Gratitude, Celebration, Anew

It's December! 2018 officially arrives in less than three weeks.

As the festivity draws near, Christmas round the corner, I reminded myself and my students to keep up the practice, be it attending classes or home practice, to finish strong!

During this time, I sat and reflected upon my yoga over the passed years. It has been a humbling journey, a deep dive and reconnection to 'home'. A lot of times, I learned the hard way. There was pain and joy, there was disappointment and celebration, there was self-limiting beliefs and great sense of empowerment, there was vulnerability and stability.

Reminiscing on my practice journey, there were choices that have supported my growth, and some less so. I would love to share some of my learnings, experiences and pitfalls. 

• Develop and sustain a reliable consistent self-practice
• Practice with deep self-inquiry (not acquisition) with interest and curiosity
• Learning from mistakes and pitfalls, to practice self-empathy instead of blame and shame
• Responding to the messages of my body through sensing and feeling attentively... honestly
• Allowing space and pace in my practice and teaching, and not be demotivated by competition and judgements (from self and others)
• Ample rest... I mean a lot of rest! I often failed to offer my best self when there is a rest-deficit
• Reflection and integration through meditation and journalling
• Support from my sangha (my teachers, mentors, peers, students, family and friends)
• Away on retreat at least once a year to reset my rhythm, with 100% immersion on self-care
• Svadhyaya (self-study)

​By sharing this, my wish is to first connect with you, and for you to know that you are not alone on the mat. I am on the mat with you right now. A world of yoga practitioners are on the journey with you today. Secondly, I hope this may inspire and reignite the fire in your yoga and self-care. Finally, by sharing this openly and honestly, I allow myself to express my truth and vulnerability. With Gratitude.

Questions for reflection:
How and what is your support structure for your yoga? Do share by replying.