Start here. Start now.

Start here. Start now. Seems like an appropriate subject for my first blog entry on my new website. We only ever have here and now in which to act, yet so often we delay the things that are most important to us. Are we procrastinators? Perfectionists? Are we living in fear or acting with sensible caution? Only you can answer that question for yourself (although often our loved ones have some valuable insight).

How do we begin to answer, to know? We stop, breathe, and listen. I participated in the YJ Business of Yoga Boot Camp this past November, and watching as Justin Michael Williams deftly held the space for about 20 sometimes overwhelmed teacher participants provided an inspiring reminder of the value of a strong meditation practice.  

We are each the center of our own universe, our own community, and live most fully when we can move out into that community from a strong center. That's what Radiate means to me - moving out from a strong center - and that's what I'd like to share with you. As a yoga teacher, my goal is to help each student become their own best teacher. When you practice the willingness to repeatedly come back to your center and cultivate it more and more, you will see your life bloom in all directions. Radiate is a network to inspire, spread hope, and serve the greater good. I invite you now, instead of trying harder in life, to try easier. Find a tool or framework for self reflection that works for you and cultivate your center, your self. 

Here's a simple and powerful form of meditation to try right now or whenever you have 5 minutes:

1. Find a comfortable seat in a relatively quiet spot and set the timer on your phone for 5 minutes.

2. Sit. Breathe. Notice your inhale and exhale. If your mind wanders off, come back to noticing your inhale and exhale.

3. Don't be hard on yourself, the idea isn't necessarily to stop thinking, it's to notice when you are thinking, so if you notice that you can't stop thinking - congratulations, you're doing it right!

Tips - good posture helps. Close your eyes or lower your gaze, lids half down. You can sit longer if you have the time and inclination, but 5 minutes is excellent. 

Try Easier

I came for the stress relief; I stayed for the physical and spiritual transformation. It seems like yoga is everywhere these days and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing! In yoga I've found an ever expanding and evolving physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional journey. 

While I loved my first yoga class and how it made me feel, I did not get serious about yoga until stress began affecting my health and I realized that my coping strategies of wine and whining were not effective. I had gotten to an age and a point in my career where long hours and a sedentary lifestyle were taking their toll, and ended up with some health problems and some depression. Knowing that I needed to change my path or see both get worse (and that just heading to the gym was not going to cut it for me - I needed more of a hook than just an endorphin rush), I thought back to a series of yoga classes I had taken when I first started practicing law in Delaware. I decided that I'd get back into yoga. I took a "brand new beginners" course at a local studio, I went on a yoga retreat to Sicily (something I'd thought about for years, but dismissed as too self indulgent), and in the end, I took a year long course to become a certified yoga teacher. These choices, the practice of yoga and the changes I've made in my life because of it, have had an immeasurable positive impact. Yoga is above all a mindfulness practice and a path of self discovery - the physical practice of yoga evolved to facilitate sitting in meditation. As we develop the mind/body connection and get to know ourselves better, we develop and strengthen skills that serve us in all areas of life. We gain the maturity and acumen to work smarter, not harder, and to depend less on force and more on flow. We can better understand ourselves and so focus on creating a success that produces a better quality of life. 

Yoga offers a way to connect with self and community that is profoundly positive and affirming. Teaching allows me to share the power of mindfulness, the clarity and self-awareness, and the physical benefits I continue to discover through yoga, and gives me a wonderful excuse to pursue my own education. I do still drink wine and whine, but not nearly as often!