Weekly Newsletter
That's right. Just once a week! I respect you, your time and your inbox. So I won't be landing in there more than once a week with a purposeful, thoughtful newsletter! You can always find it here or sign up to receive it as its released!
Get In the Mud with Yourself!
If you are wanting to make your life better…go to the pain, go to the suffering, go to where things don’t feel so great, go to where you feel stuck… and just be with it. Usually we don’t need to add more to our lives to make it better; adding more can lead to overwhelm and anxiety anyways. Sometimes we just need to hold space for ourselves and allow a natural release, a natural healing in time.
Can going to the discomfort really be the answer? Read on and consider.
There are many ways to go about this kind of work. And of course, yoga practice is one of my favorite ways to to hold space for myself…both physically and mentally. So what does “holding space” mean? It’s simply being with yourself or someone and listening without judgement, without criticism and without trying to actually fix anything!
In yoga practice, we encourage students to go to the areas that don’t feel so good. This...
Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should
In a time of excess, overwhelm, anxiety and stress, it is beneficial to remember that we have the choice to not participate. We can choose to not engage in what the rest of society is doing to maintain our peace and happiness. Here's a little poem of sorts from me....
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Just because you are able to do the job, doesn’t mean you should
Just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you need to buy it
Just because you have the time, doesn’t mean you should do it
Just because they want you to do it, doesn’t mean it’s best for you
Just because your neighbor is doing it, doesn’t mean you need to as well
Just because its a new season, doesn't mean you need new clothes
Just because everyone else is always so busy doesn’t mean you should be too
Just because something is on sale or a good deal, doesn’t mean you need to buy it now...
Are You Really Giving Your Best?
Are you really doing the best that you can or are you just going through the motions of life? Are you just doing the minimum in order to get by? Your job, your health, your family, your relationships...This can feel like a tough question when we are really honest. Think on this for a moment and read on!
Just consider your job for now. It is all relative, but let's just start there.
Whether you have a traditional job, run your own biz or you are a stay at home parent...Are you really giving it your best effort? Now I’m not saying you need to be the number one producer, the highest paid, or the fastest worker or the smartest employee...but I'm just wondering if you are really putting forth your best effort? Or are you there just to collect a pay check? Or are you capable of more?
Here is why it matters.
I know some people really don’t care about their jobs or the companies they work for. That's going to happen, and it’s unfortunate...
What is Your Foundation?
In yoga, all poses begin with foundation. Sometimes foundation is through your feet in a standing pose like tree or warrior 2. Other times foundation is through your sit bones of your pelvis in a seated pose like a forward fold or boat. No matter the pose, there is foundation.
If your foundation is not solid and rooted, then the rest of the pose will be shaky and you are more likely to falter.
Boom! That’s right…what happens on your mat is usually a reflection or a metaphor for what is happening in your life off the mat.
Foundation is the place where all things begin and expand from.
If a foundation is shaky, all things built upon this will eventually crumble. It is easy to see this play out on your yoga mats with poses, but we should consider how this plays out in our lives off the mat as well.
Our foundation is a place for us to return to when life throws knocks us around. It is also a place for us to build, create and flourish...
Be Aware of Where You are Moving Your Junk!
Have you ever gone to clean out a closet only to rearrange items or move things from one place to another and never really get rid of anything? Yeah…me too! Let’s not even talk about the junk drawer we all have!
Reorganizing your junk or moving it around isn’t really doing you any good.
When you work to get rid of it, make sure you truly get rid of it!
In yoga practice, we become aware of where we are moving things. We consciously work to relax and release tension in the body. I’m talking both physical tension like tight hamstrings as well as emotional tension.
When we do the work to open the hips, we make sure we aren’t just moving the tension from our hips and allowing it to settle elsewhere in our bodies like in our shoulders. We keep the rest of the body relaxed as well. When we become aware of our emotional and mental state, we take care as to not allow the tension that may exist there to migrate to somewhere new. Our breath and our...
The answer is Love. It is that simple.
When I contemplate the big questions of life and the overwhelming problems of our world…the solution that I always return to is love;
To love myself and to love others as openly, honestly, bravely and completely as I can.
When I’ve hurt another…I return to them with love to make things better
When someone hurts me…I go to them with love as an example of forgiveness
When I am confused about a decision…I ask myself what choice brings love
When I don’t agree with someone…I consider their viewpoint through the lens of love
When I am sad…I consider how I can feel loved
When I am grumpy…I think about how I can show myself love
When I feel sorry for myself…I look at how I can love others to feel love return to me
When I fight with another…I let go of my ego and and look for how I can show up with love
When I make a bad parenting decision…I return to my kids with love
...
Do you trust yourself?
Integrity with your word. Honesty.
Most of us would agree that these are fundamental necessities in any healthy relationship. When trust is lost, the foundation of relationships crumble and it can be nearly impossible to rebuild. We have all likely lost relationships at some point in our lives because of lack of trust.
We know the implications of lost trust with others; the strain on the relationship, the uncertainty that is felt, the doubt…But this blog is not even about trust with others. We have little to no control over other people’s behaviors and actions anyways. So let’s look in the mirror and ask the better question, “what about our trust in ourselves?”
How does trust show up in your relationship with yourself?
When I ask you, “how much do you truly trust yourself?”…is it a solid “yes”? Or more like a hesitant “maybe” or “it depends”?
And how does...
“Yeah, well, you know gray is my favorite color!”
The Counting Crows song, Mr. Jones, is one of the most popular songs of the mid 90’s and one that many of us know word for word…including myself! I loved that album as it was released during some of the most formative years of my youth. But when Adam Duritz would sing that line from the song, I would roll my eyes as I belted out the lyrics with him. Why? Because I really don’t like the color gray. Nope, not one bit.
I’ve never liked gray because it’s muted, dull and makes me looked washed out when I wear it. When I sweat wearing grey, it shows through my clothes…sweaty pits, ugh! Grey is the color of the overcast, rainy sky and makes things feel melancholy and bland. It lacks both depth and brightness.
And really… how do you even actually spell the word? Is it grey or gray? With an “a” or an “e”? The word itself is indecisive on how it wants to be spelled. Make up your mind grey/gray! (Both...
It's time to get curious!
To become curious about yourself, to become the most interesting person in your universe (podcast)…why does it matter? Because the more information you have about yourself, the more likely you are to make good decisions for yourself. Curiosity can also deepen your relationships…especially the one with yourself.
We are with ourselves all the time, literally! But how well do we really know and understand ourselves? It’s easy to just go through the motions of life and carry on with habits and routines, doing the things we always do, behaving and saying the things we have always said…but this is not the way of mindfulness and presence that we all seek. We need to check in with ourselves constantly so that we are living in a way that is in line with what is important to us while also living intentionally and on purpose!
My yoga practice is a place where I learn loads about myself. When I am being challenged on my mat physically, how do I react?...
Is it time for you to throw out the crutches?
Can you recognize when support is needed and when it's time to give it up?
When we are infants, we depend on others for our survival. The only thing we really do on our own is breathe! We depend heavily on others in this stage of our lives.
As we grow up, we begin to rely less on others and learn how to do things for ourselves. This takes time, practice, learning, development, and maturity. We become more independent and let go of the support we once relied on.
This is part of human growth. We have coaches, leaders, mentors and guides to show us the way and help us see what is possible. But there comes a time when we must let go of the support in order to discover our own potential.
Consider the cycle of your life to this point. Was there ever another time when you relied heavily on others like you did when you were a kid? I know I did. There are 2 times that jump to the forefront of my mind of when I needed a crutch to get through some hard times…and...
Author
Jenny Bowers Shultz
Author
I'm a fellow human being just here sharing my knowledge, skills and wisdom to serve you so that you can live a more empowered, on purpose, vibrant life!