Greetings!

We made it! The final day our our 21 days together. 

I am grateful for YOU to have shared this practice with me.

Gratitude is a practice. Practice requires consistent effort. Practice does not end in perfection, but more effective practice. 

How does gratitude feel in your body now? Reflect back on all you have experienced, practiced, journaled. What are you grateful for now? And how will you integrate this feeling of gratitude into your life?

On Day 2 of this week I explained the Yamas and Niyamas as the ethical practices underlying Living Your Yoga. Ishvara Pranidhana is the last of the 5 Yamas, or observances. It means, “surrender to god” or universe or All.

Whatever it is, it means, surrender. 

The two previous Yamas lead up to this one:

Tapas means the work, the practice, the drive or determinitation.

Svadhyaya, which we learned about in Week 1, is reflection or study.

And so the cycle of growth goes: Tapas, put in the work; Svadhyaya, study or reflect (did it work? why or why not?)

Then finally, Ishvara pranidhana. Give it up. To god, to higher power, to universe, to all. 

Basically, this is the P A U S E where you wait for inspiration to come for the next step.

That within us which seeks to know and to progress is not the mind but something behind it which makes use of it. – Sri Auorbindo

Moving forward from today: Continue your practice of Gratitude, in every way that you can. Reflect on what is working, and what isn’t. Then pause, and give it up, with open arms, and an open cup, ready to receive inspiration for what’s next.

Practice the meditation. https://vimeo.com/407005986/8c57d06d05

And as always, journal about your experience. 

“‘THANK YOU’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme Gratitude. Humility. Understanding.”

- Alice Walker

How will YOU continue this work? I would LOVE to hear from you!

When you have a moment, watch this: Brene Brown on the connection between Gratitude and Joy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IjSHUc7TXM

Upcoming Study:

Living Your Yoga: A Study of the Yamas and Niyamas, the first two limbs of the 8-limbed path. I will announce the start date in The Embodied Yoga Method on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheEmbodiedYogaMethod/

And please, join any and all of our events!

Be Well in All Ways,

Kristen