Lesley Hobbs Yoga

Yoga Day 365 - Celebration

How do I write what my heart feels this afternoon? I am blessed by the gifts this yoga challenge and blog have brought to my life. For one year my yoga practice has truly taken center stage and the impact has been huge. As you know by now, I like to look at life from the perspective of 4 realms...

Physically, I am able to do more challenging poses, my endurance is greater and I feel more cofident in my body.

Mentally, I notice a fine-tuning, an ability to focus more clearly on the task at hand. And, I notice a lot less chatter in my head (thank God, it was getting noisy in there!!)

Emotionally, my heart feels more open and vulnerable at the same time it feels more resilient and stronger.

Spiritually I am better aligned with my purpose in this life, I feel a deeper connection to my own divine nature and I am ready to "play big".

I know I have 135 days left till finish the challenge I set for myself but this feels like such a remarkable hurdle, I want to honor this accomplishment and take the time to celebrate what this means to me.

Thank you, dear reader, for sharing the journey thus far. I am grateful for your comments and your emails, for your support and your feedback. Stay with me a while longer, who knows what may still happen.

Namaste.

 

Yoga Day 364 - commitment

I just had to write a few words as I come to the end of a full year of this challenge. I must admit to feeling quite pleased with myself; I have often used words in the past that undermine my commitment levels and I have been harsh in my judgments. I do believe I will change that habit!!

How can I be so mean to me? I have told myself and others that I am like a butterfly flitting from one thing to another and yet, is this the truth? Have I had experiences of flitting? Absolutely, yes. There was the time in Arizona when I took cake decorating quite seriously, and in North Carolina when I sewed everything we wore. What about the time in Virginia when I worked out religiously or the 2 years in Dublin when I was a vegetarian?

Do these episodes make me flighty? I cannot be sure but I have learned this past year that I am also deeply committed in several areas of my life. I have been married over 21 years, I have mothered for over 20, I have practiced yoga for 13 years and walked several times weekly since I was 10. I have been committed to natural health care most of my life and have had an active prayer life since I could say prayers.

As I enjoy the celebrations of one year doing this challenge, I now commit to looking at myself more kindly, to acknowledging the things I do well and to stop harping on about all my failings. I invite you, dear reader, to do the same. Write down your strengths and skills, commit to paper how "brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous" you truly are and read it daily.

Namaste.

Yoga Days 358-363; ch-ch-ch-change

What an interesting ride I have been on these past few months!! I have taken a small step back from several things to get a better view of what I am doing, what I want to be doing and how I need to change certain aspects of my life in order to be better aligned with my overall purpose and vision.

My yoga practice has held me steady though I have not been here writing as often as I may have liked. It was a necessary perspective shift and I am grateful for the lessons I have learned.

Yoga is an essential part of my life; it keeps me healthy in so many ways, it strengthens my values, it focuses my vision. In every way, my life is better because yoga sits at the foundation. As I sit here at the end of a year of this daily yoga practice I am poised to explore change and growth. My physical practice has evolved to mirror the changes in my life. I am becoming more adventurous and reaching deeper into myself to explore poses and breath work, I have been listening with intention and practicing with greater awareness and focus.

I am excited to share all my news but you must wait, dear reader. It is not yet time to unveil all. Let us instead, breathe in all that this magnificent year has given us. Can you remember where you were this time last year? Has your life moved in the direction you had hoped? Are you walking the path of yur dreams?

At the end of September 2009, I was preparing for a long weekend at a yoga conference; excited to embark on my 500 Days of Yoga. I had just started a new business and I had so many ideas and goals I scared myself!!

Enjoy the last few days of this beautiful month, make time for yoga (or whatever fills your heart) and be open to the possibilities.

Namaste.

Yoga Days 354-357 - want to start yoga?

Here are some ideas you might share with friends and family about how and why yoga might be a good option for them.

Yoga reduces stress!! It really is that simple. If you can get to a weekly class you will probably notice a change in about 2 months. If you can do it more often, the change is likely to happen more quickly.

Yoga makes you healthier!! There is an expression - you are only as young as your spine is flexible and yoga will certainly increase the flexibility of your spine as well as the rest of your body. What I have found over the years is that practicing yoga encourages me to be healthier in other areas of my life also (food choices, exercise options, sleep habits etc...)

Yoga improves sex!! Not only are you more flexible and better able to move freely during sex, your blood is flowing better, your breath is deeper bringing more oxygen and you feel more confident in you body.

You can practice at home!! While it is ideal if you can find a great teacher with classes at times that work for your schedule and budget, that is not always the case. I used videos for over 7 years to build my practice. I now use books and magazine practices if I want someone else to guide me. The internet is a great tool - there are classes available free on lots of sites. Please use me as a resource for questions and concerns you may have...I am happy to answer and help you find the best fit for you.

You don't have to be flexible to start!! I often hear this one from people who say they would like to do yoga but cannot because they are so tight. That is okay. This is when a home practice may be a better option for you. You can start very slowly and allow your body to open at its own pace, getting to know yourself can take time. Again, send me your questions by email.

Start here !! There are a couple of practices on this site and more will be coming in the future.

Start today!! Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today? If you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow!!!

Namaste.

Yoga Days 352,353 - using yoga to write a book

I have a book in me and I have been thinking about it for 2-3 years, I had spoken to very few people about it until this past month. It is a book about yoga and that was all I really knew until recently.

I have shared here before that each year I choose 2 yoga poses and spend a little more time working with these poses. I don't really set a goal as such, it is more a commitment to play with the pose, to allow myself the time to explore it fully and feel how I respond. Today I understood I could apply this same philosophy to my book project.

A dear friend gave me a cook book last month and I finally saw what I could not describe ... now I have a clear vision of what the book must feel like. Now I have a specific "pose" in mind. 

I spoke with several people in the publishing field and heard lots of suggestions, ideas and advice. I found the "how-to" for my pose.

Today I spoke with an author friend of mine who inspired and challenged me in ways I had not expected; to try activities I'd rather avoid, to take myself far beyond my comfort zone. (Oh how often I say that in class!!)

Rationally there is nothing bad that can happen as I move forward with this book project, I cannot get hurt, I cannot lose my shirt, I cannot fail. So why am I nervous?

This final question is what brought me to my yoga analogy and therein lies my answer. I try poses I have no hope of ever accomplishing; I try them simply because they push me further than I tend to go.

I actually may finish my book and I may even publish it, more than I can say for my hopes of Viparita Salabhasana** My biggest hope for both projects is simply to enjoy the process, to allow my heart to grow and to breathe into each moment, fully awake to the experience.

Namaste.

(Now I have to add Viparita Salabhasana to my 2011 poses!!)

Viparita Salabhasana** LINK

Yoga Day 351 - my "overnight" success

I recently read "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell and loved it. He talks about people becoming "overnight" successes and shares the true story behind each sensational story. Each person had served his/her apprenticeship, oftentimes year after year (about 10,000 hours) before becoming an overnight success.

Another recent gift - my friend shared a quote with me "The harder I work, the luckier I get"

No one could ever accuse me of being a slacker; I work hard, sometimes too hard and demand a lot of myself. This past year I have been learning a new industry and doing everything my mentors told me to do. It has been challenging and nerve-wracking at times, and always fulfilling and inspiring. Some people in this line of work see enormous success in the first few months and there have been times when I want to roar my frustration.

(Thank God for my yoga mat!!)

In the past few days I am beginning to see the fruits of my hard work; it feels wonderful to know that all my effort has rooted and the sprouts are starting to show. I feel like an outlier!! And I am pretty sure some will call me lucky :)

I did not know my yoga practice was preparing the way for other work... my commitment to my business has not wavered, every day I practiced what I was being told to do. While I would have loved to see progress in leaps and bounds, I know I have benefited more from the inch by inch approach (so common in yoga). And now that I can see the correlation, I will remind myself daily that my work, like yoga, is a progressive practice and in order to reap the rewards all I need do is show up and practice.

In gratitude,

Namaste.

Yoga Day 350 - Wakey wakey!!

I have called yoga a progressive practice and this quality has helped me cultivate patience and commitment. When I first began yoga I had no idea what I was getting into, much less the changes it would bring to my life. I often give thanks that some deeply hidden part of my nature recognized a home and kept encouraging me to return to the mat.

I wish I could pinpoint exactly when I committed to yoga, when I realized its significance, when I knew I was a better person because yoga was in my life. I remember certain physical changes as witnessed through specific poses; for example in Aug 2005 I sat tall in Upavista Konasana and could not forward bend at all, today my heart is less than a hand's breadth from the floor. This is great, my body feels wonderful but the physical is the least of the benefits yoga offers me.

I used to be horribly impatient and rude along with it, one of those awful drivers or people standing in a line; when did that change?

I was proud of the fact that I could wither a person with a few select words; honestly, why would anyone do something so needlessly cruel?

I was most often miserable and unconsciously wanted the rest of the world to be miserable right along with me. Unconscious is a good description... unaware... asleep... you get the general idea. Yoga was the most gentle of alarm clocks, a nudge here, a pull there, just enough to disturb my slumber.

And lest you hear something I am not saying - yoga is a practice; there may never be a time when I am fully awake, fully aware, fully conscious. I am okay with that. I am okay with showing up on my mat not knowing what may happen, trusting that change will occur and that, in hindsight, I will be grateful for that change.

The one thing I can guarantee is once you have been disturbed, you can never return to the deep sleep; sometimes awareness brings discomfort and pain. Better to be aware enough to feel it than go through life anesthetized to every experience.

Wakey wakey...

Namaste.

Yoga Days 340-349 - sharing my heart

I think 9 days is the longest I have missed blogging since I started this 500 day project and  have no real excuses and to be honest, do not need any!!

Other aspects of my life became more important and I chose to spend my time there rather than here. I did miss several days on the mat last week but have found myself back in my normal practice routine and am feeling more aligned because of it.

By now, dear reader, you know I am committed to my yoga practice, you understand the benefits yoga brings to my life and you read me waxing lyrical about the joy I feel through yoga. It's funny how we may not notice when change is happening but in hindsight we can see enormous shifts in our beliefs, habits, thought patterns.

When I began this project I committed to being here every day; on the mat and on this blog. It was a very important part of my vision and I would have beaten myself up pretty badly had I missed 9 days. Here I am, less than a year later and I feel completely at peace with the situation!! I am my own worst critic; the voices I hear are most often my own condemning my behaviors, belittling my efforts and undermining my skills. Not something to be proud of and something I have been working with over the years.

Who knew that a 500 day yoga journey might silence one (or more) of those voices?

I have always worked off the premise that if I am perfect, if I do it "right" then I will be worthy and worthwhile. These 349 days are teaching me that I am perfect because I am, not because I do, I am worthy simply because I exist. My biggest (self-imposed) obstacle has always been the notion that I had something to prove, that I had to earn my place in world. Good God, it sounds so pathetic and yet, perhaps you ,or someone you know, feels this same way.

I had no clue what I would write about as I sat here this evening, in fact, I am only here because a client canceled on me at the last moment. I am so grateful for the cancellation, I am so grateful to find myself here, sharing my heart and seeing change.

I am creating art work for my office - one of the pieces is Gandhi's "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." There are days I work so hard to live this and cannot see it. Today, I breathe and I can see it.

That's yoga!!

Namaste.

Yoga Days 336-339: Is it possible?

In the past few days I have noticed how at peace and contented I feel. I am carving out time in my day for a short meditation and am working to live several inspirational phrases I have heard recently. I have shared them before but they bear repeating...

“The question for me is not why this work is important to me, but do I behave like it’s important to me? Do I give my creative focus the time and attention and passion it deserves? Do I take my life seriously or not?” – Gerber

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom."- Anais Nin

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world" - Gandhi

"You are a child of God.Your playing small does not serve the World." - Williamson

Is it possible that these simple, powerful words can help me transform my life? Is it possible that I can take baby steps on the journey to my full life? Is it possible? My life is a series of three steps forward, two steps back and I am under no illusion that today marks the start of a new paradigm for me but what if that were possible?

I remember my teacher telling us that we live in prison (we all live in prison) but there were no doors; we can choose to walk out anytime we want. For most of us this is too much and so, we stick out a finger or a toe and test the waters, rushing back to the corner when the freedom overwhelms. Today, I know I want the true freedom that we each deserve.

Sticking out a finger or toe may mean trying something new, speaking the truth instead of fudging, learning to trust yourself, turning off the snarly judgmental voices and more. For me (this week), it has meant owning a skill I did not know I had, telling the truth when I would have preferred to avoid the answer, asking for help and support and committing to the work I must do to create my dream life.

Just like yoga, this is a practice. Some days I may manage to "touch my toes", other days they will seem miles away!! If I remember to live my life through my yoga practice and beliefs I am sure to see movement in a forward direction and I am good with that.

Wishing you clarity to see your reality, courage to feel it fully and strength to change what you want/need to change.

Namaste.