as you prepare for the year ahead.  It’s time to learn from your mistakes rather than be conquered by them, and let your errors be of commission rather than omission.

Remember, you ultimately become what you repeatedly do.  If your habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you.  Which means it’s time for a change. Life's richness comes from venturing out, away from the familiar, growing stronger and more capable. We can hold to our core values while at the same time opening our heart and mind to new ideas, feelings and experiences.  Your own perspective will become clearer when you look at things from different angles. 

Sometimes life's best lessons are learned at the worst times, If we can lose the expectation that everything in life should be easier, that there are rarely shortcuts to any place worth going, then its more likely we can enjoy the challenge of our achievements.  If we can see the value in our efforts then we can be patient with ourselves. Patience is not just about waiting, it’s the ability to keep a good and positive attitude while working hard on our important goals.  It’s knowing deep down that doing the hard things is worth it. Why?  Because those are the things that ultimately define us.  Those are the things that make the difference between existing and living—between knowing the path and walking the path—between a life of mediocrity and a life filled with progress and fulfillment.

For me, I'm taking an expansive step forward this year professionally to expand my teaching and offerings further. Pangu Yoga workshops will each have a unique theme, I've created a new Restorative Yoga & Essential Oils & Energy Healing class (being offered on Valentines Day) and Raleigh friends I'm returning to Bliss Body Yoga this year to teach workshops again! Please check out all the upcoming events below!

May you love yourself first and foremost every day, instead of simply loving the idea of other people loving you.  Your needs matter.  Start meeting them.  Don’t wait on others to choose you—choose yourself!  And remember that once your needs are met, you will be better equipped and capable of meeting the needs of those few people who matter most to you. 

Namaste,

Anisha

December 2017 | The Best Gift

I can’t change anyone else. I can only change myself. They are such simple words yet so challenging to accomplish at times. What I continue to learn is that what we CAN do is inspire others. We can move them by being an example of what we hope to see in the relationship. Sure, I know you’re probably thinking “why do I always have to go first?" or "Why can't they step up and be responsible?"  When I give in to complaint and pessimism I have similar thoughts. However, there are some of us in this world who learn things before others and must be leaders on this evolutionary pilgrimage, the pilgrimage of love. And as we use those efforts to become the person we really want to be and we show up that way, we cultivate a deeper, wider, more open heart that can contain what we never thought we could.  And when we use that container, people change. It might not be on the timeline that we would like or expect, but it does happen. Sometimes it takes something abnormal or unusual to to change something that is normal or usual, especially in relationships. We fall into habitual patterns of thinking and behaving and yet we expect to have different results.  For instance, my teacher, Master Ou, used this scenario as an example once: Imagine that someone was criticizing you, angry with you, or even berating you.  What if, instead of defending yourself, explaining yourself or even thinking about explaining yourself, you dropped into your own heart and said something like “I understand where you might be coming from, and I can take responsibility for my part in this. Can I bring you a cup of tea?” Ideally, this was all said with a genuine smile, a sincere heart and true affection. No, it’s not what we are trained to do in this world. And no, its not easy. In fact, quite the opposite. We are trained to defend against invaders, to speak our “truth” regardless of the consequences and practice self righteousness. Yet how often do these qualities and behaviors give us the results we truly want? Anything is challenging, initially, until we get good at it. We just have to train it like a muscle or anything else we wish to cultivate. The result? More harmony, happiness, lasting contentment, adaptability and the skill set to stay centered and open regardless of the circumstances. Wouldn't that be the greatest gift you could give yourself?

This is the question I’m asking as we embark on this next round of holidays and festivities with family and friends. There are sure to be misunderstandings, and there are sure to be ways we don’t see eye to eye. I say this to myself as much as I write it to you, that I am committed to finding new and creative ways of handling situations that can often seem insurmountable, impossible or just plain hard.  It is through these encounters, it is through these seemingly small changes in ourselves that we achieve deep, lasting and fruitful outcomes. If we can let go of what we might gain or lose in a specific moment and broaden our perspective to a greater goal and a greater outcome, it might give us the inspiration we need in that moment to try something new.  And, soon enough, perhaps the abnormal starts to become normal, the unusual becomes usual and we create a new pathway in the brain, in the body and deep inside our spirits.

What if you gifted your time, your benevolence, your perseverance and your example of a loving heart? If you could receive only one present this year, what would it be? The answer for me is simple: The best present is presence.

May this holiday season and New Year bring you peace, joy, contentment, abundance of love, ease of mind and comfort of heart.

Namaste,
Anisha