Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

I’ve been practicing yoga for a few years, and have learned an awful lot about myself through my practice. Mostly about parts of me that haven’t healed. It’s been a process of taking down the walls I have built around my heart during my life – most notably, emotions and fear.

“Ditch social media and my T.V. for a week... What?” Depending on who you are, and how much you use technology in your daily routine, a digital detox might seem either insane or too easy. It’s not until you begin to experience the highs and lows of a digital detox rollercoaster that you realize just how addicting social media and television really are. No matter who you are, if you’re living in this developed, 21st-century country, chances are you probably need a digital detox.

The spirits are stirring this time of year, which means that some of you might be conjuring your own personal demons (again). We all have a few ghosts from the past and skeletons in our closet that like to haunt our memories – and we’re going to help you shake them out and clear your spiritual cobwebs.

Meditation teaches us how distracted we really are. We just don’t usually notice because we are so distracted. Most of us generally have the same series of redundant thoughts circling around in our mind, over and over and over again. In our society, we are so focused on getting somewhere, getting what we want, the “if only” syndrome so to speak. If only we can just get this job, this house, this person, fill in the blank, then we’ll be happy. When we are operating from this mindset, we aren’t focused on the here and now.

Yoga can be the practice of discovering your own inner state of joy, so how will you achieve your yoga high today? Embrace what calls to you! Yoga doesn’t have to be so serious or complicated. It’s truly a simple practice, but as Patanjali states in the Yoga Sutras, it isn’t easy. There isn’t an identical path for any of us. We’re all unique. Individually perfect or perfectly imperfect. What really matters is how you feel during and after your yoga practice.

Why do I feel this sense of urgency? I feel it all the time. I feel it the morning when I first wake up. I feel it while I am doing my work. I feel it while I am driving, walking and riding my bike. I feel it when I am on my yoga mat. I feel it in meditation. I feel it now as I write these words: write faster, finish writing sooner, move on to the next thing you have to do today. 

We don’t know about you, but we find watching the Olympics to be an incredibly inspiring experience. Seeing the athletes who have dedicated their lives, sacrificed so much for the opportunity to compete at the highest level on the globe have the opportunity to shine is powerful. Are the Olympics just about being the best? Winning the gold at all costs? Is it about the outcome? Or, is it more than that? Is it truly about the journey?

To connect with your true nature and the nature of the cosmos – especially as we transition into autumn - be sure to make the following actions a habit: