Food For Thought

“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness”

-The Yoga Sutras By Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras are a reading requirement for my 200 hour certification and this one has been by far my favorite. Any moment that I feel anxiousness or irritability towards another human being this sutra comes to mind and bring me the tools I need to carry out the interaction.

Sometimes cultivating these emotions when our ego wants us to feel something else is hard. But in the long term shutting the ego down is what helps us live the life we want and deserve.

Be happy for those happy people instead of trying to bring them down.

Feel compassion for the unhappy and hope that they find happiness again.

Feel delight in the virtuous, they are a reflection of what you can achieve, they are the ones who give you the fire to achieve it.

And my personal favorite, disregard the wicked.

I invite you to write this down, keep it in your back pocket, and remember it when you encounter one of the four of these people.

Daily Inspiration- This one’s for the ladies

“To increase balance within, surround yourself with all possibility; mentally, physically, and spiritually.

You are a Divine Goddess, empower yourself!”

Surround yourself with those who love and support you.

Believe in yourself and all of the strength you possess.

Remain open to learning new things, but still knowing that you are intelligent.

Take care of your body and most importantly LOVE your body. Women tend to fall victim to “fat talk” among each other. Stop it. Your body is beautiful and you aren’t doing it any favors by putting it down.

Connect to something spiritually. Even if that is being inspired by the courageous women of the past. Believe in something bigger than you. Not something that is “out to get you” but something that has your back. You can believe in anything you like and none of them are wrong. Just remember that they are always smiling upon you, supporting you and protecting you.

I have never been much of a feminist but I saw this the other day and it felt so good to read and repeat to myself.

I am a Divine Goddess.

How beautiful does that make you feel?

Take it with you today and recognize it in your fellow Goddesses.

We are all the same. Which as women we have been brought up not to see that, but we are.

The more you shine light on the good of others, the more light will be shined upon you.

You can recognize it in men too.

We are all miracles made out of love.

Daily Inspiration

Sleep is the best meditation

-Dalai Lama

As we say goodbye to the strongest point of the full moon I wanted to touch on the importance of sleep, especially during full and new moons. Sleep is essential for your body. I know you know this, but how many of us get our full 8 hours?
Sleep is our body’s time to repair itself, to process everything that has gone in during the day, and detox. Even though we are sleeping our bodies are working hard and so are our brains. Without sleep we are tired, depressed, and most likely overweight.
If you are not feeling well, sleep. How often do we feel something coming on and can just ‘sleep it off’? I did this yesterday. Yesterday was a busy day for me. I spent the entire day in the city, trying yoga studios for yoga training. On my way home I began to feel ill and began to pale. I ate dinner, grabbed some ginger and lemon tea, and went straight to bed. This morning I woke up at 6 and felt like a new woman. It made me think of how beautiful sleep is an how much we need it.
If you can’t get 8 hours, get 7 at the least. And if you have problems going to sleep try some relaxation techniques. Such as breathing exercises, drinking chamomile tea, smelling some lavender, or repeating a quiet mantra as you lay with your eyes closed.

How many hours do you get a night?

Daily Inspiration: Taking Risks and Creating Endurance

I’ve been taking a lot more chances lately. One of these was submitting pieces of my writing to online publications. Today I had a dream of mine fulfilled. I was published on Elephant Journal. (Insert Happy Dance)

I wanted to share this here, because here is where I share all of my thoughts and ideas.

This post may sound familiar, but it is a good reminder for those who are scatterbrained like me or when you are feeling a little worn out and all over the place.

You don’t necessarily need to get on a yoga mat to understand how to achieve this endurance. It is simply a reminder the take it slow, keep a pace you are comfortable with in life, enjoy each moment, and you won’t burn yourself out. 

Read more on how to make this come true in your life here 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Inspiration

Wouldn’t it be great if we weren’t so worried about what we didn’t have and could only focus on what we did have? That’s what abundance is. This feeling of overwhelming gratitude for what you have in your life. But it’s more than the physical things such as money and possessions. It’s the people you love in your life, the roof over your head, the food on your plate or your health. It is anything that deep down you can truly be thankful for.
Although abundance is contentment it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to better ourselves. It just takes the pressure off. It shuts down the ego and the ego is what causes you to compare yourself to others and judge yourself and others. Instead, while on your journey to being the best you and fulfilling your dreams, you know that you already have all of the things you need. So if this job promotion doesn’t happen, or you can’t afford this car, or this new piece of clothing, it won’t make a difference. What you already have is great and more than good enough.
When you feel truly abundant the world will open up to you with endless possibilities. Because you’re already happy and content. When you are striving for things under stress you tend to feel like everything is saying ‘no’ and slamming doors in your face. When you practice abundance everything says yes. Positive attracts positive, my friends.