A Self-evolution Resolution

It's that time of year.

A kind of watershed for all that has happened in the past year. How was 2009 for you?

For many people it has been a year of worry and challenges and possibly changes. This is the same for some people every year, 2009 just seems to have amplified it.  None of us are immune to the challenges and worry that life throws us. What makes any situation more manageable is our ability to cope with the challenges and that comes from within not without.

STRESS is an inside job.

No one can make us feel stressed, really, think about it for a moment.

We always have a choice in the matter of how we  react to certain situations.

Things and people can "push our buttons".

The situations that cause stress are usually as a result of our limiting beliefs - our gremlins - things we, or others, have put  in our software supposedly to keep us safe.

Most often these gremlins make us fearful, and that causes the stress.

For example -
You are stuck in traffic - you will be late for an important meeting - you start to feel very anxious and display some unattractive mannerisms!

Why are you stressed?

Follow the train of thought your mind is taking......
You will walk in late - make a bad impression - not get the deal - not make your target this month - look stupid to your colleagues - lose your bonus - not be able to pay for the new car payment/mortgage etc - get behind with finances..........

See where your mind is taking you...... no wonder you are stressed!!

In reality - you get to the meeting late to find others due at the meeting were held up and the meeting started half an hour later to wait for every one. You end up being one of the first few to arrive!

So what has that to do with New Year?

Well, it seems to me that we make the same New Year  Resolutions every year.
The only way to stop repeating the same life lessons is to change at some level.

This requires a journey to your inner self - a journey that is never to late to start - and from which  great life change is possible.
If not, what is the point?
Why keep living situations that challenge you and prevent you thriving.

If you aren't willing to make a change, expect to be making the same resolutions next year, and the next, and the next. The same life lessons will repeat until  (you) fade.

My wish for you is for you to make Self-evolution Resolution.


Ask yourself what needs to change, be open to receive the answer and act upon the information.

With some attention and awareness a person, book or situation will arise that will take you a step forward, away from the same old, same old and on the path to growing a better life .

Access your flexible friend!

I am a yoga teacher.
You would expect me to be flexible.
I am.

I am flexible because I do yoga.

The reason I emphasise that is because the thing I hear most often when people know I teach yoga is;

"Hmmm, I've often thought about doing yoga but I don't think I'm flexible enough".

Come on peeps, is that the real reason?

I have a couple of theories about this...
yes, you may not be flexible, but flexibility is easily lost, ask a dancer or athlete. You have to work at flexibility,  not for long but a little every day......is that it, fear of commitment?

The other thing is yoga's image, you know, the pictures you see in magazines and newspapers especially if its a picture of a celebrity. Ordinary  folk aren't daft, they know they can't do that, but hey......we don't do that in the first class!! It can take months, years or never to get to those poses and celebs don't have pictures taken of the poses they can't do!

The third thing, okay I know I said couple but, are you afraid you have to be naked or skimpily dressed or change religion or go without food or drink or sex?

None of that is true.

I have a 5 step plan for you:
1. Find a class near you.
2. Wear something comfortable.
3. Take a mat or a towel to lay on.
4. Do what your body can do, not the person next to you.
5. Notice the comfort, ease, lightness and joy you feel at the end of the class.

You are now on your way to being FLEXIBLE. Not only in your body, but also your mind and that feels so good.

Live like a Spaniel!

One of my joys, aside from my children, are my two beautiful Cocker Spaniels.
(The picture shows my older dog Twizzle nursing her new born puppies, one of which is called Betty, who also lives with us).
They have the power to put a smile on my face no matter how I feel inside.

They remind me of who I should be.

Let me tell you why:

• They give love continuously and unconditionally
• They are happy with their lot
• They don't fear the future
• They are playful and funny
• They are gentle
• They protect their family
• They are patient
• They are loyal
• They are curious

Would you like to be this person?  Consider some of the following points.

It's not easy to give love "continuously and unconditionally". It is a mark of true love, in my opinion, to be able to do this and I know I am not always up to the task. Its easier with an owner/dog partnership, after all, they don't answer back! Do you love anyone or any living creature  (not a thing)  without asking for anything in return?

"To be happy with your lot"...I believe this is to do with giving gratitude for what you have, for really counting up the things that are good in your life. No matter where we are at any time there is something to be grateful for, and enough things to be grateful for  can become happiness and contentment, even  if it's just for now.

"Don't fear the future"... do you find yourself often meeting trouble half way? How many times do you notice that you fear something and it either doesn't happen at all,  or it does happen but it is more manageable than you thought it would be?   Read work by Byron Katie ("Loving what is") if you know this is an issue for you. Her method called "The Work" is easy to comprehend but within its simplicity is the power to totally change the way you look at problems and to learn to manage them in a different way. There are some great clips on you tube that are powerful and deeply touching.

Be "Playful and funny"....when one is bogged down by fear and problems it is so easy to take on the persona of a dour and sour person. One of the great reasons for having a dog, is to be able to watch them play and get up to their antics. You laugh in spite of yourself!  Give yourself permission to laugh no matter how grim the situation you find yourself is. It will lift your energy and get you unblocked, able to move yourself forward even if it is  just an inch or two. Any movement towards the positive takes you away from the black pit you find yourself looking into.

My last point is to be "curious". I love this word.  I am mis-quoting for sure, but there is a quote that says something like "you should live life with the curiosity of a child", (or a Cocker Spaniel) else how will or can we progress, evolve or deepen our appreciation or understanding of ourselves and our world. For me one of the reasons for being in our physical body is to explore, if not the world, then the reaches of our spirit or intellect.  "Why?"... can be such a fascinating journey!

Finally, someone sent me the following as an email earlier this year. I don't know who to credit for it but I hope it makes you smile.

Inner Strength
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring  aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
(this is a tough one)
If you can take criticism and blame with out resentment,
If you can conquer tension with out medical help,
If you can relax with out adult beverages,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
.................... you are probably
The Family Dog!


Heartfelt greetings to you  from  this Yogini.

Daily Rituals

Did you clean your teeth this morning?

Yep, I bet you did and with out giving it a second thought.

That is because it is one of your daily rituals. This type of daily activity defines us in some way and can affect our personal life as well as our business life.

For example, do you always buy the same newspaper, or drink the same tea, park in the same parking space if available, or sit in a certain chair. Do your clothes get put on in the same order?

We don't question these things because it is a way of behaving that suits us. We have found it gives us the feelings or results we require and is repeated on such a regular basis that we don't have to think about the action, indeed we are often thinking about something completely different whilst performing these daily rituals.

How about an upgrade? How about adding a daily ritual that serves you at a deeper level?

To achieve lasting change consider these two points.

• New habits or rituals will only serve you if they change some part of your life for the better.
• It takes 21 - 28 days of performing the new activity for it to become a established behaviour, to become a new habit.

At the end of the summer last year, I was considering the days getting shorter and the prospect of my dogs being walked in the dark on the days I got home from work late. The idea filled me with dread. But it was my habit to walk them in the evening. I always had, didn't give it a second thought. What if.......what if I got up earlier and walked them in the morning before work. No, not likely I thought. I have enough to do in the mornings as it is. But the image of walks in the dark began to feel more ominous than the thought of getting up earlier (not easy for an owl to become a lark!) I decided that as soon as the clocks changed I would audition this new ritual and see if I could manage it.

It didn't take long to experience the feelings of joy. Walking in the daylight and having less to worry about later in the day outweighed the effort of getting out of bed earlier by huge huggy handfuls.

A new ritual was established quicker than I thought possible because of the great feeling I experienced. The feeling out weighed the thoughts.

So you have to want it, but more importantly for successful adoption of the new ritual you have to be able to FEEL it. To feel the result it will bring you. The feeling part of you will create a longer lasting change. Using that part of you will enable you to repeat the action easily for 21 days, by which time you have 'upgraded'.

What could you upgrade?

How could you go deeper to a feeling part of you and change?

What do you want to achieve - your goals - and how would you feel if you achieved them?

Let me know...and tell me how that FEELS!