As the voice of my inner critic got louder, I was getting increasingly frustrated and it was distracting me from my practice…which of course made me even more agitated. After going through most of the class in this state of inner battle, all of the sudden the voice stopped. I recalled the wise words of Jim Rohn who says, “Don’t ask for it to be easier, ask for more skills”.

In this moment I was reminded of what I thought I “learned for good” the last time:

1. I am a yoga teacher…and news flash…not everyone likes everything I do. Do I want someone in my class to have a “bad” class because of it? No! And why was I being so hard on this teacher? Where was my compassion for this person who was there to support me? Lesson: As the student, I am responsible for my own experience.

2. I am distracted and not enjoying my yoga practice. Isn’t yoga all about breathe, relax…enjoy??? Lesson: My inner critic is not serving me right now.

3. If I continue to feed my inner critic, my experience will reflect that. What an incredible lesson for my life off the mat! Lesson: Where my attention goes, my prana, or life force energy follows.

4. By allowing my inner critic to take hold, I was creating a sense of “me” the student versus “her”, the teacher. Lesson: One of the many benefits of yoga is to expand and unite not contract and divide.

5. I have a choice here. This recognition was the most powerful. I shifted from being a judging yoga student to someone remembering it is ME who needs more skills right now. Lesson: I made the choice to feel connected and open rather than divisive and contracted.

I share this as an invitation for you to consider how the voice of the inner critic may apply to your life.

Ask yourself the following:

1. What is my inner critic saying in this moment?

2. Is this how I want to be?

3. What other choice can I make in this moment that comes from a place of loving kindness and compassion toward myself or someone else?

4. What skills do I need to cultivate to handle this?

As you go through this process remember to just notice how you are being. This is not about judging yourself. It is simply about inviting awareness to enter and allowing space for transformation to occur. For me, when transformation occurs, my life becomes sweeter. I feel better on all levels: body, mind, spirit. As I feel better, loving kindness overflows to all people.

This experience of expansiveness and unity is precisely why I practice and teach yoga.

So yes, Jim Rohn was right!! I did not need for my 90 minute Bikram yoga class to be easier, I needed more skills in those moments.

Ingredients

2 bananas, ripe

2 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup nuts and seeds, try: almonds, walnuts, sunflower, pumpkin- all raw

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup oat flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats, raw

1/2 cup oat bran, raw

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup raisins

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp blackstrap molasses

In a large bowl smash bananas, eggs, peanut butter, pumpkin, honey and molasses.  Mix well.  Add dry ingredients.  Add water if too stiff.  Add chocolate chips, raisins and nuts.  Adjust recipe as needed by adding water so you can mix without it being runny.

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until brown. Don’t overcook.

Store in fridge for up to 5 days.  I like to put them in the toaster oven to get warm before eating.

I like to study words for two reasons.

First, I notice that words are powerful tools which can bring people together or push us apart. The words we choose are a window into our soul. When strung together, words represent significant meaning.

Second, I believe when we commit to increasing our own self awareness through yoga and meditation, we begin to experience the words of others differently. Perhaps instead of “hearing” what someone says, we will be able to “listen”. When we “hear” someone, it is more of an external experience and there is less, if any emotional connection. When we listen, we connect. Connection is where life happens. The best part is — as we practice “listening” to ourselves, we begin to speak differently. We choose our words more carefully. As we do, the outcomes in our life change. Perhaps some of you already do this in your life. No matter what you currently do, there is always room to “listen” more deeply.

To exemplify the power of words, read the 5 statements below to yourself. Pay attention to see if you can tell the difference between “hearing” the words and “listening” to them. Notice when you truly “listen” to the words, how they make you feel.

1. When adding consistent physical activity to your life, doesn’t it make sense to engage in movement that moves you?

2. Do you work to live–or–live to work?

3. We don’t meditate to get better at meditating. We meditate to get better at life.

4. I am less interested in what you are overeating and more interested in why you are overeating.

5. “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou ‘canst not then be false to any man.” -William Shakespeare

How did you listen? Were you able to feel the words? What came up for you? There is much we can learn about ourselves when we really listen!

I realize some of you may not know what support looks like because you don’t usually ask for it or maybe you have not ever truly gotten it. For me, I spent many years completely unaware of what real support looked like. I walked around feeling “proud” of the fact that I was strong, independent and didn’t “need anybody”. When this attitude no longer served me, I found myself feeling dissatisfied with and disconnected from my personal and professional life. I decided I needed more knowledge– and I am not talking about book education my friends. I am talking about self knowledge, self education. As I began to focus less on the outer world and what everyone else was doing, I became fascinated by my inner world. I committed myself to the practice of yoga and meditation to increase my self awareness. As I began to learn more about myself, there were times I was completely overwhelmed with what I learned. This overwhelm led me to become stuck. I was afraid to make changes, to speak up, to begin advocating for the life I imagined. It is scary, no doubt!! It was in these moments that I also realized knowledge is potential power. After all, if we know what we must do, yet we continue not to do it, what power do we have? In fact for me, my knowledge without being able to action made me feel powerless. Since then I have come to believe it is in the action of doing that we gain power. It became clear to me that if I wanted to get “unstuck” I must have someone to support me as “the stuff” came up. I made the decision to start working consistently with a mentor and coach. By getting the support I needed, with someone who I felt safe with, I was able to transform my life completely. As “the stuff” came up, I now had someone who could both support me and be a mirror for me. What a powerful combination!

As you contemplate what you want for your life, I encourage you to give thought to this concept of knowledge being potential power. Some of you may be lucky to have the knowledge and the power already. For others you may have neither or bits of both. Whatever it is for you, don’t judge it. Notice it and from that place decide what you are willing to do. Get more knowledge? Get support? Both?

We’ll share the opportunity and explain the Fast Track

Sample our delicious FIBER Advantage Bars

Try our Delicious CINCH SHAKES and BARS

Get ready for a healthier holiday season

See our Display of the New beautifully packaged Holiday Gifts from Shaklee

Please come and bring your friends and we’ll share with them “The Shaklee Difference”

Raffles, Door Prizes and Discount Certificates throughout the night

OUR SHAKLEE SHOWCASE

Gives you the opportunity to browse, ask questions, see demos, and meet people who love to share Shaklee and have some fun!

We’ll, of course, have GET CLEAN STARTER KITS on display with our Enfuselle Skin Care table and our helpful Nutritional info table plus great gift ideas for the holidays!!

For additional information or to RSVP, contact Stephanie via email here or call 914-584-6944

When I think about how I was able to achieve my goal of running a very hilly 10K, with only 6 weeks of training, I realized a few key principles I had to implement along the way. As a mentor and supportive coach, I want to share these with you. I have noticed when it comes to changing past behavior, many of us start out excited — and then for some reason we fall off the “track”, give up on ourselves and never achieve our goals.

Why is this?

In taking some lessons from what I had to endure over the last 6 weeks, there are 3 things you must do when trying to achieve your goals:

1. You must have a plan and follow it consistently, no matter what.

I followed the training plan exactly. I did it when I was tired, cranky and sore. Included in my plan was not only the physical movement part, but also healthier eating, increased supplementation and more rest.

2. You must believe you are not your thoughts.

When you begin to notice your thoughts, this is when you can begin to control them. When negative thoughts popped into my head, I simply changed my thinking to positive affirmations. When you come back to your body and get out of your head, anything is possible.

3. You must get support.

Some of us underestimate the need for support as we feel we “shouldn’t” have to ask for it. I have not yet met anyone who has achieved a significant goal in life without getting support. All during my training I asked my family and other runners for support. For me, asking is not easy– yet I do it anyway in pursuit of my larger goal.

How can you apply these 3 principles to your life..starting now?

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