Today is a gift!

Whenever I teach a kids' yoga class, I share this quote from Winnie the Pooh author, A.A. Milne with my students: "Yesterday is History.  Tomorrow is a Mystery. Today is a Gift...that's why they call it the PRESENT!"

If you're searching for wisdom, one of the best places to look is a collection of children's books.  A.A. Milne, Dr. Seuss, Shell Silverstein, Maurice Sendak: These guys have made a career of boiling down the most important principles of living and making them digestible for kids.

Sometimes, that's exactly what we adults need too.

Living in the past or future can be dangerous.  The past really is history.  We can't change it or bring it back.  The future is a mystery, and try as we might, we can't predict it.  Worrying doesn't help, and will only create crippling fear that can hinder us from moving forward.  If we spend too much time on either side, it can make us crazy.

The solution is to recognize that everything that is happening in this moment is a gift.  We can appreciate that gift by being totally present.  We can love the ones we are with and relish the stimuli that tickle our senses and enjoy every aspect of the human emotional spectrum that we happen to be feeling, whether it be joy, sorrow, silliness, anger, love, or anything in between.

When you are busy enjoying the moment, invasive thoughts of past and future become fewer and farther between, bringing you closer and closer to fully enjoying this gift we call "the Present."

I Am Me!

"There will never be a storm

That can wash the path from my feet

The direction from my heart

The light from my eyes,

or the purpose from this life.

I know that I am untouchable to the forces,

As long as I have a direction, an aim, a goal;

To serve, to love, and to give.

Strength lies in the magnification of the secret qualities

of my own personality, my own character,

And though I am only a messenger,

I am me."

Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati

Each one of us is a messenger sent to this world with a unique voice and shared purpose: to serve, love, and bring hope to our fellow earthlings.  Sometimes, when we speak or act upon this purpose, we are met with indifference or disdain, and we feel like we should just shut up.

Nobody's listening, so why should I keep talking?  What do I have to say that hasn't been said by someone louder, stronger, or more powerful?

Satyananda says, "Strength lies in the magnification of the secret qualities of my own personality, my own character...though I am only a messenger, I am me."

You may not have a world stage to speak from or an endorsement deal, but you were endowed with a voice that was made to reach those who need it most.  Even if the message you have to share has been shared before, there are people who need to hear it from you before they will receive the hope that it brings.

You will be surprised at who is listening when it seems like no one is.

The key is to know that as long as you act and speak with the aim to serve, love and give, all you must do is be yourself.

*You. Are. Enough.*

If you can convince yourself of this and always keep it in mind, there is no storm or adversity that can shake you.

Live the questions and the answers will come...

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms or books that are written in a foreign tongue.  The point is to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live your way to some distant day into the answers."-Rainer Maria Rilke

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"I want it NOW!"

We've all been momentarily possessed by our inner-Veruca Salts at one point or another in our lives.  We find ourselves waiting for the next step in our careers or relationships, or wanting the fruits of seemingly endless efforts, or craving inspiration when we are feeling lost.

Rilke tells us that sometimes, you must put the end out of your mind and spend time experiencing that confusing and frustrating middle of the road.  The lessons that you learn in these moments almost always prove essential once you do achieve the answers and ends that you seek.

In yoga, students often look at the covers of Athleta catalogues or yoga magazines and want to be able to immediately do the beautiful poses that they see.  When they can't, they quit.  Worse, they force themselves into poses and get hurt.

Those models make the poses look effortless, but these poses are the end result of sometimes years of work, starting with merely a sliver of the full pose.  With few exceptions, advanced yogis were not born being able to fly up into crow pose or float effortlessly into forearm balance.




It required breaking poses down into manageable pieces, sometimes even after doing a version of the pose that may have looked good, but was not created on a strong foundation. Skipping any of those steps could result in accidents and injury.  It is only after fully mastering each component of a pose, can a yogi achieve the full expression of a beautiful pose.

By giving each of these broken down pieces our full attention and presence, we can learn lessons about our bodies and minds that will not only help us in the poses, but will also help us stay strong and healthy throughout our lives.

Yoga is about being where you are and being ok with that.  Sometimes we feel weak, small, and clueless, but we are never stronger, bigger, and wiser than when we are fully present.

Live the questions.  The answers will come, and you will be ready for them.

Between these two extremes is peace...

"Having spent the better part of my life trying to relive the past or experience the future before it arrives, I've come to believe that between these two extremes is peace."

I don't know who first spoke this sentiment, but it's one that I've returned to again and again in my life.   We're talking about two main states here: regret and anxiety.  Both of these states hijack our mind, kidnapping it from being in the moment.  We try to change the past to right our perceived wrong-doings or get back a happy moment that has slipped away.  At the other end of the spectrum, we worry about things that have not happened yet and may not ever happen, but scare us just the same.

When we are in either of these two mind-states, it is impossible to be fully in the Now.  When we are present, we can handle anything, because we must take it one thing at a time.  Even if the emotion we experience isn't a pleasant one, addressing one thing is much easier than addressing an onslaught of imaginary moments.  Memories and anxieties are just that: imaginary.  They exist in the mind.  They are not reality.

When you find yourself lost in this imaginary melee, take a moment to come back to your body.  Start with a deep breath.  Feel the cool air fill and expand your lungs.  Pause and hold your breath.  Experience a moment of complete stillness.  Then, exhale fully.  Repeat this cycle five times.

Then, take note of your surroundings.  Be where you are are, now.  Hear the sounds, smell the smells, feel the texture of your clothes, see the beauty around you.

You are not under attack.  You are in the present moment.  What is real is what is directly in front of you. You can handle it.

Be here, now, and you will surely find peace.