How to Find Happiness

1.  Let go of being attached to every outcome in every thing.  2.  Meditate.  3. Where to find happiness:  Look within yourself.

What You Focus on Grows

In yoga practice, we begin to focus on learning poses, then realizing that there is more we have not explored about ourselves: body, our mind, our spirit, than we realized.  Each day my practice is to direct my mind to what I can do, what I want to create, rather than my fears.  This is not easy today.  Today I wake up and know that there are many obligations I have.  There are bills to pay, a business to grow, and my studio has been too quiet the past few months.  I have woken up like this almost everyday for the past 4 years.  Every day I shift my attention to what I can create to make a difference in the lives of those I meet.

If you are reading this, you are someone who cares about these things too.  So lets focus on this together.  What kind of life do you want?  What kind of world do you want to live in?  I find that when I talk with people about this, whoever is present gets excited about new possibilities.  So today, start a conversation with someone.  Tell them your dreams.  Your dreams will remain dormant unless you share them.

My dream is to see a thriving yoga business in my studio, to see many people coming in and out, sharing their joy in their yoga practice.  These people go home and their joy spreads to their families.  These families go out into their own lives and activities and the joy is then exponentially spread!  Get excited about your dreams and talk about them.  What a world we do live in!  A world in which our perceptions are what creates our realities.  If you want to get inspired, just look around you!  There is a world of inspiration waiting for you to just look!  Here is a video that inspired me yesterday:  Biker

Have a beautiful day!

Get ready for the 40 day yoga challenge!

November 1st through December 10th, 2011.  What would you want to get out of practicing yoga in a 40-day challenge?  Peace of mind? Clear mind? Lose weight? Sleep better? Improve your digestion? Support? Send me a message and tell me what you would want or ask a question. email: karen4yogaprairie@gmail.com

Yoga - Connecting Mind/Body

This journey of yoga is about connecting mind & body.  The spirit directs this journey.  The spirit or soul, wants what is best for you.  The mind sometimes does, sometimes does not.  How can we get the mind to cooperate?  When you decide to practice yoga and you hear that a daily practice is good for you, that the body/mind needs a day of rest...what happens next?

I know what happens to me.  I may stay up a little too late reading, or drink one too many cups of coffee, or watch a movie that I don't start until 9 pm, knowing I really could sleep in.  No one is making me get up early to meditate. . . really.  This is my mind hijacking me.

So how do you get going?  How do you have a regular practice?  You just do it.  You get on your mat or sit and close your eyes and you practice.  Everyday.  Simple.  It is the mind that complicates things.

But what about the mind/body connection?  That is where it can get interesting and habitually addictive.  After many years of practicing, paying attention to the feelings and sensations in my body in different poses, I can even feel the energy of the nervous system.  Bringing attention to any thing... you can grow your sensory awareness.  What if you practice doing this in the body?  What is possible in your life too?

Where in your life would more awareness benefit you?  How about in relationships with others?  What if you knew exactly where you could direct your attention and energy to make the most difference in each moment?  Is this possible?  I think it is possible to strive towards that and that this is the journey worth taking.

Invest in a . . . and save the world.

Fill in the blank yourself.  I just watched a short video saying invest in a girl and save the world.  As if just focusing on girls will do it!  We need to invest in all of our children.  By invest I don't mean money. . . I mean invest your attention and time.  It does not need to be alot of time.  Just a moment when you are completely present with another human being - see and listen to that person - see them as the amazing being they truly are underneath the covering of the body.  When we can do that which each and every person we meet, then the world will not need saving.